On a recent trip to Mongolia, I found myself mindlessly scrolling during a never-ending drive from Ulaanbaatar Airport to my hotel. As I was getting bombarded with “Top 10 Countries I’ve Ever Visited” and “Worst Countries I’ve Ever Visited” lists on social media, I kept thinking: I’ve been to 90 countries, and I still don’t know how people are this certain.
What struck me most was that many of my own favorite countries never seem to make those lists. For me, the more I travel, the harder it becomes to call any place the best or the worst.
People ask me all the time what my favorite country is, and I genuinely struggle to answer. I do have some favorites, but are they the best countries, or just the best for me?
I hate lying on beaches. Give me Kazakhstan over the Maldives any day of the week. My husband would probably choose the exact opposite.
Some people want luxury hotels and wine bars (me!!!). Others want overnight trains and hostels (definitely not me—my back would never forgive me). Some want museums. Others want hiking. Some want to spend an entire week under an umbrella with a book and never leave the resort.
Who’s right?
All of them.
Fresh off a trip and still slightly jetlagged, I was recently asked whether I’d recommend the country I just visited. My answer was another question:
“That depends—what kind of trip are you looking for?”
Take Kyrgyzstan. If you love dramatic mountain scenery, horse trekking, and getting far off the tourist trail, you might fall in love with it. If your dream vacation involves beach clubs, designer shopping, and room service, I might have other suggestions.
One of the best things about traveling is that your tastes can—and usually do—change. The version of me who booked summer trains in Europe without seat reservations and slept on a bench in Venice in my twenties has very different priorities than the version of me who now considers a comfortable mattress a travel essential. Age, money, travel companions, tolerance for crowds, and even your stage of life all influence what makes a trip enjoyable.
I am constantly revising my own must-visit list based on what I am looking for at that moment, who I am traveling with, and how much time and money I have available.
This is why I’ve become increasingly skeptical of destination rankings.
When I consider a trip, I ask myself one question: Would future me be disappointed if I didn’t do this?
If I based my travel decisions on “best” and “worst” lists on social media, I definitely wouldn’t be dragging my husband across the Mongolian steppe in May.
One person’s “overrated” destination is another person’s dream trip.
Travel isn’t a competition.
It’s matchmaking.
conquering continents 