How do you decide where to go next?

I always have a backlog - a list of potential trips. Items currently on the backlog include:

the northwest and northeast of Ireland
the southeast of Ireland
(we did the southwest of Ireland recently)
Corsica
Norway
west coast of France
Denmark
Slovakia & Hungary
Greece
Romania
Shetland
Bulgaria
The southwest of England
Uzbekistan
Tunisia
Tasmania
Western Australia
New Zealand
Hokkaido in mid-winter
eastern Turkey (I'm going to western Turkey in March...given the current situation, we're deferring eastern Turkey for a while)
various tiny islands in the south Pacific
etc....it's actually a long list

I "rough out" plans for these trips for fun. Not super-detailed, just kind of scenario-based, like "If I had 2 weeks in the fall, and a ticket to anywhere, how would I spend it?" Having some rough trip ideas in my back pocket (so to speak) makes it possible to jump on a great deal if one comes us. For example, a few weeks ago I heard about a great deal on flights; having a rough plan for a trip already sketched out allowed us to make a quick decision, jump on the exceptional flight deal, and...well, I'm flying to Istanbul on Air France in business class for 2 weeks in March for a crazy cheap price...

Only problem is I have too many potential plans, and probably won't be able to get to them all. That's OK, it encourages me to go more often.

So many places...so little time.

We usually try to see someplace new. There are many places we've loved, but there is so much of the world yet to see.

Its a little easier for me I guess. I have a permanent place in Budapest so I look for things that pair well with Budapest. That means access by discount airline or as an intermediate stop along the way there or back.

So if I didnt have that, what would i do, or did i use to do? Pick one place that just spoke to me that year. Could have been from a movie or someone's related expenses or something I read.... Then look at the logical options from there and to there and once there. I think to many people dont use the time and money as well as they could. Sure, if their dream is Portugal and Thailand, then do it, but if you got a bunch of ideas, start going through it systematically. But in a way that exposes places that are as different as possible.

I travel mainly for the cultural differences and for the people, so i can have as good a time in Sarajevo as in Paris. Of course I say that after having spent nearly 2 weeks in Paris over the years. You will find the people who tell you to stay away from the tourist traps, have themselves seen them all.

The other thing I look for are places that are changing. I want to see them before they are totally gone to the tourism. For European travel that means Eastern Europe. So Paris as a city and if there were or is a discount flight to Sofia, then Bulgaria as a country. A good two week trip. Part traditional tourism, part exploring before it all changes. Part City, Part country. Churches at one end, mosques at the other. I just winged it on that, but its actually a good trip.

Good point on the places that are changing! I lived in Poland from 2010-2012 and I'm still kicking myself that I didn't make it to Croatia before the Game of Thrones hype hit :-D

How I decide where to go?
I like to go somewhere new. And revisit my favorites like: London, Paris & Rome.

I usually do one independent trip and one RS tour a year. Next year I will do the Best of Germany in 13 Days and add on days before and after.

I have a revolving list of RS tours, for years 2021, etc.
Scotland or
St. Petersburg Tallinn Helsinki or
Switzerland

Linnae -Travel is about exploration. Look for new places that interest you as far as culture, scenery, food and people. Then, list them in order and pick a few places you plan on visiting. Better yet, buy a Rick Steves' guidebook of these places you are interested and read about them then create a plan of when you want to go. Once you complete your research, you will become a more confident traveler and able to experience the joy visiting your destinations.

Delta Airlines a few times each year sends an email about airfare sales between JFK and various European cities. I look at both mileage sales and fare sales. This is why I’m flying to Zürich in April!

You made a good point my fellow New Yorker. There are a variety of ways one can look for a new city to explore. Airline promos to Europe are very common.

I also keep a backlog of trip ideas and a rough idea of rank. As I read trip reports and reviews and articles, I'll sketch in some details for an itinerary.

I always like to include someplace new, even if just a new city in a country I enjoyed.

Then I check fares and see what matches. A great fare might shuffle a trip idea to the top. Or, as in this year, a friend expressed interest in one of the ideas .... so off we go in 2020!

I couldn't start independent travel until my 50's. I did the nature places that were bound to change...serengeti, Galapagos Islands, then Macchu Picchu. Like David, I have a list with pencilled itineraries. I tend to travel offseason, so weather matters, how long I have and what keeps coming back to me in my thoughts. But I have added cruising to the mix and as a solo cruiser, then a good deal may override a land plan. Sometimes new places are added if I can do a free layover to somewhere else...like Istanbul on Turkish Air.

I get Rick's tour brochure every year but also look at other tour sites (such as Road Scholar) for ideas and not necessarily for taking specific tours. I also see what people are talking about on here and sometimes on various Trip Advisor forums. I also look for travel shows on PBS. One of my local stations has run 2 interesting series recently on coastal villages and railways in Britain.

I've also got some interest in places that have popped up doing genealogy. A very early ancestor immigrated from Norwich, England. Others came from a very small town in Germany while another branch immigrated from north of Milan. This works for US travel as well. I keep telling myself I'll do a Road Trip back East to see the Civil War sights that figured in some family history as well as stalking some cemeteries for pictures of headstones.

As far as savings - I'd save as much as you possibly can, lol!

Congrats on your Master's! You're only a year out, lol!

I have been going to Munich for the opera festival for the last few summers.
With Munich as a base, I've then tried to find places new to me that have been on my 'want to see' list.
So far, I went to Vienna, Berlin, Dresden, Salzburg, Budapest, Prague this way.
This summer, I think I will go to Milan and Florence in between performances as I've never been to either city (have seen Rome, the CT and Venice).

As a "Ricknic" who has taken 17 RS tours, I just see what tours are available for 2020 to someplace I have not been before.

I stick to Europe and kind of go down my bucket list. The next few trips will be to Malta, Greece and Spain. Then, I have places I have been to many times and never get tired of- England, Ireland, Scotland, and of course Italy, because I used to live there and I have friends and family there. Sometimes it’s hard for me to balance the desire of going somewhere new on my list with wanting to go back to old favorites! Further down the line on my bucket list are Prague, Budapest, Portugal, Croatia.

How do we decide? I'm definitely the "driver" in all travel plans.

There are many places that have caught my interest over the years, both in Europe and beyond. Sometimes by RS videos, documentaries, online articles, recommendations, or TV shows. Like a previous poster, I've often spent spare time building theoretical itineraries when I get interested in a place. It helps that I work in a public library and sign out travel guidebooks like some people do romances! On any given day I'll have two or three signed out just for leisure reading.

Finally, it really helps if I can "hook" DH. We have 2020 booked, but in 2021, I want France (Brittany) and he wants Amalfi Coast. We'll see.

There's always the struggle between repeating faves vs new places. In April we went to Rome for a week --our second time doing so. Now that's a city I'd repeat over and over for a lifetime.

For me, our children (who are in their early 20s) influence our choices somewhat. They have been so busy with school and we have been so busy with work, that we are finally breathing a bit and can travel abroad with them as young adults.

In 2017, my DH selected Barcelona a couple of years ago to expose the kids to the culture, architecture and art. From Barcelona we flew to Geneva and Paris as DD #1 was studying and working in Geneva.

In 2018, DD#1 was studying in Paris so we all went there.

This year I felt that my kids should see a bit of England and Scotland to learn about their lineage on their Dad's side as well as the history that impacted the founding of the U.S.

Next year, DD#2 is studying in Italy, so I think we will go to a part of Italy we haven't been, then visit with her couple of weekends, and bond with her on Italian culture and history.

Like you, the difficult part for me is when I've been someplace. For example, we were in Tuscany and Rome 9 years ago and Lucca, CT and Portofino 25 years ago so I am tempted to skip Italy next year. There are so many other places on my list: Provence and other parts of France, Madrid, Seville, Vienna, Salzburg, Poland, Germany, Bruge, Lisbon....

Here's to good health and good fortune!

I usually look at returning to a favorite country and seeing new places along with returning to 1-2 towns we especially liked & have stayed at previously. For instance, this year was France. Paris was a repeat. Chartres, Le Mans, Angers, Tours, Nice, Nancy and Colmar were new.

I do lots of research and aim at 1-2.5 hours by train between locations, so I find many less touristy fun locations to explore.

Another criteria is if I can find some interesting local festivals, I will adjust the itinerary to attend them.

I will say there’s nothing wrong with returning to some favorites. I like to begin trips to Italy with a few days at Stresa. But after each trip, staying at more new towns, my list of favorites just keeps growing! ; )

Airfare sales -- I check our calendar (since we are retired, usually nothing more pressing than medical appointments) and jump on cheap flights, sending DH the email confirmation. There's a mental list of places we would like to visit and places we want to re-visit.

I have too many places still on my list (when will I ever get to Scotland??!). But I usually have a few ideas and ask hubs for his input and go from there. This year started out to be a trip to Austria, Switzerland and Italy - starting in Vienna and going over to Sw then back across to Venice. But I could just not make what I wanted to see work with the nights we had, and I'm over fast trips. Hubs threw Prague into the mix, making it work even less. So, I cut out the Sw part and concentrated on Prague/Vienna/thru to Verona and Venice and 4 nights in London before flying home. They were all new places, except Venice and London at the end.

I am at the point now where I like to sprinkle in places we've been before with new places. I know how to get around London and Paris and Venice because we've been there multiple times, so I find I can relax more - I'm not stressed out trying to figure out the public transport. I've seen a lot of the big things in these places, so we don't have to hurry around - we can see lesser known spots, or revisit museums and churches and savour them more (the Louvre comes to mind - 2nd visit we went to the further reaches instead of having to go to the 'must sees'). Our 5th visit to Venice this year meant we could wander the back canals and pop into some places we've managed to miss before (Scuola Grande di San Rocco was one).

As for our next trip - well, I was thinking Scotland...FINALLY! Except my mom mentioned to me back in the summer if we ever got back to the Amalfi Coast, to take her with us. Well, none of us are getting any younger, so sorry Scotland - but it's likely gonna be Amalfi Coast next year (I'm hoping to surprise her at Xmas, so she may say no and Scotland will be back on the agenda).

But in with the Amalfi Coast - we will prob throw in Salerno and either go back to Florence (which we only had a quick visit to in 2012) or maybe head up and explore Lake Como area more, or we may just hang out longer on the AC and maybe visit some smaller places - I have Procida and Ischia on my radar) and pop back to Rome for a few nights.

I'd go back to places you been and liked when you are traveling with someone with whom you can share them. New places on your own so you can find new special places.

If I haven't been there, it's on my list. Everything has to compete to make the top of the list. Often I'll have a few vacations in draft form and a flight sale or special event will push that to the top of the list.

Unfortunately, I'm running out of the easy ones (the convenient flights that are also cheap) so I have to get more creative.

Fortunately, I'm closing in on retirement. That will allow me more time to see the less convenient places.

Like many others, I have a long list of places I'm eager to go, but sometimes something comes up that lights a fire under me.

I recently retired and moved to Mexico, so exploring my new country of residence is one thing I'm looking forward to doing. In January I am taking a trip to the state of Michoacán to visit Morelia and the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1290/).

A local travel company is doing a week-long trip to Cuba in February (https://charterclubtours.com/en/cuba-2/), so I signed up for that and I'm super-excited about it.

After that, I'll just see where the travel bug sends me. To be honest, I don't see myself returning to Europe anytime soon.

Lane, you will love the Monarch reserves in Michoacán. We went to two of them two winters ago. A completely magical experience. We stayed in Angangueo, it makes a good base. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

You made a good point my fellow New Yorker. There are a variety of
ways one can look for a new city to explore. Airline promos to Europe
are very common.

:-)

Aren't they great? Yesterday, I received promos for domestic flights and I saw one for Albuquerque. At first I thought Delta was now flying nonstop between JFK and ABQ to compete with jetBlue! Wow! Then I saw that one must connect through Atlanta. No thank you!

I always have a backlog of places I want to go next.

I prioritize places that meet these criteria, over those that don’t but these are not in any particular order:
—Off the beaten path. (Slovenia)
—Have visited before, loved it, but it’s been years since I visited. (France, Spain)
—Have visited briefly, loved it, must see more (Croatia, Scotland)
—It’s new to me. (Slovenia)
—Convenience: logistical ease as a solo traveler on public transit, places I’d want to see map out into a logical itinerary without a lot of backtracking (Spain), flight connections make it easy to get to, easy to book rooms on booking.com (my preferred platform), potable drinking water
—Easy to put a trip together on short notice (if I need it, depending on current personal circumstances at the time)
—Value—how great is it vs. the cost. (Slovenia again, except for the flight; Spain)

Above I have listed the places I am considering in the next few years, mapped to criteria. Obviously no places meets all of these, and some criteria are mutually exclusive.

Two of my last three trips were to different parts of Italy because these met my criteria 2,5, and 6.

There is also the fact that sometimes a place just calls to me that factors in.

Scandanavia has not risen to the top for me due to high costs and lower interest. I just don’t see the value in terms of (travel thrills) / (inconvenience + expense). The Netherlands would be OK, great for logistics, medium travel thrills, but expensive. Switzerland would be great but too expensive, so have never really considered it.

Right now Scotland calls to me even though I am having trouble with planning as a solo independent traveler. Part of the issue is reluctance to drive solo. Part of it is though the country as a whole seems great, a lot of the individual stops seem to lack the appeal of say, Ireland. It also seems to be on the expensive side for lodging and car rental.

Slovenia also calls to me, the logistics are a challenge though. You need a car to really see many of the best parts and do I really want to try that solo? Flying RT to Ljubljana is also expensive and the routings are bad. My research suggests it’s a real gem of a country to visit and not as heavily touristed as many.

I am sure some will disagree with my assessments, but I’m open to that.

There are tons of places I want to see (still) in Poland, France, Germany, England, Czech Rep, Finland, Belgium, Austria. I have revisited numerous places while adding on new places to see and explore.

In France they're Meaux, Soissons, Troyes, Thionville, Laon, etc. In Germany...Cuxhaven, Halle, Schleswig, Frankfurt an der Oder, Ulm, Jena, Eutin/Holstein, Kiel, Koblenz, etc, etc.

Absolutely, it is "always ( a) struggle" and it is a matter of priorities. The hard part is deciding when making that list of places to be visited.

Nothing wrong with making return trips if you love a place--next May I will visit Budapest for the 6th time in as many years, trip begins with 11 days in Romania. I've been fortunate in the last 2 years to add a second short trip every year and that's been to London. My 2 week trips in the spring always have a few days in Budapest mixed with other places, try not to move around too much but sometimes that happens. Unless it's a long-standing desire to see a place my motivation usually comes from reading trip reports or an article that piques my interest. I've done my absolute must-sees already and now working on the following list, in no particular order:

Bruges/Ghent/Brussels
Barcelona/Madrid
Lisbon
Kiev/Lyiv/Odessa
St Petersburg/Moscow
Berlin + other towns
Rome
return to Krakow + other towns
return to Edinburgh + Glasgow

I have had a bucket list for years and have been working on it. I love Asia and there are places left in Europe I haven’t visited too like Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.

Ok I will chime in. I am the travel planner in the family, therefore, I get to pick two trips, hubby gets one, I get two picks, hubby gets one, and so on. We are only able to go to Europe once a year right now as hubby is still working, although MAY be able to squeeze in two trips next year.

As far as specific places....so tough! Right now, I want to see the biggies since it’s been so long I need to re-visit. This would be England, France and Italy.