The ULTIMATE Travel Experiences Bucket List

The ULTIMATE Travel Experiences Bucket List

Are you ready to go through the ULTIMATE travel experiences bucket list? 
You’ve been warned, you’ll catch wanderlust!
See you somewhere round the globe!

The (most amazing) Travel Experiences List

Are you ready to go through the ULTIMATE travel experiences bucket list? 
You’ve been warned, you’ll catch wanderlust!
See you somewhere around the globe!

The (most amazing) Travel Experiences List
Are you ready to go through the ULTIMATE
travel experiences bucket list? 
I have to warn you, you’ll catch, wanderlust!
See you somewhere round the globe!
The (most amazing) Travel Experiences List

The world of travel is full of clichés. I’m sure you’ve heard a million times that “not all those who wander are lost” and that “the world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page”. Yes, they have been overused, but there’s truth in them. My favorite one used to be “I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list”, however, it also became abused. So I decided to re-write it.

Indeed I haven’t been everywhere, but the most interesting things the world offers are on my list. My travel experiences bucket list. And I’ll get to them all!

bucket list

[/ˈbʌk.ɪt ˌlɪst/]

1. [noun] a number of experiences or achievements that a person hopes to have or accomplish during their lifetime.

Oxford Dictionary

How it came to be? Well, I know that before I kick the bucket I want to have a life filled with travel experiences. So, true to form, following my OCD, I started working on a list.

I’ve seen many lists with a bunch of places in them, and people crossing them off the second they set foot at the location’s airport. That’s not for me. I want to immerse in the culture, meet people, try the cuisine, embrace the traditions, learn history… A day or two in a country cannot count as visiting the country (not in my book, that is). So my bucket list had to be more than naming some destinations.

From exploring the ‘mercado de las brujas’ –‘market of the witches’– in La Paz, to drink bier in Oktoberfest in Munich, to walk under baobab trees in Madagascar, to see komodo dragons in Indonesia, to meet people from ancient tribes in Papua New Guinea, to hike to Everest base camp, to navigate through icebergs in Antarctica… those sort of things.

The task took years of research. I spent all sorts of time looking at maps, reading hundreds of blogs and books, struggling about what activities to include, and how to find a balance between continents. When I finally thought it was done, I changed things a million more times. The result is a list with the coolest 201 experiences round the globe!

I hope that by reading this, you find plenty of places to put in your bucket list. There’re bucket list trips of a lifetime, like witness the migration in the Maasai Mara or Serengeti National Parks or walk around the turtles in Galapagos; the best adventure activities in the world, like bungee jump in Queenstown, skydive from the Palm Drop Zone or climb an active volcano in Chile; unique travel experiences, like take the Trans-Mongolian Express or swim at the infinity pool at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore; cultural travel experiences, like wander around Oxbridge or learn history in Auschwitz; alternative travel experiences, like drink at a ruin pub in Budapest, go back to 1986 in Chernobyl or follow the propaganda makers in a tour of North Korea; classic bucket list travel destinations, like wonder at the Parthenon in Athens, walk the streets of Venice during Carnival or get lost exploring Bangkok; and life changing experiences travel, like climb to Tiger’s Nest in Bhutan, walk around the holy city of Jews, Muslims, and Christians, or glimpse at gorillas in Rwanda or Uganda.

Are you ready to live some once in a lifetime travel experiences? Dig in these bucket list ideas, and get all the inspiration you need to start planning your next trip! There are enough bucket list travel adventures to fed everyone’s wanderlust!

Travel experiences bucket list

Press on the continent of your choice, and get ready to be inspired!

CHILE

→ Explore the surroundings of San Pedro de Atacama ✓

→ Go up and down the hills of Valparaíso ✓

→ Meet Easter Island Moais and learn about the Rapa Nui culture

→ Go wine tasting in Maipo, Casablanca and Colchagua valleys ✓

→ Ski in the Andes ✓

Hike around the Lake District and climb Villarrica volcano ✓

→ Look for churches and palafitos in Chiloé ✓

→ Raft down the Futaleufú river

→ Sail through the Marble Cathedral

→ Hike the Torres del Paine trails

SOUTH AMERICA

→ Dance tango in Buenos Aires ✓

→ Eat chocolate in Bariloche ✓

→ Wonder at the mountains around El Calafate and El Chaitén (and hike the Perito Moreno Glacier)

→ Learn about nature (and politics) in the Falkland Island/Islas Malvinas ✓

→ Stroll around the colonial towns and beaches of Uruguay ✓

→ Trek through the Salkantay pass to Machu Pichu and explore Cusco 

→ See my reflection at Salar de Uyuni 

→ Explore the Mercado de las Brujas in La Paz 

→ Dive into the treasures of the Amazons 

→ Get splashed by the waterfalls at Foz do Iguaçu ✓

→ Party at the Carnaval de Río de Janeiro

Drink caipirinha in Salvador de Bahia

→ See the Lago Azul de Ypacaraí in Paraguay ✓

→ Swing at Casa del Árbol in Ecuador

→ Walk around the turtles in Galapagos

→ Wander the streets of the old town of Cartagena de Indias ✓

→ See Angel Falls in Venezuela

→ Explore the most unknown corner of South America in Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana

CENTRAL AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN

→ Learn about the indigenous civilizations in Mexico ✓

→ Swim at a Mexican cenote ✓

→ Dive in the Great Blue Hole in Belize

→ Walk over the clouds on the forests of Monteverde in Costa Rica

→ Wander around the Castro’s Cuba

Swim with stingrays in the Cayman Islands ✓

→ See where America got ‘cut in two’ at the Panama Canal ✓

→ Explore the nature and culture of Jamaica ✓

→ Hike around the Tikal ruins in Guatemala

→ Mix stunning nature and colonial architecture in Nicaragua

→ See the ruins of Copán in Honduras

NORTH AMERICA

→ Marvel at Niagara Falls

→ Take in the stunning views of the Rocky Mountains from Banff National Park

→ Have a picnic at Central Park

→ Catch some beads at Mardi Gras in New Orleans

→ Walk around the monumental Washington DC

→ Hike through the best US National Parks (including Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion, Grand Teton, and beyond!)

→ Marvel at the Grand Canyon and Antelope Canyon

→ Take a road trip (and go wine tasting) around Napa Valley

→ Get closer to heaven hiking the Ha’iku stairs in Hawaii

NORTHERN EUROPE

Explore London’s multiculturalism and look for the Queen in her palaces throughout the UK ✓

→ Marvel at Stonehenge ✓

→ Wander around Oxbridge ✓

→ Walk the Royal Mile in Edinburgh ✓

→ Track Nessie down in the Scottish Highlands

→ Look for the treasures of Trinity College library and walk the Giant’s Causeway in the island of Ireland

→ Explore the castles of Wales ✓

→ See the Northern Lights from a hot tub in Iceland

Wonder at the nature of the Faroe Islands and Greenland

→ Hike to Trolltunga, Preikestolen, or Kjerag (extra points for more than one!)

→ Explore the Baltic capital cities and St. Petersburg ✓

→ Look for Santa Claus and his reindeers in Lapland

EASTERN EUROPE

→ Shop at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul ✓

→ Fly in a hot-air balloon in Cappadocia

→ Walk around the Red Square and the Kremlin in Moscow ✓

Go back to 1986 in Chernobyl

→ Look into what’s happening inside Belarus

Visit 4th century monasteries at the Caucasus region

→ Explore the world’s last divided capital in Cyprus

Look for the ‘Man at Work’ in Bratislava

→ Shop at a Christmas market in Prague ✓

→ Drink at a ruin pub in Budapest ✓

→ Learn history in Auschwitz ✓

SOUTH EAST EUROPE

→ Wonder at the Parthenon in Athens ✓

→ Swim in the Aegean Sea at a Greek Island ✓

→ Meet a dragon at Ljubljana’s castle and walk around lake Bled ✓

→ Hike around Plitvice National Park (extra points if it’s frozen!) ✓

→ Swim in the blue lagoon in the Adriatic Sea, and explore some of the Croatian islands ✓

Walk the city walls of Dubrovnik

→ Explore the old city of Kotor ✓

Find where the East meets the West in Sarajevo ✓

→ Party in Belgrade ✓

→ Find out about what’s going on with Albania ✓

→ Look for Alexander the Great in North Macedonia ✓

→ Defy the system by getting a passport stamp from Kosovo ✓

→ Walk around Sofia ✓

→ Visit the world largest Parliament in Bucharest ✓

→ Hunt Dracula in Transylvania

→ Look for family connections in Constanța (the place that gave me my name) <3

→ Visit a piece of the Soviet Union on the 21st century in Transnistria ✓

→ Drink at the world’s biggest wine cellar in Moldova ✓

CENTRAL EUROPE

→ Walk the streets of Venice during Carnival ✓

Explore the Dolomites, hiking or skiing (extra points for both!) ✓

→ Go back to the Renaissance in Florence, explore the hill towns of Tuscany, and climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa ✓

Hike through the Cinque Terre ✓

→ Pair history with gelato in Rome and marvel the treasures of Città del Vaticano ✓

Wonder at the ruins of Pompeii, climb Mt. Vesuvius and eat pizza in Naples ✓

→ Stay out of trouble while wandering around Sicily 

→ Hike up to the San Marino Towers ✓

→ Mix art and food while wandering the streets of Paris, and explore the Château de Versailles ✓

→ See Mont Saint-Michel become an island

→ Explore the châteaux and wines of the Loire valley and the Champagne, Burgundy and Bordeaux regions

→ Walk through the lavender fields in Provence

→ Gamble at the Montecarlo casino in Monaco ✓

→ Cross the Pyrenees to Andorra ✓

→ See las Majas, las Meninas y Guernica in Madrid and walk around Gaudí’s world in Barcelona ✓

→ Look for family roots in Castrodeza <3 ✓

→ Walk around the Alhambra and explore other hidden treasures of Andalusia

→ Wander the streets of Lisbon and Porto ✓

Go to the top of Europe in Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc

→ Visit the Human Rights Council at the Peace Palace in Geneva ✓

→ Try Brussels’ chocolate and beer, and walk around fairy tale Bruges ✓

→ Eat a special brownie in Amsterdam and see the tulips in Lisse ✓

→ Contemplate the art of the Berlin Wall ✓

→ Drink bier at the original Oktoberfest in Munich ✓

→ Get a passport stamp from Liechtenstein

→ Search for Mozart in Salzburg and Vienna ✓

MIDDLE EAST & CENTRAL ASIA

→ Walk around the holy city of Jews, Muslims, and Christians, Jerusalem

→ Float in the Dead Sea

→ Tour the Wadi Rum to Petra in Jordan

→ Stroll around the Lebanese capital, Beirut

→ Wonder at the remains of Babylonia in Iraq

→ Learn more about the Kurdish people in their biggest city: Erbil

→ Immerse in the Persian culture while discovering the treasures of Iran ✓

→ Skydive from the Palm Drop Zone in Dubai

→ Go dune bashing in the Arabian desert

→ Explore the one of a kind nature of Socotra Island in Yemen

→ Tour the Silk Road through the five –Stans, and see the Door to Hell in Turkmenistan

→ Hike around the unexplored Tajik mountains, and the Afghani Wakhan Corridor

→  Wander around Hazaristan, in the highlands of Afghanistan, and head north to visit the Mazar-e Sarif Mosque

→ Explore the rugged peaks and hidden villages of Pakistan

→ Hike the Baltoro glacier around the Karakoram mountain range to K2 base camp

→ Take the Trans-Mongolian Express and travel from the steppe to the Gobi desert

HIMALAYAS & SOUTHERN ASIA

→ Climb to Tiger’s Nest in Bhutan

→ Contemplate Mt. Everest from Base Camp in Nepal

→ Learn about Buddhism in Kathmandu

→ Meditate at Lhasa

→ Celebrate Holi Festival in India

→ Wonder at the Taj Mahal

→ Pilgrimage to the Holy cities of Varanasi and Bodh Gaya

→ Drink tea at the Ceylon plantations in Sri Lanka

→ Walk through a Sea of Stars on Vaadhoo Island in the Maldives

EAST ASIA

→ Hike around the Zhangye National Geopark

→ Get a glimpse of history with the terracotta warriors of Xi’an

→ Walk through the Great Wall

→ See Shanghai’s skyline from The Bund

→ Visit the Big Buddha in Hong Kong

→ Wonder with the view of Mount Fuji

→ See the palaces of South Korea

→ Follow the propaganda makers in a tour of North Korea

SOUTH EAST ASIA

→ See the sunrise over the Bagan Temples in Myanmar

→ Explore the Pagodas of Yangon

→ Visit the temples and monasteries of Laos

→ Motorbike through Vietnam, from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh

→ Wonder at Angkor Wat in Cambodia

→ Visit the royal palace in Phnom Penh

→ Get lost exploring Bangkok

→ Dance at the full-moon party in Koh Pha Ngan

→ Bathe an elephant in Chiang Mai

→ Cross the bridge between Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas Twin Towers

→ Swim at the infinity pool of Marina Bay Sands in Singapore

→ See Komodo dragons in Indonesia

→ Get a tan in Bali

→ Marvel at the Banaue Rice Terraces in The Philippines

NORTHERN AFRICA

→ Camp at the Sahara Desert ✓

Drink mint tea and eat tagine in Marrakesh ✓

→ Wander around the souks in Fez

→ Ride Mauritania’s Iron Ore train

→ Explore the wonders of Tunisia 

→ Dive in the Red Sea ✓

→ Marvel at the Pyramids of Giza ✓

→ Visit the ancient temples of Upper Egypt, from the Valley of the Kings to Abu Simbel ✓

→ Explore the forgotten pyramids of Sudan

EAST AFRICA

→ Glimpse at Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania ✓

→ Witness the migration in the Maasai Mara or Serengeti National Parks ✓

→ Indulge in the luxury of meeting giraffes in my own balcony in the Giraffe Manor in Nairobi  

→ Spy on silverback  gorillas at the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda or the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda (extra points for both!)

→ Meet our closest relatives in the animal kingdom in Ngamba Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Mahale Mountain NP or Gombe NP ✓

→ Explore the mysteries of Lalibela and the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia

→ Make new friends at the Omo river region

→ Walk under Madagascar’s ancient baobab trees

WEST AFRICA

→ See Timbuktu before it gets completely destroyed and explore the villages of Dogon county in Mali

→ Learn about the horrors of the slave trade on Gorée island, Senegal

→ Visit a cocoa farm in Côte d’Ivoire to learn about the production of chocolate

→ Sail around Ganvie, “the Venice of Africa”, in Benin

CENTRAL AFRICA

→ Climb Mt. Nyiragongo in the DRC to see lava in one of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes 

→ Wonder at the largest waterfall in the world in terms of volume, the Inga Falls in the Congo river

→ Visit the Boca do Inferno and the idyllic beaches of São Tomé and Príncipe

SOUTHERN AFRICA

→ Take a Cable Car up Table Mountain in Cape Town

→ Go on safari in Kruger National Park

→ Dive at Bazaruto Archipelago in Mozambique

→ Wander at Okavango Delta in Botswana

→ Swim at the Devil’s pool in Victoria Falls

→ Contemplate wildlife at Namibia’s Etosha National Park

OCEANIA

→ See kangaroos and koalas in the wild in Australia

→ Dive in the Great Barrier Reef

→ Learn about the Maori people and explore the stunning nature of New Zealand

→ Bungee jump in Queenstown

→ Make new friends among the tribes of Papua New Guinea

→ See where the Equator and the International Date Line meet in Kiribati 

→ Meet the blonde Melanesians of Solomon Islands

→ Relax in Bora Bora

ANTARCTICA

→ Navigate through icebergs on the frozen continent

If you want more details of how my travels have been taken place, check → My life’s journey, where I’ve been through the years

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The ULTIMATE travel experiences bucket list – The best 201 experiences the world has to offer! #BucketList #OffTheBeatenPath #OnTheBeatenPath #Wanderlust #TravelPhotography #SlowTravel #IndependentTravel #SoloFemaleTravel #Backpacking #Adventures #TravelExperience #BeautifulDestinations
The ULTIMATE travel experiences bucket list – The best 201 experiences the world has to offer! #BucketList #OffTheBeatenPath #OnTheBeatenPath #Wanderlust #TravelPhotography #SlowTravel #IndependentTravel #SoloFemaleTravel #Backpacking #Adventures #TravelExperience #BeautifulDestinations
The ULTIMATE travel experiences bucket list – The best 201 experiences the world has to offer! #BucketList #OffTheBeatenPath #OnTheBeatenPath #Wanderlust #TravelPhotography #SlowTravel #IndependentTravel #SoloFemaleTravel #Backpacking #Adventures #TravelExperience #BeautifulDestinations

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