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DESTINATIONS<\/div><\/div><\/div>

TRAVEL STYLES<\/div><\/div><\/div>

ROAD TRIPS<\/div><\/div><\/div>

VIRTUAL<\/div><\/div><\/div>

MEDIA<\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t

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IDENTIFYING YOUR PRIORITIES<\/strong><\/p>

The best trip is the one that you are really interested in taking, but the world is huge and the possibilities seem to be endless.\u00a0 When you need to decompress and relax, it might not make sense to take a trip to a major city.\u00a0 Do you have at least 10 days and want to go abroad?\u00a0 If your retirement budget is finite, you might want to prioritize those locations that require the most physical stamina and save U.S. travel for later.<\/p>

To narrow down your list, take a few minutes to prioritize what you would like to see and do on this trip:<\/p>

<\/p>

Once you’ve decided what sort of landscape and activity might suit you, you can look at travel websites, blogs, books, magazines, and social media to help choose optimal destinations.\u00a0 If that doesn’t work, however, you can play with the interactive Washington Post vacation finder<\/a> to get a recommendation.<\/p>

In the Travel Articles section<\/a> below, I have collected the best travel destination articles in the following categories:\u00a0 “Best Places,” United States, North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Arctic + Antarctica.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>

TRAVEL STYLES<\/strong><\/p>

Because your travel style can evolve over time, an important question to answer is what activity-driven travel style(s) you’d prefer for this particular trip:<\/p>

• active travel<\/li>
• adventure travel<\/li>
• backpacking<\/li>
• budget travel<\/li>
• cruising<\/li>
• culinary travel<\/li>
• cultural travel<\/li>
• eco\/sustainable\/green travel<\/li>
• educational travel<\/li>
• experiential travel<\/li>
• heritage travel (see discussion below)<\/li>
• luxury travel<\/li>
• relaxation travel<\/li>
• road trip\/RV travel (see Road Trips tab)<\/li>
• slow travel<\/li>
• train travel<\/li>
• volunteering<\/li><\/ul>

  For resources on size-driven travel styles, see the GROUP SIZE<\/a> tab<\/strong>\u00a0on the AWAY-DECIDE<\/strong> page.<\/p>

  HERITAGE TRAVEL<\/b><\/p>

  If you aren’t familiar with the term “heritage tourism,” it is defined<\/a> as \u201ctraveling to experience the places, artifacts, and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and present.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0In keeping with genealogy\u00a0shows<\/a> like Who Do You Think You Are?<\/em> and Finding Your Roots<\/em>, some travel companies have teamed up with historians and genealogists\u00a0to make heritage travel a little more personal.\u00a0 Check out the articles under the HERITAGE TRAVEL<\/strong> section below to explore your options.
  <\/span><\/p><\/div>

  ROAD TRIP RESOURCES<\/b><\/p>

  If you have the time, a road trip can be one of the most cost-effective modes of travel.\u00a0 They also give you a little more flexibility in itinerary planning.\u00a0 If you need inspiration, most of the websites listed on the <\/span>MEDIA-TRAVEL WEBSITES<\/a>\u00a0tab<\/b> have articles devoted to road trips, and we have saved a lot of interesting articles in the U.S. ROAD OR DAY TRIP<\/strong>\u00a0section below.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

  GENERAL<\/strong><\/p>

  The following websites and guidebooks concentrate on road trips exclusively:<\/span><\/p>

  • AAA Road Trips<\/span><\/a><\/li>
  • BBC Travel’s The Open Road<\/a><\/li>
  • Road Trip USA<\/span><\/a><\/li>
  • Roadtrippers<\/span><\/a><\/li>
  • Skyscanner’s Find Adventure on the Road<\/a><\/li>
  • The Open Road: 50 Best Road Trips in the USA<\/a><\/li>
  • The Travel Channel\u2019s Road Trip Guide<\/span><\/a><\/li>
  • Trip Advisor:\u00a0 Road Trips<\/span><\/a><\/li>
  • WalletHub’s 2021\u2019s Best & Worst States for Summer Road Trips<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul>

    Note that the <\/span>Furkot Road Trip Planner<\/span><\/a> maps out itineraries detailed in 19 travel guides, including a couple of the following road trip guides:<\/span><\/p>

    • Fodor’s The Complete Guide to the National Parks of the West<\/span><\/a><\/li>
    • National Geographic Guide to Scenic Highways and Byways, 5th Edition: The 300 Best Drives in the U.S.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
    • National Geographic Guide to State Parks of the United States, 5th Edition<\/span><\/a><\/li>
    • Roadfood, 10th Edition: An Eater’s Guide to More Than 1,000 of the Best Local Hot Spots and Hidden Gems Across America<\/span><\/a><\/li>
    • Road Trip USA: Cross-Country Adventures on America’s Two-Lane Highways<\/span><\/a><\/li>
    • 100 Parks, 5,000 Ideas: Where to Go, When to Go, What to See, What to Do<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul>

      SCENIC DRIVES<\/strong><\/p>

      If you’re interested in making a scenic drive, check out these websites to find a route:<\/p>

      • America’s Scenic Byways<\/a><\/li>
      • Scenic America’s Scenic Byway Maps by State<\/a><\/li>
      • U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration,\u00a0 America’s Byways (including the National Scenic Byways and All-American Roads)<\/a><\/li><\/ul>

        ELECTRONIC CHARGING STATIONS
        <\/strong><\/p>

        These websites and apps will help you find electronic charging stations on your road trip:<\/span><\/p>

        • ChargeHub<\/a><\/li>
        • PlugShare<\/a><\/li>
        • U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fueling Station Locator<\/a><\/li><\/ul>

          H+A ROAD TRIP TIPS<\/b><\/p>

          Before you hit the road, we have 8 useful road trip tips<\/a> to take you from planning your itinerary to scheduling your departure time.<\/p>

          For tips on how to track the weather, see our answer to the <\/span>Q+A WITH H+A<\/a><\/strong> question \u201c<\/span>How Should I Track the Weather Before and During a Road Trip?<\/span><\/a>\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/div>

          VIRTUAL TRIPS<\/strong><\/p>

          Don’t underestimate the value of taking a virtual trip to decide where to go next.\u00a0 Virtual trips can help you cross certain destinations off of your bucket list or complement a prior trip.\u00a0 They might also be a great escape for someone who is temporarily or permanently homebound.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

          For more tips, see A How-To Guide for Planning a Virtual Trip<\/a>.\u00a0 If you want to direct your virtual travel to a specific location, we have organized some Google Earth trips by location with a separate breakout for multi-country trips in this map:<\/span><\/p>