7 Ideas for Your Ultimate Travel Bucket List
With so many amazing places around the world, it can be difficult to know where to start when planning your travel. Or it might be that you’re a seasoned traveller and you’re stuck thinking of fresh ideas for your next holiday. If you’re looking for inspiration for your ultimate travel bucket list, below are seven ideas so you can experience something amazing.
Walk of Faith, Tianmen Mountain, China
Tianmen Mountain, or ‘Heaven’s Gate’ Mountain is in the Tianmen Mountain National Park about five miles south of Zhangjiajie village in China. The Walk of Faith is a 196-foot glass pathway situated around 4,690 feet up the mountain, ideal for those adventurers who just love heights. Whilst the Walk of Faith definitely presents visitors with a challenge – even some of the bravest hikers are scared to walk along it – it’s an unforgettable experience and a must for anyone’s travel bucket list.
The park also offers visitors other attractions, like the Tianmen Mountain Cableway, one of the longest cableways in the world; Tongtian Avenue, a seven-mile road with 99 bends; and Tianmen Cave, a natural arch situated 431 feet up on the mountain.
Jellyfish Lake, Palau
Palau is an island country in the western Pacific Ocean consisting of around 340 separate islands. It’s often overlooked by travellers in favour of the Philippines, Fiji, or the Cook Islands, but Palau has a lot to offer visitors. One such attraction is Jellyfish Lake, a marine lake on Eil Malk Island. Every day, hundreds of thousands of golden jellyfish migrate across the lake and back again, and visitors are able to swim along with them, offering an amazing experience for travellers. The species of jellyfish that live in the lake do have stingers, but they are generally not powerful enough to harm people, so it’s perfectly safe to swim with them.
Swimming in the lake was previously banned for a few years when numbers of jellyfish declined from millions to nearly zero. Now the numbers are steadily increasing again, and it is safe for people to swim with the jellyfish. Visitors will need to acquire a pass to do so, and only snorkeling is allowed as SCUBA diving can harm the jellyfish.
Borobudur Temple, Indonesia
Borobudur is a 7th century Mahayana Buddhist temple in Magelang Regency on the island of Java in Indonesia. It’s the largest Buddhist temple in the world and sits atop a hill overlooking the green fields of the Kedu Valley. It covers around 27,125 square feet and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and over 500 statues of Buddha.
This UNESCO world heritage site is open to the public daily from 6am to 5pm, with visitors able to buy tickets for adults and a reduced rate for children. There is also a daily sunrise tour ticket, where visitors can experience the beauty of the temple at sunrise and take beautiful pictures to always remember your time at the temple. There are also guides available who can explain more about the architecture and the art around the temple.
Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
Ha Long Bay, or ‘descending dragon’ bay is in the Quang Ninh Province in Vietnam. The bay is popular thanks to its beautiful towering limestone pillars and tiny isles, creating spectacular scenery. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site covering around 600 square miles, with the core of the bay covering around 129 square miles.
The limestone has formed such interesting formations due to 500 million years of different conditions and environments in a tropical climate, with wind and waves steadily eroding into the structures we see today. There are a number of cruise trips available through the bay, some with the option to sleep onboard. Visitors will need to purchase tickets to the national park and there will be additional tickets required for the various attractions in the bay.
Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Peru
The Inca Trail is a hiking trail in Peru that culminates at Machu Picchu. It can take around four or five days to hike the ‘classic’ trail, but there is also a route that takes just two days. The classic trail starts at the Urubamba River and winds across mountain passes and through forests in the clouds before it reaches the Sun Gate overlooking the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu.
In an effort to reduce the erosion on the trail caused by hikers, the Peruvian government has put a limit on how many people can hike the trail per season. So, advance booking with an approved guide is essential to enjoy this experience.
Northern Lights, Iceland
The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, are colourful waves of light that dance across the sky in certain areas around the arctic. They’re caused by disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by solar wind, which causes light of varying blue and green hues to be emitted.
There are various places where the Northern Lights can be seen, including in Iceland. The best time to see the Northern Lights in Iceland is at night time between September and April. The darker it is, the easier it is to see the lights, and Iceland can get around 20 hours of darkness during the mid-winter. You can set out to look for them on your own or take a guided tour over land or on the ocean.
Iguazu Falls, South America
Iguazu Falls are waterfalls on the Iguazu River bordering Argentina and Brazil in the Iguazu National Park and Iguacu National Park. They are the largest system of waterfalls in the world, with the chain covering around 1.85 miles in extension. The waterfalls are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and see over a million visitors every year.
The longest drop is the ‘Devil’s Throat’, with a drop of 262 feet – in comparison, the longest drop in Niagara Falls is 203 feet. Not only do the falls offer an astounding spectacle themselves, but the surrounding national parks are also home to a huge range of flora and fauna.
When you’re planning your next trip, don’t forget international travel insurance, to ensure you’re protected. If you’ll be ticking off multiple trips from your travel bucket list, you might benefit from Annual Multi Trip Travel Insurance – save yourself time and money with one policy that will cover you for all your trips. Get a quote for your travel insurance or contact us to speak to our expert advisers.
