Where Are You Going Next?

Where to travel to Next?

“Where are you going next?” people always ask, but I often don’t know because, thanks to work, family and financial demands, my actual travels aren’t as exciting as my dream travel plans.

It’s the same for most of my friends because we don’t tend to have as many fixed travel plans as we do travel dreams. So rather than asking “where are you going next?” I like to ask people “where would you like to go next?”

So for the sake of travel dreaming let’s play a little game and imagine that we’ve all just found out that the end of the world is nigh and we only have a year left to enjoy it.

Now there’s a time constraint and you’ve got no need to save your pennies for retirement where are you going to travel to next?

It’s quite a useful exercise to see where you’d travel too if you could go anywhere at all and weren’t hampered by lack of time and money. Because really once we know where we’d like to travel to more than anywhere else we should really go there next.

Being a total travel fiend I’ve picked the top six travel destinations I’d like to visit next because if there was only one year left to live you can bet I’d be visiting a few places. I tried to make it five but that was impossible!

6 Places I’d Most Like to Travel to Next (in no particular order) 

1. Tanzania

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I want to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, trek with the chimpanzees and escape to Zanzibar. While I’m in the area I might take a side trip to Rwanda or Uganda because I really I want to see the gorillas too. Is that cheating? Probably but I’ve got a lot of travel dreams to fit in.

We redesigned the website for Tanzanian safari company Daigle Tours this year and I’ve written reams of copy for them which has made me dream of Tanzania more than ever.

2. Peru

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I want to see all the South American wildlife and birds, trek to Machu Picchu, hike the Alpamayo Circuit, see the Amazon rainforest and take a boat trip on the Amazon River.

I sometimes think I like wildlife and birds more than I like people although I’d love to take my family with me. I’ll probably spend a bit of time in Manu National Park. With all those cheeky monkeys and fantastic birds I’ll think I’ve already died and gone to heaven.

3. Sicily

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My dream destinations in Italy have been Puglia and Sicily for a long time. I was  lucky enough to visit Puglia earlier this year. It exceeded all my expectations and has made me want to visit Sicily more than ever.

I just want to hike, eat,  swim in the Mediterranean Sea, people watch and practice my abysmal Italian. This trip will be less about adventure and more about relaxation in beautiful surrounds and company.

4. Papau New Guinea

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I so nearly followed my heart and visited PNG earlier in the year but then other travel opportunities came up and I got side-tracked.

I want to hike the Kokoda Trail, go to one of the big festivals to see ancient tribal traditions and dances like the famous one at Mount Hagen and visit Milne Bay or Tufi Resort for snorkelling, kayak trips and to experience life in a local villages.

The bird watching is amazing in PNG so it’s going to be a memorable trip combining ancient culture, diverse wildlife and stunning natural beauty. This is going to be a really adventurous trip so I’m already getting fit so I can enjoy it when I get there.

5. Bhutan

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I’ve always wanted to go trekking in the Himalayan Mountains and as well as classic mountain scenery Bhutan has large areas of primeval forest and the birding is fantastic. This will be a chance to enjoy a spiritual connection and tap into the Buddhist culture too. 

I fancy the nine day Duer Hot Springs Trek which is described as gruelling but you get to see Blue Sheep, Musk Deer and even Himalayan Black Bears as well as spend a day relaxing in the most beautiful hotsprings in the Himalayas. 

6. Canada

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My visit to the Yukon and Alberta plus the Into the Arctic videos and art by Cory Trepanier made me want to see more of Canada. There’s so much wildlife in Canada ( I want to see more bears and I’d love to visit the polar bears in Manitoba!) and the scenery is wild, uncongested and spectacular.

Canada is the only place on my travel hit list I’ve already visited but it’s such a huge country you could spend years there and not see it all.

So that’s it. This is my travel vision board. Now I’ve put it out there I plan to make it happen.

Although we can never really know for sure where we’ll end up it’s important to dream big. Dreaming is just the first step in making your travel dreams come true.

Where would y0u like to travel to next?! Don’t get caught up on pesky little logistics like time and money. Tap into your intuition and tell us what your greatest travel dream is. 

Photo credit: Kilimanjaro by Paul Hampton, Papua New Guinea Tourism Authority, Tourism Council of Bhutan, Visit Peru & Keep Exploring Canada

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16 Comments

  1. Ryan Biddulph July 23, 2014 at 5:16 pm - Reply

    Hi Annabel,

    I also want to do Tanzania; going on Safari is one of my great dreams. Awesome spot.

    I’ve seen a bit of Peru. I traveled through Lima and lived in Cusco for 2 weeks. Unfortunately, I became violently ill and couldn’t go to MP, even though I tried to will it, the experience would have been terrible.

    Bhutan is another big one on my list.

    Fiji, my current spot, was a dream spot too, so I can cross it off the list. Tahiti is on there, as are a few more spots in Indonesia, and the Philippines too.

    Awesome, awesome list Annabel.

    Here’s to making each dream come true!

    Tweeting now.

    Thanks for sharing.

    Ryan

    • Annabel Candy July 23, 2014 at 6:00 pm - Reply

      Hi Ryan,

      Great to hear from you. Fiji is gorgeous. I’d love to go back and really travel there to see some of the outer islands. Love your travel dreams :)

  2. Seana July 23, 2014 at 5:31 pm - Reply

    Hi Annabel, I have been to Zanzibar and Sicily and highly recommend both. My travel dream destination of the moment is East Timor, close by, good snorkelling and the locals deserve my cash. And I will get there… probably not this year but next I surely hope.

    Love the notion of a digital travel dream board as you’ve done here… it’ll work I bet.

    • Annabel Candy July 23, 2014 at 5:59 pm - Reply

      Hi Seana,

      Gosh you are so well travelled it’s great to have your input and u definitely need to research ET now!

  3. Kathy Marris July 23, 2014 at 9:02 pm - Reply

    A very inspiring list of travel destinations. I have been to Canada twice, but I haven’t been to any of the others. I think Peru would be up there on my bucket list followed by Cambodia and Laos.

    • Annabel Candy July 24, 2014 at 8:38 am - Reply

      Hi Kathy,

      Sounds like you’re a Canada fan too. I was lucky enough to live in Laos for a few months many moons ago. Loved it and would love to return – it’s a very special place. And if I’m every in that area Cambodia would be amazing too. And then there’s Vietnam of course! Ah, so many countries are calling :)

  4. Contented Traveller July 25, 2014 at 8:34 pm - Reply

    Great list and my vision board plays out in my head constantly. It is so hard to choose. I tend to be a revisitor so Amsterdam and Vietnam definitely. I have this strong desire to go to Chile, probably because a good friend is Chilean, and we will make this happen next year. I think we may need to spend a fair bit of time in South America.

    • Annabel Candy July 29, 2014 at 9:19 pm - Reply

      Hi CT,

      Chile sounds great. I need to move to South America as I’ve never been and there’s a lot to see and do!

  5. Fran @ travelgenee July 27, 2014 at 10:50 am - Reply

    Hi, we just got back from the USA and did a lot of driving this time. Typically my list is more places in Europe. I’m a city girl that loves historic places with loads of history. However I now have added to the list driving around more of the USA. Love to see more of the country side and small towns. Each one has a story. Gave me time to think to. Driving past Amish horse and carts is not something you do everyday. Fran

    • Annabel Candy July 29, 2014 at 9:21 pm - Reply

      Hi Fran,

      It’s funny that the USA fell off my radar after loving it in my twenties but now it’s back in favour with me. There are a lot of places I want to visit there – Portland, Taos, Colorado spring to mind. That sounds like an amazing trip and I have the same Amish memory as you from nearly 30 years ago! Love that :)

  6. Frenchie July 27, 2014 at 2:52 pm - Reply

    Hi Annabel,

    Great list you have and hope you get onto one of those asap… My list seems to change as I read, discover organise my clients trips :)
    Here is my current wish list:
    Namibia
    Morocco
    Argentina / Brazil again with the kids this time
    Belize
    Greece
    Tanzania
    Madagascar
    Happy dreaming…

    • Annabel Candy July 29, 2014 at 9:22 pm - Reply

      Hi Frenchie,

      Oh that’s a long one! I had to cull mine for this post but you’ve got some top spots there – Madagascar – wow!

  7. Deborah Dickson-Smith July 29, 2014 at 5:22 pm - Reply

    Well I just have to comment on this post, considering my own blog is called Where To Next! Like you, I don’t always get to choose, and it looks like I’m heading for Indonesia next, followed by The Whitsundays – BOTH of which I’m very excited about, but I’d also love to go to:

    1. Diving in Raja Ampat
    2. Diving in Truk Lagoon
    3. Swimming with whales in Tonga
    4. Skiing Mt Ruapehu in New Zealand
    5. Snorkelling Ningaloo Reef

    For starters :)

    • Annabel Candy July 29, 2014 at 9:23 pm - Reply

      Hi Deborah,

      Lol, that’s funny. Lots of watersports on store for you. I’ve skiied Ruapehu – it’s different! Swimming in whales in Tonga would be amazing :)

  8. jenny@atasteoftravel July 30, 2014 at 3:01 pm - Reply

    I’ve enjoyed reading your travel list Annabels…some great suggestions. I’d live to go back to Tanzania too and I’d definitely be adding a visit to Rwanda to see the gorillas as we’ll! We spent 6 weeks in Sicily a couple of years ago and I can definitely recommend it to you!

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