Every traveler has a travel bucket list. I’d guess even non-travelers have a travel bucket list. My travel bucket list is ever-growing and insatiable, but I keep trying to cross things off my list. My travel bucket list is like Medusa: I cross one off and two more pop up. Share on X Our beautiful world is full of incredible wonders!
1. Machu Picchu
This has always been a faraway dream on my travel bucket list, but it’s recently moved way up to the top. So much so that I almost booked a solo trip to Machu Picchu before doing some research and realized it wasn’t a hasty decision to make. For those who don’t know, Machu Picchu is an ancient Incan city deep in the Andes Mountains of Peru, with only a single train to take you there. It was abandoned and forgotten until an American archaeologist discovered it in 1911 and built the train to allow people to get there without a long, strenuous hike through the mountains. Today, it’s no longer a secret but it’s still difficult to get to. Make sure you make reservations about 6 months in advance for the Inca Trail, Huayna Picchu, or the Mountain climb, definitely something to think about adding on if you’re going all the way to Machu Picchu.
2. Havasu Falls
Havasu Falls, in the Grand Canyon of Arizona, is within the Havasupai tribal lands and is as natural and unspoiled as it has always been. Because it’s so remote and untouched, it’s tough to get to. First, you have to call the tribe about 6 months in advance to request permission to travel and camp on their lands. Then you must hike about 10 miles into the Grand Canyon and camp overnight. Once you get there, there are no stores, shops, houses, or anything, so you must bring all your food, water, blankets, clothes, and everything else with you. It’s not a trip for the light-hearted and you must be able to rough it, but the reward outweighs the struggle! Just check out that video link to see why.
3. Crater Lake
A volcano eruption 7,700 years ago collapsed a towering volcano, creating Crater Lake National Park, in southern Oregon. The water comes from rain and snow, making it perhaps the most pristine and pure lake on earth. It has some seriously blue water with a beautiful mountainous natural landscape. I don’t even care when I go, whether in warmer weather to take a dip or colder weather to see snowy mountains reflected on its clear-as-glass water. I just want to go!
4. Svalbard (North Pole)
This is a somewhat unusual one to be on a travel bucket list, I admit. I recently read a book that took place in the freezing island of Svalbard, about as far north as you can get. In my mind, I imagine it to be Santa’s workshop, with reindeer, lots of snow, maybe some elves, and other incredible natural beauty. People ask me why I want to go north into the cold, but there are things you can see there that you’ll never see anywhere else, if you sacrifice a little comfort. I’ve never seen a floating glacier, a reindeer, a walrus, a whale, an ice mountain, or anything else that you can only find in the Arctic!
5. Great Wall of China
In fact, all of China is on my travel bucket list, but I wouldn’t be able to leave without seeing the magnificent Great Wall. A huge granite, brick, and stone wall of over 5,500 miles (its full length is still unknown) that dates back to the 8th Century B.C. Who wouldn’t want to see this? Genghis Khan touched it, Emperor Qin Shi Huang touched it, the Ming dynasty touched it, and who knows how many other famous figures in history? Plus, we joke about using smoke signals to communicate, but they actually did. I’ll send you a smoke signal from one of the garrisons when I get there so you know I accomplished #5 on my travel bucket list!
6. Igloo Huts and Ice Hotels
Ice hotels, igloo huts, or anything else of the sort sounds cold but seriously interesting to me. I’d suffer through a night of a bed of ice to cross this off my bucket list! Plus, the igloo huts of Finland allow you to gaze unobstructed up at the Northern Lights while you fall asleep. I’ll grab some furs and heavy-duty sleeping bags and be on my way!
7. Over-Water Huts
In addition to igloo huts and ice hotels, one of those thatched huts over the water in Bora Bora is also on my dream bucket list. Glass floors, a slide out to the water, and open walls to wake up to the lapping water sounds dreamy to me! This would be more of a romantic vacation, but definitely somewhere I’d like to see!
8. South Africa / African Safari
Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! It’s one thing to see these majestic animals in a zoo, but it’s totally different to see them as a visitor in their habitat. I love cats, so lions, tigers, cheetahs, leopards, and any other feline is definitely my kind of company. If I got stranded out there in the Serengeti, do you think they’d take me in and make me one of their own? Also, South African accents: need I say more?
9. Cuba
When someone tells you “no,” obviously you want to do it. Being American, we couldn’t directly go to Cuba until recently, and even now it’s not the best place for Americans to go. With Cuba off-limits, naturally I want to go. Plus, those old 1950’s cars they drive would be like time-traveling! I don’t care about political unrest and whatever mumbo jumbo “the powers that be” throw at us. I’m Havana daydreaming and it’s only a matter of time before I book my trip to make this travel bucket list dream a reality.
10. Aoshima, Japan (Cat Island)
Yes, there’s really a place called Cat Island! It’s a remote island in Southern Japan where the number of cat residents outnumber the number of human residents six to one. There are no stores, no cars, and one ferry that runs twice a day and limits the number of visits to 34 people per day. The only thing the island has to offer is cats, but it’s becoming quite a tourist destination! I might buy a one way ferry ticket and move in. #CatLadyProblems
I also want to eat real sushi and drink real sake in Japan…as long as I’m there.
11. Australia & New Zealand
I don’t want to do a quick week or two-week trip out there, I want to go for three or four months and travel all over. I want to see kangaroos, the Sydney Opera House and Harbour, Brisbane, Perth, the Outback, the Great Barrier Reef, the Gold Coast, the Pink Lake, the Great Ocean Road, the Kimberley, Uluru, the Twelve Apostles rock formations, the Katherine Gorge, Shark Bay, the Great Australian Bight, Tasmania, Glowworm Caves, Middle Earth, the filming locations of the old Hercules and Xena tv show, and visit the mountains and beach in the same day. How can I fit all that into a quick trip? I may have to start looking into ways to spend a year there!
12. Drink Vodka in Russia
Russia itself was never really on my bucket list, but some of the amazing Moscow architecture has piqued my interest. It’s turbulent history also intrigues me, and I’d love to meet some locals and hear anything they have to tell. But mostly, I want to drink local Russian vodka. I don’t even like vodka, but it’s still on my list.
13. Egyptian Pyramids
The magical pyramids are one of the world’s wonders, and definitely on my list. Being the cat person I am, I have to see the Sphinx in my lifetime. I’m mystified by how ancient people were able to make such incredible, specific buildings. When it’s safe for tourists to go to Egypt, this is definitely happening!
14. Alaska Cruise
Again, people ask me why I want to go on a cold-weather cruise. I’ve seen plenty of beaches and islands in my life and don’t get me wrong, I love them. But I haven’t seen nearly enough glaciers, mountains, whales, seals, and walruses in my life. I’ll take a little cold weather to see some amazing sights! I wouldn’t be opposed to a non-cruise trip to Alaska, but sometimes the best way to see something is from afar.
15. Blackadore Caye, Belize
Leonardo DiCaprio’s private uninhabited island in Belize. He bought it to build the world’s first eco-restorative resort to restore the over-fished waters, eroding coastline, and deforestation. This is an iffy one for me; I want to go because it sounds like a good idea and duh, it’s Leo’s island. But it’s supposed to be a luxury eco-resort for guests, and if you’ve read some of my other posts, you know I don’t love the luxury, touristy atmosphere. Give me the old fishing village before Leo bought it any day! Can I still go and just stay in an old fishing house?
Update: I did visit Caye Caulker in Belize, very close to Leo’s island. Since this original post, Leo sold his island. However, I do highly recommend visiting any island in Belize! The Belize barrier islands are incredible, beautiful, untouched, and the perfect relaxing, peaceful vacation you might be looking for. Check out Belize, especially the cayes!
16. Chinese Lantern Festival in China
Chinese lantern festivals are popping up all over the world, and I went to the Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival in 2016, but the Chinese original is on my travel bucket list. It takes place on the 15th day of the first Chinese lunar month, always between February 5 and March 7 (in 2017, it will be February 11). In Chinese, it’s called the First Night Festival or First Light Festival. There are lots of Chinese food specialties, lion dances, dragon dances, and of course, Chinese lanterns.
17. Capilano Suspension Bridge, Vancouver, British Columbia
At 450 feet (137 meters) long and 230 feet (70 meters) above the Capilano River, the Capilano Suspension Bridge makes for a thrilling adventure and some great photography. In addition to the bridge, the Cliffwalk clings to a granite cliff above the canyon. Treetops Adventure consists of seven suspension bridges through the evergreens 100 feet (30 meters) above the forest floor.
19. Midnight Sun
I’ve seen the Noon Moon, if that’s what we’re calling the opposite of the Midnight Sun. In Iceland on December 31, the sun rose around 11 a.m. and set around 3 p.m. I guess “rose” is the wrong word, because it never got much higher than an evening twilight, but it was probably the closest to a Noon Moon as you can get. Now, I want to see that midnight sun that happen when you’re close enough to the Arctic Circle!
Update: I was lucky enough to visit Iceland on the summer solstice, June 20, and I got to see the midnight sun! At midnight, the sun was just dipping below the horizon. However, it never got fully dark because only about an hour later, it was rising again. It was twilight for about an hour, and bright sun the rest of the day! Very impressive, and I highly recommend anyone to add it to their travel bucket list.
20. Sahara Desert Camel Ride
I’ve been to Morocco, I rode a camel, but I never got to ride a camel in Morocco’s Sahara. 36 hours in Marrakech didn’t leave enough time for the 3-day excursion. Staying in a tent in the desert also made me nervous, but I’ve worked out those nerves and added the Sahara Desert camel ride to my bucket list. After all, what’s a little lack of water to stop me from seeing the sun rise over those sand dunes?!
What’s on your travel bucket list? I love adding to mine, so please give me some ideas in the comments below!
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