I’ve never really paid much attention or given much thought to the ‘how’ of picking my next travel destination.  Honestly I’ve never really found the whole process that hard.  One trip finishes and the next is in planning.  Still it seems to be a decision that some people have trouble with.  If you fit into that category you have my sympathies, honestly, here are some suggestions that might help.

World Map & Pin Method
Take a map of the world and a pin.  Close your eyes and place the pin in the map.  Now wherever the pin lands is where you are going.  Of course there are some drawbacks to this approach.  Your pin could end up right smack in the middle of a country experiencing civil war or the middle of the ocean.  One would suggest making up some ground rules and it might take several attempts.

Ground Hog Day
Now this is not one I personally recommend however it seems to be use and recommended by many.  This approach involves finally plucking up the courage and embarking overseas for that first big adventure.  After that first big adventure courage and inspiration seems to dissipate and one seems to just keep going back to the same place year, after year, after year.

Lists
This one is easy.  Make a list of every country you’d like to go to or every ‘place’ in the world you’d like to see.  Then number them in order of importance to you.  Start at the top of your list and work your way through it.  The great thing about this approach is that you can amend and change it as you go.  You could even create a couple of lists then combine them to see what you come up with.  As in one with say your favourite countries and another with the ‘things’ you’d like to see.

Themes
Pick a theme, any theme.  The path of your favourite explorer, the wonders of the world, world’s biggest buildings, waterfalls, the path of the poet’s, movies. The list goes on only limited by your own interests, hobbies and imagination, I’m sure you get the idea though.  This method seems to be quite a popular one with increasing numbers of people centring there holiday around a theme

Ask Someone
Sometimes decisions are made easy with a little consultation.  You could find inspiration from someone else so why not just ask someone, anyone.  Your best friend, neighbour, colleague the person sitting next to you one the bus.  Ask them where in the world they would go or what there favourite place/country is in the whole world.  You know the kind of thing.  Catalogue the results.  You never know someone might come up with an idea that you previously had not thought of but find fascinating.

Copycat
Now this method is similar to the one above except your not really looking for inspiration to make your decision you are just getting someone else to make the decision for you.  Wait for someone to tell you all about there holiday.  Then go promptly down town and book the self same holiday.

So there you have it a list, although by no means exhaustive with different methods for picking your next big adventure out in the big wide world.  Now if none of the above helps and you still have no idea where you want to go.

I’ve got nothing.