You’ve finally made the decision to travel. You have the time off, you have saved up what funds you can get hold of, and now you want to go out into the world to experience culture and novelty. Good for you! Now you just have to decide where to go. You have plenty of options. The world is a big place. You won’t be able to fit it all in, so you need to narrow it down and really think about how you will get the most out of the trip.

There are certain factors that always come into play when planning a travel trip. The biggest are time and money. How long can you travel for? How much money do you have to do it? These questions will play a big role in deciding your destination.

If you are time-limited, then location and ease of transport will be high priorities. If you only have a week or two to enjoy your trip, you don’t really want to spend a day in transit and another day recovering. In this case, it might be wise to travel somewhere closer to home.

This doesn’t mean you can’t have an exotic experience. It takes just 3½ hours to fly from England to Morocco, and the two countries are a world apart in terms of culture. Your options for closer trips will depend on your home location, but if you are creative and flexible, you should still have plenty in the cards.

If you are time-limited, it may be more valuable to pick a single destination and explore it more thoroughly. Days spent on trains and buses often cause unnecessary stress and fatigue. For example, if you have 7 days in Italy, then why not spend all of them in one city?

For longer trips of several weeks or months, the opposite is true; it can be more valuable to pick a large area of the world to travel around—for example South East Asia or Europe. Pick a starting point and go from there. Again, you don’t need to cram everything in, but you can pick a broader destination and go to several countries within it.

If money is short, then you really don’t need to worry. It’s possible to travel with very little. Your budget will, ultimately, affect your destination. There’s no point trying to live a life of luxury in Paris on a shoestring budget. It’s better to head to a place where the pennies last longer. Check out the exchange rates of the countries that you plan to visit. If you do travel to a country less fortunate than your own for an extended period of time, it’s nice to give back to the community by involving yourself with projects and volunteering.

With time and money taken into consideration (it’s important to be realistic if you want to find the perfect destination for your situation), let’s think more about interests and culture. Everyone travels for different reasons. You might not really have a reason, and that’s fine, too. But think hard about how you imagine you want your trip to be.

What will the weather be like? Will there be glorious sunshine and golden sands? What cultures, people, and beliefs interest you? Are there any natural wonders that you want to see, like the Northern Lights or a volcanic island? Have you always wanted to try a certain type of cuisine? Asking yourself questions like these gets you closer to understanding why you want to travel, as well as what you might want to see and do during your trip. If you enjoy playing poker, and you want to see the greatest casinos in the world, then you should probably head to Vegas. But if you want to play poker and experience a completely different culture, head to Macau, now considered by many to be the best high-roller city in the world.
If you like surfing, head to Australia or to the prolific Atlantic coast spots. If you want to learn Spanish, then head to Spain or a Spanish-speaking country. It’s all about what you want. Make your trip personal to you! When you think you have chosen your perfect travel destination, ask yourself why you have made that choice, and make sure that you can answer the question sincerely. The world is too big, and life is too short, so head to places that really appeal to your heart. But also remember that you have to pick somewhere. Don’t let the immensity of the world overwhelm you—get out there and live it!