• LAUNCH YOUR DREAM
  • BE A MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER
  • STARTING OVER MIDLIFE
  • HAPPINESS THROUGH ACTIVISM
  • TRAVEL THE WORLD
  • GET HEALTHY & FIT
  • BUILD SELF-CONFIDENCE
  • BRAVE LIVING
  • WRITE WITH US

8WomenDream

Dream Big Stories

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • CONNECT
You Are Here Home » TRAVEL THE WORLD » Travel Bucket Lists and World Travel Dreams

in TRAVEL THE WORLD

Travel Bucket Lists and World Travel Dreams

Jatiluwah rice terraces, Bali (pic - Natasha von Geldern)
Whatever the scope of your world travel dream, you may have at some point drawn up a travel bucket list. You know, the list of places you want to see before you ‘kick the bucket’.

Let’s make it clear, I don’t personally have any interest in ticking off any of these travel bucket lists as a goal. My goal is to make the pages of the atlas real, to see how other people live and to enrich my life in the process. But they are inspiring if used in the right way.

Here are a few travel bucket lists I have referred to in the past.

1. 1000 Places to see before you die

This popular Christmas stocking stuffer and New York Times bestseller book is written by professional travel writer Patricia Schultz. There is no doubt she is well qualified to put such a travel bucket list together and it is a great source of inspiration for places to travel, not to mention for blog posts.

However I found the inclusion of so many hotel destination items on this list annoying, or even offensive. For a start I had to ignore all references to Four Seasons Resorts. How can a hotel be a destination unless it is of historical or cultural significance?

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam (pic - Natasha von Geldern)

2. Seven Wonders of the World

There is not much left of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (only the Pyramids at Giza) but a couple of years ago an organisation held a public vote to establish the new seven wonders – the Seven Wonders of the modern world if you will. This has snowballed into the New Seven Wonders of Nature, and now the Seven Wonders Cities.

They claim to have received over 100 million votes from around the world so clearly travel bucket lists are in vogue. The Great Wall of China, the Lost City of Petra, Chichén Itzá , the Statue of Christ Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, the Colosseum in Rome, Machu Picchu and the Taj Mahal were the winners. In the natural wonders list, the Amazon River, Ha Long Bay (Vietnam), Iguazu Falls (Argentina/Brazil), Jeju Island (South Korea), Komodo Island (Indonesia), PP Underground River (Philippines), and Table Mountain (South Africa) were the winners.

The Taj Mahal, India (pic - Natasha von Geldern)

3. The Unesco World Heritage Site List

I have previously written about how the list of World Heritage Sites identified by Unesco inspires me in my travel planning. These 962 properties are said to form part of the world’s cultural and natural heritage and have outstanding universal value.

Making it onto the World Heritage Site list can be a boost for local and international organisations trying to safeguard sites in danger of being destroyed by over-development.

Create your own Travel bucket list

Inevitably there are websites, online communities and apps that will make creating your own world travel dream bucket list easy. Think about whether you are interested primarily in seeing particular destinations, or in having physical experiences.

Do you want to stick to more off-the-beaten-track destinations, or is seeing the Taj Mahal and the Eiffel Tower at the top of your world travel dreams list?

Then you may be more of a numbers person. I don’t need to have ticked off every country in the world in my lifetime but I do admit to a certain satisfaction when I can add another country to my total – it’s part of my vision to make the pages of the atlas real after all. I do quite fancy being able to join the Travelers Century Club, only open to people who have travelled to at least 100 countries.

This non-profit social organization has a mind-broadening, international goodwill vibe. However, it does have some debatable definitions of what constitutes a country visited, counting territories that are removed from the parent country. Also, all that is required is a plane stopover to qualify. I don’t have a set rule for how much time I must have spent in a country to count it on my list but I do have to have seen something of the place!

This year I will turn 40 years old and I am currently hovering on a tantalising 49 countries visited. I have just over three months left to achieve the 50 countries by 40. As the date approaches this is becoming more and more important to me. From London I might have to make a quick trip to Luxembourg!

Whatever your priorities, don’t use a travel bucket list as the be-all-and-end-all of your world travel dreams but simply for a little inspiration.

Natasha

Related Stories:

  • Travel and photography
    World Travel Bucket List for World Travel Dreamers
  • travel bucket list laos slow boat luang phabang mekong
    Now You Can Get Travel Bucket List Ideas from World…
  • Remembering Nepal Before the Quake
    Bucket List Dreams and Remembering Nepal Before the Quake
  • Brian Cox hiking the south rim of the Grand Canyon
    Dream Travel Bucket List and the Grand Canyon
Natasha VonGeldern
Natasha VonGeldern

Natasha von Geldern is a travel writer, editor, and blogger who is passionate about making the pages of the atlas real by traveling the world. She is a contributor to Travel Wire Asia, Wild Junket Magazine, Yahoo! Total Travel, and Travelbite. You can find her on her travel website and blog, WorldWanderingKiwi.

Note: Articles by Natasha may contain affiliate links and may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on an affiliate link.

Filed Under: TRAVEL THE WORLD

Some of the posts on 8WD contain affiliate links or links to purchase products or programs from 8WD contributors. This means 8WD or the contributor may make a small commission if you make a purchase. The 8WD affiliate links help offset the cost of hosting this website and the contributor links help support the dreams of the contributor. Please check out the 8WD Legal Page for more details.

Thank you for your continued support!

« 7 Secrets To Conquering Stage Fright As A Keynote Speaker
Remedial Entertaining is Part of My Famous Chef Dream »

Check it out

  • LAUNCH YOUR DREAM
  • BE A MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER
  • STARTING OVER MIDLIFE
  • HAPPINESS THROUGH ACTIVISM
  • TRAVEL THE WORLD
  • GET HEALTHY & FIT
  • BUILD SELF-CONFIDENCE
  • BRAVE LIVING
  • WRITE WITH US


The 8WomenDream Dream Tote Bag

About the 8WomenDream Tote Bag
US – 10oz Cotton
Dimensions (External Dimensions)
• Height – 18″ (45.72cm or 457.2mm)
• Width – 15″ (38.1cm or 381mm)
Handle Dimensions (Internal Dimensions)
• Length – 29″ (73.7cm or 736.6mm)

Recent Dream Stories

  • 8 Solstice Traditions for Focusing on Your Big Dream this Year
  • Winter Solstice: What Will You Do With 1 Minute More?
  • Why Halloween Costumes Can Help Discover Your Big Dream
  • How the Equinox Can be a Catalyst for Change
  • 5 Strategies to Live Your Wildest Dreams
  • Starting Over as a Single Mom Wasn’t My Big Dream
  • Warning: Big Dream to Be a Motivational Speaker Won’t Always Obey Your Plans
  • Dance to Relieve Stress to Focus on Your Big Dream

Inspiration

More About 8WD

WE BELIEVE EVERYONE HAS THE POWER TO ACHIEVE BIG DREAMS.
 
IT IS OUR SINCEREST WISH THROUGH THE SHARING OF PERSONAL STORIES ABOUT WHAT IT’S LIKE TO TRY TO ACHIEVE A BIG DREAM THAT WE WILL INSPIRE YOU GO AFTER A BIG DREAM TOO.
 
YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT 8WOMENDREAM, HERE.

8 WOMEN DREAM | COPYRIGHT All RIGHTS RESERVED © 2025 · LEGAL

Welcome to 8WomenDream Where Big Dreams Are Shared
The 8WomenDream website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're OK with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. ACCEPT REJECT READ MORE
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT