My Bucket List: Bucket List Ideas

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links from Amazon and other affiliates. We may get paid if you buy something or take action after clicking one of the photos or links below. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. See our full Disclosure Policy here. 

Everyone should have a bucket list of places they want to go and activities they want to do. A little side story about my bucket list. I started this bucket list (as you call it) over 10 years ago after a break up. A friend of mine encouraged me to start it after her dad did the same for her.

See, this list wasn’t a list for us to complete before we died. It began as a list of all the things we wanted to do before we settled down and got married. I started thinking of all the things I had never done before. Some of the things were not travel related, like pay for a meal in all coins, or run a marathon (Did you know that less than 1% of the world population has ever ran one?!).

Eventually, I met Chris and we began to work on my bucket list together. He took me on my first cruise and even skydiving! Funny, in our marriage vows, he mentioned I took HIM to new heights, like 10,000 feet. He ended those amazing vows with “one day we would be sitting on our front porch watching people jump out of perfectly good airplanes.” 🙂 It’s so fun working on this bucket list together.   

Some of these bucket list ideas I have done but want to do again. I will add to the list as I think of new things and link to my articles (as I check them off), so make sure to check back often!

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”Mahatma Gandhi

(*) Means I have done in the past. If you have questions, feel free to ask!

If you are looking for unique bucket list ideas, here’s a list of unusual activities and things to do.

Spend the night in a glass igloo under the Northern Lights!

Experience TRUE weightlessness- Ride the G-Force One for a zero gravity experience.

Ride the Snake!*- This motorcycle ride has 489 curves through the 33 miles of mountain scenery!

Kayak through Bioluminescent Bay in Vieques, Puerto Rico

Cave tubing- We did this in Belize. I’m not sure of any other place in the world that you can actually TUBE through a cave!

See the peak of Denali- It’s the tallest peak in North America. Only 30% of people who travel to see Denali ever get to view its peak.*

Descend inside a volcano (only place you can do this is in Iceland!)

Be in 4 places at once- Town of Four Corners, US

Snowmobile in 3 countries in less than a minute*- Sweden, Finland, Norway have the friendliest borders in the world!

Ride in a bush plane over the Arctic Circle to the town of Coldfoot*

Go on an Icebreaker cruise and swim in the cold sea!*

See a moonbow in Kentucky (a rainbow over at waterfall under a full moon! Only visible in a few places in the world!)

Watch the launch of a space shuttle*

Visit the world’s largest snow castle*

Hike a glacier*

Sail on the world’s largest cruise ship!*

Tour Area 51  (NNSS site)

Climb to the top of Ek Balam- One of the few Mayan ruins that you can still climb.

Stand on Maho Beach as a plane flies over*

Visit Moraine Lake*- Only accessible 3-4 months a year due to risk of avalanche.

Go on a tornado chasing tour*

This list is more of a list for bucket list travel destinations. This is places in general I would like to visit and general reasons why. If you have been to any of these destinations and can add to something to my list that I can’t miss, then PLEASE let me know in the comments. I would REALLY appreciate it. THANKS in advance.

Set foot on all 7 continents

New Zealand (amazing scenery, thermal pools, glaciers, Hobbiton)

Africa (Safaris, Victoria Falls, culture)

Middle East (including Egypt (Pyramids), Israel, Bethlehem, Dead Sea, Sea of Galilee, Jordan (Petra))

Australia (the Outback, the world’s dangerous animals, kangaroos/koalas, Urulu)

Antarctica (penguins, icebergs, whales, hiking, highest average elevation of all continents)

Tahiti (overwater bungalows, pearls, beautiful beaches)

Bali (stunning sunsets, exotic beaches, temples, hiking volcanoes, lots of adventure here!)

Iceland (complete the 1000 mile Iceland Ring Road, geothermal spa, Northern Lights)

Go to Greece (ruins, architecture, culture, food)

Visit Thailand (temples, beautiful beaches, amazing food, friendly people (aka “The Land of the Smiles”), elephant sanctuary)*

Travel to Belize* (Blue Hole, archaeological sites, cave tubing)

Visit San Francisco* (Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Fisherman’s Wharf)

Go to Prince Edward Island, Canada (See where Anne of Green Gables was filmed, beaches, culture)

Tour the Hawaiian Islands by cruise ship* (This is the BEST way to see the islands for the first time!)

Take a tour of Europe (I would love to do this via train.)

Mediterranean cruise (best way to visit for the first time!)*

Here’s a list of some bucket list places that I would like to visit. Some are cities or national parks, while others are sites that I have heard about while talking to people while traveling. Comment below if you have any other bucket list places to visit.

Positano, Italy*

Santorini

Explore Santorini

Visit the brightly colored town of Guanajuato, Mexico

Go to New Orleans*

Huntsville- SPACECAMP!!!*

Visit the Grand Canyon*

Go to the top of the St. Louis Arch*

Visit Washington, D.C.

Explore all 5 of Utah’s National Parks*

Toadstool Geologic Park in Nebraska

See BalBoa Park, California*

Visit the Angel Oak Tree in South Carolina

Svalbard- where the global seed vault is

Machu Piccu

Shop Mall of America

Providence Canyon State Park (Georgia)

Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve in California (see poppies)

Visit Mt. Rushmore*

Visit Atlantis*

See Stone Mountain, GA*

Go to Cherokee, NC*

Explore the Bell Witch Cave*

Walk or talk a carriage ride in Central Park*

Visit the famous Alamo*

Visit Sanibel Island, Florida*

See the Japanese cherry blossoms in the spring

Visit Yellowstone National Park*

Visit Eastport, Maine and see the first rays of the sun in the morning!*

Take the ultimate Canadian Rockies road trip*

See the branching yuccas in Joshua Tree National Park

Eat street food and go salsa dancing in Cuba

Spend the night in a castle*

Explore Morocco

Visit Chichen Itza*

New Years in a major city*

See Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil

See the Colosseum in Rome*

Stay in the Castle in the Rockies* (Fairmont Banff Springs)

Go to Seattle and go to the top of the Space Needle*

See Hoover Dam*

Go to Lookout Mountain*

See the pyramids in Cairo

Taj Mahal

Visit Graceland

Explore Galapagos Islands

Visit Biltmore*

TUNICA!!!*

Visit Branson, Missouri*

Explore Antelope Canyon

Visit Boston

See Uluru

Visit Walt Disney World* All four parks too!*

Explore Lake Louise*

Las Vegas BABY!*

Go to Laguna Beach*

See the Golden Gate Bridge*

See my reflection in the salt flats at Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia

Explore Patagonia

Go to Napa Valley*

See Old Faithful Geyser*

Visit Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Russia

Visit the different geological features of Aruba*

Stand among the giant Sequoia trees*

See beautiful Curacao*

Explore St. Peter’s Basilica & the Vatican City*

Explore Yosemite National Park*

Everyone needs that bucket list of things to do before you die. I have narrowed down that list to just while traveling, so here’s a list of activities to do.

Visit the ruins in Athens, Greece

Take a hot air balloon ride over Bagan’s Temples

Go on an African Safari

San Diego Zoo*

See a Broadway play*

Float in the Dead Sea

Ride a funicular in the Alps

Climb the leaning tower of Pisa*

Play Geocaching*

Walk down Beale Street*

Walk down Bourbon Street*

Shop at Horton Plaza*

Climb a lighthouse*

Visit a space station*

Go to a Mystery Theater Dinner*

Visit Crater of the Moon-Idaho

Stay in the Canadian in the Rockies (Fairmont Banff Springs)*

Go to Sea World*

Find a shark’s tooth*

Drive on the beach (Daytona Beach)*

Fly First Class*

Cross the Continental Divide*

Tour Pearl Harbor*

See a Rainbow Eucalyptus Tree (we saw on the Road to Hana in Hawaii)*

Watch whales in the ocean*

Hike the Antelope Canyon

Take a mud bath* (Then wash off in a waterfall like we did in St. Lucia)

See an active volcano*

Swim with sea turtles*

Explore a glowworm cave*

Walk around Mont Saint-Michel

Visit Petra, Jordan

Go to all 50 states

Admire the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland

Swim along the manatees* (Don’t mess with them!)

Go whitewater rafting the Ocoee River*

Go on a ghost stories tour in Savannah, Georgia*

Visit Stonehenge

Go to Times Square*

See the Tower of London (go via taxi, the drivers are VERY educated!)

Hike to Havasu Falls (and camp there)*

Visit the rainbow bridge, Utah (tallest natural bridge in the world)

Ride the Gondolas in Venice

Swing at the end of the world, Ecuador

Ride in a sea plane*

Party in Miami*

Experience Christmas in New York* (Dyker Heights, Rockefeller Tree, window displays, food)

Swim with sharks

Tour castles in Europe

Visit Buckingham Palace

Walk along the Great Wall of China

Visit the ancient Pyramid at Giza

Visit Williamsburg, VA

Tour Muddy Pond, Tennessee

Take photos in the Bolivia salt flats

Visit the Eiffle Tower & see it sparkle at night*

Visit Silver City, Mexico

Stay in a dorm*

See the Mojave Desert

Vacation in Cabo

See Stonehenge

See Ground Zero*

Rockefeller Center at night!*

Climb the Statue of Liberty*

See the Redwood trees in Cali*

Eat original pizza in Naples*

Go to an all inclusive resort*

Go on an Alaska cruise*

See the view from the Ledge from Willis Tower (Sears) in Chicago*

Ride on one of those “airboats” like they rode on the show “Flipper”*

Take a river boat tour through Chicago downtown*

Take a camel tour through the desert

Spend the night in a real igloo

Go on an African Safari

Ride a hot air balloon over Cappadocia*

See Polar bears in the Arctic

Spend the night on the beach

Go to the Good Morning America Show*

Hike Angel’s Landing*

Pan for gold*

Drive across the United States

Go on a hot air balloon ride*

Go on a Caribbean cruise*

Drive the Autobahn

Cruise around the world

Ride on the Zorb*

Swim in the Pacific Ocean*

Swim in the Atlantic Ocean*

Ride all the roller coasters at an amusement park* (We were the 1 millionth riders of Dollywood’s Wild Eagle Ride!)

Fly in a helicopter*

See the Northern Lights*  (Check out my trip to Fairbanks, Alaska– best solo trip ever!)

See the Southern Lights (just like the Northern Lights but in the Southern Hemisphere (take a late cruise to Antarctica in March- double bucket list whammy!)

Climb Clingman’s Dome*

Eat alligator*

Go to the Grand Ole Opry*

Take a tour of the White House

Climb Ek Balam & Coba* (one of the few Mayan ruins left to climb)

Horseback riding on the beach*

Sing karaoke with friends (can be done on a cruise or various karaoke lounges)

Ride in a limo*

Visit Niagara Falls*

Swim, kayak, zipline, snorkel, rappel and swing through the cenotes in Mexico*

Hold a starfish (Dominican Republic)*

Swim in the Mediterranean Sea*

See the world’s curviest stretch of road in San Francisco*

Go on a carriage ride*

CMA Festival*

Swim with stingrays*

Explore a submarine*

Roller skate on the boardwalk*

Snorkel*

Go white water rafting*

Attend the Super Bowl*

Attend the Vans Triple Crown surfing event in Hawaii

Go to a Major League Baseball game (even sat in the diamond section front row!)*

Attend a hockey game*

Go to the Kentucky Derby

Try water skiing*

Go ziplining (2nd world’s largest and one on a ship!)*

Try fly fishing*

Bike through Cades Cove*

Go Ice fishing*

Go to an Eldora race

Try deep sea fishing*

Go night fishing*

Go snowshoeing*

Try skydiving*

Bike the Creeper Trail*

Parasail*

Go to a UFC fight*

Snuba diving at Discovery Cove*

Scuba Dive in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Go to the Daytona 500

Learn how hard it is to dog sled*