travel

5 Bucket List Destinations You Must Visit

7/09/2016Jake Ryan

I've recently been planning my travels for the next year and found it difficult to decide where to venture to over the next few months. However I did manage to put together a list of some of the more exciting places I long to visit as soon as possible.

From far flung fantasies to close-by treasures, everyone should have a few destinations already written down to aspire to and remind us how fast time can fly by. 

So without further ado, here are my picks for bucket list destinations for the next year. 


1. || PETRA || Jordan
The lost city of Petra has been my dream destination for as long as I can remember (I blame my childhood Sundays spent watching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.) From its soaring heights, intricate carvings and rose-red gorges; I cannot even begin to contemplate how magical and beautiful it must be to actually experience it. Contrary to popular belief, there is so much more to Petra than it’s treasury, with temples, tombs and colonnades scattered among the sprawling ancient ruins. It still seems crazy to me that this 2000 year old architectural masterpiece was only discovered 200 years ago. 
✈ Visit me: Winter 6am-4pm. Summer 6am-6pm.
£  I Cost: 50JD (£45/$65) 1-day ticket 55JD (£50/$75) 2-day ticket 60JD (£55/$85) 3-day ticket


2. || VICTORIA FALLS || Zambia
Regarded as one of the most beautiful natural wonders of Africa and it’s adventure capital, this is one destination I am desperate to visit. From its phenomenal cascading waters to the myriad of activities on offer, this is certainly one place that I could never get bored in. At 103ft tall, 5,603ft wide and having more than five hundred million cubic meters of water per minute plummeting over the edge, it’s going to be one of those sights that I will never forget. One activity I cannot wait to do is to cross an international border by zip-lining 904ft over the Bakota Gorge. Truly epic!
✈ Visit me: All year round
£  I Cost: Free to see the falls. Activities and tours range from $20-$500 USD (£15-£330)

3. || KRUGER NATIONAL PARK || South Africa
There are safari’s, luxury safari’s and then there is Kruger Park. The same size as Israel, Kruger has earned the accolade of the best safari park in the world with it’s beautiful natural surroundings, thousands of animals living freely inside, superior accommodation, expert rangers, top class trackers and vehicles that allow you to go off track and into the bush. Even better, with each compound being fully accessible to all animals, by booking into one of their uber-luxurious private lodges (for me it has to be the Royal Malewane), I can step out of my room to find myself face-to-face with the exotic creatures and even swim in the pool while elephants drink from it. Truly a once in a lifetime experience!
✈ Visit me: Winter 5.30am-6.30pm. Summer 6.30am-5.30pm (entry is limited to a certain amount of visitors per day)
£ I Cost: R264 (£16/$25) conservation fee per day for international visitors


4. || MOSCOW || Russia
A multitude of unique and breathtaking teaming golden domes, crimson towers and enchanting fairytale architecture; Moscow has always held an intoxicating visual pull for me. Bearing witness to some of the most astonishing  events in Europe’s past, taking a tour of the city seems like it would be a walking historical feast, from the 15th and 16th century Kremlin and St. Basils Cathedral ordered by Ivan the Terrible, to the Communist era’s Lenin Tomb and Stalin’s Seven Sister’s. A seemingly secret jewel only being revealed over the last 20 years, as Churchill so aptly put, “Russia is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”.
✈ Visit me: All year round
£ I Cost: Free to visit (attraction prices vary)


5. || BATU CAVES || Malaysia
Possibly one of Mother Nature’s greatest creations, the Batu Caves are a mixture of breathtaking 400 million year old limestone formations intermingled with a vast array of stunning Hindu religious iconography. Only km outside of Kuala Lumpur, it must  A place of pilgrimage to over 9 million pilgrims a year, this spooky labyrinth is one of Malaysia’s top tourist attractions and last on my bucket list for 2015. With caves that sore 323ft into the air, the world’s largest statue of Lord Murugan standing at 140ft tall and mischievous monkeys escorting your 272-step ascent, how can I not dream of visiting this holy haven?
✈ Visit me: 6am-9pm 
£  I Cost: Free to enter the Temple Cave (RM35 for a tour of the Dark Cave)

What adventures and destinations are on your bucket list? Write your top 5 ideas in the comments section below!

Photo Credits

photo credit: Erminig Gwenn via photopin cc
photo credit: Tony George via photopin cc 
photo credit: the real janelle via photo pin cc
photo credit: Arno Meintjes Wildlife via photopin cc 
photo credit: SqueakyMarmot via photopin cc

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1 comments

  1. Great choice!!!

    Here are my 5 ideas:

    1. Sardegna, Italy
    2. New York City, USA
    3. Amsterdam, Holland
    4. El Nido, Palawan, Philippines
    5. Hai Van Pass, Vietnam

    I invite you to visit my blog and read my latest post:) I hope you’ll like it

    http://travelekspert.com/2016/07/best-snorkeling-spots-in-bali/

    ReplyDelete

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