So you wanna travel the world but don’t know where to start? Don’t worry, this is the first post in a series where I’m breaking down how to plan a trip step-by-step! It might seem basic, but the first step to planning a trip is coming up with an idea. Are you gonna spend 10 days touring Portugal? A week hiking in Costa Rica? Once you have an adventure you’re excited about, then you can start putting together the pieces of your dream trip.
Travel Starts with You
To start, allow me to share a bit of my travel philosophy. I believe a good trip starts with you: your dreams, your unique interests, your lifestyle, and maybe your friends or family. Nowadays it’s easy to see what everyone else is doing and follow someone else’s lead. Heck, you could just sign up for a tour at random! But the key to meaningful travel is finding a trip that helps you connect with the world.
My suggestion is to start by brainstorming a list of places you’d like to travel. If you have lots of ideas, that’s ok! Just list as many as come to mind right now. You probably won’t visit Ireland, Morocco, and Australia on the same trip, but you can save some ideas for the next one.
If there’s one place you just know is right for your trip, take this brainstorming opportunity to dig deeper. If you have a country in mind, what are the cities or areas you’d like to visit? This will be helpful moving into itinerary planning soon.
You can add more details as you think of them too. Write yourself a note about whatever captures your imagination: “Scotland–see Highland cows and drink whisky,” “Japan–eat all the sushi,” “Belize–swim with sharks.” These travel experiences are the keys to making your trip unique.
Find Some Travel Inspiration
If you have your brainstormed list full of ideas, you can skip ahead. But if you’re feeling stuck, don’t worry. You may just need some travel inspiration.
Travel TV Shows
I am kind of obsessed with travel television, so allow me to recommend a few shows that will definitely get your brain thinking about where to go. Watch a few episodes of these to get travel ideas. (Or, you know, become super obsessed and watch them multiple times like me.)
- Rick Steves’ Europe – The guy who literally wrote the book on European travel highlights travel experiences across Europe. Rick has a passion for helping people travel, and his PBS show is a great starting place for trip ideas.
- Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown – Possibly the best travel show ever. Bourdain was a legend who always found fresh perspectives and tasty food wherever he went. Parts Unknown was his most recent show, but his older shows like No Reservations and The Layover are also great.
- Jose Andres and Family in Spain – Chef Jose has an infectious enthusiasm for food, and it’s a joy to watch him bounce around his homeland of Spain.
- Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy – Stanley Tucci is an engaging host who is passionate about Italy. The focus is on Italian food, but you’ll see a lot of cool places along the way.
- Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico – Similar to Tucci’s show, Searching for Mexico follows Eva Longoria all around Mexico and focuses on the country’s diverse cuisine.
- Samantha Brown’s Places to Love – Another PBS travel host, Samantha Brown has traveled all over the world meeting people and bringing their stories to TV screens. Her show is hit-or-miss for me, but there are some episodes I love!
- Ugly Delicious with David Chang – It’s mostly a food show, but this Netflix series sends acclaimed chef David Chang on some epic food quests around the world.
- Our Planet – A vivid nature documentary series (and several spinoffs) takes you all around the world to see incredible animals and environments.
Travel YouTube Channels
Another great place for travel inspiration is YouTube. From daily vlogs to travel tips, there are tons of creators sharing their travel knowledge. Here are a few of my favorite channels:
- Wolters World – beginner-friendly travel advice and lots of “top 10”-style videos to teach you about traveling the world
- Abroad in Japan – entertaining quests and helpful tips for visiting Japan
- Minority Nomad – travel advice and stories from a pro photographer and world traveler
- Samuel and Audrey – travel guides and vlogs, often featuring local food
- World Wild Hearts – travel guides with lots of recommendations for things to do
- History Hit – technically a history documentary channel, but you’ll find videos of lots of amazing historical places
- DW Travel – German TV network DW produces lots of short travel videos about Europe and beyond
Searching for Travel Experiences
Watching videos is a lot of fun, but to me the key takeaways are travel experiences. Maybe you want to eat in a local restaurant like Bourdain or tour Bavarian castles like Rick Steves. Or, maybe you saw a TikTok of someone watching sloths in Costa Rica. Steal these ideas! They are all travel experiences you can do on your next trip(s).
Sometimes the best way to discover travel experiences that interest you is to search the web. For example, I really enjoy snorkeling. I was looking at places with good snorkeling and got the idea to visit Belize. That ended up being an amazing trip. I visited Caye Caulker and got to swim with sharks and turtles!
You can find travel inspiration anywhere, really. Talk to you friends and family, read a book, whatever gets you excited to learn more about the world.
Choose Your Adventure
OK. Got your ideas ready? It’s time to turn one of these travel dreams into reality! But first you need to decide which one. This is a predicament I’ve faced many times: with so many travel ideas, how do you decide where to go next?
The truth is choosing the adventure that’s right for you is something only you can do. However, there are some factors you should consider to help you make a good decision.
- How much will the trip cost? Let’s face it: traveling costs money, and some trips are more expensive than others. Look up flight and accommodations prices to get a rough idea of what a trip might cost.
- How much time do you have to travel? Are you traveling for a long weekend? A whole month? Think about whether you’ll have enough time to cover the trip you’re imagining. Sometimes it’s helpful to look at other peoples’ itineraries for ideas (I have some).
- What time of year are you traveling? As the seasons change, so do the pros and cons of visiting a destination. Sometimes you’re looking for good weather, other times you’re looking to beat the crowds. Consider what time of year you want to travel before you jump into planning.
- What unique experiences are you planning? Sometimes there’s an X factor. If you have the chance to attend a festival or hike certain trail, unique experiences like these can make a trip magical. Sometimes that means planning way in advance to get tickets, etc., so check into these things as soon as you can. Follow your own interests to come up with the perfect trip for you.
With a bit of information in your pocket, it’s time to choose your adventure. Are we doing a week in France? Mexico road trip? Ten days touring Japan by train? The decision is yours. And whatever you pick, there will be plenty of resources to help you plan your trip from here.
Next Step: Budget and Itinerary
Now that you’ve chosen your adventure, the next steps are to figure out your budget and make a rough itinerary. In my next Travel 101 post, I’ll break down step-by-step how to do it.
