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
- Go to space
- Meet the Dalai Lama ✔
- Buy a house for my parents
- Sleep under the stars in the Sahara Desert ✔
- Float in the Dead Sea ✔
- See the Aurora Borealis ✔
- Kayak in Puerto Rico’s Bioluminescent Bay ✔
- Celebrate Holi in India ✔
- Celebrate Carnaval in South America ✔
- Eat a beignet at Café Du Monde
- Set the sun rise and set on all 7 continents
- See a bullfight in Spain
- See the man burn at Burning Man ✔
- Go skinny dipping ✔
- Climb Kilimanjaro
- Haggle for useless trinkets in Morocco ✔
- Climb above the clouds in Machu Picchu ✔
- Celebrate Songkran in Thailand
- Return to the Trevi Fountain ✔
- Camp in the Serengeti
- Be debt-free ✔
- Spike my adrenaline in New Zealand ✔
- Dive the Great Barrier Reef ✔
- Jump out of a plane ✔
- See lava erupting in Hawaii ✔
- Walk the Capilano Suspension bridge ✔
- Get soaked on the Maid of the Mist ✔
- Ride a gondola in Venice ✔
- Bike down the Death Road in Bolivia ✔
- Say a prayer in the Hagia Sophia ✔
- Jump off a large waterfall ✔
- Dive with dolphins ✔
- See the Salar de Uyuni ✔
- Celebrate Dia de los Muertos in Mexico ✔
- See the giant Buddha on Lantau Island ✔
- Start a fire without matches ✔
- Visit the Sistine Chapel ✔
- Soak in a thermal hotspring ✔
- Eat fondue in Switzerland ✔
- Road trip in Baja California ✔
- Ride the Trans-Siberian railway
- Draw something beautiful ✔
- Explore the Lofoten Islands ✔
- Be a New York Times Bestselling author
- Tube down the river in Laos
- See the Taj Mahal at sunrise
- Sunbathe on Ipanema and Copacabana beach ✔
- Release a lantern at the Yi Peng Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai
- Ride an elephant ✔
- Stand in the middle of the Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo ✔
- Speak fluent Spanish
- Learn to play the ukulele ✔
- Hike in the Swiss Alps ✔
- Marvel at La Sagrada Familia ✔
- Ride a camel in the desert ✔
- Eat crawfish in Louisiana ✔
- Fly a hot air balloon over Cappadocia ✔
- Have a cappuccino in Rome (only for breakfast) ✔
- Stand atop the tallest building in the world ✔
- See the Monarch butterfly migration
- Eat chimney cake at a Christmas Market ✔
- Milk a cow
- Wander in Angkor Wat
- Stand at the footsteps of Christ the Redeemer
- Shuck an oyster ✔
- Join a flash mob ✔
- Be a member of a TV studio audience ✔
- Run with the bulls
- See the tuna auction at the Tsukiji fish market ✔
- Soak in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland ✔
- People watch in Paris ✔
- Ride in a helicopter ✔
- Learn to surf ✔
- Walk the Camino de Santiago ✔
- Get soaked at Skogafoss ✔
- Walk the Great Wall of China
- Take the funicular up Sugar Loaf ✔
- Bundle up in an Ice Bar ✔
- Shoot an AK-47 ✔
- Wear lederhosens to Oktoberfest ✔
- See the windmills of Holland ✔
- Go to a medieval faire ✔
- Fight in La Tomatina
- Be surrounded by a million fireflies ✔
- See the sunrise over Haleakala ✔
- Go Zorbing in New Zealand ✔
- Sleep in a capsule hotel ✔
- Go jet skiing ✔
- Fly over the Andes and not crash ✔
- Dash through the snow on a snowmobile
- Visit all 50 United States
- Do some graffiti ✔
- Photograph a geisha ✔
- Release baby turtles back into the oceans
- Find myself by chance in Timbuktu
- See the snow monkeys bathing in Japan ✔
- Row a boat to the Lake Bled church ✔
- Roam the City of Petra ✔
- Stand atop Mt. Sinai ✔
- Cage dive with great white sharks
- Get Lost in Fes ✔
- Eat in Barcelona’s La Boqueria ✔
- See salmons swim migrate upstream
- Fly on a seaplane ✔
- Patent something
- Eat a thali in India with my hands ✔
- Be a guest on Good Morning America and/or The Today Show
- Airstream across America
- Drive Route 66 ✔
- 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
- Hit 250 kph on the Autobahn
- Drive a rickshaw through India ✔
- Free dive the Blue Hole
- Hunt and cook a deer
- Walk from Tokyo to Kyoto on the Nakasendo Trail
- Free dive in Jellyfish Lake ✔
- Ride a motorbike through Vietnam
- Ice climb a glacier ✔
- Kayak in the Grand Canyon
- Sail down the Nile River ✔
- Dive with a Mola Mola
- Swim with Whale Sharks ✔
- Explore New Zealand in a camper van ✔
- Go lobster diving ✔
- Fly a stunt plane ✔
- Hike up Zion’s Angel’s Landing ✔
- Race the Mongol Rally
- Drive across the Gobi Desert ✔
- Walk On The Wings Of A Plane ✔
- Paraglide in Nepal ✔
- Explore Yellowstone’s backcountry ✔
- Dive a cenote
- Sail the Atlantic Ocean
- Summit Mt. Toubkal ✔
- Dive for pearls
- Hike to the top of the Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto ✔
- Ride the Vomit Comet
- Dive in Raja Ampat
- Play in a game of Kok Born
- Hang in the Bamboo Forest on Maui ✔
- Catch some air on a hang-glider ✔
- Sail around Greenland
- Via ferrata in the Dolomites ✔
- Finish an ultra-endurance race ✔
- Dive a wreck ✔
- Ride a speedboat through a narrow canyon ✔
- Climb Svolvaergeita in Norway ✔
- Dive Darwin’s Arch in the Galapagos
- Dive the crystal clear water of Silfra ✔
- Learn to do a wheelie on a motorcycle ✔
- Try flyboarding
- Feed the deers in Nara ✔
- Catch and cook a fish ✔
- Stand Up Paddleboard in the Arctic ✔
- Ride a dog sled
- Ski indoors ✔
- Dive with whale sharks ✔
- See orangutans in the wild ✔
- Climb down to Kelingking Beach ✔
- Do a polar plunge
- Surf in Morocco ✔
- Squeeze through a slot canyon ✔
- Run a marathon in Antarctica
- Dive an underwater museum ✔
- Hike the Annapurna Circuit ✔
- Run wild with Bear Grylls ✔
- Raft down the Amazon River ✔
- Visit a longhouse in Borneo ✔
- Explore an ice cave in Iceland ✔
- Extract honey from a bee hive
- Run a 100-miler
- See the Sardine Run in Moalboal
- Win a fight ✔
- Ride the Ha Giang Loop in Vietnam
- Walk towards the light in Jomblang Cave ✔
- Hitchhike in the Balkans ✔
- Drive an F1 vehicle
- Cycle around Lake Ohrid ✔
- Sand board down a sand dune ✔
- Dive in all 5 oceans
- Climb Half Dome ✔
- Walk on a bed of hot coals
- Go Arctic stand-up paddleboarding ✔
- Abseil down a waterfall ✔
- Hang over the edge of The Devil’s Pool
- Search for the Proboscis monkey in Borneo ✔
- See Uluru when it rains ✔
- Drive in a NASCAR vehicle
- Graduate from an Ivy League university ✔
- Bike through Eastern Europe
- Race a drone
- Eat a ball of fire
- Motorcycle through South America
- Ride down a volcano ✔
- Compete in the Death Race ✔
- Run across Leichtenstein ✔
- Dive the Red Sea ✔
- Drive on the Bonneville Salt Flats
- 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
- See the synchronous fireflies in Elkmont
- Explore the Marble Caves in Chile
- Climb the Heavenly Stairs
- Celebrate the Winter Solstice at Stonehenge
- Climb the Takstsang Monastery in Bhutan
- Wander the dunes of Sossuvlei in Namibia
- Visit the sea gypsies and stilt houses in Borneo ✔
- Soak in the thermal baths of Pamukkale ✔
- Watch the fires of Azerbaijan burn
- See the sunrise over Wadi Rum ✔
- Hike the Wave ✔
- Marvel at the Cave of the Crystals
- Stand before the “Door To Hell” in Turkmenistan
- Walk In La Valle De La Luna ✔
- See the pagodas of Bagan at sunrise ✔
- Sled down Mt. Wallberg
- Play in the Salida Turda ✔
- Descend into the Lost World ✔
- Drive the Transfaragaran highway ✔
- Celebrate New Years in Kiribati
- Get away to Bucas Grande Island
- Dive in Chuuk
- Visit the most beautiful bookstores in the world
- Hike in the Azores
- Visit a paper making town in Japan
- Light something on fire at Las Fallas in Valencia
- Behold Vestrahorn ✔
- See the buddha in the Ngu Hanh Son cave ✔
- Explore a Glacier Ice Cave in Iceland ✔
- Get muddy at the Boryeong Mud Festival in South Korea
- Eat Txuleta in San Sebastián ✔
- Attend the Thaipusam festival at the Baku Caves ✔
- See where Romeo met Juliet in Verona ✔
- Ride The Bernina Express from Switzerland to Italy ✔
- Sneak into Buzludzha ✔
- Drive the Road to Hana ✔
- Hike The Corcovado Rainforest ✔
- Explore the Catacombs under Paris ✔
- Cross the Rakotiz Brucke bridge in Germany
- 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
- Listen to Flamenco in an Andalucian cave ✔
- See Roger Federer win a Grand Slam
- Solve an Agatha Christie murder on Burgh Island
- Smoke a cigar in Cuba ✔
- Sip champagne in a penthouse hot tub ✔
- Gamble in Monte Carlo
- Hear Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony live ✔
- Eat fresh uni underwater
- Harvest chicatana ants in Oaxaca
- Drink port wine in the Douro Valley ✔
- Feast at a Hawaiian luau ✔
- Go all out in Barcelona ✔
- Saber a champagne bottle ✔
- Ride the Orient Express
- Eat Tafelspitz in Vienna ✔
- Bath in a Japanese onsen ✔
- Smoke a Hookah in the Middle East ✔
- Attend the Cannes Film Festival
- Eat Kaya toast and half-boiled eggs in Singapore ✔
- Brunch at the Red Bull Hangar 7 ✔
- Stay in an overwater bungalow in Bora Bora
- Eat at a Michelin-starred food cart ✔
- Spend 24 hours in a spa ✔
- Visit an onsen town in Japan ✔
- Walk down a red carpet premiere
- See Tom Brady win the Super Bowl with my dad ✔
- Drink a beer in a motel hot tub ✔
- Go big at the Burj Al Arab ✔
- Fly First Class ✔
- Sit front row at Fashion Week
- Ride the Presidential Train ✔
- Eat an ortolan
- Get a perm in Korea
- Get front row tickets to a Twice concert ✔
- High Tea at the Ritz in London
- Enjoy an omakase in Japan ✔
- Pretend to understand the art at the Biennale festival in Venice
- Go on a 6 month cruise
- Drink an Aperol Spritz in Bellagio ✔
- Leave a 100% tip ✔
- Make a $1000 bet on a hand of “War”
- Get front row tickets to a Blackpink concert ✔
- Sunbath in a crowd at Polignano A Mare ✔
- Attend the White House Correspondents Dinner
- Enjoy a private hamman in Morocco ✔
- Party at the Playboy Mansion
- Hear Alfie Boe sing Bring Him Home from Les Misérables live ✔
- Dine in complete darkness
- See ABBA in concert ✔
- Get an 8 hour massage ✔
- Eat at a Michelin 3-Star restaurant ✔
- Forage for truffles
- Sleep in a castle
- Have $1,000,000 in my bank account
- 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
- Stomp grapes to make wine
- Raise an Amish barn
- Take a photo in every Photoautomat in Berlin ✔
- Dig for dinosaur bones
- Win a chicken-wing eating contest ✔
- Film an “Ed” reunion with Tom Cavanagh and Julie Bowen
- Boil an egg in a thermal hot pool ✔
- Eat sheep brains in Jemaa El-Fna ✔
- Become an American Ninja Warrior
- Build my own furniture ✔
- Publish a book of poems
- Hand feed a crocodile in the wild ✔
- Kiss the Blarney Stone
- Take sides in the Battle of the Oranges in Ivrea, Italy
- Be a merman for a day
- Sing along unabashedly at a Taylor Swift concert ✔
- Complete the Big Texan Steak Ranch 72 oz steak challenge
- Learn how to pick a lock ✔
- Capture the World Nomad Games ✔
- Become a Royal Geographical Society fellow
- Eat at Mechoui Alley in Marrakech ✔
- Become a National Geographic Society fellow
- See the “Alexander the Great” statue in North Macedonia ✔
- Read 52 books in a year
- Go to a pet cafe in Tokyo ✔
- Dance with an African tribe
- Fight a luchador
- Be a lighthouse keeper
- Drink some real absinthe ✔
- Sleep in a monastery ✔
- See The Water Buffalo Chariot Races in Indonesia
- Dive in the Bay of Pigs ✔
- Dance with Twice
- Do a fashion shoot for Vogue Italia
- Sleep in a capsule hotel ✔
- Visit a nudist colony
- Sumo wrestle
- Get over 1,000,000 views on YouTube ✔
- Run from an attack dog
- Relax in a sensory deprivation chamber ✔
- Roast a whole lamb on a spit
- Get a matching tattoo
- Visit the island where they filmed Mamma Mia 2 ✔
- Learn to play the ukulele ✔
- Make a short feature film
- See Punxsatawny Phil predict the weather on Groundhog’s Day
- Float in a sensory deprivation chamber ✔
- Build an igloo
- Hear Gabrielle Aplin sing “Home” live ✔
- Go on a poutine crawl ✔
- Make moonshine in Kentucky
- Play Pachinko for 24 hours
- Create a board game
- Get in or turned away at Berghain. It doesn’t matter.
- Watch a movie at a drive-in theatre ✔
- Train with Buakaw in Thailand ✔
- Live abroad ✔
- Eat over 100 bowls of soba noodles in Morioka, Japan
- Dance with Matt ✔
- Snowboard indoors in Dubai ✔
- Be on a Japanese variety show
- See my work at a film festival
- Sleep in an ice hotel
- Skydive indoors ✔
- Sleep in a yurt in Mongolia ✔
- Make my own paper
- Dive in an aquarium
- Visit the birthplace of KFC ✔
- Be silent for 10 days
- Summit a 6000m mountain
- Throw a football with Julian Edelman
- Sheer a sheep
- Be on a reality TV show
- Fly on a trapeze ✔
- Give a Ted or Ted(x) talk
- Ride A Tricycle Down A Canyon Swing ✔
- See the World’s Largest Ball of Twine
- Follow’s Dracula’s trail in Romania ✔
- Fight in the Thunderdome ✔
- Write a hit country song
- Eat a possum pie ✔
- Find the one
- Break a Guinness World Record ✔
- Listen for aliens at the VLA ✔
- Get published in Vanity Fair
- Win a didgeridoo playing contest ✔
- Meet Park Ji Yoon
- Play an extra in a movie
- Watch a game of Kok Boru in Kyrgyzstan ✔
- Crash an Indian wedding
- Exhibit my work in a gallery
- Dress up for Comicon
- Ride a reindeer ✔
- Cook for a famous chef
- See my work on a billboard
- Eat a bat in Palau ✔
- Stare at the Roswell night sky ✔
- Learn to breakdance
- Take a date to an Air Supply concert
- Stay overnight at a Jjimjilbang in Korea
- Shoot for National Geographic
- Impress Richard Branson
- Eat a live coconut grub ✔
- Do the Game of Thrones walk of shame in King’s Landing
- Visit Sleepy Hollow
- Ride a rollercoaster at the Mall of America ✔
- Dunk a basketball
- Throw a pot of hot water into sub-freezing air
- Drive a Delorian
- Be a hobbit ✔
- Win an eating challenge ✔
- Eat street meat in India ✔
- Be my own boss ✔
- Herd reindeer
- Eat a home cooked meal with a big Italian family
- Eat the best steak in Buenos Aires ✔
- 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
- Make someone smile
- Tell someone you love them
- Do something unexpected
- Offer someone your time
- Stay up all night talking
- Watch the sun rise and set in the same day
- Leave a random message for someone
- Sing your favorite song at Karaoke
- Let loose in the rain
- Sleep in on a weekday
- Stay cozy inside and do nothing on a rainy day
- Take a long bath
- Reserve your judgment
- Let the small stuff go
- 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.