Travel bucket list - top 5?

[Dreamer]

But it looks as if we're going to have to raise a 6 year girl in our retirement, and our vacations will be scheduled around school schedules. She will be a very well traveled child, however.

I just wanted to wish you luck with this. I love my grandchildren, but would not want to have to rear them, at our age. I will keep your situation in my prayers.

 

[DrRoy]

Places I've been - Alaska, Banff to Jasper Alberta, Kauai, Antelope Canyon, Norway, Switzerland.
Places I'm going - Yosemite, Utah National Parks, Patagonia, Glacier NP, Iceland.

 

[athena53]

If you're an engineering type, add transit of the Panama Canal. I just did that last month on my Central American trip. My only regret is that I'm just now finishing a fantastic book on the subject, "Path Between the Seas" by David McCullough, which goes into the entire history- the aborted French effort, the politics, the epidemiology, and the construction. Now I want to go back through, darn it!

After the thread on the Galapagos I now want to go there but it's crazy expensive- UnCruise goes there but it's about $14K for a single room ($9K pp double occupancy). I could broach the idea to my Aunt with whom I'm going to India next year and we could be roomies, but frankly, I enjoyed having a stateroom to myself on the last cruise. I just have to decide if it's worth $5K extra.

 

[braumeister]

After the thread on the Galapagos I now want to go there but it's crazy expensive- UnCruise goes there but it's about $14K for a single room ($9K pp double occupancy).

Lindblad would be a couple thou less than that, and they sometimes have deals that include free airfare.

 

[athena53]

Lindblad would be a couple thou less than that, and they sometimes have deals that include free airfare.

Thanks- I'll look into that, but not immediately. I have my major trips pretty much planned out for the next few years! Iceland in August, India next March, hoping for Scotland next summer, probably UnCruise Sea of Cortez early 2019, probably a meeting of my professional society in Hawaii combined with Australia/NZ in November, 2019.

 

[Koolau]

Would have to second the idea of Hawaii since it has so much coast line, reasonably warm water and always warm weather (except at elevation.) A real nice winter vacation if you like to get away from real winter weather. I've never done scuba, but off Captain Cook on Big Island, I've snorkeled. Great fish, clear water, and lots of cool stuff to see on the island itself. Thinking about going back soon to see the volcanoes which have been in constant action for 20+ years. Each island has its own adventures and lots to do. YMMV

 

[Scuba]

Hawaii is beautiful and SCUBA is very good at least from the big island. Also love Kauai but haven't dove there yet.

 

[Fedup]

Would have to second the idea of Hawaii since it has so much coast line, reasonably warm water and always warm weather (except at elevation.) A real nice winter vacation if you like to get away from real winter weather. I've never done scuba, but off Captain Cook on Big Island, I've snorkeled. Great fish, clear water, and lots of cool stuff to see on the island itself. Thinking about going back soon to see the volcanoes which have been in constant action for 20+ years. Each island has its own adventures and lots to do. YMMV

That place was really great. I loved snorkels there. Much better than in Maui.

 

[Dash man]

If you're an engineering type, add transit of the Panama Canal. I just did that last month on my Central American trip. My only regret is that I'm just now finishing a fantastic book on the subject, "Path Between the Seas" by David McCullough, which goes into the entire history- the aborted French effort, the politics, the epidemiology, and the construction. Now I want to go back through, darn it!
.

We're doing this on a Princess cruise in February.

 

[rodi]

Everybody has a different list. This one is mine... (which would be different than anyone elses.)

Galapagos Islands
Machu Picchu
Petras, Jordan
Angkor Wat
Australia (which has a whole sublist of place... will need at least 6 weeks there.)

 

[DrRoy]

So far my favorite museums have been - The Vatican Museum, The Louvre, and the British Museum.

 

[Callitaday2022]

Starting our Vatican museum tour and Sistine Chapel tour in 1 hr! Lines, lines, lines everywhere! I told my son this is why you save and LBYMs so you can pay up and get the tours and skip all the lines. I hate lines!

 

[bclover]

So I've just begun my travel journey's so most of my places folks here probably have already been to.

1) Barcelona Spain
2) Yellowstone national park and grand tetons
3) Greece
4) Venice and Milan Italy
5) London.

I plan on knocking London off next summer

 

[braumeister]

I suspect you're in for a surprise.
I enjoy London so much I keep going back again and again. Been doing that for 40 years and no end in sight. Fantastic city!

 

[novaman]

I'm in Iceland right now. Some of the excursions such as hiking a glacier will be tough to do in your later years unless you are in great shape.

 

[Amethyst]

Even tours aren't immune to lines! We went on our very first tour (Tauck, "American Canyonlands") and proceeded to the breakfast room one morning, exactly at opening time (0600), only to find ourselves at the end of a long line of hundreds of hangry old ladies. Our tour director somehow managed to get our small tour group in before all the food was gone, LOL

Starting our Vatican museum tour and Sistine Chapel tour in 1 hr! Lines, lines, lines everywhere! I told my son this is why you save and LBYMs so you can pay up and get the tours and skip all the lines. I hate lines!

 

[kaudrey]

I don't SCUBA, but for what it is worth, as someone who also wants to do the "active" stuff while I still can, my bucket list top 5 are:


1) Galapagos
2) Angor Wat
3) Hike Mt. Kilimanjaro/safari
4) Hiking on Glaciers in Iceland
5) New Zealand
6) Belize - great for SCUBA, although we will just snorkel - we are going here in January 2018.


Those are things we haven't done. The most active/memorable trips we have done:
1) Hiked the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu (amazing!)
2) Camped/hiked in Alaska (Exit Glacier/Denali National Park)
3) Biked through Portugal
4) Hiked/camped all over Utah/AZ/Yellowstone/Grand Tetons

 

[CardsFan]

I like to see Israel and Istanbul but I'm not sure I will. I wish I was smart enough to volunteer for the business trip to Israel when I was working for one company that's doing business with an Israel company. To be swimming in the Dead Sea or floating there would be cool.

I was able to visit Israel several times on business, including swimming in the Dead Sea. Actually, the water is so buoyant you really just bob.

 

[folivier]

Here's a quick tip for anyone visiting the Vatican. Go to the Vatican post office and ask about the free tour of St. Peter's Basilica. We did it twice a few years ago. A nice english lady was our tour guide and took about 12 of us around the very long lines right into the church! She pushed her way past all of the tour groups.

 

[Fedup]

Starting our Vatican museum tour and Sistine Chapel tour in 1 hr! Lines, lines, lines everywhere! I told my son this is why you save and LBYMs so you can pay up and get the tours and skip all the lines. I hate lines!

There is a way to avoid lines, check Rick Steves website. But once you are in the Vatican, you will be moved like cattle, tour or not.
But even with that the Vatican is amazing. I almost skipped it because I'm glad I didn't.

 

[jjquantz]

Here's a quick tip for anyone visiting the Vatican. Go to the Vatican post office and ask about the free tour of St. Peter's Basilica. We did it twice a few years ago. A nice english lady was our tour guide and took about 12 of us around the very long lines right into the church! She pushed her way past all of the tour groups.

Or you can do what DW and I did- go in January. I won't say that it was empty, but we bought tickets to the museums in advance to avoid what line there was and there certainly weren't any crowds to speak of. The Sistine Chapel had a good crowd but was FAR from the shoulder to shoulder that it can be in the summer. No wait to climb to the dome and plenty of time and space to contemplate whatever struck our fancy in the museums and the Basilica. Similar results for the rest of the sights in Rome and Florence.

 

[mrWinter]

I was in the process of planning a backpacking trip to Yosemite when my wife and I found out we were pregnant, so that trip is on hold for a while now, but it's number 1 on my currently on-hold bucket list. Won't wait for retirement as I'd not gamble I'll be in good enough shape to still do it then, maybe 15 or 16 years from now the whole family can do it . If fortune smiles on me and I'm still in hiking shape when I retire I'd love to take a stab at doing much of the Pacific Crest trail.

If you want to go to Glacier NP, better go soon if you hope to see any glaciers!

Yellowstone was my first backpacking trip and it was awesome. Can't wait to take the kids there too.

 

[MuirWannabe]

I was in the process of planning a backpacking trip to Yosemite when my wife and I found out we were pregnant, so that trip is on hold for a while now, but it's number 1 on my currently on-hold bucket list. Won't wait for retirement as I'd not gamble I'll be in good enough shape to still do it then, maybe 15 or 16 years from now the whole family can do it . If fortune smiles on me and I'm still in hiking shape when I retire I'd love to take a stab at doing much of the Pacific Crest trail.

If you want to go to Glacier NP, better go soon if you hope to see any glaciers!

Yellowstone was my first backpacking trip and it was awesome. Can't wait to take the kids there too.

mrWinter,
Just got back back from my thru hike attempt of the PCT. One of the greatest adventures of my life. I only made it 328 miles from the border before having to stop; but I learned so much, saw so much, met such interesting people, and did things I'd never done before. I'm no longer a thru hiker, but intending to return many times over as a section hiker of the PCT. In fact, probably going to go back in mid-August to section hike the Sierra. I started all this on day 2 of my new retirement. Follow your dream. Good luck to you.

Muir

 

[Scuba]

Love reading these posts! Fun to see what others like to do and want to try in the future.

 

[LRDave]

Sort of vague, but:


1) Yosemite
2) Yellowstone
3) Cinque Terre
4) Peter Mayles's Provence
5) Utah canyonlands


Totally fluid...