How to Easily Choose a Trip Destination

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TL;DR

  1. You need to know why you want to travel. What’s your intention?
  2. You need to know when you want to travel. In which season? 
  3. You need to know for how long you want to stay away. Full vacation? Just a long weekend?

 

Vaccination is spreading its way across American and we are on the right track to achieve herd immunity, which means we can travel again! Finally! CDC released travel guidelines for domestic trips and the website is up to date about where it is safe to go internationally.

So, fellow travelers, it is time to start planning our next trip and pick where you want to go. Sounds easy, but it can be quite challenging even considering that right now our options are somehow limited. 

Lewis Carroll once wrote, “If you don’t know where you want to go, then it doesn’t matter which path you take.” Even though this quotation ignites something adventurous inside of us, let’s be real and realize that we cannot just leave and go wherever, as cool as that sounds. Usually, it requires a solid trip plan and lots of savings. 


Let’s start with the basics, how to choose your next destination. The easiest way is to narrow down your options by answering the following questions:

  1. Why do you want to travel? To relax? For adventure? To have a shopping spree? To be surrounded by nature? All of that?
  2. Do you want to have a thorough trip plan or is this going to be a spontaneous vacation?
  3. Did you save for it?
  4. How long are you planning to stay away?
  5. Do you want to travel solo or with a travel buddy or family?
  6. When do you plan to travel? In which season?

 

These questions are very important because they define your intentions, what kind of trip you are looking for, and the type of trip plan you need. Your answers will generate the following options: 

  1. Going to the beach, mountain, big city, small town, camping site, etc.
  2. A well-planned trip with lots of activities programmed vs a spontaneous trip deciding what to do as you go.
  3. Spending on comfort and luxury vs saving on luxury and investing on experiences
  4. A long vacation vs a short weekend away
  5. Planning just for yourself vs planning with others
  6. Summer/Winter trip, low or high season

 

So let’s be practical and simulate some answers and their possible destinations.

Let’s say your answers for those questions looked like these: 

 

  • I want to relax, I have been planning for a vacation for some time and saved some money too, I want to travel with my best friend next month.

Based on that, a trip to the beach or a cozy small town close to a lake would give you all the relaxing time you wished for. You could rent a homestay or stay at a cool hotel, and still enjoy the warm weather.

Some places that fit that description are Hawaii, Florida, South Lake Tahoe, in California, Grand Lake, in Colorado, Dominican Republic, or some island in the Caribbean. The United States has great lake towns all over and here is a list of 20 destinations for summertime. 

 

  • I want some adventure to let out some steam, not a big planner I just want a long weekend of fun with my friends and I am planning to use a long holiday to do that.

Here we could consider camping, a hiking weekend, a skiing/snowboarding trip, and one dedicated to extreme sports, and so on. You could camp traditionally or rent a cabin on a mountain, stay at a hostel or B&B close to your activities.

As for the season, you can enjoy this trip at any time as an adventure can be found from winter to fall. However, once you decide when you are going to travel, that season will define where you go as you cannot enjoy snowboarding during summer. But here are some destinations: Colorado, Vermont, Wyoming, Australia, and New Zealand.

 

  • I want some quiet but fun times with my family. We deserve a decent vacation with no worries about the house, and we planned for that for a year. It needs to be during the spring or summer break.

Nothing like a family trip to make new and fun memories, if this is you we also have a piece on how to plan the perfect family vacation. In this case, your best option is looking for resorts where the whole troop can enjoy while sunbathing; cruises – once they become possible again after COVID-19 – are also good as they offer activities for everybody.

Here’s a list of the best 25 resorts for families in America. And some possible destinations are Florida, Utah, Hawaii, Mexico, and Punta Cana.


Now that you know your destination, it is time to think of your trip plan – be it a super detailed or very basic one – and think of ways to make your bucket list real. Planning requires a lot of time and a detailed-oriented mind

If you are a natural planner this is going to be easy and pleasant; but if that is not your vibe, worry not that Citycatt is coming to your rescue. Actually, even those super planners can use some guidance. 

We prepared a really thorough list to help you build the perfect trip plan, from deciding your destination to how you can manage your budget. You can find details about that and much more here.

Our website offers a trip planner where your entire group can add ideas and suggestions for what to do on each day you spend at your destination. However, if you would like your trip plan to have the most genuine experiences included, you can raise your hand and ask one of our Catts to help you.

Catts are locals with a lot of experience in their town. We specifically select Instagram micro-influencers to make sure you can always count on people who are actively exploring the best-hidden gems of their city.

Whatever your next destination may be, check if your group — and especially you — is on the same page about the dates, activities, and expectations set on your trip plan. Give its planning phase as much energy as the trip itself deserves, so you can become much more confident about choosing the right place to go and make the whole experience unforgettable.

 

See you on our next trip! Stay tuned for our next publiCATTions.

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