So you know you want to go travelling, perhaps its a gap year, but where do you want to go? Deciding where to go can depend on what you want to get out of your trip. How about making it a dream trip by visiting the places you have always wanted to visit. What about heading somewhere for a certain event or festival, which also gives good access to surrounding countries you wouldn't mind visiting. If you want to volunteer, then obviously where you go depends on where the placements are and the type of volunteering you want to do.

No Idea?

If you really don't have a clue where to go, then get the world atlas out and start looking at places you think you would like to travel to. If you are considering a round the world trip, its important to try and think how the countries link up for a possible round the world route (take a look at the flights section in getting there and around for more information). Keep in mind also the order you want to visit the countries, when you leave and how long to spend in each place, factors we'll cover in more detail in later sections.

Get Ideas

As much as we want to help you with your trip, its not up to us to decide where you should go. Start researching and begin noting down some possible locations. Remember that its your trip away, you don't have to follow the crowds to the usual places. Check out the following section - Ideas, to further help you decide where to go. Take a look at the recommended links below to get information on countries.

Independent Journey Recommends.....Websites

CIA - The World Factbook - http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
"A great site full of facts about every country in the world."

Lonely Planet - Destinations - http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/
"Look here before you rush off to buy those travel guides!"