Top 15 Bucket List for Round the World Trip

The bucket list I currently have set for myself could cover an entire book. It's probably longer than the 1,000 Places to See Before You Die book. To shorten my list for this post, I've made a top 15 bucket list for just this trip. These will be the must see sites. There's so much to choose from that it actually took me a long time to pick just 15 places.

1. Seljalandsfoss, Iceland
I am a huge fan of waterfalls and always have been. Since I began researching places I would like to visit, Seljalandsfoss has been on my top waterfalls to see and I can only imagine it looks ten times better in person.


2. Jӧkulsárlón Lagoon, Iceland
Jӧkulsárlón is an incredible glacial lake that has been featured in several different movies including James Bond and Batman. I'm looking forward to taking a boat trip out on the lagoon and getting up close and personal to some glaciers.


3. Preikestolen, Norway
If I were going to Norway later on in the summer, I would have Kjerag or Trolltunga. Unfortunately, I will be going when those hikes are still under some snow and ice, making it dangerous. Preikestolen is still an amazingly gorgeous area to hike and it is not that hard from what I've read. I'll definitely be getting a picture from the very edge!
Not Completed

4. Manneken Pis Statue in Belgium
Yeah, I just think it's funny because it's actually a well-known statue.


5. Pompeii, Italy
I love ruins, ancient civilizations and volcanoes. Pompeii is all of that wrapped into one nice little package. I remember reading the story in middle school and watching discovery channel shows about Pompeii. I'll actually have the chance to visit it after all the years of wishing.


6. Trevi Fountain, Italy
I have to go and make my wish, right?


7. Hagia Sophia, Turkey
In art history, we had to learn all the architectural parts and importance of this wonderful mosque/museum. Since then, I've really wanted to visit it because it's massive and will be different from anything I visit in Western Europe and Asia. Also, I have a small fascination with architectural awesomeness, which Hagia Sophia is.


8. Great Wall of China
I'm really excited about this particular site because as a child, I thought I could just walk this whole wall, no problem. As an adult, *cough, cough* I know better now BUT I can still show my child self that I can walk a portion of it and still take in the amazingness of the longest wall in the world. I plan on visiting one of the less touristy areas, so I will not be going to Badaling. I have a few spots in mind, but can't decide right now. I still have several months before I need to choose.


9. Ko Phi Phi Don, Thailand
Of course I have to add a beach in my list somewhere, right? Once I hit the lower portion of Thailand, I plan to do a lot of beach time for some quality R&R and I've chosen Ko Phi Phi Don as one of my spots. But while I'm there, I plan on finding a non-touristy beach scene where I can fully unwind from my hectic travel schedule.


10. Angkor Wat
More ruins. What can I say? I love how the vegetation has overtaken some of the ruin areas.


11. Hobbiton, New Zealand
I know this makes me look like a nerd, but I don't care. I grew up watching all of the Lord of the Rings movies with my dad and now, The Hobbit. Those movies are the reason I've wanted to visit New Zealand, so I figured I would honor the stories by visiting Hobbiton. Besides, I feel like Hobbiton will be perfect for me, seeing as how I'm not even five foot...


12. The Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand
In case you haven't noticed, I'm more into nature than anything city like. I love waterfalls, hikes, beaches and pretty much anything to do with pretty, natural scenery. The Coromandel Peninsula hike has rainforests and beaches?!? I'm in!


13. Easter Island
Easter Island is one of the most isolated islands in the world. I'm fascinated by how an ancient civilization could build something so enormous. Hopefully I'll have a chance to see these mega statues up close and personal. I'm interested to see how short I look standing next to one.


14. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Galapagos Island first interested me when I chose to be a marine science major. I had major hopes of going there to do a study abroad and then *big sigh* I switched majors and missed out on my chance to do any study abroad opportunities that I had been wanting to do. But, I can go on my own now. While it won't be with the school, it'll be an amazing learning opportunity and experience.


15. Peruvian Amazon, Peru
I'm not interested in finding the creepy crawlers or insects. Anything with more than four appendages creep me out. Also, slithery things eek me out. But I do like monkeys, birds, jungles and hiking. Maybe the amazon can change my views on creepy bugs, doubt it though.


 

The order of this list is not based off of how I am "ranking" each site on importance. Each of these destinations are equally important and unique and brings a different meaning to me. There are tons more destinations I would love to add to this list, but then it would be too long and I don't have enough time for that. My fingers are crossed that I'll be able to accomplish everything on this list by the time my trip ends. Based off of my route, what other places do you think I should have added?