0
0
Introduction
There’s an unfortunate truth to any trip-hungry tour-de-force traveler’s time in this travel game. That is that not every trip will be perfect. When one considers the cost of traveling, the time commitments, the physical limitations and more, you realize how many different things you have to juggle. Accordingly, some hopes and dreams will be lost along the way of making a successful trip.
It’s happened time and time again for me and that’s what brought us here. For as much as I’ve traveled, there are always those missed opportunities. Sometimes you simply want to go more places in limited time. Other times, there are outside factors preventing you from visiting a spot you could of. Some times, you’re just ass at planning (most common for me). Either way, you’re left with countries visited but not completed. That is to say, however much you’ve seen in said country, there are still places you’d literally (not literally) murder for, to see in that same country.
Diatribe out the way, let’s dig in and go into my personal list of countries to return to. Inside, there’ll be explanations of the time spent in each country and the reasons why certain locales were missed. All with the hope that you, beloved reader, will not make the same mistakes as this little clown here.
10. Ecuador
I stayed about a week in Ecuador. I know already not the best start. Most of the countries on this list naturally lend towards the shorter stays. Money was the main thing preventing me from flying to the Galapagos Islands, arguably the most famous site in all of Ecuador. Instead, the week was spent between Quito, Banos, and Cuenca. Those cities are amazing and left me fulfilled. However, it would be blasphemous to say that I don’t regret not having seen the Galapagos.
The need for flights, length of flights, need for ferries, need for tours and other costs nixed the Galapagos for me first time round. But, hoping they wait for me and don’t die to death from Global Warming or something, they uplift Ecuador. They put it on this list of countries to return to, without a shadow of a doubt!
9. Austria
For me, the trip to Austria in of itself was an afterthought. I went there while traveling through Europe. Beginning in Bavaria, I seeked other places to visit for about a week and decided on splitting the time between Prague and Vienna. While both were amazing, I’d arranged to go straight from Vienna to Bavaria and then to Berlin, leaving little time to see more of the Alpine nation. At the time I didn’t mind but as I’ve seen more of Austria has to offer, I felt a sting of guilt. Knowing I was so close to seeing cities like Salzburg, Graz or Hallstatt but didn’t left my travel flexors (muscles to flex travels with clearly) sore for years.
All I have now is a hopeful future, stamped with a return ticket to Austria on it!
8. Germany
For those who’ve read other posts on this esteemed blog such as this one * , you will know that Germany is the country I’ve visited the most times outside of the US. Half of my family is there and as a result, I’ve had the pleasure to return there many times. However, most of those times came when I was a kid and at the power of my parents. I only had one short trip as an adult who could travel wherever he wanted to and frankly didn’t make the most of it. It was a strange period of time where I hadn’t fully grasped all the country has to offer. I took it for granted, sticking to the same cities I’d already seen with my family.
Germany is definitely one of the top countries to return to for me. Much of the Northern and Eastern parts of the country are unfamiliar to me. Landmarks like Neuschwanstein Castle have yet to be explored by these feet. Lastly, there’s boundless cultural nuggets to pick up that have been lost on me for years, meaning I have to return at all costs!
7. Argentina
The flaw in the planning of my Argentina trip came in cramming too many countries into one month’s time. I loved my time in South America but by visiting Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Uruguay within one month, it was a surefire thing that some destinations would be lost. Of all my trips, this one was the most cutthroat in which destinations were sacrificed. In the end, I limited Argentina to Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls. Those locations were both defining places for the trip but were chosen at the expense of the extensive Patagonia region that Argentina is famous for. With much more time and a greater budget, I would have loved to spend days if not weeks exploring the area. Hell, throw in a trip to Salta and maybe a cruise to Antarctica too!
If I’m ever rich enough… in terms of that last one.
6. Iceland
I just visited Iceland on layover. I flew from Spain to the USA and had hours to kill so I killed them. Just Reykjavik, just the morning, just the cold. Nothing else. So that makes putting this as one of the top countries to return to as a very easy choice. Iceland’s landscapes, its hot springs are what draw people. Not freezing to death in Reykjavik obviously. So what’s next for me in Iceland? I’m thinking a proper trip, full on visit-mode. Not a random drop there, not a layover, going to Iceland for the sake of going to Iceland and hopefully reaping the myriad of benefits!
5. Portugal
Similarly to Iceland, Portugal is a country I visited during a sort of layover between the USA and Morocco. This one was a few days though, coming out to around three days in the Iberian nation. I spent those days fighting jetlag though, so many opportunities were missed. Lisbon and Sintra were the only spots I saw. Now, however, having enriched myself with knowledge of places like Porto, Algarve, and Coimbra, I would love little else than to return. Like with Iceland, Portugal deserves its own proper trip where it is the final destination. It deserves to be more than just the accessory of another trip.
As you can gather with these last two, sometimes shortness of stays comes to things like layovers or connections. These things are harder to control but can serve as good times scouting out a nation for future trips. If that was the goal for Portugal and Iceland, I can wholeheartedly say it was achieved!
4. Canada
Now for a completely different reason to see little of a country! In Canada’s case, it comes down to timing but not in terms of days spent. I had planned to visit Canada for 3 weeks in January 2022. In my head, it would have been enough time to see a good swathe of the nation from the Eastern side to the West. However, I hadn’t accounted for the harsh Covid measures at the time of my arrival, which limited a lot of activities there at the time. Couple that with the obvious thing; Canadian winter, and my trip was immediately more lackluster than I’d hoped.
With these two forces conspiring against me, I decided to end the trip prematurely and head to Mexico. So, in this case, I purposefully cut the trip short with the intention of returning again the future. In essence, Canada is one of the countries to return to by order of my own decree. Though, when I will actually return to it is still up in the air.
3. Russia
When it comes to Russia, I feel the most shameful about this one even if it’s not entirely my fault. The planning for my trip to Russia occurred in late 2019, with the actual trip happening right before Covid Lockdown in March 2020. At that time, as a US citizen, getting a tourist visa was a complicated process. I did it but the complicated nature of it plus my own fears and concerns about traveling to Russia made me limit my time to two weeks. I chose to only visit Moscow and Saint Petersburg, fearing that Russia could be a scary, foreboding, intense place.
When I got there, I learned the obvious but valuable lesson of separating the average person from the government. I had an amazing time in Russia, meeting wonderful people and seeing wonderful sights. So much so that I wish I had organized the visa for a longer stay to begin with. However, due to its restrictive nature, this would’ve been incredibly difficult. In the end, Covid-19 would’ve cut the trip short anyways. Nevertheless, Russia has to be among my list of countries to return to with places like Vladivostok, Kazan, Lake Baikal and Kamchatka waiting for me next time round!
2. Mexico
As mentioned in the Canada section, Mexico was in of itself a last minute choice to travel to. I had confinements due to school and my budget, preventing me from extending the time in Mexico. In the end, it was just one week for an undoubtedly massive nation. In that time, I explored Mexico City and the Yucatan but that’s it! Literally the whole rest of the nation is out there, waiting for me. In this case, I don’t feel as bad as it was better to see what I did see in Mexico than nothing at all, which was the original plan. However, the list of places I still would like to go to in Mexico is too tremendous to not have it near the top of my list of countries to return to!
Luckily for me, as a Californian, it is also one of the easiest countries to get to. So, there’s no doubt I will have a chance to come back to Mexico one day or another!
1. Italy
Last but not least, and topping this list as a matter of fact, it has to be Italy. I visited Italy on my first solo trip, being the first country I’d ever visited for the first time alone (places like France and Germany were countries I’d already visited with family). I say that to illustrate the fact that I was especially poor at planning in those days. Back then, I was trying WWOOF and had arranged to stay at a farm in France right after Italy, limiting my time there to just one week. In that time, I stayed in the north, visiting Genoa, Florence and Venice (Idk if Florence is technically north but oh well). That was an amazing trip but one that just left me fiending for more!
I need to see Rome, Naples, Sicily, Siena, Sardinia and more! I feel for Italy the list goes on and on forever. So much greatness packed into the peninsula makes it an undeniable number one contender! Italy is the cream of the crop of countries to return to. We must emphasize that! Another one limited by time above all else, I will make it my mission to step foot back on Italian soil one day in the future!
Conclusion
So there you have it. I hope readers will see that this phenomena of missing out is universal. Really, I hope some people can relate so I don’t feel so bad about missing places. It always come down to priorities. I’ve often been guilty of trying to see as much as possible as fast as possible. This is fun and all but can prevent you from digging deeper into each specific location, every specific country, in this case.
So, I hope would-be travelers will use this account and learn from it, take tips and mistakes to guide them in their travel plans. Make sure you know what you want to see first and foremost. Take the time to understand how long you will need in each spot. And, even after you feel like you’ve made the perfect itinerary, deliberate over places you may have missed or overlooked and balance it all out once and for all to craft your travel chef d’oeuvre.
That being said, it’s pretty much impossible to make the perfect trip with 0 regrets so like, fuck that and do you! Go travel! Enjoy! NOW!
