Your Personality Could Help You Choose Your Next Vacation Destination

It usually starts with a map and a budget. Best-case scenario, it's a bucket list you have been adding to for years, and it's finally time to start ticking the boxes.

However, for most people, when it's time to book their next vacation, an endless string of questions starts pouring: Beach or city? Hotel or apartment? Museums or mountains? All-inclusive resort or a trip where you have no idea what you will be doing tomorrow?

What if you would instead start somewhere much closer to home? Namely, your personality. 

Two people can arrive at the same destination and have completely different holidays. One may spend the morning wandering through unfamiliar neighborhoods, eating something they cannot pronounce and deciding where to sleep that night. Another may be happiest knowing exactly where breakfast is, what time the museum opens, and how long it will take to get back to the hotel.

Neither is doing travel “right.” They simply need different kinds of trips.

Research into tourism and personality suggests there is a real connection between personality traits and the attractions, experiences. and travel styles people prefer.

One 2023 study involving more than 1,000 people found that all five major personality dimensions, commonly known as the Big Five, could help predict preferences for tourist attractions and travel-related concerns. Openness to experience, in particular, was linked with novelty, while extraversion was associated with preferences for uniqueness and more adventurous experiences.

So before you book the cheapest flight you can find, ask yourself a slightly more interesting question: What kind of traveler are you?

The Curious Explorer: Give Me Somewhere I’ve Never Been

You don't want a holiday that feels familiar. You want the strange street, the tiny restaurant with no English menu, the neighborhood that barely appears on Instagram and the attraction that makes your friends ask, “How did you even find that?”

This is where destinations with strong cultural differences, unusual architecture, varied food and plenty of opportunities for spontaneous exploration can work particularly well.

Tokyo. Photo: Shutterstock

Think Tokyo, Naples, Istanbul, Mexico City or Marrakech. These are places where simply walking around can become part of the holiday.

The Social Traveler: The Holiday Starts When You Meet People

If you can make friends while waiting for a flight, strike up conversations at the next table and somehow end up joining a group you met two hours earlier, your ideal destination probably needs some energy.

Large cities can be a natural fit. Barcelona, Lisbon, Bangkok, New York and Sydney offer restaurants, nightlife, events, markets and busy public spaces where interaction happens naturally.

The tourist tax is expanding. Photo: Shutterstock

But being social does not necessarily mean partying until sunrise. Some travelers simply enjoy destinations where there is always something happening and where spending an evening alone in a hotel room feels almost impossible.

The Quiet Traveler: Please Give Me Some Space

Not everyone wants to meet strangers. For some travelers, the best part of a holiday is finally having enough quiet to hear themselves think.

If crowded attractions, packed beaches and busy nightlife leave you exhausted rather than energized, look beyond the destinations that dominate the usual city-break lists.

Vintgar Gorge, Slovenia. Photo: Shutterstock

Consider the Scottish Highlands, Slovenia, Finland, the Azores or smaller towns along the Croatian coast.

Nature-based travel can be especially appealing when the goal is to slow down rather than collect experiences. UN Tourism describes ecotourism around nature observation and appreciation, often involving small groups and locally owned businesses.

The Planner: The Spreadsheet Is Part of the Fun

You have the flights booked, the hotel confirmed, restaurant reservations made and probably a backup restaurant too.

Some people find this excessive. You call it relaxing. For highly organized travelers, destinations with reliable public transportation, clearly defined attractions and plenty of information available before arrival can make the holiday more enjoyable.

Amsterdam canals. Photo: Shutterstock

Vienna, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Singapore and Switzerland can suit this style particularly well because it is relatively easy to build a detailed itinerary around museums, public transport, restaurants and day trips.

The Spontaneous Traveler: Book the Flight, Figure Out the Rest

Your holiday planning strategy is essentially: “We’ll see.” You may have a flight and somewhere to sleep, but everything else is negotiable.

This type of traveler can enjoy destinations where there is enough variety to make spontaneous decisions worthwhile. A city such as Rome, Lisbon, Athens or Istanbul can work well because there are countless neighborhoods, restaurants, museums and day-trip options to discover without following a rigid schedule.

Rome. Photo: Shutterstock

The Nature Lover: Your Hotel Needs a View

Some people choose a destination because of its museums. You choose one because there is a mountain outside the window.

For you, the holiday begins when the city disappears and the landscape takes over. Hiking, wildlife, kayaking, cycling, swimming and long walks are not side activities. They are the reason for going.

Balea Lake, Romania. Photo: Shutterstock

Iceland, Norway, Costa Rica, Slovenia, New Zealand and parts of Romania can all offer the combination of scenery and outdoor activities this traveler is looking for.

Nature-based tourism is also becoming an increasingly important part of the wider travel landscape. The World Economic Forum's 2026 Travel & Tourism Development Index noted growing interest in outdoor recreation, wellness tourism and nature-based travel.

For this traveler, a beautiful hotel in the wrong location can be less appealing than a simple room surrounded by the right landscape.

The Culture Seeker: Show Me How People Actually Live

You are not satisfied with taking a photograph outside a famous building. You want to know why it matters.

You visit museums, historic neighborhoods, markets, churches, temples, galleries and local restaurants. You read about the destination before you leave and probably come home with more books than souvenirs.

Vienna. Photo: Arcady / Shutterstock.com

Cities such as Rome, Kyoto, Paris, Istanbul, Vienna and Mexico City can offer the density of history and culture that makes this kind of traveler happy.

The Wellness Traveler: I Want to Come Home Better Than I Left

Your ideal holiday does not involve checking 14 attractions off a list.

You want sleep. Good food. A massage. A walk beside the sea. Maybe a yoga class that you promise yourself you will continue when you get home.

Wellness travel has grown well beyond traditional spa breaks, with nature, outdoor recreation and wellbeing increasingly overlapping in the tourism sector.

Gellert Baths, interior pool. Photo: Alex Segre / Shutterstock.com

That could mean a thermal spa in Budapest, a yoga retreat in Portugal, a wellness resort in the Alps or simply a small coastal town where your biggest decision is whether to swim before or after breakfast.