How to Decide Where to Go on Vacation

Michael and Donna/Flickr.com

For avid hikers and adventure enthusiasts, planning a vacation is more than just choosing a hotel. A possible range of vacations can include day hikes in Arches National Park in Utah, extraneous trekking on Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania or making a pilgrimage on the El Camino in Spain.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

The Basics

Step 1

Determine your travel budget, making a list of travel costs and the range you can spend. Consider flights, renting a car, fees to enter national parks or buying new gear. Once you have a budget in mind, you can narrow down where and when you would like to go on your vacation.

Step 2

Plan your trip with other travelers or decide to go alone. How you want to engage with people will determine the type of vacation you will take. If you go solo, hiking in the back country or backpacking with plans to stay in hostels can provide either solace or help you create connections with others. You could also go with friends or family, tour with National Geographic or travel with a local hiking group.

Step 3

Discuss your upcoming adventure with others--word-of-mouth recommendations can help you prepare for any type of vacation and assist you in narrowing down possible activities. Consult local travel centers, such as AAA, as they tend to have the best information. Your local Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) Store or local library might hold monthly meetings on how to plan trips. Attending these meetings are an excellent way to meet fellow travelers venturing to destinations you are interested in.

Step 4

Decide the time of year you would like to take your vacation, how long you can go based on your budget, and where you would like to go. Be aware of weather factors that might affect outdoor travel to certain areas, such as blizzard season.

Step 5

Research vacation resources. Guidebook series such as Fodor's and Frommer's include a large scale of information, including hotels, car rentals and restaurants. Check out AAA guidebooks for detailed information as well as discounts and coupons.

For budget travel with an honest insider's perspective, check out Lonely Planet, Rough Guide and Let's Go books. Each of these books includes specific geographical areas, such as Latin America, Central America or Nicaragua. These books offer guided itineraries, framed for weekends, week- or monthlong expeditions.

Step 6

Decide the range of the physical exertion you want to experience as well as your goals for the vacation. Observing animals at a wildlife refuge in Africa for a few days, compared with hiking the Appalachian Trail for a month, spans a large range of physical exertion. Know your body's limits and expectations for exploring the outdoors.

Step 7

List the equipment and other essentials necessary for your travels. Outdoor-store staff can help you decide which equipment you will need based on whether you will be car camping or back-country hiking through Spain. Having to purchase lots of new gear may affect where you travel.

Article Written By Kay W

Kay W has more than 10 years of freelance writing experience, including technical papers, grants for youth and environmental nonprofits and consulting materials. With a Bachelor of Science in environmental engineering and a Master of Arts in environmental organizational leadership, Kay W has a diverse educational and technical professional background.

Editor's Pick

5 Top North American Wildflower Hikes

Springtime brings a sense of new beginnings and new life as flowers begin to bloom and fill the air with their sweet and pleasant fragrance. Luckily we can see wildflowers all summer long, since spring hits at different times throughout North America. See flowering cactu...
More National Parks...
Popular Article

National Park Substitutes: Great Spots Without the Crowds

Coping with crowds at national parks can get tiresome, especially during the peak tourist season. If you want to escape from the herd, or just take a breather from the bustle of bigger attractions, the United States has plenty of less-visited but still worthwhile spots t...
More National Parks...
Featured Destination

Prevent Yourself from Getting Lost While Hiking

When you're hiking you're going to want to make sure you stay found. What I mean by that is that you've put an itinerary in the car, you know the area that you're hiking to, you know the route and the trail you plan on being on, you know what the trail markers are going ...
More Camping Basics...