We’re giving you a step-by-step guide to how to create your own travel bucket list and sharing some of the iconic destinations and experiences that are on ours!

A bucket list gives you something to look forward to, gives you the motivation to achieve personal goals and dreams, and exposes you to new experiences and pushes you out of your comfort zone.

Travel Bucket List – Episode Transcript

0:35

And get ready to embark on a new adventure with us around the globe.

Hey, Squatty’s Travel Squad Podcast is back with Just the Tip, our Friday mini episode series where we give you quick travel stories, hacks and recommendations to set you off into the weekend.

Right.

Today we’re diving into how to create a travel bucket.

0:52

List I’m actually really excited to talk in this episode about creating a bucket list because of course, as travelers, there’s always somewhere that’s top of the list.

Second on list, third of the list.

But we’ve even said ourselves, sometimes we let the sale dictate where we go.

1:08

And yeah, it’s somewhere where maybe we weren’t thinking of or we want to go, but it’s not top of that bucket list, right?

So the bucket list is always changing with each completion, but we’re here to give you guys some information on how to create and curate that bucket list for your top destinations worldwide.

1:26

And I’m glad we’re doing it too, because recently Brittany and I, we were with a friend and we asked her what’s on your travel bucket list?

And she said she does not have a travel bucket list, that she’s just trying to get through school.

She’s been going to school for a long, long time.

1:42

And it made.

Me think like anyone can have a travel bucket list.

Something to look forward to even if it’s not in your immediate future.

Going to happen, but it reminded me something that a financial advisor once told me that people who are in a lot of debt, for example, they can’t think about goals for buying a house or investing here or starting a business because they’re just focused on getting out of debt.

2:06

I feel like that’s kind of the same for some people too.

They’re so involved in either school or work or family that they’re not thinking ahead to all these quote UN quote, travel bucket list things to do.

But we’re here to tell you why you should.

Yeah, I think there’s a lot of reasons why you should have a bucket list.

2:22

I think it’s very important.

Can you kind of mentioned like it’s motivates you to help achieve a certain personal goal or dream?

Like some of these things that I have in my bucket list, I don’t know when I’ll be able to do them, but just the thought that I get to think about them and plan towards it, it makes it feel more real and it gives me something to look forward to.

2:42

And I think that’s really important.

And I also think that some of these things that we have on the bucket list will push you outside of your comfort zone and it really exposes you to new experiences.

And so I think that with personal growth makes it so worth it.

I mean, we’ve mentioned this a lot of different times on the podcast and it’s one of those things if you know, you know, doing a lot of travel just doesn’t make you, Oh my gosh, like I’m a traveler.

3:07

It really actually expands who you are as a person because it pushes you out of those comfort zones.

You’re able to do things on your own.

You’re able to not be afraid to be like, oh, should I travel here alone?

Should I do this?

And it really translates into your personal life.

So in that aspect too, I think having those travel bucket lists are important for your development even as a person outside of being a traveler in everyday normal life.

3:31

So.

Here’s some tips to get your travel bucket list going.

First one brainstorm, right?

We’re going to share some inspiration on places and things that we want to do here in this episode.

But for yourself, there’s probably things that you’ve caught wind of or or maybe that will come to mind as you discover them, say, scrolling Instagram reels.

3:51

Write it all down.

I could actually do a better job of this.

I have a lot in my head but I need to actually get it in a note in my phone.

I do have it in a note in my phone and anytime I see something I was like I’m doom scrolling on Instagram.

I see a really cool place.

I write it down on my list and then I later go back and kind of sort through that list.

4:09

It could be destination specific activities, natural wonders, even cultural experiences.

There’s the Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Festival that I want to attend at some point.

That’s kind of a little bucket list thing that I want to do.

That’s not really a destination.

It’s more of a an experience.

4:26

An experience or an activity.

And again, they don’t even really need to be exotic.

Your bucket list doesn’t need to be this big grand thing of crazy stuff.

It really fits to you.

Personally, I love roller coasters.

I told Brittany one time I am going to Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH, for my birthday.

4:44

It’s home to some of the best well known roller coasters in the world.

And we made it happen.

And that’s something that’s on my bucket list and something that’s very tangible for people, right?

It’s just going to amusement park domestically here in the United States.

So when we’re talking about bucket list, yes, dream big, but also think small.

5:01

It’s the little things that you want.

Like I honestly can say I can die happy now that I’ve been to Cedar Point.

As you’re building out that list, categorize it into different lists, right?

You have your destination lists like cities, countries, regions of the world, activities.

5:17

Brittany, I’m sure you have a whole list just for hikes you want to do.

I do, yes.

One of the things that I wanted to do, it’s not just a hike, it’s like a backpacking trip through some caves in Vietnam.

And I’ve been thinking about it a lot recently.

So that’s been piquing my interest.

And there’s a ton of hikes in Switzerland that I want to do, which are on my list and that we are going to do next summer.

5:39

And you could even categorize your list by cultural experiences, you know, attending festivals, food tours, historic sites.

Brittany, you just mentioned the Albuquerque hot air balloon Festival.

Kim, when you were in Thailand, you went to a full moon party that to some degree, of course, is a festival.

So again, just a little thing so categorized.

5:56

And I really feel like it helps make your list more tangible because you’re like, OK, like, it’s not something so grand.

It’s something that is within reach.

And here it is listed out.

And just check them off as you go.

I actually have two kind of like bucket list going.

One of them is for weekend adventures, things I could get away with without taking any PTO, and then the other one is full vacation experiences, countries, things that will take a little bit more planning and time off.

6:25

And Squatty’s, if you’re looking for inspiration, we have a ton of that on our website, travelsquadpodcast.com.

So head on over there, explore all of our blog episodes that we have with a ton of detail on destinations, itineraries.

We have an Amazon shop link there, tons of other resources.

6:43

You can even sign up for our twice monthly newsletter and get even more of that delivered straight into your inbox.

So head on over to travelsquadpodcast.com.

Another great tip to help you guys reach your bucket list goals is to prioritize that list.

Rank destinations and experiences that feel most urgent or appealing to you.

7:02

I also think part of that ranking could be when you want to do it by like the full moon party.

I’m so glad I did it in my 20s and not my 30s.

Yeah, Kim can’t do it over 30.

We know this, let alone 35 now Kim, let alone 35.

It’s.

International, remember.

Yes, you can rally hard for international drinking.

7:20

I do know this domestic Kim is kind of like hit or miss on it these days, so.

In bed, home by 11:00 PM last night So.

Doing your and last night when the recording, this was a Saturday night, so that’s that’s tame.

And then there’s other ways to rank it too.

Like we went to Machu Picchu, we did the Inca trail hike backpacking.

7:39

I’m so glad that we pushed that up on the priority list because as the years have gone on, they’ve implemented more strict restrictions to our tourists can go and walk and one day it could close down entirely.

I’m glad that we did the Havasupai backpacking trip when we did, although that one could have been better in my 20s.

8:00

But they have these restrictions and then, you know, one day it might not be there, especially if it’s a natural wonder.

So go when you can.

It would have been better in your 20s, but at least as rough as it was in the 30s, it’s better than what it would have been in your 40s, right?

So that goes to prioritizing it to some degree.

8:16

And of course, consider the logistics.

You know, sometimes the things you want to do can be lumped into one trip.

So for example, maybe multi city stops within Europe.

If you have a couple big cities in Europe you want to go to or even domestically national parks within the United States.

8:33

Some of them are rather close or you could knock off a few in a road trip.

So if you want to do certain things, try to consider the logistics and lumping it into one trip because it’ll help you hit more things off in one.

One thing that Jamal and I do every New Year’s is we make a like five year or ten year list.

8:51

And on that list I actually have my timeline of when I want to visit some of these bucket list places.

And so every year we go back to our previous year and look at did we hit our goals from the previous year or how did our priorities change and what are we looking forward to now?

And where do you save that?

9:08

I actually have a file downstairs.

We like a little office area and it just has like our car insurance and a whole bunch of different files and stuff.

But I have one labeled New Year’s goals, and I have all of our goals since probably 2012 when we moved down to San Diego, and I’ve kept them all in a file ever since.

9:27

Yeah, it’s our New Year’s resolutions.

We write it and on the back then we make that timeline that she mentions.

And then so when we make our new list on New Year’s Eve, we look at the old list and see what we were able to check off.

Were we able to do it within the timeline?

And sometimes not and sometimes yes.

9:42

But you know those little victories of when you check, mark it off and say, yes, that’s a victory.

Another tip we have is to get specific about your bucket list.

So yes, Italy might be on a lot of people’s bucket list, but instead of just putting visit Italy on it, you should put what season you would like to visit in and some things that you want to do in Italy.

10:00

Like did you want to ride a gondola in Venice or did you want to do a specific hiking tour along the coast of Italy?

What did you want to do there?

Because by adding those details, it makes it more personal and it makes it feel more tangible and it helps with the trip planning in the future.

10:16

All of this is really helping you visualize it, and that’s a key to achieving the things on your bucket list.

A lot of people recommend making a vision board of sorts, or a Pinterest board that has different outfits you’d wear or things that you would do, or drinking a little espresso at a cafe in a courtyard in Italy that helps bring it to life.

10:38

If you believe in manifestation at all, visualization is also a really big tool to achieving anything, but definitely can be used with travel bucket list.

And if you’re not a manifester, I mean, I guess you should be, but personal choice, right?

You can do the little things like save Instagram reels posts or stories.

10:56

And what I mean by that is you get a lot of inspiration and see things from that.

Brittany and I will have a shared Instagram Reel folder that if we’re going to a certain place, she sees something, she could save it.

I can see it.

It’s something to do in that city, food to try, etcetera or places we haven’t gone that are on that bucket list.

11:17

Now we’ve started tracking.

OK, look at this now this is inspiring us.

Yeah, maybe this should be our next trip of our bucket list laces.

We want to go O it doesn’t have to be a full blown vision board.

It doesn’t have to be full blown manifestation, but just the little things on an everyday device like your phone.

You go back, look, scroll when you’re bored.

11:34

You could see that and it could help visualize and make it happen.

I also think tracking progress is really fun.

You can use travel apps or digital list.

We have a physical map in our den where we can put in pins to all of the places that we have visited.

And then we have a different color for all of the ones we want to visit or our upcoming trips.

11:53

And then last year we were gifted a water bottle for the national parks and it has all 63 national parks on it.

And it comes with a sticker so that every time you go visit a National Park, you put that sticker on the water bottle.

And we’ve now been to about 52 of the 63.

12:09

But seeing them on there and seeing what we have left is like so fun to plan and like visualize.

I really like that water bottle.

I think it’s really great to just have something to look forward to and track your progress.

So we’ve been talking about our own travel bucket list for quite a while.

12:26

So Britt, what are some things that you have on your list?

So I have a few.

I want to visit all 50 states.

We’re at states 45 out of 50.

I want to visit every country and we’re at 38 out of 193.

12:42

I mentioned the national parks one, but another big one is to visit every continent.

And then some, like wild ones are to see a polar bear in the wild.

Like I really want to see that.

And I know there’s some places in the world where we can.

And I would really love to sleep in an igloo underneath the Northern Lights and just watch them twinkle all night long.

13:02

What about you Kim?

What are some that are on your bucket list?

I would like to eat fondue in Switzerland.

I want to go to Tomorrowland in Belgium.

That one.

I feel like you were talking about that a few years ago, wanting to do that.

It’s.

Very hard to get tickets for that music festival, but it’s the most insane stage setups and it’s in Europe, so you could add on a vacation with it and I would love to.

13:26

I’ve been I’ve tried to get tickets a number of times.

It’s it’s harder than have the Supai Falls.

Wow.

I would love to take a yacht vacation where it’s like below deck, a nice big yacht with a big group of people.

All the foods included drinks are included.

13:41

The service is amazing.

I’ve seen people post reels and take talks about this too.

When you have enough people and you split it, it’s not that crazy expensive.

Yeah, and I actually know someone who’s done this.

They rented a big yacht or catamaran and the island hopped around Croatia and they said it was the most amazing trip they’ve ever done.

14:02

Yeah.

I’m all for it.

Let’s do it.

I would also like to see the Egyptian pyramids, which I know we’re going to do probably in about a year, January 2020.

Sixth, we’re going to Egypt with gate one probably.

So squatties, we’ll keep you updated on details if you want to join.

I would also like to go wine tasting, Malbec wine tasting specifically in Argentina and Chile.

14:24

And I would love to do a month or longer vacation like in Europe, going to multiple different cities, staying a little bit longer, maybe taking a little bit slower, but having a really long trip.

The longest trip I’ve ever taken was like, I don’t know, 13 days.

So really not that long.

14:40

I would, I would really like to do this one.

Quit my job and just never come back.

That’s always the goal for everybody, that is for sure.

On my list though, you know, a lot of my list and Brittany’s list to some degree is the same.

Yes, we have our own differences and things that we want, but as a couple, sometimes they align right.

14:59

So everything that she mentioned is really kind of what I want to do also, but more specifically, I mean, yes, she said every continent, but Antarctica is really, really high on my list.

We only need Antarctica and Australia left.

And of course I want to go to Australia, but I’m just like, whatever, Australia, Antarctica, it’s like top of my list right now to be able to to get there, hey.

15:19

I really go to Australia.

We have to meet up with Jordan Alex.

They are squaddies who I met up with last night here in Austin in real life.

It was so cool to meet squaddies in real life, so when we go to Australia we’ll have to say hi to them.

Yes, I mean we’ll have some friends and local guides, ideally to some degree to help us plan the trip.

15:39

If they are unable to spend a good amount of time with us, that would be awesome.

Absolutely.

I’m not hating on Australia, I’m just saying it’s not top of the list of the last two.

Antarctica is for me.

I want to get back to Africa, do a Kenya and Tanzania trip specifically for great migration.

15:57

When you have the herds of wild animals in the hundreds of thousands migrating based off of the Seas, in the weather, breeding, etcetera.

I really, really want to see that bucket list school that is about to happen in a couple months.

God forbid something comes up is visit all Disney parks in the world.

16:15

We are one away.

We only have Hong Kong Disney.

We were about to hit it in 2020 and March and then COVID hit so we were unable to do it.

But now we are finally putting that in place so.

Just took us five years.

Just took us five years, but guess what?

That’s going to be a bucket list check right there once we hit that off.

16:33

And again, I mentioned amusement parks earlier, Cedar Point, we’re talking Disney now.

I really want to go to certain amusement parks in Europe.

There’s like 3 or 4 that come to top of mind that are really well known on the European continent.

And that is something I absolutely want to do as well.

16:49

I’ll hope you make it to all those parks, Jamal.

Know how much you love it.

I plan on it.

And Squattys, hope that this episode inspired you to get your list down.

And, and whether you do it this year or ten years from now or decades from now, as long as it’s on your list and you get it in before you kick the bucket.

17:08

And that’s what a bucket list is for.

Thank you so much for tuning into this week’s Just Tip.

Make sure to subscribe, leave, review, and follow us on all the socials at Travel Squad Podcast.

And have fun traveling this weekend.