pyramids and sphinx in Egypt

I love lists.  I’ve made them all my life, from things to do, to resolutions and goals, books to read, and just things to think about.  I was a fan of the various book of lists that have been published over the years, and love looking at list that others have made to see how they compare to mine.

With the coming of a new year, I decided to sit down and write my travel bucket list.  I had to limit it to 100 items – without a limit I would still be listing and this post would never get published.  I had a few other self-imposed rules:  the list could include specific experiences or general destinations; there had to be a mix of domestic and international locations and experiences; I could not include anything that I knew for certain would be happening this year; and the list had to include a mix of ordinary and easy experiences along with the exotic and expensive.  Also, no self-editing was allowed – again, because I’d never finish the list.

So here is my list, in no particular order other than stream of conscious.  I’ll be using the list to plan some discretionary trips, as well as using it for a research guide for travels in the future.

MJ’s 100 Travel Bucket List:

  1. Malta
  2. Iceland
  3. Cuba
  4. Safari in Africa
  5. Visit the White House
  6. Turkey
  7. Visit a lighthouse in Maine (and eat lobster, too)
  8. Montgomery, Alabama
  9. Ride in a gondola in Venice (modified to a boat ride; June 2011)
  10. Greece  March 2014
  11. Go to a Red Sox game in Boston
  12. Visit the Everglades
  13. Visit the great pyramids in Egypt
  14. Transatlantic crossing by ship sailing into New York Harbor
  15. London
  16. Go to the top of the Empire State Building
  17. Brussels March 2013
  18. Wine tasting in the Finger Lakes
  19. Molokai
  20. Trace some roots in Madrid
  21. Nashville, Tennessee April 2018
  22. Enjoy a weekend on Cape Cod
  23. Tunisia
  24. Barging in France
  25. Wear a fabulous hat at the Kentucky Derby
  26. St. Petersburg, Russia – July 2016
  27. See the polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba
  28. Press olives in Italy
  29. Spend a weekend on the Jersey shore
  30. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
  31. Sunbathing on Daytona Beach
  32. Buenos Aires
  33. Ride a camel

  34. River cruise

    35. in Europe March 2013

  35. Spend a weekend on a dude ranch
  36. Providence, Rhode Island
  37. Gibraltar
  38. Stay in a room on stilts over the water somewhere in French Polynesia
  39. Montreal
  40. Santa Fe, New Mexico
  41. Driving trip in Wales
  42. Amsterdam  March 2013
  43. Learn to cook Cajun/Creole food in Louisiana
  44. Swim in the Dead Sea
  45. Sleep in an Ice Hotel
  46. Morocco
  47. Get a massage on a beach in Thailand (modified as to beach location; November 2013)
  48. Catalina Island
  49. Spend a week at the Golden Door spa
  50. Eat at Rao’s in Harlem
  51. Sardinia, Italy
  52. Ride in a blimp
  53. Paddleboat cruise
  54. Make wine in Argentina
  55. Zipline in a tropical forest
  56. Barbados
  57. Vacation on a houseboat
  58. Sail in the British Virgin Islands
  59. Gettysburg
  60. Have a signature scent formulated in Paris
  61. Experience the First Class treatment on Emirates
  62. Savannah, Georgia
  63. Take a train ride across the United States
  64. Yellowstone and Old Faithful
  65. Take a cooking class in Italy
  66. Charleston, South Carolina

  67. Custom made clothes

    68. from Hong Kong

  68. Mexico City
  69. Round the world cruise
  70. Take a child to Atlantis in the Bahamas
  71. Lay down a bet in Monte Carlo
  72. Whale watching in Hawaii
  73. Drive around Ireland  October 2013
  74. Stay in a castle
  75. Visit Graceland
  76. Speak Spanish in Barcelona (modified to be Catalan, the language spoken in that part of Spain  September 2012 )
  77. Visit a real life ghost town
  78. Great Barrier Reef
  79. Sedona
  80. Go to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
  81. St. Maarten/Sint Martin
  82. Quebec City  November 2011
  83. Ride an elephant (removed 2013, learned more about the practice and it doesn’t mesh with my values)
  84. Stay in a penthouse suite in NYC
  85. Have an audience with the Pope in Vatican City
  86. Learn to throw a boomerang Down Under
  87. Monterrey Aquarium
  88. Bali
  89. Take a road trip to the Florida Keys
  90. Drink beer in Germany March 2013
  91. Open a Swiss bank account
  92. Niagara Falls (from the U.S. side)
  93. Spend a night in a yurt
  94. Watch tennis at Wimbledon
  95. Martha’s Vineyard
  96. Visit Pennsylvania’s Amish Country
  97. Eat barbecue in Kansas City
  98. Take an RV trip
  99. Laugh it up at Second City in Chicago
  100. Walk on the Great Wall of China

Do you have a Travel Bucket list?  Do we share any of the same travel dreams?

Photo credit:  Courtesy of Shutterstock

I’m proud to join with some fabulous travel bloggers talking about new plans for travel for 2011.  See what the rest of the Travel Blog Mob has to say:

  • Sharing Travel Experiences: A New Destination for a New Year
  • Wandering Educators: Top Ten Destinations for Quirky Travelers
  • The Vacation Gals: Ziplining in a Costa Rica Rain Forest
  • Ciao Bambino: Family Safari in Africa
  • Nerds Eye View:  Back to Austria in 2011
  • BootsnAll:  Where to Travel Next, How to Decide
  • Wanderlust & Lipstick:  Best Destinations for Solo Women Travelers
  • Spot Cool Stuff:  Southern Sudan, the Newest Country