From the vast, timeless sands of Wadi Rum, Jordan to 12,000 feet above Nadi, Fiji, where the sky and water blur the lines of reality, these five epic bucket list journeys should be on everyone’s list. I’ve visited each of the five and recommend them as some of the best bucket list destinations in the world. Which ones have you experienced?
1. Wadi Rum – Jordan
This is a stupendous, timeless place. Here, it is the weather and winds that have carved the imposing, towering skyscrapers of sand and stone. Ride a camel like Lawrence of Arabia or hire a four-wheel drive and arrive at a Bedouin Camp for a night under the stars.
2. Estosha National Park, Namibia
With a salt pan so large that it can be seen from space, this national park is abundant in wildlife that congregates around the waterholes, giving you almost guaranteed game sightings. Etosha National Park is one of the most accessible game reserves in Namibia and Southern Africa.
3. Innsbruck, Austria
Three times host to the Winter Olympics, this region boasts nine ski areas for alpine skiing, snowboarding, and cross-country skiing. Their winter sports menu also includes tobogganing, ice skating, alpine-style curling, and even a ride in an Olympic bobsleigh. In no other place in the world is the dividing line between an urban area and rugged mountain terrain so thin. The Nordkettenbahnen transports visitors directly from the city center of Innsbruck to high mountain terrain in just twenty minutes.
4. Nadi, Fiji
This bustling, multi-cultural town is the main hub for international travelers to Fiji. Skydiving, dune buggy driving, scuba diving, snorkeling, open-water shark diving, rafting, hiking, waterfall jumping, and golf can all be found within driving distance of the Nadi international airport. It is here that the lines between water and sky become blurred and having the blues is a good thing.
5. Southern California, USA
Similarly to Nadi, Southern California is a hub for adventure and extreme. Do you want to fly a fighter jet, a biplane, a helicopter, or an airplane? You can do them all in SoCal. Maybe you’d prefer skydiving, dirt bike racing, or bungee jumping? Check, check, and check. Where else can you surf in the morning and ski in the afternoon? Southern California is an adventure seekers Paradise.
What’s on the top of your travel bucket list?
Bucket List Publications 
Holland bike and barge tour is scheduled. I’d love to see the Great Wall of China.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hear Colorado is also an adventurers paradise
LikeLiked by 2 people
Oops, I need to add one more to my list (posted the other day), definitely a SAFARI! Where are your bucket dreams taking you to next, Lesley? Inquiring minds want to know… 😉
LikeLike
Antarctica is the big one Lesley and about 100 or so others. 🙂
LikeLike
I’ve been to Innsbruck and SoCal :). Taking the family to England and Scotland in June and big bucket list items are a family trip to New Zealand and mom and dad only trip to Maldives 🙂
LikeLike
I feel good that you try all the dangerous things, then I try the more peaceful Lesley 😉
LikeLike
i want to sleep under the sky and watch aurora borealis/aurora australis
LikeLike
Nadi Fiji incredible. really wanna coming there :d.
LikeLike
Hmm Namibia at the top of my list! The list changes all the time – Sailing in the Whitsundays, Croatia & Greece and Scandinavian winter – Igloo ice hotel just to name a few, ..
LikeLike
I have surfed in the morning and then gone snow skiing in the afternoon…14,000 ft. Mauna Kea on the island of Hawai’i (The Big Island). It probably wasn’t that much of an adventure as I lived there for 40 years, I’ve never really traveled much, but I’ve raced horses, raced motorcycles, raced sailboats, sailed from SoCal to Hawai’i. I certainly have enjoyed seeing the world vicariously through your eyes. Mahalo for sharing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I just did a bucket list destination – Hill of Crosses Lithuania. It’s not an adventure site, but it was more of a personal pilgrimage. Simply incredible.
LikeLike
😀 😀 😀 Let me watch you from here. Okay. Spain, Italy, Portugal. Something more tame for me. ❤
LikeLike
Ha! I grew up in So Cal! You’re right, adventure awaits just about everywhere, with something for everyone.
LikeLike
Top of my list is to finish visiting all 16 national parks in South Korea (will finish on Sunday!!) then bike across Korea (April 2015) and then one month trekking in Nepal (May 2015). After that? Central and/or South America, trekking in Peru or Patagonia fall 2015. After that I think we will need a new list! 🙂 Thanks for this post and question – always good to get the travel wheels and excitement going!
LikeLike
Bucket lists are personal. SoCal? Oh. I grew up there. The US Army taught me to fly and you can’t fly a fighter jet unless it is surplus with all weapons removed and privately owned… surf and ski? New Zealand, Morocco, Hawaii and Northern California.
LikeLike
Next on my bucket list — Ireland for a few Irish brews and Scotland to see Inverness. Need a break from the Caribbean.
LikeLike
I’ve done the Everest Base Camp trek so, after heading back there next year, it’s Macchu Pichu in 2016 🙂
LikeLike
Been to Southern California, thinking of Fiji next.
LikeLike
Cruising the famous sailing destination of the North Channel in upper Lake Huron
LikeLike
Thats amazing Lesley!! Fiji and Seychelles are on the top of my list… but because its so expensive, they will probably one of the last I will be visiting hahaha 😀
LikeLike
ChengDu to Lhasa by train , then through the Himalaya to Nepal. Also Trans-Siberian railway and continuing by rail into Belarus, Poland, etc. Not extreme stuff, but train travel in Asia comes with it’s own challenges.
LikeLike
Well, I’ve made it to some of those countries at least.
LikeLike
Sadly, I have never been to any of these places…well, SoCal, but that hardly counts, since I live in California, Hahaha! But I will tell you this- you inspire the shit out of me, and I am going to start doing whatever it is that one must do to get a passport, because, and you can hold me to this- I am going to go to Ireland WITH my kids. I have always wanted to do this, and I think it is high time. So THANK YOU, you make adventure seem like the obvious next choice, and I appreciate that. 🙂
LikeLike
Southern California…and California in general! I grew up here and there is so many things I need to cross off the list!
LikeLike
Fiji is on my list, along with Bali. Where’s Bali on this list? 🙂
LikeLike
These are just destinations that I’ve already experienced, and they are more on the adventure side. While Bali is high on my list, I haven’t been there yet and it’s more on the relaxing, beach side of travel. Do you think?
LikeLike
Reblogged this on Maydelory's Blog.
LikeLike