How to create the perfect travel bucket list – words Alexa Wang

Bucket lists have become a popular phrase in recent years. Put simply, these are lists of experiences, dreams and goals that an individual will want to achieve in life, ticking them off as they go. Travel usually features heavily in any such list – so here is how to create the perfect travel bucket list and what to put on it.

The over riding rule to bear in mind at all times is to think big when putting the list together. A weekend in Skegness – as fun as it can be – probably has no place here. This is strictly reserved for once in a lifetime stuff only; focus on the places you’ve always wanted to go and the things you’ve always wanted to see, and try to experience as many of them as possible. Remember, it’s a list of dreams.

However, as much as you these ambitions to be aspirational try to be realistic too. If you think some of these really won’t be achievable, don’t include them for you’ll only feel disappointed if you fall short. Not even the famous John Goddard, who, at the age of 15, listed 127 goals he wished to experience, managed to do everything on his list.

Also, this is your list so make it personal. The perfect travel bucket list should be a balance of monumental places to visit and also places which might be special to you, personally. It’s also not just about reaching a destination but doing something there; visiting Amsterdam is hardly an outrageous travel goal, but leaving a love lock – a padlock engraved with the name of a loved one or perhaps both your names – on one of the city’s classic bridges is a nice touch. So too is tossing a coin into Rome’s Trevi Fountain.

Here are a few inspiring examples of the kind of targets you might find on a travel bucket list. Some – available to book online here – are easier to achieve than others…

See the Northern Lights
Take a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon
Visit the Amazon Jungle
Visit the new seven wonders of the world – comprising Christ Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Great Wall of China; Peru’s Machu Picchu; Petra in Jordan; the Colosseum in Rome; the Pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico; India’s Taj Mahal.
Drive Route 66 in the USA – America’s iconic highway and the classic road trip
Walk the Golden Gate Bridge – just 1.7 miles long
Go diving in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Hit the casinos in Las Vegas
See the Hollywood sign
Climb Mount Kilimanjaro
Stay in the world’s oldest hotel – Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan in Japan, which dates back to 705AD

Those are just a few ideas – your list can be as long or short, as bold or conservative, as you choose. The beauty of a travel bucket list is that it’s yours to own and work through.