I don’t blame you. It’s a big world out there with so much to experience. Let me see if I can be of assistance.

Here is a list of questions I created to help you decide on a destination…

1. Do you want to be in hot or cold weather?
2. Do you want to speak the language or not?
3. Do you want to go to a new destination or one you already know?
4. What is your main goal for the trip? Relaxation? Sit on a Beach? Climb a Mountain? Explore a big city? Surround yourself with nature?
5. What places have been on your bucket list for years? And which ones match up with the above answers?

This last question is key. Often times the reason it is so hard to decide on a location is because we don’t necessarily have an emotional connection to every option that sounds interesting.

But if you match your current expectations for a getaway with a destination that has been pulling at your heart strings for years it will be a tremendously rewarding trip. Once you book it, you won’t be second guessing yourself. You’ll be bouncing around the room with excitement.

Here is another tool that could help narrow down your options.

Once you write down your responses to these questions, I bet you’ll have a few destinations in mind – or at least regions. Armed with newfound direction, go to kayak.com/explore to see what flights you can get worldwide in your budget and during your time frame.

Kayak.com/explore is a fun tool to discover what destinations are actually in your budget. However, don’t be discouraged if your heart’s desire is out of your price range on there. Also try a regular kayak.com search, other ticketing sites and airline sites. You never know what you will find.

Bonvoyage!

These days there is an overwhelming wealth of knowledge to be had about any given destination. Whether you are a Lonely-Planet-lover, TripAdvisor afficionado, or an Afar.com social-travel-network-er (or all of the above) the research alone could render a trip quite cumbersome.

Just the thought of parsing through the information, making itinerary decisions and musing “what will I really feel like doing while on the trip?”, can be repellant.

Oh, and then there is the worry about making the wrong decisions that may cause us to subsequently be inconvenienced or not have as good of a time as we could have if we had just made different choices.

Depending on your personality, you could really work yourself up!

I’ve seen these decisions overwhelm people into staying home. And I’m not ashamed to admit, I’ve spiraled into this web of discouragement myself.

But in my experience there is one tactic that always solves my problem. If I just take the first steps, booking the flights and a hotel, that pretty much seals the deal. And it seems that afterward everything else falls easily into place – proving that I was really my own biggest obstacle.

So my advice to you is, if you have let this kind of worry hijack your plans or stop you from living life as you really want to – it is time my friend. Put your apprehensions behind, make the initial bookings and soon you’ll find yourself smiling from ear to ear as you board a flight!

Enjoy this mini-escape into life in Wainscott, East Hampton.

It is true, I do. And I’m not alone. It seems “local” has become quite the buzzword. I’m seeing it increasingly on the cover of major travel magazines and online publications. And there are growing numbers of apps and tour guide companies popping up to capitalize on the movement.

For me, local travel is real travel. When away from home, I crave a more complete picture of my destinations rather than reinforcing antiquated stereotypes already floating around in my head.

Let’s take Rome for example.

If you think of Rome, you think of the Coliseum, Vatican City, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish steps, gelato, pasta, pizza, and aggressively flirty men. And yes, it is amusing to go see those things.

But ask yourself, how long have those images been the perception of Rome? I bet my grandparents would have described it much the same way. And while it is charming to believe that a place stays the same, the reality is that it doesn’t.

Rome is a modern city that has evolved with local arts, music and dance scenes, new foodie cultures, and artisan practices. Did you know salsa dancing is quite popular there?

Sure, sometimes I just want to sit on a beach or check out a museum or other attraction. But I find my trips are much more rewarding when I make the effort to dig a little deeper past the tourist attractions and any preconceived ideas I have about a place.

If I do, I tend to have surprising experiences that stay with me forever.

Related Articles:

How to get a more authentic experience while traveling.

But there is something about that phrase, when applied to travel in particular, that makes it feel undesirable to me.

Frankly, that phrase doesn’t make me want to travel. It makes me wonder, what kind of discomfort am I in for? And why would I want to be uncomfortable on my vacation?

At the root of it, the phrase is telling us to try something new, do something different, and go somewhere we’ve never gone before. Now, that sounds exhilarating and wonderfully escapist – not uncomfortable.

When you are in a new place, you have to be more aware of your surroundings. Like a meditation practice, you have to be hyper present. Everything is new. You come alive. And you turn into a child again – if only for a short time – observing and relishing the most mundane details of life.

And inevitably, travel lets stress and discomfort experienced in daily life melt away into the background.

So I’d prefer using a different phrase when talking about the benefits of travel. How about “exploring the unknown,” “feeling like a kid again,” “coming alive”, “escaping”, or “feeling freedom”?

What about you? What phrase or perspective inspires you to travel?

That’s me swinging on a Tarzan swing in the Monteverde Cloud Forest in Costa Rica.

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I’ll be posting a video from this series every Tuesday.

Subscribe to my blog to get notifications when I post by entering your email address above on the right where it says FOLLOW THIS BLOG. Or click the LIKE button to follow Travel with Kate on Facebook. Look for the FB Like Button in the right hand column of any page.

Here is the link for the Velib bike system just in case you want to buy a pass! http://en.velib.paris.fr/

I’ll be posting a video from this series every Tuesday.

Subscribe to my blog to get notifications when I post by entering your email address above on the right where it says FOLLOW THIS BLOG. Or click the LIKE button to follow Travel with Kate on Facebook. Look for the FB Like Button in the right hand column of any page.

I’ll be posting a video from this series every Tuesday.

Subscribe to my blog to get notifications when I post by entering your email address above on the right where it says FOLLOW THIS BLOG. Or click the LIKE button to follow Travel with Kate on Facebook. Look for the FB Like Button in the right hand column of any page.

I’ll be posting a video from this series every Tuesday.

Subscribe to my blog to get notifications when I post by entering your email address above on the right where it says FOLLOW THIS BLOG. Or click the LIKE button to follow Travel with Kate on Facebook. Look for the FB Like Button in the right hand column of any page.