Everyone has “favorites.” A favorite time of year, a favorite scent, a favorite vacation spot. For many people who aren’t familiar with traveling solo, they haven’t had a chance to develop their own list of vacation favorites. Face it, no one wants to be miserable on a vacation, and while it’s a good idea to break out of your comfort zone, it’s not a good idea to put yourself into places that you know will make you miserable.

So here’s what I like to call my “Top Five Key Questions to Ask When Building your Solo Vacation.”

1. What is your favorite time of year? Everyone has a favorite time of year. Mine is Autumn because of the colors! Also, the weather is cool in the mornings and generally into the 70s or maybe the 80s in the afternoons. In the northwest, where I live, autumn isn’t long for the world. In fact, it’s a fleeting season before the weather turns chilly and the landscape turns into the two month hold out before the snow flies for a month or so. But across the Southern US, some of the areas enjoy fall-like weather all through the northwest winters! You know where I’m heading if I plan a February vacation!

2. Do you enjoy people watching? If the answer is “yes,” plan your vacations on Fridays through Sundays. If you enjoy a more solitary path, travel during the weeks when fewer people are around.

3. What’s your favorite body of water? If you haven’t seen oceans from both coasts of the United States, and you love oceans, make plans to see both, and trek both north and south along the coasts. You can also make plans to see the Great Lakes area during your favorite time of year, or if you’re more of a thrill seeker, plan to raft some of America’s favorite rivers, like the Colorado through the Grand Canyon.

4. What is your favorite landscape? If you like beaches, trek to a search engine and find the list of top beaches in America or the world. If you love mountains, you can always go to the National Parks website and find some amazing destinations, both for the breathtaking mountainous areas as well as the amazing areas, like Devil’s Tower in Wyoming.

5. What is your favorite hobby? If you’re a crochet nut, a yoga devotee, or a computer geek, there’s a convention, festival, or dream vacation out there for you! They’re generally annual, so if you can’t make it this year, then there’s always time to plan for the next one!

If you have a vacation benefit through your work, such as two or three weeks off per year, take some time now to think about where you want to go and what you want to do. Answering the queestions above and doing a little research can create the BEST 2009 vacations ever!