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.

creating a travel bucket list

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.

  1. Malta
  2. Iceland
  3. Cuba
  4. Safari in Africa
  5. Visit the White House
  6. Visit a lighthouse in Maine (and eat lobster, too)
  7. Montgomery, Alabama
  8. Go to a Red Sox game in Boston
  9. Visit the great pyramids in Egypt
  10. Transatlantic crossing by ship sailing into New York Harbor
  11. Go to the top of the Empire State Building – January 2019 (read about how we visited using the NYC City Pass here)
  12. Wine tasting in the Finger Lakes
  13. Molokai
  14. Trace some roots in Madrid
  15. Enjoy a weekend on Cape Cod
  16. Tunisia
  17. Barging in France – July 2019
  18. Wear a fabulous hat at the Kentucky Derby
  19. See the polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba
  20. Press olives in Italy
  21. Spend a weekend on the Jersey shore
  22. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
  23. Sunbathing on Daytona Beach
  24. Ride a camel
  25. Spend a weekend on a dude ranch
  26. Gibraltar
  27. Stay in a room on stilts over the water somewhere in French Polynesia
  28. Montreal
  29. Enjoy chili in New Mexico
  30. Driving trip in Wales
  31. Learn to cook Cajun/Creole food in Louisiana
  32. Swim in the Dead Sea – November 2019 (although it’s floating, not swimming)
  33. Sleep in an Ice Hotel
  34. Morocco
  35. Catalina Island
  36. Spend a week at the Golden Door Spa
  37. Eat at Rao’s in Harlem
  38. Sardinia, Italy
  39. Ride in a blimp
  40. Paddleboat cruise
  41. Have a steak in Argentina
  42. Barbados
  43. Vacation on a houseboat
  44. Sail in the British Virgin Islands
  45. Gettysburg
  46. Have a signature scent formulated in Paris
  47. Experience the suite treatment on Emirates
  48. Take a train ride across the United States
  49. Yellowstone and Old Faithful
  50. Take a cooking class in Italy
  51. Mexico City
  52. Round the world cruise
  53. Lay down a bet in Monte Carlo
  54. Whale watching in Hawaii
  55. Stay in a castle
  56. Visit Graceland
  57. Visit a real-life ghost town
  58. Great Barrier Reef
  59. Sedona
  60. Go to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
  61. Stay in a penthouse suite in NYC
  62. Have an audience with the Pope in Vatican City
  63. Learn to throw a boomerang Down Under
  64. Bali
  65. Take a road trip to the Florida Keys
  66. Open a Swiss bank account
  67. Niagara Falls (from the U.S. side)
  68. Watch tennis at Wimbledon
  69. Visit Pennsylvania’s Amish Country
  70. Take an RV trip
  71. Laugh it up at Second City in Chicago
  72. Walk on the Great Wall in China
  73. See the Northern Lights in Lapland
  74. Enjoy tea culture on a tea trail
  75. Toast the New Year in Paris
  76. Take a ghost tour in Savannah
  77. See the snow monkeys in Nagano
  78. Wine tasting in South Africa
  79. Luxury train trip
  80. Eat street food in Vietnam
  81. Visit a European Christmas Market
  82. Visit all 50 states (current count 36)
  83. Antarctica
  84. Drink wine in Chile
  85. Prague
  86. View wildlife on Borneo
  87. Discover the food of Taiwan
  88. Step back in time at the Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island
  89. Stay in a treehouse
  90. Hungary – both Buda and Pest
  91. Visit the Space Port in New Mexico
  92. Slurp up champagne in Champagne – July 2019
  93. Nile cruise
  94. Cheer at a World Series game
  95. See koalas and kangaroos in Australia
  96. Wander in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul
  97. Cross the Equator
  98. Listen to music in Vienna
  99. Gibraltar
  100. Improve my snorkeling in a warm water destination

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