For starters, pick what type of island holiday you. Do you want an active island vacation, great diving, a luxurious island resort, a off the beaten path island or will just any island do for you? Pick one thing that is a deal breaker for you so if you get jammed between two destinations, you use that one thing as the deciding factor.
Next, decide where on the planet you want to visit. Do you want your tropical holiday to be close to home or far away? Remember, the further away you travel, the more expensive the holiday will be. Even if the island is inexpensive, traveling there might not be.
Next, decide how much your budget will be. Some might choose this as the number one thing you should do but you can't decide how much you need to set aside or spend if you haven't decided where you are going yet. A semi-expensive tropical island close to home will need less money than an inexpensive active island far away. You'll need more money if you are flying to Bali from New York than you would if you were flying to Bermuda, even though Bali is a cheaper island.
Get some island names. Now that you know where in the world you want to go for your vacation, what you want to do there, and how much you want to spend, get a list of islands in that area to research. Draw up a list of five, otherwise the list becomes too long because there's so many islands in the world. Get a healthy mix of popular island destinations and off the beaten path islands.
Research your tropical islands. What is the food like? What is the diving like? How much does it cost? Who goes there? Is it easy to get too? Does it have what you want? Head to the store for a guidebook or do some online research at websites like best tropical islands.
Make a final decision. Now that you have narrowed your list down, make a decision. This is the hardest part, huh? All of those islands look good. Can't we just go to them all? Sadly,no. We have to choose one. If you are having trouble picking one, use the deal breaker we discussed in step one to decide. All things being equal, this deal breaker should be the deciding factor. That way you stay focused and don't over think your decision. By staying focused, you can go with your gut and make the decision much less painful and avoid second guessing.
So now you have picked your tropical island, go start booking flights and hotels. If you follow these guidelines, you can help get to your perfect island getaway quicker by spending less time deciding where to go and more time at the location. Once there, you know that island will be exactly what you want and will never have to say "It was good but…" as no one wants to say that! So enjoy your tropical destination and have a fruity drink for us! by Matthew Kepnes