Don't Judge a Destination Before You Visit
Have you ever looked at a destination and immediately thought, That's probably not for me?
Maybe you've seen pictures and decided it doesn't look very interesting. Maybe somebody on social media said they hated it, or you've read enough negative reviews to convince yourself there is no reason to go. The strange thing is that we can sometimes form very strong opinions about places, foods, activities and even entire types of vacations without ever experiencing them ourselves.
I've learned that it's worth being a little more careful about doing that. Sometimes the things we think we won't like turn out to be the things we enjoy the most.
We Don't Always Know What We'll Like
Most of us have preferences, and there's nothing wrong with that. We know what foods we like, what kind of hotels we're comfortable with, where we enjoy vacationing and what activities we usually have a good time doing. The problem starts when those preferences become rules that prevent us from trying anything different.
I sometimes think being a perfectionist sounds like a good thing. Who wouldn't want everything to be perfect? But to me, there is a downside to always wanting things to happen exactly the way you pictured them, because life rarely works that way and some of the best experiences can come from things that weren't part of the original plan.
If I always choose exactly what I already know I like, I'll probably have plenty of enjoyable experiences. But I'll also be repeating a lot of the same experiences, and I don't think that's a particularly interesting way to live.
Don't Let Someone Else Decide What You'll Like
Social media has made this even more complicated. Someone visits a destination and has a terrible experience, so they post about it. Maybe the hotel wasn't good, the weather was lousy, the restaurant disappointed them or they simply didn't connect with the place.
There's nothing wrong with reading reviews or listening to people's experiences. They can be extremely helpful when you're planning a trip. But there's a big difference between using somebody else's experience as information and allowing it to become your opinion before you've ever been there.
One person's terrible vacation can be another person's favorite trip. Even when someone gives you an honest and accurate description of what happened to them, they were still seeing the destination through their own preferences, expectations and circumstances. You may have a completely different experience. That's why I try to remember that someone else's opinion doesn't have to become my opinion.
Sometimes You Just Need to Try Something Different
Here's a simple example that has nothing to do with travel. Suppose I'm with a group of people and I'm in the mood for a burger. Then the group decides they want to go to an Indian restaurant instead. I could spend the evening thinking about the burger I wanted and wishing everyone had gone along with my plan, or I could say, Sure, let's try it.
Maybe I discover that I really like Indian food. Maybe I order something I've never tried before and have a great meal. Maybe I'm having such a good time with everyone that eventually I realize I would have missed out on a pretty memorable evening if I had insisted on getting exactly what I originally wanted.
The point isn't that Indian food is better than a burger. The point is that you can't discover something you like if you never give it a chance. Travel gives us opportunities like this all the time.
I Learned This From Cruising
I've experienced this myself with going on a cruise. At one point, my girlfriend convinced me to go on a Carnival cruise. Cruising wasn't something I was particularly excited about, and if I had been making the decision entirely on my own, it probably wouldn't have been at the top of my list. But I went anyway, and I ended up enjoying it tremendously.
That experience stayed with me because it made me realize how easy it is to decide that something isn't for you without really knowing what you're talking about. If I had simply said, I don't think I'd like cruising, and refused to go, I would have missed an experience that turned out to be a lot of fun.
Now I'm more willing to give myself that opportunity. I don't have to know in advance that I'm going to love something. I'm perfectly comfortable saying, I don't know. Let's see.
A Travel Giveaway Might Take You Somewhere You Wouldn't Choose
This is one reason I think travel giveaways are particularly interesting. When you plan your own vacation, you normally get to choose everything. You pick the destination, compare the hotels, look at the pictures, read reviews and decide where you want to spend your money. That's great, but it also means you're likely to keep choosing places that already fit your idea of a good vacation.
A travel giveaway can be different. You may enter because the prize looks interesting, and if you actually win, the destination may not be somewhere you would have chosen on your own.
At first, you might think that's a disadvantage. I think it can sometimes be the opposite.
You are being given a reason to experience something that you might otherwise have dismissed. Instead of deciding from your couch that you wouldn't like the destination, you actually get to let the destination make its case. And you may be surprised by what happens.
What Would the Great Explorers Think?
I'm certainly not suggesting that all of us need to become the next Marco Polo or Jacques Cousteau. Those men were extraordinary explorers, and most of us aren't going to spend our lives crossing continents or exploring the ocean. But I do think there's something useful in borrowing a tiny piece of that mindset.
Jacques Cousteau was driven by curiosity and discovery. His life was built around exploring places most people had never seen and sharing what he discovered with the rest of the world.
Travelers such as Rick Steves have taken a more accessible version of that idea and applied it to ordinary travel. Steves talks about getting outside your comfort zone, being open to differences, staying flexible and allowing unexpected experiences to become part of the trip.
Jonathan Legg has approached travel from a similar direction, emphasizing openness to what the road itself can teach you rather than simply checking destinations off a list.
We don't have to become hardcore travelers to borrow a little of that mentality. Maybe all we need is a pinch of curiosity.
You Don't Have to Be an Adventurer
Being open-minded doesn't mean you have to do things that make you genuinely uncomfortable or ignore legitimate concerns. There are destinations you may have no interest in visiting, activities you may reasonably decide aren't for you and situations where listening to warnings is simply smart travel.
The difference is between making an informed decision and making a decision before you've given something a fair chance. If you've researched a destination and decided it isn't right for you, that's one thing. But if your entire opinion comes from a picture, a social-media comment or something somebody told you years ago, maybe there's still a little room for curiosity.
You don't have to go from being cautious to being fearless. You can simply become a little more willing to say, Maybe I'll like it.
Planning Is Good. Having to Control Everything Isn't.
I like having a plan when I travel. Knowing where I'm staying, how I'm getting there and what I want to see can make a trip easier and less stressful. But I don't want my plan to become so rigid that anything different automatically becomes a problem.
If the restaurant I wanted is closed, I'll find another one. If somebody I'm traveling with has a suggestion that sounds interesting, I'll consider it. If I discover something while I'm there that wasn't on my original itinerary, I'm willing to make room for it.
That's not the same thing as being careless. It's simply leaving some space for the trip to become what it is instead of demanding that it follow the exact picture I had in my head before I left home.
If everything has to happen exactly as planned, we may avoid disappointment, but we also eliminate a lot of opportunities to be pleasantly surprised.
Let the Destination Convince You
There's a phrase that has always made sense to me: don't judge a book by its cover.
The same idea applies to travel. A destination can look ordinary in a photograph and turn out to be fascinating when you're walking through it. A place can have mixed reviews and still be perfect for you. A restaurant can serve food you've never tried and become one of the highlights of your trip.
Even a type of vacation you never thought you'd enjoy can surprise you. So when you're considering a destination, try not to make up your mind too quickly. Read the reviews, do your research and pay attention to legitimate warnings, but then leave a little room for your own experience. You may still decide you don't like the place. That's perfectly okay. At least then, you'll be making the decision based on your experience rather than somebody else's.
Give Yourself a Chance to Be Surprised
I think one of the best things about traveling is that it occasionally proves us wrong about ourselves.
The destination you weren't excited about might become a favorite. The food you didn't think you'd like might become something you order again. The activity you almost skipped might end up being the story you tell your friends when you get home. And sometimes the vacation you didn't choose can turn out to be the vacation you really needed.
You don't have to stop planning. You don't have to become an adventurer. You don't have to say yes to everything. Just don't close the door before you've looked inside.
Because sometimes the best travel experiences aren't the ones we carefully selected in advance. They're the ones that gave us a chance to discover that we didn't know what we liked as well as we thought we did.