How to Choose Vacation Destinations

Not a major goal setting please. Just have a clear idea of why you want to hit the road. If it is to rest, why not hide at home or go to a spa close by and get a sun lamp? Save your funds to travel for fun, not the pain of getting some place to do sweet diddly. If you want adventure, then go for adrenaline high in places that offer these. Keep peeking at other issues such as the country's safety and security challenges, health problems or other recent disasters but focus on your main goal.

Yes, maybe you want to go to the other side of the world but you only have a week. Forget it. you can hardly get over your jet lag before you leave for home. Not a good idea.

Once you are in the place you have chosen, review your itinerary with the locals. They may suggest better ways of getting to where you want or may give you alternatives given your schedule. Their suggestions may just lead to a totally unique vacation. Don't try to do too much or you really end up doing nothing, seeing nothing and learning nothing.

Sit outdoors at a cafe or a park and savour that local feeling. Watch tourists and pretend you aren't. And when you get home, allow yourself time to get settled in. Don't rush into your work without having a chance to really think through your experience. Also remember, with delays in airline trips now, it is really better to plan more time gaps.

You may go beyond or under this specific amount. But it is always good to have an anchor around which you can make decisions on what really make a trip. Once you are in a place, don't cheap out on the experiences. This is especially true in places that are harder to reach. You have already spent so much to be there, what is another hundred dollars to see the ancient paintings in a tomb or take that plane ride to see the mountain ranges in its spectacular beauty or a Land Rover ride into the jungle? Experiences are the only things worth buying!

When you are on vacation, it is always good to have options. What if the mountain passes are closed? Or, there is so much algae in the water you can't really snorkel. Or, there is a tsunami and you can't do much. Places like New Zealand or British Columbia offer you the seas, the mountains and wine country. Nepal offers you temples and pilgrimages, trekking and mountaineering, kayaking and rafting, safaris, cultural festivals and world heritage and nature sites. Thailand offers the mountains, beaches, excellent and cheap food and cultural festivals, Buddhism, as well as cheap entertainment and the world's greatest foot massages right at the airports! There are other places that have so much to offer.