38 Experiences To Add To Your Travel Bucket List

I recently reflected on some of the amazing travel adventures I’ve experienced thus far it my lifetime in my 46 countries, 46 travel ideas article, so the time feels right to start planning some more. As the clock ticks over to an age that I have long been dreading, I’m celebrating it by adding 38 things to my “travel bucket list” 🙂

Think of it as a little travel inspiration and ideas to help with your next adventure. Along with a bunch of pretty photos and a few links to related HoliDaze posts in case you want more information. Enjoy!

Presenting…

38 things on my travel bucket list

1. Take time out to explore Australia, the country I left 12 years ago, on my Great Aussie Road Trip



2. Find a way to earn a living doing something I am passionate about that doesn’t involve the suffocating routine of a 9-to-5 office job
3. Turn the dream trip of a lifetime into reality and save up for an Antarctica Expedition, sharing the ice with penguins, seals, whales and birdlife (whilst wearing a really warm jacket!)
4. Head to the opposite pole to search for polar bears in their natural environment
5. Return to one of my favourite places in the world, Africa, to repeat one of my favourite experiences of all time (wildlife safari) during the annual migration from the Serengeti to an area I didn’t see on my last visit to the country: Maasai Mara, Kenya  



6. Have an article or photograph published
7. Extend my exploration of South East Asia to one of the few countries in the region I have yet to visit, Indonesia, and enjoy a mojito as the sun is setting on one of its tropical beaches whilst singing Redgum’s “I’ve been to Bali too”
Like Drinking       Traditional Types of Alcohol Around the World
8. Return to Myanmar, a place that provided one of my most humbling travel experiences of all time, to hopefully learn that the recent change in the political environment has encouraged more travellers to visit the country to create additional income and opportunities for the locals, without leaving the negative aspects of tourism behind when they leave



9. Explore the temples, shrines and gardens of Kyoto during the cherry blossom season in Japan
10. Force myself to slow down in an ashram or spiritual retreat in Asia, appreciate simply “being” instead of wondering “what next” and learn to meditate
11. Get up close and personal with the lemurs and other unique wildlife of Madagascar
12. Return to Iceland in winter to search for the Northern Lights and revisit my favourite location, Jokulsarlon Glacier Lagoon, to witness the surreal floating ice in a different season



13. Trek the terraced rice fields of Banaue in the Philippines to assess whether the locals’ description of it being the “eighth wonder of the world” is warranted before heading south to chillax on the beaches
14. Further explore my spiritual side on a journey through Tibet
15. Get my hands dirty with some organic farming somewhere in the world with a WWOOF holiday
16. Take advantage of my recent experience at driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road and head to Yellowstone in the United States with my camera and hiking boots in search of beers, wolves, bison, moose and other wildlife amidst the waterfalls and geysers of the world’s first national park’s thermal region
17. Be in a country when they win the football World Cup (and accept that it’s unlikely to be in England)



18. Contrast my recent experiences in East and Southern Africa with an overland adventure through the Western countries of Ghana, Gambia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Senegal, Nigeria, Niger and Togo
19. Take off my watch, put on my hiking shoes, pick up my camera and lose myself (not literally) in the Canadian Rocky Mountains



20. Stand opposite Petra, Jordan, in the cave that Karl Pilkington described as the “better piece of real estate” due to its view
21. Embrace the ‘real’ religion of South America with locals at a football match
22. Pack my bikini, sunglasses, sunscreen, kindle and party shoes for some island-hopping in Greece
23. Head off the beaten track to explore the geographical diversity of Oman
Travel Different. Travel Offbeat.       Offbeat Travel Guides



24. Treat myself to a spa resort on in the Caribbean Islands and watch a live cricket match in the West Indies
25. Sip a glass of Pimms at Wimbledon and go punting in Cambridge, two ‘must do’ things in England that I still haven’t done after living in London for 12 years
26. Embrace my inner David Attenborough, avoid being eaten by a piranha and attempt to co-exist with blood-sucking leeches in the Amazon
27. Replace the Ethiopian stereotype placed in my mind by Bob Geldof in the 1980’s with a stereotype created from my own visit to the country



28. Visit Colombia to discover for myself if the positive backpacker recommendations for this country outweigh its negative media perception
29. Take what I’ve learned from both positive and negative volunteer and NGO experiences and apply it to more volunteering and international aid support in developing countries
30. Follow up my first European encounter 13 years ago with a photography-focused European escape, including countries I haven’t yet visited such as Croatia, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Slovenia
31. Party with the locals in Rio, Brazil
32. Head to the Galapagos Islands to discover if it’s really true that it’s one of the most incredible wildlife locations on earth
33. Hike through and photograph some of the most dramatic landscapes in the world at Patagonia in Argentina



34. Head south to New Zealand to confirm whether the magical landscapes depicted in Lord of the Rings was reality or just great camera work
35. Watch re-runs of Northern Exposure and then head to Alaska to see how accurate the depiction of this unique state was
36. Embrace the cigar, rum, classic car, salsa stereotype of Cuba
37. Join the Gringo Trail and explore Latin and South America with a flexible itinerary and no deadlines
38. Leave my accounting career and office job behind to experience a year or two of odd jobs and explore alternate career paths

Have you had any of these experiences?

What is on your own bucket list?

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