Tourists hate tourists. It’s ironic, but many of us want to go where there are…none of us. International travel has been growing steadily for years now, though. And along with that, famous destinations swell with steady streams of sunburnt, confused, and lost visitors. This then leaves us wondering: where do I go where everyone else isn’t also visiting? How do you choose your next vacation destination? How do you make sure it’s off the beaten path and that you won’t be stuck with other tourists? Like little kids that don’t want to share, we want our destination to ourselves. We want that road less travelled, that “authentic” experience. But when we have only a few weeks a year to see the world, is choosing the road less traveled worth the trouble? Or should we try the road more traveled?

Now, I don’t know anyone who travels for convenience, and it is amazing to go to places that are “undiscovered.” But from what I’ve experienced, the road-less-traveled can take a long time to get to, and be tricky as hell to get around. So, with just a handful of vacation days a year, does it make sense to lose precious time just to get from one place to the next?

It’s dreamy, but not realistic, for that road less traveled to be the only way you travel.

A case study in Jordan:

Last year’s trip to Jordan was incredible. But from the East Coast of the US, it took seventeen hours just to get to Jordan. Then a day trip from the capital, Amman, took four hours of driving. Following that, it took six hours to get to Petra. And from there, two hours to get to the Dead Sea. That’s a freaking lot of time going to and from one place or another. Twentynine hours in transit to be precise. Twenty. Nine. Twenty! Nine!

Jordan is one of my absolute favorite places (I love the Middle East,) and I would tell anyone to go. But you need about ten full days there to make all that travel worth the trouble. You can hack all kinds of ways to stretch your PTO for travel, but what’s the point if you’re spending your vacation time tired in transit?

So I’ve learned that the road more traveled – those ever-touristy destinations – might be the move to make when you’re pressed for time. And in line with that, I now have a little rule of thumb for the question: how do you choose your next vacation destination. 

Depending on how much time off you’ll have:

• 3-4 days: Choose somewhere close, quick to get to and easy to get around! We’re talking about the Art of Fast Travel here. A 5-6 hour flight max. From Chicago, for example, these quick trips would end up being to Mexico, Canada or Central America. I’d aim for direct flights to save time and probably stick to just one city.

• 5 – 10 days: Close-ish destinations. 6-10 hours of travel time, overnight if possible (those red-eyes save travel days,) and two to three cities max. I went from New York to Barcelona for five days last fall, for example. From Europe, you could venture over to places like Morocco or Egypt. (Or Jordan!)

• 10 days – 2 weeks: This is where I’d really start to venture further. You can take those 12, 13, 14 hour flights (ugh) because you’ve got time to get to wherever you’re going. Just don’t try to cover an entire country, because you will exhaust yourself.
  
  As an example, few years ago, I flew to South Africa from the West Coast of the US. It took a whopping 36 hours to get there. I was so dazed by the time I arrived that I didn’t even recognize one of my best friends who came to pick me up.
  
  After all that travel, even though I wanted to see everything, I split my time between just Johannesburg, Cape Town and a few respective day trips from each city. If I tried to do more, I’d have spent even more time not recognizing my friends, and not nearly enough time enjoying South African wine.

What is this like in practice?

So that all sounds well and good in theory, but in reality? How do you choose your next vacation destination?

With eight days of PTO coming up, while I’d love to go to some far flung places like Tibet, I’m not about to use most of my time just to get wherever I’m going. Instead, I’m taking a closer, much more traveled road- to Panama! And while it might be heavily touristed, this 5 hour flight away, road-more-traveled country doesn’t equal an inauthentic experience or a less special visit.

Sure, Bob and Barb the sunburnt tourists will likely loudly be yelling incorrect facts about the Panama Canal. But, it’s easy to ignore them. And, ultimately, it’s all about how you choose to travel. You can find beautiful local bistros in Paris, or eat at McDonald’s. I can go to the Hard Rock Cafe in Panama City, or seek out something a little more..Panamanian. It’s all about your adventure, whether it’s to the farthest flung corner of the globe, or just around the corner. Your destination can be the road less traveled, even if it’s next door.

Thank you so much for reading! If you haven’t already, please subscribe!