My Never-Ending Travel Bucket List

ByMary Emmer
travel bucket list

The first time I sat down to make a travel bucket list, I discovered something rather inconvenient.

My bucket list apparently has no bottom.

Every time I cross something off, at least two more things find their way onto it. Sometimes five. Occasionally an entire country. At this rate, I’m going to need several additional lifetimes. Or a considerably more efficient travel schedule.

But here’s what I’ve realized over the years: a travel bucket list isn’t just about collecting destinations. It’s about imagining the experiences you want to have, the places you want to discover, and the stories you hope you’ll have to tell afterward.

And looking back at everything I’ve already crossed off? That’s a pretty wonderful reminder of how fortunate I’ve been to experience so much of this world.

How My Travel Bucket List Works

This is a living list, which means I’ll keep adding to it, changing it, and hopefully crossing off a whole lot more.

  • If something is crossed off, I’ve done it.
  • If a crossed-off item has a link, I’ve written about the experience.
  • If it’s not crossed off, it’s still waiting for me.

And crossing something off doesn’t mean I’m finished with it. I’ve returned to some destinations again and again, and I’d happily revisit plenty more. A cross-off simply means I’ve been there or done that at least once.

Some of these adventures have taken me halfway around the world. Others happened much closer to home.

Because the point isn’t how far you travel. It’s that you’re still going places.

So, here’s my never-ending travel bucket list. In no particular order, because apparently even my dreams refuse to be organized.

USA, Canada & Mexico

  • Acadia National Park, Maine
  • Cruise the Inside Passage of Alaska
  • Lake Tahoe in the Summer
  • Pay my respects at Pearl Harbor
  • Nantucket Island
  • A spa week @ the Mirror Lake Inn, Lake Placid, NY
  • Experience New England foliage during leaf peep season
  • Visit the largest home in the country (Biltmore Estate)
  • Spend a winter month in Mexico
  • Lake Tahoe in the winter
  • Ski in the Rocky Mountains
  • Visit Mount Desert Island, Maine
  • Martha’s Vineyard
  • Stay at a dude ranch
  • Stay @ the von Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, VT
  • Explore one of North America’s greatest lakes

Central & South America

  • Take a Galapagos Island cruise
  • Stay @ Remota Lodge in Chilean Patagonia
  • Visit Machu Picchu, Peru

Europe

  • Tallinn, Estonia
  • Kotor Bay, Montenegro
  • Medieval city of Carcassonne, France
  • Walk the Pyrenees GR10
  • Visit Costa Brava, Spain
  • Lake Bled, Slovenia
  • Windsor Castle
  • St. Petersburg, Russia in the spring, summer or autumn
  • Bulgaria
  • Serbia
  • Bucharest, Romania
  • Turquoise Coast, Turkiye
  • Explore the entire Croatian coast
  • Live abroad for at least 2 months
  • Dubrovnik, Croatia
  • Vasa Museum in Stockholm, Sweden
  • Live abroad for at least 3 months
  • Cruise the Greek Islands
  • Brandenburg Gate, Berlin
  • The Colosseum, Rome
  • Mezquita in Cordoba, Spain
  • The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia
  • Visit Zermatt, Switzerland & view the Matterhorn
  • See the Mona Lisa
  • Eat free tapas in Granada, Spain
  • Taste wine in the Douro Valley of Portugal
  • Cruise thru the Norwegian Fjords
  • See the Sistine Chapel
  • Hike the Cinque Terre path between all the villages
  • Live abroad for at least 6 months
  • Visit the Château de Chenonceau, Loire Valley, France
  • Find solitude in the Scottish Hebrides
  • Drive the Hardangervidda Route, Bergen to Oslo
  • Visit the ancient city of Ephesus
  • Visit Highclere Castle, England
  • Learn what a pintxos is and eat one in the place it comes from
  • Riga, Latvia
  • Albania
  • Edinburgh Castle
  • Mostar to Sarajevo train
  • Hike in the High Tatra Mountains of Slovakia/Poland
  • St. Petersburg, Russia
  • Bosnia-Herzegovina
  • Spend extended time in Poland
  • Get run down (almost) by a donkey in Santorini
  • Topkapi Palace, Istanbul
  • Drink scotch in the Scottish highlands
  • Live abroad for at least a month
  • Rent a Duchy of Cornwall cottage for an extended visit
  • Make a new friend in a Scottish pub
  • Highgate Cemetery, London
  • Attend a wedding at Hampton Court Palace
  • View Athens from the Acropolis
  • Leaning Tower of Pisa
  • Live abroad for at least 4 months
  • Tour the Alhambra in Granada, Spain
  • Palace of Versailles
  • Walk Dubrovnik’s famous medieval city walls
  • Eiffel Tower
  • Live abroad for at least 5 months
  • Cruise on the Rhone River in France
  • Soak in Iceland’s Blue Lagoon
  • Zipline from Spain to Portugal
  • See the Cinque Terre towns
  • Sainte-Chapelle, Paris
  • Red Square, Moscow
  • Walk in the footsteps of giants @ Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland
  • Visit Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris
  • Make your grocery list in the foreign language of the country you’re staying in
  • Meteora Monasteries in Greece

Asia

  • Temples & gardens of Kyoto, Japan
  • Night in a boutique hotel beside the Great Wall of China
  • Visit the Forbidden City, Beijing

Other

  • Embark on a 140-Day world cruise
  • Surprise someone in need with a personal gift of currency
  • Surprise an organization in need with a donation

The Trouble With a Never-Ending Bucket List

Looking at everything I’ve crossed off, I feel incredibly lucky. Looking at everything I haven’t crossed off, I feel like I need to get busy.

And the funny thing is, I don’t actually want to finish this list. I hope I’m still adding to it years from now, still discovering places I’ve never heard of, and still finding excuses to pack a suitcase.

Because as much as I love crossing something off, there’s something even better about having another adventure to look forward to.

Now I’m curious: What’s on your travel bucket list? Is there somewhere you’ve dreamed of going for years, or an experience you finally crossed off and would do again in a heartbeat?

Tell me in the comments. I’m always looking for ideas. Not that my list needs any help getting longer.

With more than four decades in the travel industry, Mary Emmer has seen enough of the world to know what’s worth the trip – and what probably requires a nap afterward. At Still En Route, she writes about travel, second acts, flexible income, and figuring out what comes next after 60. She’s still working, still traveling, still learning, still trying new things – and definitely still en route. Because there are plenty of places left to go, both on the map & off it. (Snacks encouraged.)