Bucket lists seem to be the target of some derision these days, the assumption made that people who have bucket lists and make travel plans from their bucket lists are somehow rushing through travel in the quest of a checkoff. Far be it from me to tell anyone how to travel – different strokes for different folks, after all – and I proudly embrace my personal bucket list.
If you want to create your own bucket list, you may want to follow my approach. I started writing down places I wanted to go, things I wanted to see and do, and experiences that caught my eye. I set a top limit of 100 things, because, let’s face it, I could go on forever.
With the parameters in mind, I just started writing. It took a few weeks to come up with my list and I spent some time daydreaming, researching, and talking with friends. I included big dream bucket list items like a safari in Africa and an around-the-world cruise, as well as more practical experiences like visiting a lighthouse in Maine and enjoying chili in New Mexico. I even include some off-the-wall ideas like riding a camel and having an audience with the Pope.
My bucket list is ever-changing – when something is accomplished or I’ve changed my mind about it, it gets crossed off the list and something new is added. There is nothing rush-rush about my bucket list and the continual nature of how the bucket list evolves means that I will never accomplish everything on the list.
I’m fine with that!
Here are the things that I crossed off my bucket list in the last two years (it’s been that long since I’ve updated it, you can see it here.) It’s a paltry check-off this time. And I’m fine with that, too!
- I visited Nashville Tennessee, in April 2018, including a terrific time at the Grand Ole Opry (and spending a weekend in Opryland). You can read about that experience here.
- I visited Charleston, South Carolina, in September 2017, enjoying great food and a ghost tour.
- Visited two new states: Tennessee and Oklahoma. Current count: 36.
Pin this to Pinterest for help in creating your own list, whether you call it a bucket list, a to-visit list, a to-do list, or any other darn thing you want.
Here is my newly updated Travel Bucket List, a total of 100 items with new items replacing those I have crossed off. If you want to join me or help in checking off any of these things in 2019, get in touch! Note that this list is in no particular order.
- Malta
- Iceland
- Cuba
- Safari in Africa
- Visit the White House
- Visit a lighthouse in Maine (and eat lobster, too)
- Montgomery, Alabama
- Go to a Red Sox game in Boston
- Visit the great pyramids in Egypt
- Transatlantic crossing by ship sailing into New York Harbor
Go to the top of the Empire State Building– January 2019 (read about how we visited using the NYC City Pass here)- Wine tasting in the Finger Lakes
- Molokai
- Trace some roots in Madrid
- Enjoy a weekend on Cape Cod
- Tunisia
Barging in France– July 2019- Wear a fabulous hat at the Kentucky Derby
- See the polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba
- Press olives in Italy
- Spend a weekend on the Jersey shore
- Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
- Sunbathing on Daytona Beach
- Ride a camel
- Spend a weekend on a dude ranch
- Gibraltar
- Stay in a room on stilts over the water somewhere in French Polynesia
- Montreal
- Enjoy chili in New Mexico
- Driving trip in Wales
- Learn to cook Cajun/Creole food in Louisiana
Swim in the Dead Sea– November 2019 (although it’s floating, not swimming)- Sleep in an Ice Hotel
- Morocco
- Catalina Island
- Spend a week at the Golden Door Spa
- Eat at Rao’s in Harlem
- Sardinia, Italy
- Ride in a blimp
- Paddleboat cruise
- Have a steak in Argentina
- Barbados
- Vacation on a houseboat
- Sail in the British Virgin Islands
- Gettysburg
- Have a signature scent formulated in Paris
- Experience the suite treatment on Emirates
- Take a train ride across the United States
- Yellowstone and Old Faithful
- Take a cooking class in Italy
- Mexico City
- Round the world cruise
- Lay down a bet in Monte Carlo
- Whale watching in Hawaii
- Stay in a castle
- Visit Graceland
- Visit a real-life ghost town
- Great Barrier Reef
- Sedona
- Go to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
- Stay in a penthouse suite in NYC
- Have an audience with the Pope in Vatican City
- Learn to throw a boomerang Down Under
- Bali
- Take a road trip to the Florida Keys
- Open a Swiss bank account
- Niagara Falls (from the U.S. side)
- Watch tennis at Wimbledon
- Visit Pennsylvania’s Amish Country
- Take an RV trip
- Laugh it up at Second City in Chicago
- Walk on the Great Wall in China
- See the Northern Lights in Lapland
- Enjoy tea culture on a tea trail
- Toast the New Year in Paris
- Take a ghost tour in Savannah
- See the snow monkeys in Nagano
- Wine tasting in South Africa
- Luxury train trip
- Eat street food in Vietnam
- Visit a European Christmas Market
- Visit all 50 states (current count 36)
- Antarctica
- Drink wine in Chile
- Prague
- View wildlife on Borneo
- Discover the food of Taiwan
- Step back in time at the Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island
- Stay in a treehouse
- Hungary – both Buda and Pest
- Visit the Space Port in New Mexico
Slurp up champagne in Champagne– July 2019- Nile cruise
- Cheer at a World Series game
- See koalas and kangaroos in Australia
- Wander in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul
- Cross the Equator
- Listen to music in Vienna
- Gibraltar
- Improve my snorkeling in a warm water destination