Travel Bucket List Ideas: How to Create Your Ultimate List

Where in the world do you want to go? Have you ever stopped for a few minutes in this overwhelmingly busy life to think about it? Dreamt about where you truly want to explore? Have you actually created a travel bucket list?

This post may contain affiliate links. For more info, see my disclosures.

This great, amazing, wonderful, beautiful world has so much to offer! A majority of us stay in our own little corner of it, in our same basic routine. Exploring new adventure vacations is a great way to venture out of our routine.

Traveling is a chance to gain perspective through new experiences. Not to mention vacations can give us energy and actually make us happier, as proven by research!

So friend, do you have a travel bucket list? Like one that you’ve taken the time to daydream, to create, and really get excited about? Well dreamer, why not let today be the day to start your travel bucket list?

Imagine, if at the end of your life you looked back and you’ve had every travel experience you wanted to have, and went every place you’ve wanted to go. How full would your heart be?

Note: keep reading for a list of 101 destination ideas!

Dream Big

What are your travel dreams? Whether you’re dreaming about visiting every island in the Caribbean, every theme park in America, every mountain range in the world, or whatever your goals are, it’s time to write them down!

Do you know, if you write down your goals, you’re 42% more likely to achieve your goal? Hear that, friends? Forty-two percent! That’s huge!

So by writing down your travel goals you’re more likely to actually go on those trips, have amazing experiences, and live the life you’re dreaming of!

I’ve got BIG dreams. We all do, right? So as a #dreamer, I’m motivated by dreaming about my next trip. Because friend, I truly believe this world was made for us to explore.

As Walt Disney says, “if you can dream it, you can do it.” This is one of my favorite quotes, and if you’re part of this community of dreamers you may have heard me mention it before. So go ahead, dream big and create your ultimate bucket list!

Creating Your Travel Bucket List

This is the fun part! A bucket list is a wish list of locations you want to visit. You get to make your travel bucket list as long or short as you’d like!

Are you dreaming of a few huge trips that will take years to come true? Or will a trip a year (or a month!) satisfy your travel craving?  Read through the following exercise to create your own travel bucket list.

First, write down any destinations that come to mind immediately

Always wanted to see the Grand Canyon? Ready to marvel at the Taj Mahal? Wanting to hit the cobblestone streets of Italy?

Whether they’re trips with your significant other, family vacations, girls weekends away, trips with friends, or anything in between, those places that come to mind right away go on your list first.

Next, keep digging from within

Remember this is your list, so build it to match your true travel desires. Use the questions below to think of more places to add. Seriously take some time to work through these questions. And don’t hold back!

• Where have you always wanted to go?
• What places intrigue you?
• Which destinations inspire you?
• Where does your heart sing?
• Where could you go to learn more about ______ ? (insert hobby/passion)
• Which destinations could you visit that would bring out the best in you?
• Where could you go that you could make an impact? (think volunteering, teaching or mission trips)
• What could you do on vacation that you really, really want to, but scares you a little bit? Ok, now where is that?
• Where have you thought about going to, but feel it’s too expensive? (include it – this is a dream list!)
• What travel experience would create an epic story so good you’ll tell it to friends and family when you’re 90 years old?

Then, research best travel bucket list destinations

Google and Pinterest are your friends here! Searching anything from ‘best hiking trails in the world’ to ‘best undiscovered beaches’ to ‘best family destinations in Asia’ to whatever else you’re into. You’ll be swooning over pictures on your screen as you review all your options.

Related reads:
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Researching might also spark a memory of a location you’d considered before. For instance, you’re on Pinterest and find a pin about top beaches in Mexico. Then you remember the time you saw photos of the undiscovered beach off the coast of Barbuda and wanted to check into flights.

Wherever your research takes you, use this time to discover your ideal destinations and add them to your travel bucket list.

I’ve included my bucket list at the bottom of this article in hopes that it may help you think of ideas.

Making it Happen

Okay, are you feeling good about your travel bucket list? Does it excite you to even imagine experiencing all those destinations? The next part is a bit more challenging: making it happen.

Start breaking down your newly created list to figure out when you can make these dreams a reality. Where will you go first? When can you make it happen? Depending on your list, you might be thinking, “I want to go everywhere, but how?”

A great place to start is prioritizing your list. You could try to categorize them in order of affordability, or location, or the dreamiest first.

Once you’ve identified your first trip, do some basic research to figure out how much it will cost. Then determine your timeline. If you want to go to your first destination in fifteen months, take that basic cost and divide by fifteen. Can you save that much per month? If not, you have a three options: change your timeline, change your destination or change your finances.

Related reads:
How to Save Money for Travel – Your Vacation Savings Plan
7 Money Habits to Make (or Break)
55 Ways to Save Money

The key here is not to get discouraged! If you’re feeling overwhelmed with the ‘how’ to get there, then it’s time to start making lifestyle changes so you can achieve what’s on your bucket list. Your lifestyle and finances can help you achieve your dreams of crossing every destination off your list, but you need to ask yourself the hard questions to make big changes.

Start with these questions:

• Does your current lifestyle enable you to travel? (think about your work, family, home life)
• What would you have to give up to be financially able to afford your travel bucket list?
• How could you increase your income and therefore savings in order to travel?
• What can you do on a daily basis to move toward achieving your travel bucket list goals?

As you go through these questions, please remember that NOTHING is impossible. If your mind can create it, and you truly believe in it, you can achieve it.

Stay Inspired

Finally, stay inspired. Just the process of creating your list can light a fire within you to make changes to your life and achieve your travel goals.

Use this as motivation to save some serious cash so you can travel when and where you want to. Look at your finances every month, week, or payday to keep track of your savings goals.

My 101 Travel Bucket List Destinations

As promised, here’s my list of 101 destinations full of wanderlust. I’ve traveled to some pretty amazing places, but I have so much of this big world left to explore!

North America

1. Kauai, Hawaii
2. Molokai, Hawaii
3. Lanai, Hawaii
4. Big Island, Hawaii
5. Mendenhall Ice Caves, Juno, Alaska
6. Yosemite National Park, California
7. Sequoia National Park, California
8. Lake Tahoe, California
9. Multnomah Falls, Oregon
10. The Wave, Arizona
11. Antelope Canyon, Arizona
12. Arches National Park, Utah
13. Zion National Park, Utah
14. Glacier National Park, Montana
15. Lake Superior, Minnesota
16. New Orleans, Louisiana
17. Savannah, Georgia
18. New York City, New York
19. Green Mountains, Vermont
20. Portland, Maine
21. Moraine Lake, Alberta, Canada

Related read: 100 Most Romantic Vacations in the United States

Caribbean & Central America

22. Puerto Rico
23. Playa Carrillo, Costa Rica
24. St. Croix
25. Bahamas
26. Negril, Jamaica
27. Grenada
28. Cayman Islands
29. Turks and Caicos
30. Belize 
31. Culebra 
32. Dominican Republic 
33. Curacao
34. Aruba

South America

35. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
36. Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
37. Lencois Maranhenses, Brazil
38. Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
39. Machu Picchu, Peru
40. Marble Caves, Chile
41. Igazu Falls, Argentina
42. Patagonia, Argentina
43. Buenos Aires, Argentina

Europe

44. Blue Lagoon, Iceland
45. Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, Iceland
46. Reykjavik, Iceland
47. Geiranger Fjord, Norway
48. Paris, France
49. Algarve, Portugal
50. Lagos, Portugal
51. Ibiza, Spain
52. Barcelona, Spain
53. Rome, Italy
54. Tuscany, Italy
55. Venice, Italy
56. Amalfi Coast, Italy
57. Salina Island, Italy
58. Hallstatt, Austria
59. Plitvice Lakes, Croatia
60. Santorini Island, Greece
61. Navagio Bay, Greece
62. Montenegro

Middle East, North Africa & Greater Arabia

63. Marrakech, Morocco
64. Giza Pyramids, Egypt
65. Pamukkale, Turkey
66. Cappadocia, Turkey
67. Petra, Jordan

Sub-Saharan Africa

68. Kenya
69. Zanzibar, Tanzania
70. Lake Malawi, Tanzania
71. Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
72. South Luangwa National Park, Zambia
73. Victoria Falls, Zambia
74. Botswana, Africa
75. St. Lucia, South Africa
76. Cape Town, South Africa
77. Anse Source d’Argent, Seychelles
78. Mauritius

Asia

79. Taj Mahal, India
80. Maldives
81. Tianmen Cave, Zhangjiajie, China
82. Zhangye Danxia Landorm, Gansu, China
83. Rainbow Mountians of Zhangye Danxia, China
84. Great Wall of China, Beijing
85. Bagan, Myanmar
86. Thailand
87. Luang Prabang, Laos
88. Angkor Wat, Cambodia
89. Hitachi Seaside Park, Japan
90. Bamboo Forest, Japan
91. Panglao Island, Philippines
92. Gili Islands
93. Bali

Australia & Oceania

94. Sydney, Australia
95. Great Barrier Reef, Australia
96. Coral Coast, Australia
97. Lake Tekapo, New Zealand
98. Queenstown, New Zealand
99. Bora, Bora, French Polynesia
100. Tahiti
101. Fiji

So, it’s your turn, dreamer! What are the top three destinations on your travel bucket list? Share in a comment below…then write down those goals! 😉

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