I used to do a yearly travel bucket list to help me navigate all the places I wanted to visit in the short-term future. It was always fun to look back and check off the travel goals attained over the course of 12 months. Recently, another awesome travel blogger I follow posted her own ultimate travel bucket list on her blog, “Packs Light,” and it got me thinking…

Why limit myself to getting excited for just a year when I can think BIGGER!

 

Currently, I have been to nearly 60 countries and hundreds, perhaps thousands, of worldwide sites and cities. But there is still SOOOO much more to see. With that said, I sat down and compiled this not-so-short ultimate travel bucket list. It will be ever-evolving, but it is a great step toward reaching my elusive goal of traveling to every country in the world. Check out all the MUST-SEE places I have listed below, in no particular order, and leave a comment of the locations that stand out most to you on this ULTIMATE travel bucket list!!

Nature’s Finest

The Great Barrier Reef from the Sky

• Great Barrier Reef (Australia)
• Aurora Borealis (anywhere it can be seen)
• Mt Roraima (Guyana, Venezuela, Brazil)
• Mergui Archipiélago (Myanmar)
• The Amazon (hiking and perhaps an ayuhuasca experience)
• Dalarna (Sweden—the oldest tree in the world)
• Great Blue Hole (Belize)
• Rongbuk Glacier (north base camp of Everest from Tibet—north of Everest)
• Socotra (Yemen)
• Redwoods (California)

Mountain Climbs

Denali National Park

• Denali
• Mont Blanc (France)
• Mt Elbrus (Russia—debated as the highest peak in Europe)
• Aconcagua (Argentina)
• Mount Kosciusko (Australia)
• Mt Vinson
• Puncak Jaya (Papua New Guinea—debatable)
• Mount Everest (Nepal-Southeast ridge route which is technically easier and more commonly used)
• Whitney (California—the highest peak in the continental US, which makes it stand out among continental highpoints. I would ultimately love to summit all 50 highpoints plus the seven summits to become a member of the elusive 750 club)

Flat-Topped Mountains

Table Mountain

• Table Mountain (Capetown, South Africa: *I have been but only viewed from a distance so I would like to climb it and visit the top this time)
• Island in the Sky (Moab, Utah)
• Mt Conner (Australia)

Basalt Columns

Svartifoss

• Svartifoss (Iceland)
• Giant’s Causeway (Ireland)
• Jusangjeolli cliffs (South Korea)

Great Waterfalls of the World

Iguazu Falls

• Iguazu falls (Brazil, Argentina)
• Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe)
• Angel Falls (Venezuela)
• Kaieteur Falls (Guyana)

Beautiful and Colorful Lakes of the World

Salar De Uyuni

• Salar De Uyuni (Bolivia)
• Band-E Amir (Afghanistan)
• Peyto Lake (Alberta, Canada)
• Perito Moreno (Argentina)
• Five flower lake (China)
• Lake Holler (Australia)
• Lake Bambunga (Australia)
• Laguna Colorado (Bolivia)
• Lake Macdonnell (Australia)
• St Louis (Senegal)
• Lake Reyna (Senegal—more salt than the dead sea)

Rock Carvings

Terracotta Army

• Terracotta Army (China)
• The Colosseum (Rome: *I have been but lost all images and need to return to take pictures)
• Angkor Wat (Cambodia)
• Church of St George (Ethiopia)
• Mt Rushmore (South Dakota)

North America

Kilauea Iki Crater

• Kilauea (Hawaii)
• Mauna Kea summit (Hawaii)
• Waimea canyon (Hawaii)
• Hawai’i volcanoes national park (Hawaii)
• Yellowstone national park (Wyoming)
• Death Valley (Eastern California—hottest place on earth)
• Quebec, Canada

Africa

Seychelles

• Seychelles
• Ethiopian great rift valley
• Great Mosque of Djenne (Mali)
• Madagascar
• Morocco
• Ngorongoro Crater (Arusha, Tanzania)
• The Okavango Delta (Botswana)
• Masai Mara (Kenya)
• Timbuktu (Mali)
• Namibia sand dunes
• Lilongwe district (Malawi)
• Gorilla trekking in Rwanda
• Kordofan Region (Sudan—biggest country in Africa)

South and Central America

Machu Picchu

• Machu Picchu (Perú)
  • Hike the 4-day Inca trail instead of the easier option of departing from Aguas Calientes
• Rainbow Mountain (Peru)
• Easter Island Moais (Chile)
• Rio de la Plata (Uruguay)
• Patagonia (Chile)
• Rio (Brazil)
• The Corn Islands (Nicaragua)
• Copán Ruins Archeological Site (Honduras)
• Quito combined with the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador)

Europe

Cinque Terre

• Cinque Terre (Italy)
• Lake Baikal (Russia)
• Rouffignac Cave (France)
• Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italy)
• Millay Viaduct (France—the tallest bridge in the world)
• Olympia (Greece)
• Venice, Italy
• Portugal (The Azores)
• Russia (Moscow and St Petersburg)
• Dublin, Ireland
• Walk on water in the Warden Sea (Denmark)
• Santorini (Greece)
• Camino de Santiago (Spain)
• Greenland
• Slovenia
• Oymyakon (Siberia—coldest permanently-inhabited place on earth)
• Cappadocia (Turkey)
  • Other things to do nearby:
    • Hot air balloon over Cappadocia
    • Stay in a cave house in Goreme

Asia

The Maldives: Veligandu Island

• The Maldives
• Great Wall of China
• Potala Palace (Tibet, China—the world’s highest palace)
• Palm Jumeirah (UAE)
• Bali, Indonesia
• Bhutan
• Mongolia
• Lebanon

The Best of the Rest

Havana, Cuba

• Cuba
• Tuvalu (4^th smallest country in the world)
• Ontong Java Atoll (Solomon Islands)
• The Caribbean
• Fiji
• Bruny Island (Tasmania)

Comment your favorite place from the Ultimate Travel Bucket List below!