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Top Bucket List Ideas
Big swings and small wins to jot down now, so a free day has ideas waiting.
A real, editable checklist below — tick, tap a line to rewrite, drag to reorder.
Tick the circles, tap any line to change it, drag the dots to reorder.
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Made for the person with a head full of someday and no plan. Write the wishes down, because Sylvia Dekker says a list gives free days an answer instead of a scroll through social media. Mix the sizes, too: Neely Moldovan's list has a skydive on it, and her commenters add rowing to the middle of a lake with a book. Below are big swings, small ones and a few places worth a flight. Some of these are scary, so check operators and safety yourself before booking.
Why these items are on the list
- Jump out of a plane. A classic opener. One commenter wants to skydive with professionals, which is a fair preference.
- Go zip-lining. Costa Rica gets the glory, but commenters zip-lined in Jamaica, and one's son did in Mexico.
- Try parasailing. It's on Moldovan's bucket list. A commenter calls parasailing a blast.
- Take a gourmet cooking class. Moldovan wants to take hers with Andrew. Bring your own Andrew.
- Join a flash mob. Moldovan's inspiration was the movie Friends with Benefits, which is reason enough.
- Ride a hot air balloon. Tawni ranks it at the top of hers, and Leslie Soto wants it too.
- Ride in a helicopter. A commenter's pick, right alongside the balloon and a luau.
- Go to a Hawaiian luau. Leslie Soto's pick, listed with the balloon ride and the helicopter.
- See Hawaii's Napali Coast. One commenter calls it the biggest thing crossed off so far.
- Go to a music festival. Bonnaroo and Coachella both came up. Pick a year and go.
- Take a Mediterranean cruise. Moldovan's big-trip entry. It sits right on the blogger's own bucket list.
- Visit Lord of the Rings sites. A commenter's top wish: New Zealand, where the films were shot. Nerd status confirmed.
- Try hang-gliding. Another commenter pick. Someone on the blog really wants to go hang-gliding.
- Commenter's shark-cage dive wish. Off the coast of Australia, says one commenter. Bungee jumping is a no, shark cage yes.
- Row to the middle of a lake. Dock the oars and read. A commenter says it's been a long time since doing it.
- Hike a big mountain trail. Sylvia Dekker's Mt. Niles hike in Yoho National Park ran 24 kilometres past lakes, glaciers and waterfalls.
- Canoe a lake. Dekker's own example of a mini adventure on an adventure bucket list.
- Try bouldering. Another of Dekker's mini adventure examples, right next to canoeing a lake.
- Camp in the snow. Dekker's example of a mini adventure: camp in the snow for the first time.
- Sleep under the stars. Dekker floats it as an intention: a set number of times in 2024. Low pressure.
- Feed tarpon by hand. On Caye Caulker, Belize, Premier Realty says a bag of sardines is $5 and locals show you how.
- Take a snorkeling tour. On Caye Caulker, Premier Realty says you can pick a half-day or full-day tour.
- Watch manatees from a boat. Premier Realty describes the Caye Caulker tour as half a day through mangroves and coastal water.
- Do one thing that scares you. Bucket List Journey's travel advice: schedule something new and a little uncomfortable each day of a trip.
Tick items off on your phone the moment they happen, and let a friend or partner add their own wishes to the same page. It stays a loose pile of ideas, so you can skip around freely.
When to use it
Start it at the turn of the year, before a holiday, or any time you've got a free weekend and no plan.