One question I seem to be getting a lot these days: Where Should I Go in 2011? It is a fair question – especially after we challenged you to go out and celebrate something this year. Many travel magazines and publications printed their “120 Places to go in 2011.” Those are fun, but we opted out of that meme this year, just because it felt a little tired and cliched. But since you asked, I do have some other ideas on how to find a place to go in the new year.
Find a Special Event
Why not make a plan to attend some crazy-cool event you want to go to
- Concerts of bands you love
- Once-in-a-lifetime events like the upcoming Royal Wedding
- A conference or seminar you’ve always wanted to go to, and then stay afterwards to hangout and relax (just make sure work and business are separate)
- Events that happen annually, like marathons or sporting events
The only downside of special events is that it squashes most of your opportunities for a good deal or discount, so be prepared to pay for the opportunity. But, if it is going to be an experience, it might well be worth paying for.
Find a Photo
I admit to having actually just found a photo of a viewpoint that made me decide that I wanted to go to a certain place – much of our Scottish Highlands road trip was chosen based on pictures of places (with a double-check on the stories afterwards to make sure). Whether you like hiking the outdoors to get a good photo, to relaxing with a cocktail overlooking a city skyline, views can make a good vacation awesome-tastic.
First port of call for this is our regular photo essay feature. Great photographs are guaranteed to get that suitcase packed! You might also want to checkout Flickr’s Explore page – it’s a little busy with tons of crazy stuff going on, but it’s perfect to just click around and look for ideas.
Throw Darts at a Map
Stop laughing, I’m SERIOUS! At one of my old jobs, a bunch of us decided to do this and I had the honor of throwing the dart (blindfolded, naturally). What did Lady Luck have for me? Oklahoma City. Yup. After some laugher, we agreed that we had all decided the darts would decide, and off we went. It was amazing – delicious food, really nice people, and we saw one of the most beautiful trees around the world. I’m kicking myself for not having written up a proper trip report about it.
Regardless, you have to roll with whatever the darts say here. Unless it hits ocean, you have an obligation to go and check out the place the dart landed. You never know…. 
Ask (Y)our Community for Ideas
Over on our Facebook page, there’s always a friendly face willing to help. You could also just Tweet or post something on Your own Facebook wall to see if anyone has some ideas. We also have a free travel recommendation tool, or you could always just see what our latest specials are.
Not knowing where to go on vacation isn’t an excuse. It’s a problem easily solved – just explore some ideas, pick out the two or three things that resonate with you the most, check prices / rank priority, then BOOK IT AND GO BABY. Safe travels.
Photo Credits: tetraconz, McD22, boghdan suditu, emjay davies.
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