426 Unique Ideas For Your Bucket List

The “Bucket” List is a list of things you want to do before you kick the proverbial bucket and leave this world.  This one is mine. The world is amazing and I never cease to add new things to it. It’s also not in any order of priority. I broke the list down into a few different categories to better capture the type of experiences I want to check off.

There’s the “Classic” list with the things that you’ll commonly find that’s on one’s bucket list, the “Adventure” list for things that require me to go a little out of my comfort zone physically, the “Odd” list for stuff that will make you scratch your a head a bit, the “Hidden Gems” for things you might not have heard about, and the “Indulgent” because we should all treat ourselves once in a while. You can use these links to jump to those areas.

At the very bottom, is the “Everyday” list of things that you can check off over and over again, because kindness is always worth giving and receiving.

What Should Go On Your Bucket List?

I really want to live life as fully and deeply as possible,  to take the time to appreciate both the big and the small moments that make it special. My recommendation for your own bucket list is to find things that really call out to you, things that you are willing to put in the time and the investment to eventually do. It can be big or it can be small, but it should be personal.

My list is far from complete. Please send any suggestions my way. Better yet, if you can help me check any of these items off my list or want to do something with me, I’m all ears.

“I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” – Susan Sontag

Classic Bucket List Ideas

  1. Go to space
  2. Meet the Dalai Lama
  3. Buy a house for my parents
  4. Sleep under the stars in the Sahara Desert ✔
  5. Float in the Dead Sea
  6. See the Aurora Borealis
  7. Kayak in Puerto Rico’s Bioluminescent Bay ✔
  8. Celebrate Holi in India
  9. Celebrate Carnaval in South America ✔
  10. Eat a beignet at Café Du Monde
  11. Set the sun rise and set on all 7 continents
  12. See a bullfight in Spain
  13. See the man burn at Burning Man
  14. Go skinny dipping ✔
  15. Climb Kilimanjaro
  16. Haggle for useless trinkets in Morocco ✔
  17. Climb above the clouds in Machu Picchu ✔
  18. Celebrate Songkran in Thailand
  19. Return to the Trevi Fountain ✔
  20. Camp in the Serengeti
  21. Be debt-free ✔
  22. Spike my adrenaline in New Zealand ✔
  23. Dive the Great Barrier Reef
  24. Jump out of a plane ✔
  25. See lava erupting in Hawaii ✔
  26. Walk the Capilano Suspension bridge ✔
  27. Get soaked on the Maid of the Mist ✔
  28. Ride a gondola in Venice
  29. Bike down the Death Road in Bolivia
  30. Say a prayer in the Hagia Sophia ✔
  31. Jump off a large waterfall ✔
  32. Dive with dolphins ✔
  33. See the Salar de Uyuni ✔
  34. Celebrate Dia de los Muertos in Mexico ✔
  35. See the giant Buddha on Lantau Island ✔
  36. Start a fire without matches ✔
  37. Visit the Sistine Chapel ✔
  38. Soak in a thermal hotspring ✔
  39. Eat fondue in Switzerland ✔
  40. Road trip in Baja California ✔
  41. Ride the Trans-Siberian railway
  42. Draw something beautiful ✔
  43. Explore the Lofoten Islands ✔
  44. Be a New York Times Bestselling author
  45. Tube down the river in Laos
  46. See the Taj Mahal at sunrise
  47. Sunbathe on Ipanema and Copacabana beach ✔
  48. Release a lantern at the Yi Peng Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai
  49. Ride an elephant ✔
  50. Stand in the middle of the Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo ✔
  51. Speak fluent Spanish
  52. Learn to play the ukulele ✔
  53. Hike in the Swiss Alps
  54. Marvel at La Sagrada Familia ✔
  55. Ride a camel in the desert ✔
  56. Eat crawfish in Louisiana ✔
  57. Fly a hot air balloon over Cappadocia ✔
  58. Have a cappuccino in Rome (only for breakfast) ✔
  59. Stand atop the tallest building in the world ✔
  60. See the Monarch butterfly migration
  61. Eat chimney cake at a Christmas Market ✔
  62. Milk a cow
  63. Wander in Angkor Wat
  64. Stand at the footsteps of Christ the Redeemer
  65. Shuck an oyster ✔
  66. Join a flash mob ✔
  67. Be a member of a TV studio audience ✔
  68. Run with the bulls
  69. See the tuna auction at the Tsukiji fish market
  70. Soak in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland
  71. People watch in Paris
  72. Ride in a helicopter
  73. Learn to surf ✔
  74. Walk the Camino de Santiago ✔
  75. Get soaked at Skogafoss ✔
  76. Walk the Great Wall of China
  77. Take the funicular up Sugar Loaf ✔
  78. Bundle up in an Ice Bar ✔
  79. Shoot an AK-47
  80. Wear lederhosens to Oktoberfest ✔
  81. See the windmills of Holland ✔
  82. Go to a medieval faire ✔
  83. Fight in La Tomatina
  84. Be surrounded by a million fireflies ✔
  85. See the sunrise over Haleakala ✔
  86. Go Zorbing in New Zealand ✔
  87. Sleep in a capsule hotel ✔
  88. Go jet skiing ✔
  89. Fly over the Andes and not crash ✔
  90. Dash through the snow on a snowmobile
  91. Visit all 50 United States
  92. Do some graffiti ✔
  93. Photograph a geisha ✔
  94. Release baby turtles back into the oceans
  95. Find myself by chance in Timbuktu
  96. See the snow monkeys bathing in Japan ✔
  97. Row a boat to the Lake Bled church ✔
  98. Roam the City of Petra
  99. Stand atop Mt. Sinai
  100. Cage dive with great white sharks
  101. Get Lost in Fes
  102. Eat in Barcelona’s La Boqueria ✔
  103. See salmons swim migrate upstream
  104. Fly on a seaplane ✔
  105. Patent something
  106. Eat a thali in India with my hands ✔
  107. Be a guest on Good Morning America and/or The Today Show
  108. Airstream across America
  109. Drive Route 66
  110. Make the news ✔

Bucket list tip #1: Think experience rather than just location. If you’ve dreamed of going to paris, think about the things you’d want to do there and make those bucket list items instead.

Adventure Bucket List Ideas

  1. Hit 250 kph on the Autobahn
  2. Drive a rickshaw through India
  3. Free dive the Blue Hole
  4. Hunt and cook a deer
  5. Walk from Tokyo to Kyoto on the Nakasendo Trail
  6. Free dive in Jellyfish Lake
  7. Ride a motorbike through Vietnam
  8. Ice climb a glacier
  9. Kayak in the Grand Canyon
  10. Sail down the Nile River ✔
  11. Dive with a Mola Mola
  12. Swim with Whale Sharks
  13. Explore New Zealand in a camper van
  14. Go lobster diving
  15. Fly a stunt plane
  16. Hike up Zion’s Angel’s Landing ✔
  17. Race the Mongol Rally
  18. Drive across the Gobi Desert ✔
  19. Walk On The Wings Of A Plane
  20. Paraglide in Nepal ✔
  21. Explore Yellowstone’s backcountry
  22. Dive a cenote
  23. Sail the Atlantic Ocean
  24. Summit Mt. Toubkal ✔
  25. Dive for pearls
  26. Hike to the top of the Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto ✔
  27. Ride the Vomit Comet
  28. Dive in Raja Ampat
  29. Play in a game of Kok Born
  30. Hang in the Bamboo Forest on Maui ✔
  31. Catch some air on a hang-glider ✔
  32. Sail around Greenland
  33. Via ferrata in the Dolomites ✔
  34. Finish an ultra-endurance race
  35. Dive a wreck ✔
  36. Ride a speedboat through a narrow canyon ✔
  37. Climb Svolvaergeita in Norway ✔
  38. Dive Darwin’s Arch in the Galapagos
  39. Dive the crystal clear water of Silfra ✔
  40. Learn to do a wheelie on a motorcycle ✔
  41. Try flyboarding
  42. Feed the deers in Nara ✔
  43. Catch and cook a fish ✔
  44. Stand Up Paddleboard in the Arctic ✔
  45. Ride a dog sled
  46. Ski indoors ✔
  47. Dive with whale sharks ✔
  48. See orangutans in the wild ✔
  49. Climb down to Kelingking Beach ✔
  50. Do a polar plunge
  51. Surf in Morocco ✔
  52. Squeeze through a slot canyon ✔
  53. Run a marathon in Antarctica
  54. Dive an underwater museum
  55. Hike the Annapurna Circuit
  56. Run wild with Bear Grylls ✔
  57. Raft down the Amazon River
  58. Visit a longhouse in Borneo ✔
  59. Explore an ice cave in Iceland
  60. Extract honey from a bee hive
  61. Run a 100-miler
  62. See the Sardine Run in Moalboal
  63. Win a fight ✔
  64. Ride the Ha Giang Loop in Vietnam
  65. Walk towards the light in Jomblang Cave ✔
  66. Hitchhike in the Balkans ✔
  67. Drive an F1 vehicle
  68. Cycle around Lake Ohrid ✔
  69. Sand board down a sand dune ✔
  70. Dive in all 5 oceans
  71. Climb Half Dome ✔
  72. Walk on a bed of hot coals
  73. Go Arctic stand-up paddleboarding ✔
  74. Abseil down a waterfall ✔
  75. Hang over the edge of The Devil’s Pool
  76. Search for the Proboscis monkey in Borneo ✔
  77. See Uluru when it rains ✔
  78. Drive in a NASCAR vehicle
  79. Graduate from an Ivy League university ✔
  80. Bike through Eastern Europe
  81. Race a drone
  82. Eat a ball of fire
  83. Motorcycle through South America
  84. Ride down a volcano ✔
  85. Compete in the Death Race ✔
  86. Run across Leichtenstein ✔
  87. Dive the Red Sea ✔
  88. Drive on the Bonneville Salt Flats
  89. Deep water solo in Thailand

BUCKET List Tip #2: don’t get caught up with just what you see on social media. It should be more than just getting a photo. if you find a travel blog you like, comb through it. See If anything they’ve done resonates with you and put it on your own list.

Hidden Gems Bucket List Ideas

  1. See the synchronous fireflies in Elkmont
  2. Explore the Marble Caves in Chile
  3. Climb the Heavenly Stairs
  4. Celebrate the Winter Solstice at Stonehenge
  5. Climb the Takstsang Monastery in Bhutan
  6. Wander the dunes of Sossuvlei in Namibia
  7. Visit the sea gypsies and stilt houses in Borneo ✔
  8. Soak in the thermal baths of Pamukkale ✔
  9. Watch the fires of Azerbaijan burn
  10. See the sunrise over Wadi Rum
  11. Hike the Wave
  12. Marvel at the Cave of the Crystals
  13. Stand before the “Door To Hell” in Turkmenistan
  14. Walk In La Valle De La Luna
  15. See the pagodas of Bagan at sunrise
  16. Sled down Mt. Wallberg
  17. Play in the Salida Turda
  18. Descend into the Lost World
  19. Drive the Transfaragaran highway ✔
  20. Celebrate New Years in Kiribati
  21. Get away to Bucas Grande Island
  22. Dive in Chuuk
  23. Visit the most beautiful bookstores in the world
  24. Hike in the Azores
  25. Visit a paper making town in Japan
  26. Light something on fire at Las Fallas in Valencia
  27. Behold Vestrahorn
  28. See the buddha in the Ngu Hanh Son cave ✔
  29. Explore a Glacier Ice Cave in Iceland
  30. Get muddy at the Boryeong Mud Festival in South Korea
  31. Eat Txuleta in San Sebastián ✔
  32. Attend the Thaipusam festival at the Baku Caves ✔
  33. See where Romeo met Juliet in Verona ✔
  34. Ride The Bernina Express from Switzerland to Italy ✔
  35. Sneak into Buzludzha ✔
  36. Drive the Road to Hana
  37. Hike The Corcovado Rainforest ✔
  38. Explore the Catacombs under Paris
  39. Cross the Rakotiz Brucke bridge in Germany
  40. Go sledding on a frozen Lake Baikal

Bucket List Tip #3: If you are looking for an adventure, pick a continent you’ve never been to and narrow it down to a country. Do a Search For “Adventures In [Fill In The Blank]” and click on the image tab. Then get carried away down that rabbit hole.

Indulgent Bucket List Ideas

  1. Listen to Flamenco in an Andalucian cave ✔
  2. See Roger Federer win a Grand Slam
  3. Solve an Agatha Christie murder on Burgh Island
  4. Smoke a cigar in Cuba ✔
  5. Sip champagne in a penthouse hot tub ✔
  6. Gamble in Monte Carlo
  7. Hear Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony live ✔
  8. Eat fresh uni underwater
  9. Harvest chicatana ants in Oaxaca
  10. Drink port wine in the Douro Valley ✔
  11. Feast at a Hawaiian luau
  12. Go all out in Barcelona
  13. Saber a champagne bottle ✔
  14. Ride the Orient Express
  15. Eat Tafelspitz in Vienna ✔
  16. Bath in a Japanese onsen ✔
  17. Smoke a Hookah in the Middle East ✔
  18. Attend the Cannes Film Festival
  19. Eat Kaya toast and half-boiled eggs in Singapore ✔
  20. Brunch at the Red Bull Hangar 7 ✔
  21. Stay in an overwater bungalow in Bora Bora
  22. Eat at a Michelin-starred food cart ✔
  23. Spend 24 hours in a spa ✔
  24. Visit an onsen town in Japan ✔
  25. Walk down a red carpet premiere
  26. See Tom Brady win the Super Bowl with my dad ✔
  27. Drink a beer in a motel hot tub ✔
  28. Go big at the Burj Al Arab
  29. Fly First Class ✔
  30. Sit front row at Fashion Week
  31. Ride the Presidential Train
  32. Eat an ortolan
  33. Get a perm in Korea
  34. Get front row tickets to a Twice concert ✔
  35. High Tea at the Ritz in London
  36. Enjoy an omakase in Japan ✔
  37. Pretend to understand the art at the Biennale festival in Venice
  38. Go on a 6 month cruise
  39. Drink an Aperol Spritz in Bellagio ✔
  40. Leave a 100% tip ✔
  41. Make a $1000 bet on a hand of “War”
  42. Get front row tickets to a Blackpink concert ✔
  43. Sunbath in a crowd at Polignano A Mare ✔
  44. Attend the White House Correspondents Dinner
  45. Enjoy a private hamman in Morocco ✔
  46. Party at the Playboy Mansion
  47. Hear Alfie Boe sing Bring Him Home from Les Misérables live ✔
  48. Dine in complete darkness
  49. See ABBA in concert ✔
  50. Get an 8 hour massage ✔
  51. Eat at a Michelin 3-Star restaurant ✔
  52. Forage for truffles
  53. Sleep in a castle
  54. Have $1,000,000 in my bank account
  55. Fly a hot air balloon in Myanmar

Bucket list Tip #4: Learn something. It’s astonishing how many times I’ve picked a subject or skill to Learn and then stumbled onto a whole world of experiences that I’ve put on my list.

Odd Bucket List Ideas

  1. Stomp grapes to make wine
  2. Raise an Amish barn
  3. Take a photo in every Photoautomat in Berlin ✔
  4. Dig for dinosaur bones
  5. Win a chicken-wing eating contest ✔
  6. Film an “Ed” reunion with Tom Cavanagh and Julie Bowen
  7. Boil an egg in a thermal hot pool ✔
  8. Eat sheep brains in Jemaa El-Fna
  9. Become an American Ninja Warrior
  10. Build my own furniture ✔
  11. Publish a book of poems
  12. Hand feed a crocodile in the wild ✔
  13. Kiss the Blarney Stone
  14. Take sides in the Battle of the Oranges in Ivrea, Italy
  15. Be a merman for a day
  16. Sing along unabashedly at a Taylor Swift concert ✔
  17. Complete the Big Texan Steak Ranch 72 oz steak challenge
  18. Learn how to pick a lock ✔
  19. Capture the World Nomad Games ✔
  20. Become a Royal Geographical Society fellow
  21. Eat at Mechoui Alley in Marrakech ✔
  22. Become a National Geographic Society fellow
  23. See the “Alexander the Great” statue in North Macedonia ✔
  24. Read 52 books in a year
  25. Go to a pet cafe in Tokyo ✔
  26. Dance with an African tribe
  27. Fight a luchador
  28. Be a lighthouse keeper
  29. Drink some real absinthe ✔
  30. Sleep in a monastery ✔
  31. See The Water Buffalo Chariot Races in Indonesia
  32. Dive in the Bay of Pigs ✔
  33. Dance with Twice
  34. Do a fashion shoot for Vogue Italia
  35. Sleep in a capsule hotel ✔
  36. Visit a nudist colony
  37. Sumo wrestle
  38. Get over 1,000,000 views on YouTube
  39. Run from an attack dog
  40. Relax in a sensory deprivation chamber ✔
  41. Roast a whole lamb on a spit
  42. Get a matching tattoo
  43. Visit the island where they filmed Mamma Mia 2 ✔
  44. Learn to play the ukulele ✔
  45. Make a short feature film
  46. See Punxsatawny Phil predict the weather on Groundhog’s Day
  47. Float in a sensory deprivation chamber ✔
  48. Build an igloo
  49. Hear Gabrielle Aplin sing “Home” live ✔
  50. Go on a poutine crawl ✔
  51. Make moonshine in Kentucky
  52. Play Pachinko for 24 hours
  53. Create a board game
  54. Get in or turned away at Berghain. It doesn’t matter.
  55. Watch a movie at a drive-in theatre ✔
  56. Train with Buakaw in Thailand ✔
  57. Live abroad ✔
  58. Eat over 100 bowls of soba noodles in Morioka, Japan
  59. Dance with Matt ✔
  60. Snowboard indoors in Dubai
  61. Be on a Japanese variety show
  62. See my work at a film festival
  63. Sleep in an ice hotel
  64. Skydive indoors ✔
  65. Sleep in a yurt in Mongolia ✔
  66. Make my own paper
  67. Dive in an aquarium
  68. Visit the birthplace of KFC
  69. Be silent for 10 days
  70. Summit a 6000m mountain
  71. Throw a football with Julian Edelman
  72. Sheer a sheep
  73. Be on a reality TV show
  74. Fly on a trapeze ✔
  75. Give a Ted or Ted(x) talk
  76. Ride A Tricycle Down A Canyon Swing
  77. See the World’s Largest Ball of Twine
  78. Follow’s Dracula’s trail in Romania ✔
  79. Fight in the Thunderdome
  80. Write a hit country song
  81. Eat a possum pie
  82. Find the one
  83. Break a Guinness World Record
  84. Listen for aliens at the VLA ✔
  85. Get published in Vanity Fair
  86. Win a didgeridoo playing contest ✔
  87. Meet Park Ji Yoon
  88. Play an extra in a movie
  89. Watch a game of Kok Boru in Kyrgyzstan
  90. Crash an Indian wedding
  91. Exhibit my work in a gallery
  92. Dress up for Comicon
  93. Ride a reindeer ✔
  94. Cook for a famous chef
  95. See my work on a billboard
  96. Eat a bat in Palau ✔
  97. Stare at the Roswell night sky ✔
  98. Learn to breakdance
  99. Take a date to an Air Supply concert
  100. Stay overnight at a Jjimjilbang in Korea
  101. Shoot for National Geographic
  102. Impress Richard Branson
  103. Eat a live coconut grub ✔
  104. Do the Game of Thrones walk of shame in King’s Landing
  105. Visit Sleepy Hollow
  106. Ride a rollercoaster at the Mall of America ✔
  107. Dunk a basketball
  108. Throw a pot of hot water into sub-freezing air
  109. Drive a Delorian
  110. Be a hobbit
  111. Win an eating challenge ✔
  112. Eat street meat in India ✔
  113. Be my own boss ✔
  114. Herd reindeer
  115. Eat a home cooked meal with a big Italian family
  116. Eat the best steak in Buenos Aires ✔
  117. Dance all out in a silent disco ✔

Bucket List Tip #5: Share the experience. Whether it’s with a friend, a partner, or a new travel companion, having someone with you means you have someone to reminisce about the adventure with later on.

Everyday Bucket List Ideas You Can Do Over And Over Again

  1. Make someone smile
  2. Tell someone you love them
  3. Do something unexpected
  4. Offer someone your time
  5. Stay up all night talking
  6. Watch the sun rise and set in the same day
  7. Leave a random message for someone
  8. Sing your favorite song at Karaoke
  9. Let loose in the rain
  10. Sleep in on a weekday
  11. Stay cozy inside and do nothing on a rainy day
  12. Take a long bath
  13. Reserve your judgment
  14. Let the small stuff go
  15. Share a meal with someone

If you’ve made it to the bottom, thank you. I hope you found some good ideas along the way. Feel free to bookmark this page and come back when you need a little inspiration for your next trip. I’ve spent many years doing these experiences and I’ve taken my time to write about them as much for myself to remember down the line, as for others, so they can partake in some of the amazing things I’ve seen, done, eaten, and experienced. Dig around, explore, and I’m sure you’ll find some stories that will have you planning your next trip sooner rather than later.