First up, let me explain to the newbies out there what exactly a bucket list is. In its simplest form, it’s a wish list of; things you want to achieve, places you want to visit, activities you want to participate it, and attractions you want to see.
With so many countries, attractions and activities out there it can be really hard to come up with a detailed bucket list, especially when you’re new to travelling.
For the travelling souls, their bucket list typically consists of countries, cities and places they want to explore, but that’s not all that a bucket list has to be. You can base a bucket list on anything really, whatever you’re interested in, if it’s daredevil, adrenaline rushing activities that excite you, here’s some big thrill activities to get your bucket list started;
↠ skydiving – yes you could go skydiving any where in the world, but, having gone skydiving myself, I would honestly suggest picking a location that’s going to give you a once in a lifetime view. I skydived over St Kilda beach in Melbourne (you can read my post about it here) and it was a surreal experience to be floating over the ocean before heading for land, so my point is pick a location that is going to give you an amazing view beyond what you’d experience while flying in a plane.
↠ bungee jumping – again, you can go bungee jumping anywhere in the world, but why not make it a better experience by ticking this one off the bucket list in the adventure capital of the world, Queenstown!
↠ diving with crocodiles/sharks – this one is definitely not for the faint hearted! If being in the same water as something that would very easily eat you up in one go is what gets your blood pumping, then perhaps attractions such as the Cage of Death and shark cage diving (although link is based for an Australian company, you can also partake in this daredevil activity in other countries including South Africa) is what you should have on your bucket list.
↠ dine in the sky – if eating out at a fancy 5* restaurant isn’t your thing and you want a more adrenalin rushing dinning experience, perhaps you need to consider dinning in the sky, because let’s face it when you’re picking your high quality restaurant for dinner, the higher the better right?
If the above examples don’t float your boat and your bucket list is still looking a little bare, why not consider a list of the world’s record breaking destinations. Some examples from my very own bucket list might intrigue you;
↠ the world’s largest waterfall – Victoria Falls, Zambia/Zimbabwe
↠ the world’s largest Buddhist temple – Borobudur, Indonesia
↠ the world’s largest tide – Bay of Fundy, Canada
↠ the world’s oldest & youngest hot spring – Frying Pan Lake, Rotorua, New Zealand
↠ the world’s oldest covered market – Grand Bazaar, Istanbul, Turkey
↠ the world’s first penitentiary – Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia
↠ the world’s largest underwater museum – MUSA underwater museum, Cancun, Mexico
If the above examples sound like things that excite your inner travel bug, you can find a hundred record breaking locations in Samantha Wilson’s Ultimate Record Breaking Destinations book.
Maybe you want your bucket list to consist merely of things to do rather than places to see. Some of these might include;
↠ going on a safari
↠ learning a particular sport, eg. surfing or snowboarding
↠ reaching the seven summits
↠ standing on the equator
↠ going on an active escape
Travel books, from the likes of Lonely Planet for example, are a great way to get ideas of what to add to your bucket list. Some noteworthy books I have that have really developed my bucket list into the endless list it is are:
↠ Ultimate Record Breaking Destinations
↠ The Big Trip – your ultimate guide to gap years and overseas adventure
These books contain information on exciting and amazing places/things to excite that inner travel bug and are a great way to find out more about what you’d be interested in.
Besides books produced by travel companies, you can find ideas and examples by utilising the magic of the world wide web! You can develop ideas from anything and everything ranging from travel websites and travel agencies such as Infinity Holidays, Hello World, STA Travel or Escape Travel, to blogs (some of my favourite travel blogs include Mollie Bylett and World of Wanderlust) and magazines – for Aussie based adventures check out Detour Mag – you can even find inspiration from your own friends and family’s experiences!
If you’re still feeling a little unsure of where to start and want to discover what’s on my to do list then hover over the ‘bucket list’ menu above, choose a continent and get inspired by my very own bucket list!
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