Where we're jetting off to (+graphic)

New York was the US city Herald Travel readers said they most wanted to visit. Photo / Thinkstock

Travel Editor Winston Aldworth on where Kiwis like to go.

For the past couple of weeks we've been asking Herald Travel readers to tell us where they like to go. And some of the answers to our online survey were surprising.

The classic destinations were well represented in your choices: New York is top of the wishlist for visits to the States and 31 per cent of you named "city exploration" breaks as the most appealing.

I love a big city, but these days I'd sit more comfortably with the 14 per cent of you who rated "outdoors" as a better focus for your holidays, and I'd happily flop down on a towel alongside the 13 per cent who ticked "beaches".

Australia is a big focus for this magazine. We run weekly content on our Across the Ditch page and we know that Kiwis who travel internationally are more likely to set foot in Australia than anywhere else. It's great to see that you're looking beyond the big East Coast cities. While Queensland was the favoured Aussie destination (with 23 per cent), Western Australia came in second (16 per cent) and Tasmania third (15 per cent).

Those later two are among the more fiddly places to get to in the great sunburnt land - Perth is a long haul with a down season to the flights and Tasmania has no direct air service to New Zealand. So good on you lot for wanting to make the extra effort to uncover something new in our biggest and most familiar neighbour.

For many of you, being out of pocket is a small price to pay for the buzz of seeing the world and building shared family memories. Ten per cent of you budget more than $10,000 annually for travel; another 29 per cent spend $5001-$10,000. These are big numbers, indicative of your passion.

"As a family, we love to travel and explore new places," one respondent wrote. "We have always put travel above paying off the mortgage! Travel is a great time for family bonding too.

"Our children are young adults now and are travelling independently. Travel gives you life experiences and views of how people live which are invaluable to your own personal growth and interactions with others."

It's a lovely sentiment. I was fortunate enough recently to take my 4-year-old daughter to Disneyland (look out for the stories and a Flight Check review of Cuddle Class in the New Year) and the thrill of seeing your kids excited by the wider world is a wonderful thing.

We're fortunate to have more than 300,000 readers of the Travel section, more than a third of whom own their own homes mortgage-free. Lucky buggers.

"Great to have time to go at a slow pace," wrote another respondent, perhaps from the mortgage-free brigade.

One reader asked: "Why don't companies provide tailor-made private tours for baby boomers who want to choose what they want to see and do but want a semi-guided experience?" (They do, mate. Call one of our lovely advertisers.)

Queenstown and Fiordland are still top of the pops domestically. But, when travelling internationally, many of our readers have a taste for the exotic. One reader wrote: "The best part of going overseas for me is experiencing something that you would never get back home. That is why I enjoy places like Thailand and Japan so much."

Another wrote: "I like exploring countries that don't resemble home. I want the unfamiliar and having a new experience of something outside my comfort zone."

The best comment of all about travel: "It should be compulsory every six months."

Hear hear!