One of the biggest challenges that comes with travel is deciding on the location. With so many places to see and visit, how can one possibly choose?

If you’re the kind of traveler that has every single place under the sun on your bucket list, like myself, it’s easy to be indecisive.

However, it is possible to pick and choose your next travel destination. When you take into account several factors and questions, it helps to narrow down your options.

Here are some ways of helping you pick and plan your next travel location.

Create a list

If you think about all the places there are in the world to visit, your head will start to hurt. It’s better to organize your thoughts and create a list. That way, you have something physical and tangible in front of you with options to choose from.

Write down your interests

Every traveler is different and we all have a variety of interests. What are your interests? Do you enjoy exploring museums? How about hiking? Or swimming? The types of interests or activities you’re into will help you to determine the location you want to travel to.

For example, if you like exploring different venues, shops, restaurants, museums, then you’d probably gravitate towards a city like New York or Miami. Or, if you’re into trails, nature and hiking, then you’d be interested in visiting a place with national parks or wooded/mountainous areas.

How far do you want to go?

How far you’re willing to travel? Do you want to travel to a place that’s relatively close to you or far away? For my first solo trip, I decided to visit a new state that’s across the USA.

Maybe you just want to travel to the state or country next to your home, or maybe to a country across the ocean. The choice is yours.

What is your budget?

Depending on your budget and how much you’re willing to spend on your travel will help with your search. Certain locations are more expensive while others are relatively cheap.

If you’re on a budget, then look into a place where the cost of living and travel is cheap. And vice versa if you’re looking to travel to a more expensive place.

Hot or cold climate?

Do you prefer warmer or cooler climates? If you’re into the warmer locations, then certain places will appeal to you more. For instance, maybe a country in the Caribbean might appeal to you more than say, Antarctica. The same goes for cooler places.

Decide on a setting

What I mean by setting is the type of environment you like to be in. Are you more of a city person or outdoor, likes to be by oneself type of person? Maybe a nice combination of two would be great if you’re looking for both a city life and quiet escape.

Who are you going with?

Determining who you’re going with when you travel can help decide on the next travel location. If you’re planning to go solo, then maybe you’d like to travel to a place with cool, unique or off the beaten track areas. (You can also solo travel to cities and other areas as well, this was just an example)

Maybe you’re planning a trip with your friends and you want to travel to a fun place like Cancun. Of if you have a significant other, maybe you two would like to go to a romantic place like France.

Decide on the type of travel

This one goes hand in hand with the previous point. The type of travel you decide to do will also help to determine your next travel location. Are you going to be solo traveling, traveling with others, urban exploring, nature seeking? The list goes on.

Write down activities you want to do

Sometimes writing down the activities or events you want to do can help you to make that decision on where to travel to next.

For example, when I wanted to explore national parks and go on hikes, I knew I had to narrow down my search to states that had a plethora of national parks with beautiful views and hikes.

What’s your dream location?

If you have a dream location, or just a location you’ve been dying to visit, this can be a great factor for determining the destination. When that passion and interest in a location is high, the chances of you picking that location increase.

How long are you traveling for?

What is your time frame? How long can you travel or want to travel for? If you’re don’t have much time, you might want to stick with a location that’s not so out of the way and has things close by. If you’re traveling long term, then by all means head to far off places and hidden gems!

As you can see, there’s a lot that goes into picking a location to travel to. Not only does it help with picking a location but planning for your trip as well. The multiple elements that go into deciding where to travel to will help you to create an itinerary suited to your trip.

This is not the end of the list by any means. There’s so much more factors which aren’t listed that will factor into your next travel destination. Those factors and questions will depend on your own unique circumstances.

But if you’ve been struggling on how to start your process for picking and planning a trip, this is a good place to start.