My Ultimate Wanderlust List: 100 Iconic Adventures, Trips and Destinations
If your wanderlust is anything like mine, your Instagram folders, Pinterest boards and Google Maps lists are brimming with iconic places to visit and trips to take around the world.
At the time of writing, foreign and overseas travel looks pretty uncertain for the foreseeable future (thanks COVID). But that doesn’t mean that we can’t dream! In fact, I’ve decided that it’s the perfect time to compile this wanderlust list of the 100 ultimate travel bucket list trips.
Some are classic bucket list items, like going on safari or hiking to Machu Picchu. Some are more specific, such as driving San Salvador’s Ruta de las Flores or visiting Hobbiton in New Zealand. And some are me manifesting my best, most lavish lifestyle, like flying first class on a long-haul flight or sunning it up in an overwater bungalow in French Polynesia!
This is a pretty long list of 100 ultimate bucket list travel activities and places, so I’ve organised it by region. I’m ticking off wanderlust items as I do them, and I’ve linked to the relevant blog post if I’ve written about it. I’ll be updating it regularly as I continue on my adventures.
Hopefully, this list will give you some ideas to add to your own wanderlust list. Let me know in the comments if you think there’s anything I should add to mine!
Browse this ultimate wanderlust list by region:
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links and, at no extra cost to you, I receive a small commission if you make a purchase via these links. For more information, visit my disclosure page.
AFRICA
1. Visit Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe ✓
2. Go on safari in East Africa ✓
3. Road trip through South Africa ✓
4. Visit Ethiopia
5. See the pyramids and ancient ruins in Egypt
6. Visit Morocco
7. See Cape Town from the top of Table Mountain, South Africa ✓
8. Explore Spitzkoppe, Namibia ✓
9. Camp in the Okavango Delta, Botswana ✓
10. Explore Stone Town, Zanzibar ✓
Antarctica
11. Join a polar expedition to Antarctica. Says it all really! And does it get any more wanderlust than this?
Asia
12. Travel the Vietnamese coast to get from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
13. Hike to Everest Base Camp, Nepal ✓
14. Island hop through Indonesia
15. High-speed train my way through Japan
16. Visit Singapore
17. Climb a mountain in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, and take in the view of both sides of the coast
18. Road trip through Sri Lanka
19. Camp overnight on the Great Wall of China
20. Travel on the Trans-Siberian railway from St Petersburg, Russia to Beijing, China
21. See the methane bubbles at Lake Baikal, Russia
22. Climb Pidurangala Rock in Sri Lanka for views of Sigiriya
23. Visit Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
24. Take iconic photos at the Taj Mahal, India
25. Explore the ruins at Angkor, Cambodia
26. See the blue-tiled cities of Uzbekistan
27. Visit Baku, Azerbaijan
28. Explore Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, AKA the Avatar Mountains, China
29. Visit Tbilisi, Georgia
30. Hike and camp in the mountains of Kazakhstan and Mongolia
31. Visit Hong Kong
32. Visit Seoul, South Korea
33. Sail to Khao Phing Kan, AKA the James Bond Island, Thailand
34. Backpack through China
The Caribbean
35. Visit Havana, Cuba before it becomes a more mainstream destination
36. Island hop around the Caribbean archipelago
37. Visit the island of St Lucia
Central America
38. Sail from Colombia to Panama via the San Blas islands
39. Explore Lake Atitlan and its neighbouring volcano, Guatemala
40. Visit the Copan Ruins, Honduras
41. Explore the forests of Costa Rica
42. Snorkel (or dive!) off the coast of Belize
43. Chill out on the Corn Islands, Nicaragua
44. Drive the Ruta de las Flores, San Salvador
Europe
45. Road trip Provence, Monaco and the French Riviera
46. Climb mountains and roam hills in Switzerland
47. Sail across the Baltic Sea to each of the Baltic capitals on the coast: Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki, St Petersburg, Tallinn and Riga
48. Road trip the Balkans
49. Island hop through Greece
50. Road trip through Austria and Bavaria to explore the castles in that area
51. Visit the Dolomites, Italy
52. Cross the channel with my car and road trip through Belgium and Luxembourg
53. Slow travel my way through England and Scotland
54. Road trip around the whole of Iceland, preferably once in summer and once in winter
55. Photograph Paris, France at sunrise
56. Find out if there really is a rumour in St Petersburg, Russia
57. Road trip through Portugal, visiting Lisbon, Porto, Sintra and the Algarve
Middle East
58. Explore the Ancient City of Petra, Jordan ✓
59. Road trip through Oman
60. Spend stopovers in Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi
61. Hike through Wadi Mujib, Jordan ✓
62. Visit Jerusalem ✓
63. Road trip through Turkey
64. Star gaze in Wadi Rum, Jordan ✓
65. Explore Saudi Arabia
66. Road trip through Iran
67. Swim in the Dead Sea on the border of Jordan, Palestine and Israel ✓
North America
68. Visit all 50 US states
69. Hike in Banff National Park, Canada
70. Visit Vancouver, Canada
71. Island hop and road trip around Hawaii
72. Paddleboard in Florida, USA (one of the best ways to ethically observe and interact with dolphins)
73. Visit as many US National Parks as possible
74. Drive the Blue Ridge Parkway, USA
75. Road trip the USA’s West Coast and explore the PNW, passing through San Francisco
76. Visit New Orleans, USA
77. Road trip up the USA’s Southeastern coast from Florida to New York, passing through Washington D.C.
78. Road trip the southwest states, USA
79. Road trip around New England and find out how similar it is to the original England
Oceania
80. Road trip both islands of New Zealand
81. Snorkel (or dive!) at the Great Barrier Reef, Australia
82. Road trip through Australia, especially the east coast and Uluru
83. Explore the Bay of Fires in Tasmania
84. Visit Hobbiton
85. Island hop in French Polynesia
86. Stay in an overwater bungalow on a Polynesian island
87. Fly first class on a long-haul flight (categorised under Oceania because it’s the furthest I can fly from my home in London!)
South America
88. Trek in Patagonia
89. Travel through the Uyuni Salt Flats, Bolivia
90. Sail down the Amazon, Brazil
91. Hike to Machu Picchu, Peru
92. Cross Argentina from Buenos Aires to Santiago, Chile, passing through Rosaria, Córdoba and Mendoza
93. See Rio de Janeiro from the top of Sugarloaf Mountain, Brazil
94. Visit Easter Island, Chile
95. Sail around the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
96. Visit Medellín and Cartagena, Colombia
97. Take the ferry from Buenos Aires, Argentina to visit Montevideo, Uruguay
98. Visit Iguazu Falls, between Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil
OK, so it’s not quite 100 wanderlust items yet… But I want to leave a few free for when I come up with new ideas!
Are any of these trips on your wanderlust list? And let me know in the comments if there’s anything that I should definitely add to mine!
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links and, at no extra cost to you, I receive a small commission if you make a purchase via these links. For more information, visit my disclosure page.
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