photo credit: Discover Saint Lucia.
There are a lot of factors I use when choosing our next travel destination. It might be a place I’ve always dreamt of going, it might be a place I’ve read about, it might be (and this seems superficial) a photo I’ve seen that’s sparked a curiosity.
But there’s more than just choosing a place that inspires you. That’s where research comes in: because there are a lot of destinations that I’ve wanted to go to that I rejected once I had done the proper research.
In this post I go through the steps I take when researching a destination. I’ll also tell you about our next destination.
1. What are the main attractions you want to see?
Ie. What’s your purpose in choosing a destination?
You might have heard about a destination and thought it sounds great. Let’s use Saint Lucia as an example. If there’s one place in the Caribbean I’d love to see it’s Saint Lucia. That’s based on photos of the beaches and of The Pitons, the volcanic spires that soar over the island. I always love a good hike and I’d love to hike the Pitons.
But when I really sit down to think about it, I realize that Saint Lucia wouldn’t be a good place for us. First of all, I have to sell a place to Lissette and I know precipitous hikes, beaches (she’s not a beach person) and treks through the rain forest aren’t her thing.
I remember when I had convinced her that Croatia would be a great destination. And it was: but that was because when I was hiking around the mountains of Central Dalmatia, Lissette was discovering the Roman and Venetian history. In short, Croatia had a mix of both nature and culture so I knew that she would end up loving it.
Saint Lucia on the other hand is a place where the highlight attractions have to do with being out in nature. And that’s not her thing.
What’s the best way of visiting the destination?
How are we going to do this trip? I’ll continue using Saint Lucia as an example. Are we going to do it independently and fly there and book a week in a resort? Is it best seen on an all-inclusive package or a multi-day tour? Or maybe a cruise? If so, that would likely include a flight to Florida (cruising from Tampa Bay or Fort Lauderdale, Florida is the most sensical way of seeing the Caribbean).
We’ve mostly travelled independently. We’ll book our flights and lodging. But some destinations are not ¨independent travel friendly¨. Some places are better visited on cruises, with all-inclusive stays or on tours.
Which brings me to my next point…
Cost and Time
We’re not millionaires so cost is always something to be considered. And it has to be considered along with time.
For example: A few years ago we went to South Africa. Flying to South Africa is expensive. But South Africa itself is not very expensive, you can find good value lodging and the cost of food and drink is very affordable (cheaper even than places like Spain or Portugal). So going to South Africa made sense if we were going to spend some time there to offset the cost of the flights. That’s what we did, we ended up spending 3 months in the Cape Town region. It’s still among our favorite places in the world.
Example 2: I’d love to see the fjords of Norway and Lissette would love to see the Northern Lights. Norway is the opposite of South Africa: you can get there on a cheap flight but other things, like lodging and food/alcohol are super expensive. There are ways of saving money (having a campervan for example) but generally the most cost-effective way of seeing Norway is to have a short, intensive holiday where you don’t spend too much time doling out your cash.
Logistics
How are we going to get around?
Some destinations require more planning than others. Last year we spent 2 months in Mexico and travelled the whole country by bus (Mexico has a fantastic bus system, much better than that of Canada or the US). In most of Europe we get around by train. In South Africa we rented a car for long road excursions.
I’ve often dreamed of going to Namibia. But the landscapes are rough and you need a heavy-duty truck. Or you can take overland tours. But either way, travelling around Namibia is expensive.
Visas
Be aware of Visas and factor them into your costing. In some cases they’re relatively minor (Laos, Cambodia) but we’ve had to pay much larger Visa fees going to other places (like Turkey and Brazil).
Weighing all the factors
In the end, I weigh all the factors above when deciding on visiting a place.
I think the ideal way to see Saint Lucia would be on a cruise. We’ve never been on a cruise but have always wanted to do one. Saint Lucia isn’t a big place so seeing it on an itinerary that includes 6 or 7 islands is perfect. Saint Lucia is also not cheap, so a 10-day cruise is an ideal way of visiting the island while saving money.
There are places that I want to visit that are best seen taking tours. China, India and Egypt are examples of those. We experienced multi-day tours when we were in Georgia and Armenia. For some destinations, tours are ideal for that, especially countries where you can be overwhelmed by language, cultural differences and logistics.
Deciding our next big trip
Our next big trip will be next year and it looks like it will be Argentina.
Why Argentina? Argentina has lots of attractions: cities like Buenos Aires, Salta and Mendoza, natural attractions like Iguazu Falls, the glaciers and mountains of Patagonia, the salt flats of Salinas Grandes and the beauty of the Lakes District. It is a country that is relatively inexpensive, that has good transport connections and that has good food and excellent wine. Plus we both speak Spanish. It is a long and expensive flight but that will be offset by a couple of months spent discovering the country (ie. a repeat of our South Africa strategy). No visa required. Most importantly, it is a country ideally suited for the independent traveller. That’s how we wanted to organize this trip.
Above are the major considerations we look at when planning our next destination. They’re the ¨big picture¨ factors. Once we´ve weighed them all and come to a decision on our destination, then we start looking into the ¨smaller picture¨ stuff: things like an itinerary, booking lodging and transport, organizing sim cards…But that’s a post for another day 😊
Related: Eating: the best or worst part of travel?
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