The Bucket List

What's on your bucket list?

A bucket list is not a someday wish. It is a written plan for the trips you actually mean to take while you can. This is where you learn what one is, why it matters more after 60, and how to start checking things off.

See the ideas list How to build one ↓
My Bucket ListIN PROGRESS
  • Fly Emirates First ClassDone. $6,200 instead of $22,000.
  • Ride the train past Mt FujiDone. Japan, on my own.
  • See the Northern LightsStill on the list
  • Your turn · write yoursEvery list starts with one line

A bucket list is simply the list of things you want to do, see, and feel before you run out of time to do them.

It is not morbid and it is not only for the young. After 60 you finally have the time you spent decades wishing for. A written list turns "I always wanted to" into a plan with a date on it.

Why it matters now

The list is the thing that gets you to go

I kept my number one item written down where I would see it every single day. People told me I had set the bar too high. For a long time I half believed them, and I let it sit there as a dream and nothing else.

If you wait for someday, or one day, or that perfect day, you may never go.

Then one day I did the research and the dream became a booking. That is the whole point of a list. It keeps the thing in front of you until the day you decide it is real.

Shanghai, where Doug taught English for ten years
Proof it works Ten years teaching in China When I retired I did not know what to do with myself. Then I read a post that lit the idea to teach English in China, and I went for it. Ten years, students I still keep up with, and a life I never would have had if I waited for the right moment.

How to build one

Four steps to a list that actually happens

This is the order I use myself, from a vague idea to a booked flight.

1

Write it down

Put down what you actually want to do, not what sounds impressive to other people. A list in your head is a wish. A list on paper is a plan.

2

Keep number one in sight

Post it where you look every day. I read my top item daily for years. Seeing it is what stops it from quietly slipping away.

3

Research the cheap way

Every goal has an affordable route if you look. I use apps, websites, blogs, videos. It is all out there, usually standing right in front of us.

4

Book it before someday

At some point research has to become a booking. The best time to go is before you talk yourself out of it. Pick a date and commit.

Read the full how-to guide

Ideas to steal

Bucket list ideas for travelers over 60

Stuck for a number one? Start here. Tick the ones that make you sit up, then go find the affordable way to each.

Once in a lifetime journeysOnce in a Lifetime
  • Fly first or business class at least once
  • Ride a famous rail journey end to end
  • Take an ocean crossing by ship
  • Sleep a night in an overwater or treetop stay
Natural wondersNatural Wonders
  • Stand under the Northern Lights
  • See a total solar eclipse
  • Walk into a canyon or a glacier
  • Watch the sun rise over a mountain
Cities and cultureCities & Culture
  • Visit a wonder of the world in person
  • Eat at a market where you know no one
  • See a show in a city you always meant to
  • Learn a few words of a new language on the ground
Slow travel and living abroadSlow Travel
  • Live in another country for a season
  • Rent an apartment and become a regular somewhere
  • Take a trip with no fixed return date
  • Volunteer or teach abroad
AdventureAdventure
  • Do the one thing that scares you a little
  • Hike a trail you have read about for years
  • Get in the water: reef, wreck, or open sea
  • Try a skill trip: a cooking or photo course abroad
Comfort and rewardReward Yourself
  • Book the room you would normally walk past
  • Return to a place that meant something once
  • Take the whole family somewhere that lasts
  • Go back to where you were happiest and stay longer

The honest part

My own list, so far

I do not just write about this. Here is what I have checked off and what is still waiting.

  • Emirates First Class on the A380My number one. Paid $6,200, not $22,000.
  • Taught English in China for ten yearsStill in touch with my students.
  • Japan on my own, Scotland, Las VegasFuji by train, Edinburgh, and a driverless taxi in Vegas.
  • Plenty still to seeMore on the list. That is the fun of it.
Doug in Japan near Mt Fuji Doug in Edinburgh, Scotland A driverless taxi in Las Vegas
The Bucket List Advantage guide
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The short version of everything on this page: how to write a list that sticks, how to find the cheapest route to each goal, and how to book it before the moment passes.

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So, what's on your bucket list?