How to choose a destination: five questions before you open the chat

Most trips are not chosen badly for a lack of options. They are chosen badly because the decision is made in a hurry. We look at a photo, save a place and stop at the first one we like. The problem is that a destination can be perfect for a week of museums and a disaster for five days of beach with two children.

The way to avoid it is simple: before you look at maps, answer five questions. Not about the destination, but about you.

1. How many days do you really have?

Not the ones you wish you had: the ones you have. This number decides almost everything. Under four days, a far away destination turns into transfers. From four days on, you can consider two cities or one region.

If the number depends on a flight you have not booked yet, leave the destination on hold until it is closed. It is easier to choose with the dates settled.

2. Who is coming?

This is the question people skip, and it is the one that changes the plan most. A walkable city that is a pleasure at twenty becomes a problem with a three-year-old. A resort with everything on site is a boring week for a couple.

You do not need the exact age: knowing whether there are children, older people, or someone with limited mobility already filters out half of the destinations.

3. What pace do you want?

There are two travel speeds and you find out which one you are on after two days. One is getting up early and fitting four things in. The other is two things and a nap. No destination is better: there is a destination that fits the pace you want.

If you are not sure, pick the slower one. You can speed a plan up later; the energy spent on day one cannot be recovered.

4. What budget are you actually working with?

Be honest about the total, not about the price per night. Accommodation takes most of it, but transfers and meals add up quietly until they eat a dinner.

A practical rule: count seven nights, not five. The last night is often somewhere else and often the most expensive.

5. What do you need right now?

Not what you would like, what you need. Sometimes the answer is "to rest and have no plans", and the best destination for that is one where there is nothing to see.

This is the question that surprises people most in practice, and the one people ask least.

The right order

Answer them in this order: days, who, pace, budget and needs. If you start with the destination, you end up negotiating with the budget. If you start with the first three, the destination picks itself: there is almost always more than one that fits, and then the question becomes which one you fancy more.

And at that point, with the dates, the budget and the people already settled, opening the chat is the easy part: the planner does the half hour of work you would have done yourself.