You have vacation days coming up? Finally! You have been dreaming of taking holidays for long. Now it is here, finally, you are ready to escape the office… but where should you go? It does not happen every day, so you want to find the perfect holiday destination… Welcome to ZigZag On Earth 10 steps, a practical approach to choose your next ideal travel destination.
READY?
Check out those 10 steps
Download the tool
Decide on your next vacation destination!
STEP 1 – DREAM
Dream of all the destinations possible – check out ZigZag On Earth destination page for a place to start or check out my review of those 7 online tools to find your dream destination or visit other blogs covering many destinations such as Travel and Tourism Guide
STEP 2 – LIST
Write down your bucket list of all the destinations – I know this can be a long list but it is worth writing it down, seeing it, planning to make it all happen one travel at a time.
I read a lot of travel blog and add new destinations to my list all the time!
STEP 3 – CUT
Make the first cut. For this specific vacation what are your constraints? E.g. Distance, Time, Budget, Family, Safety…
Cross those countries that do not fit with those constraints. They will be for another time!
STEP 4 – PRIORITIZE
Get clear on your priorities – remember previous memorable travel moments and rate each of the criteria in the table below with the importance you attach to them,
For example, in my case, Food is of low importance so a 1 but Untouched Landscapes is critical so a 5
STEP 5 – RATE
Do a little bit of research (more dreaming time!) and Rate each remaining destination against each criterion.
For example, New Zealand would be a 4 in Wildlife and a 5 in untouched landscapes but a 1 in Architecture
My suggested criteria are:
What types of scenery you want to see?
- Sea/beach
- City
- Mountain
- Volcano
- Desert
- Countryside
- Forest
What do you want to experience?
- Adventure
- Relaxation
- Food
- Culture
- History
- Architecture
- Unspoiled Landscapes
- Wildlife
- Off the beaten track
What environment do you need?
- Speak English
- Specific weather
- High level of comfort
STEP 6 – CALCULATE
Multiply priority and rating and add all the result. You can Download the tool to save time:
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STEP 7 – COMPARE
Compare the overall result of all destinations
STEP 8 – FEEL
Observe the result… what are you feeling? Your feeling is the answer:
- if you are disappointed you gut told you which destinations you would have preferred to see at the top
- And if you are comforted, start planning!
STEP 9 – PROJECT
Confirm, listen to your heart. Project yourself in 5 years: which destination would you regret the most not having visited?
STEP 10 – PLAN
Time to go plan your trip – checkout ZigZag On Earth Travel planning tips
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