If there’s one list you’ll actually want to keep adding to, it’s your travel bucket list. Not because you’re chasing status or ticking off Insta-famous landmarks, but because the world is just too full of wonder to stop dreaming. Whether you’re a planner, a wanderer, or a bit of both, crafting a meaningful bucket list isn’t about racking up passport stamps—it’s about curating experiences that move you, challenge you, and light your soul on fire.
After nearly two decades of travel, expat living, and some serious life perspective, I recently reimagined my own wander list. It’s simpler, broader, and way more focused on the why behind the where. So, if you’re ready to build a travel bucket list that’s as unique and evolving as you are, let’s dive in.
What is a bucket list?
Let’s not beat around the bush. Simply put, a bucket list is a list of things you want to do, experience or achieve before you “kick the bucket” i.e. die. It can include many different facets of life from relationships and health, to career and personal growth. Bucket lists are super personal, and mine is dominated by travel and experiences.
The essence of a bucket list
For a long time this travel bucket list has been my “packet of Tim Tams that never runs out.” The Aussies out there will get that metaphor, for everyone else it means I add items as often as I check things off. The world is so full of wonder that as many places I go, I learn about more places I want to visit.
Following a recent review of my travel bucket list, first written in 2007, I decided to make some changes. While I still have big dreams, my travel bucket list, my TRUE travel bucket list is a lot simpler.
With some significant travel (and expat life) under my belt, not to mention world events and the wisdom of aging, I’ve come to appreciate the great privilege it is to be able to travel freely. I’ve also learned there really are multiple ways to skin the proverbial cat. Sometimes the place you’ve heard about is the most famous, but not necessarily the best or better than another location. If you seek out good advice and do your research, you can often find alternatives that are every bit as wonderful, fulfilling and brag-worthy (if that’s important to you) as the places everyone knows or gets hyped on Insta. You can learn more about how we research and plan our travel here.
While some experiences are definitely destination-specific (e.g. there is only one Uluru or Eiffel Tower in the world), there are some things you can do or see in a number of locations. So, I re-painted my travel bucket list using broader strokes. The list below features more generalised experiences, and fewer passport-stamp specific destinations. For example, if I want to see a pink lagoon, I can do that in Australia, or Mexico, or even Senegal if I happen to be in that neck of the woods.
If you don’t have the time or money, or just have other things you want to achieve in life, focusing on the experience first and foremost, is the key IMHO.
My travel bucket list, your inspiration and ideas
Nature experiences and outdoor travel
- Journey along at least one great river from source to mouth – the Nile, Amazon, Colorado or Mekong River etc.
- Go on an African safari. Kruger, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti, Masai Mara… I’m not fussy.
- Experience the Southern and/or Northern Lights.
- See unique wildlife in the Galapagos Islands. Check!
- Island hop the tropics. We’ve seen the Maldives, Cook Islands, Boracay, Fiji, Cuba, Jamaica… in other words, we’re slowly making our way through the list.
- Stand on an active volcano. Does toasting a marshmallow on a lava flow count!?
- Hanami (see the cherry blossoms) in Japan.
- Swim with whale sharks, sea turtles and sea lions! We fulfilled our these bucket list adventures off Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and Baja California Sur.
- Slot canyons. As many as possible. So far: Antelope Canyon (Upper and Lower), Waterhole Canyon and Buckskin Gulch are complete.
- Witness Monarch butterflies roosting en masse in the mountains of central Mexico over the winter.
- Go stargazing somewhere really dark.
- Witness a tornado in person (from a safe distance).
- See the world’s most spectacular waterfalls including Angel Falls in Venezuela; Iguazu Falls in Brazil/Argentina; Niagara Falls in USA/Canada; Kaieteur Falls in Guyana; and Baatara Gorge Waterfall in Lebanon.
- Stand in the Great Rift Valley and Danakil Depression in East Africa.
- See gorillas in the wild.
- Any great sand dunes, but especially the Sossusclei Sand Dunes. The ones at White Sands National Park were amazing!
- Visit a real desert oasis. Thousand Palms Oasis and Indian Canyon in California, done.
- Trek in the Himalayas.
- Stand on the equator. Thank you, Ecuador.
Culture and heritage travel travel goals
- Slow travel around every inch of my homeland, Australia. I’ve lived in three states and travelled through five so far.
- Visit my ancestors’ birthplaces in Germany, Ireland and Lebanon.
- Visit Wadi Rum and Petra in Jordan.
- Party at Carnival in Rio de Janeiro – oh, yeah!
- Learn different dance styles in their places of origin e.g. Flamenco in Spain; Salsa in Cuba; Samba in Brazil; Hip Hop in NYC; Tango in Argentina; Waltz in Vienna… you get the drift. A forever work in progress.
- Hot air balloon over somewhere incredible. Bagan, Myanmar, thank you.
- See a musical on Broadway, New York City or West End, London. Done.
- Jazz, blues, booze and food in New Orleans. Every time!
- Visit the Great Pyramids in Egypt.
- Attend a summer Olympic Games, especially the swimming events – Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!
- Become multilingual.
- Go “Under the Tuscan Sun” in Italy.
- Take an art tour of France. Not just museums but the locations where great Impressionists and Expressionists painted like Monet’s home and garden in Giverny.
- Spend Modernism Week in Palm Springs. I’ve spent some time in Palm Springs but I’m yet to make it to Modernism Week.
- Attend Art Deco Weekend in Miami.
- Ride the Orient Express in style.
- Cuba! Check.
- Explore Chefchaouen (the blue town) in Morocco.
- See the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.
- Pay my respects on ANZAC Day at Gallipoli.
- Vietnam, Thailand, Laos… Southeast Asia is calling me constantly. I’ve been to all these places and would love to return for more.
- Visit Mont Saint Michel, France.
Iconic hikes and great walking trails
- Follow at least a portion of the Great Wall of China.
- Trek to Machu Picchu on the Inca Trail. You can read all about my Inca Trail experience here.
- Hike the Lebanese Mountain Trail via my ancestral villages.
- Village hop on the Amalfi Coast or Cinque Terre, I won’t say no to both!
- Take the Shikoku Pilgrimage in Japan.
- Follow Hadrian’s Wall across Britain.
- Wayfare the Chomolhari Trail in Bhutan.
- Tackle the Alta Via 1 in the Italian Dolomites.
Foodie travel experiences worth the calories
- Eat at a Michelin 3-star restaurant. Eleven Madison Park in NYC, check!
- Partake in afternoon tea at historic hotels and venues across the world including Belvoir Castle, where the ritual was said to have been initiated by the Duchess of Bedford. Another forever work in progress… So far The Raffles, Singapore; The Ritz, London; Fairmont Chateau, Lake Louise; and The Plaza Hotel, NYC are complete.
- Eat all the Greek food IN Greece.
- Drink coffee before it leaves the plantation. I’ve done this tree-times now in Costa Rica, Jamaica and Colombia, and I’d still go back for more.
- Sip champagne in Champagne. Cheers!
- Coffee and cake my way through Vienna.
- Tapas with a side of people-watching on a sunny terrace in Spain.
- Become a Mediterranean olive expert.
Unique places to stay around the world
- Sleep in a glass igloo in Finland.
- Spend a night on a beautiful tea plantation in India, Sri Lanka or China.
- Overnight in a European castle.
- Sleepover in an amazing treehouse.
- Go glamping in a place of natural wonder.
How to write a meaningful travel bucket list
Now you have some bucket list ideas and inspiration, here’s a few tips for writing your own:
Brainstorm
Let yourself dream without constraints. Potential limitations like time, money, fear, accessibility etc, have no place when writing a bucket list. They are logistical challenges to confront later—do not give them any space here.
Be a visionary
Set yourself up a vision board (physical or digital) and just start pinning anything that excites you.
Take your time
Don’t try to do it all in one sitting, you’ll learn about things over time and change your mind. Novelty can derail us. Let it sit and marinade for a while. A bucket list is a living, breathing thing that will evolve with you. Time is the filter that will strain the noise and bring the important stuff into focus. Like the places and experiences that you’ve dreamed about since you were a kid and have never left you.
Review and edit
Come back and edit out things and places that seemed like a really good idea momentarily, but aren’t giving you those deep feels in the longer term. What are the things that you could live without, now they aren’t feeling so novel and fresh anymore?
Find the common threads
Are there are lot of tropical beaches? Art museums? Archaeological sites? Identify the patterns and keep them in the back of your mind.
Divide and consider
Break your list up into two columns: one for those destination-dependent things that you truly can only experience in one location (these automatically make the final list); and one for experiences that can be had in various places. Not sure? Do some research and list out the various alternatives.
Regroup and conquer
Group destinations and experiences that naturally work together from a geographical or thematic standpoint.
Congratulations, you now have your travel bucket list!
I hope this has provided you with some inspiration and ideas for your own travel bucket list. I’ll be updating this in the future as I check off and inevitably add more items to this lifetime wander list.
Peace, love & inspiring travel,
Madam ZoZo
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