How can we bring our international bucket lists to the U.S.? The pandemic has made traveling abroad that much riskier, and at the same time, we’re realizing how precious our time is. We’re itching to tick experiences off our bucket lists more than ever before. The U.S. has no shortage of options for a bucket list trip with world-class cities like NYC & LA and incredible National Parks like Yosemite & Yellowstone, but I wanted to put a different spin on the “U.S.A. bucket list trip.” My hope is to spark a new travel idea for you.
Now, you’ll have to use your imagination… obviously there’s no substitute for the real thing like diving with great whites in South Africa, Oktoberfest in Germany, or a language homestay in Guatemala. BUT we can evoke a similar feeling. Even though I’m constantly daydreaming about travel, I hardly ever put something on my blog until I’ve actually done it myself. So this is one of those rare “daydreamy”-type posts (although there are a couple places I have been to).
I’m going to start with some trips abroad that are on my personal bucket list then go into some crowd-sourced ideas (thanks Instagram friends!). Then I’ll share how I believe you can get a similar vibe by doing a trip right here in the U.S. I had soooo much fun thinking about these!
Bucket List Experience #1: African Safari
A trip at the very top of my bucket list is going to Africa to do a safari, like a legit one with amazing accommodation, game drives, and sundowners. My Instagram poll confirmed that many people share that same desire.
To get a safari experience in the U.S., you might initially think of visiting a zoo, but that will NEVER compare with getting to see animals in their natural environment. I don’t believe that an African safari can be replicated anywhere else, but hear me out on this. My idea has to do with evoking a similar feeling you might get on safari, like I mentioned in the intro. The luxurious accommodation, being one with nature, getting to have a special interaction with animals, stuff like that.
Now imagine checking yourself into Vista Verde Ranch, an all-inclusive located just south of Steamboat Springs, CO, where you’d get to be an American cowboy/girl for a week. I first heard about this ranch from a blogger I follow named Sherry of OttsWorld.com. You can read about her time at Vista Verde here which will really help you get a sense of what checking into this dude ranch is like:
Vista Verde Ranch: Where I Learned How to Date
I feel like Vista Verde is the American equivalent of a safari. You’d get to connect to our country’s wild west roots in the most luxurious way, experiencing the adventure of saddling up and the relaxation of an all-inclusive. You’d get to have meaningful interactions with the horses and learn about the history of the land. You’d be pampered with wonderful cuisine while recharging in stunning Western-style accommodation. I really do feel like a stay at Vista Verde Ranch would give a similar feeling as being on safari, and it’s now at the top of my U.S. bucket list.
Bucket List Experience #2: Castles of Europe
There are so many dreamy trips you can take across Europe and the U.K. if you want to go castle hopping. I love London for many reasons, but the times I visited the likes of Buckingham Palace, Windsor, and Hampton Court Palace hold a special place in my heart. There’s something about the grandeur and history that makes visiting these places a bucket list item. Who wouldn’t want to road trip around Germany to see the castle that inspired Walt Disney?
While the U.S. doesn’t have royalty like most European countries do, we do have wealth. And wealthy families who build castles. You can bring your international bucket list to the U.S. by visiting Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, or Hearst Castle in San Simeon, CA.
Biltmore is the result of Vanderbilt money and is America’s largest home. I got really intrigued to visit Biltmore after learning about it in Bill Bryson’s “At Home: A Short History of Private Life” (10/10 recommend reading/listening to the audiobook). A trip to Asheville is now at the top of my U.S. bucket list, not to mention that the city of Asheville looks like such a cool destination in and of itself.
Another spot on my U.S. bucket list is Hearst Castle, the result of the publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst. His granddaughter got into some interesting antics in the 1970s which I read about in a book called “American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst” by Jeffery Toobin (also 10/10 recommend). The mansion is just south of Big Sur and can easily be added to an epic California road trip.
Between the fascinating histories of the families behind these American “castles” and the opulence of the actual properties, a visit to Biltmore Estate or Hearst Castle is exactly what I look for in a bucket list trip.
Bucket List Experience #3: Walking the Camino de Santiago
One of the biggest items on my personal bucket list is walking the Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James) in Spain. The Camino is a pilgrimage with starting points across Europe that ends in Santiago de Compostela at the cathedral where St. James is rumored to be buried. Many Christians go on this pilgrimage for religious reasons, but these days it’s also a popular walking holiday. I’m so curious about how I would feel if I spent 5-6 weeks “just” walking (the Camino is nearly 500 miles long). I can’t imagine what would come up in my mind, how it would transform me (physically and mentally), or who I’d meet along the way.
I’m determined to make it happen one day, but it’s not easy getting 6 weeks off work in this country. I started looking into hut-to-hut hiking trips in the U.S. and came across Maine Huts & Trails. If you also have a camino-type trip on your bucket list (there are many more around the world like the Kumano Kodo in Japan), then I think booking a shorter trip to Maine could be worth doing. You could even think of it as a practice run to test your gear and fitness.
Maine Huts consists of 4 different off-grid eco lodges connected by 80 miles of trails. When walking the Camino in Spain, you go as far as you can each day and stop at whatever refugio (pilgrim hostel) you can make it to. The refugios are where you sleep each night. You could replicate a similar experience on a smaller scale with a trip to Maine Huts. Spend the day hiking the 3-14 miles between each lodge (guests sleep in shared bunkrooms to imitate the European feel), staying in a different one each night. That’s still a lot of time on your feet out in nature with the chance to meet fellow travelers at the huts, and it’s definitely on my U.S. bucket list now. I bet it would be breath-taking in the fall!
Sherry from OttsWorld also has a great post on her website about this experience if you want to read more:
Bucket List Experience #4: Wine Tasting in France
If you ever dreamed of sipping wine in the south of France, I have a solution for you that’s much closer to home. Enter Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula accessible via Traverse City. This area is famous for its wines and shares something in common with the Bordeaux region of France–they both sit on the 45th parallel.
Yep, we’re taking it back to high school geography and talking longitude & latitude (the 45th parallel means you’re half way between the equator and the north pole). Not everywhere on this line produces fantastic wine (you have to take into account other factors like climate and soil), but Michigan and France do. So if you head up to Traverse City, you might as well be in Bordeaux 😉 There are so many great vineyards to discover!
This is one of the experiences in this post that I have actually done, and I can recommend a few places to start. Brys Estate Vineyard and Winery was absolutely beautiful with great views and frosé. It also had the lavender garden that you see pictured above. Black Star Farms was very nice as well–we enjoyed our tasting there. We would have loved to do Mari Vineyards because it’s owned by real life treasure hunters lol. They have a History Channel show called “The Curse of Oak Island” that my brother and sister-in-law like, but sadly the winery was closed for a wedding!
Bucket List Experience #5: Northern Lights Winter Wonderland
In all my years of traveling, I’ve never actually taken a winter trip. I’m not a ski bunny, and I live somewhere that is frigidly cold for much of the year. So I haven’t really embraced the idea of being cold on vacation (and how would all those layers fit in a suitcase anyways?). But then I saw travelers going to see the northern lights and my heart leapt. I knew that one day I had to plan a trip to embrace all things winter, most likely to Europe to experience their Christmas markets, mulled wine, reindeer, ice hotels, dog sledding, snow shoeing, and of course, the northern lights.
I’m simplifying this but the northern lights, or Aurora borealis, are a phenomena that occur near Earth’s magnetic poles when atoms in our atmosphere collide with particles from the Sun. What results looks like a dancing light show with colorful rays flickering and waving through the sky. One of the many reasons I love traveling is that it reminds me what a work of art Earth is, and the northern lights have to be one of her masterpieces.
Aurora borealis occurs near the north pole, so you can see it by traveling to places like Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Scotland, and Canada. But one of the top places to see the northern lights is actually right here in the U.S. Okay, not exactly the continental U.S. but it still counts! I’m talking about Alaska 🙂
If you haven’t decided to follow Sherry from OttsWorld by now, you should. She takes so many epic trips that have no choice but to end up on my bucket list. And her trips to Alaska always result in me searching for flights on Google–I’m actually shocked I haven’t gone yet haha.
All this to say, you don’t have to go to Europe to have the winter wonderland trip of your dreams. You can do it all without a passport by heading to Alaska. Here’s the accommodation I hope to stay in one day, just to help fuel your wanderlust even more.
Bucket List Experience #6: Italian Agriturismo
It doesn’t take reading Eat, Pray, Love to convince me that eating my weight in carbs in Italy is a good idea. Then take into account that “Call Me By Your Name,” a coming of age/love story that takes place over one summer in Italy, is one of my favorite movies. Armed with this knowledge, it makes sense that when I quit my job to travel full time at the end of 2019 (lol we all know how that ended), spending 6 weeks in Italy was on the agenda. I even had a stay at Relais Ortaglia officially booked. I couldn’t wait to check into this 17th century villa in the heart of Tuscany, eat ALL of the fresh food, and drink (too much) local wine. I wouldn’t have said no to riding around on a vespa either (I guess I’ve been influenced by “Under the Tuscan Sun” as well, sue me).
There’s something so magical about the thought of that trip–the feel of the sun, the flavor of the meals, the slow pace of the days, getting everything you need from the land around you. The words that come to mind are savor and indulge. The food really takes center stage in these fantasies. Even though Italy was back to feeling like a far out dream, I attended an event called Outstanding in the Field this past summer that transported me to a similar place.
Outstanding in the Field is a culinary experience with events all across the U.S., so you can definitely find one near you. I went to the one in South Haven, MI, at Seedling Farm. They basically take the “farm-to-table” concept even further by taking the table to the farm, meaning you eat a fantastic, locally-sourced meal right on the land it came from. Literally the table was set up in the field. At Seedling Farm we were out there in the tall grass surrounded by apple trees, sharing a beautiful meal and wine with strangers. You leave feeling so satisfied (not just your stomach but your soul, too) by the food, the community, the conversation, the intricately flavored courses, the care that went into it, the farm and farmers, the sky as it turns from blue to black during twilight.
This is a pricey experience, but it was one of the best things I did all year. And if you can find one near you, it’s definitely going to be cheaper than a trip to Italy 😉 I cannot recommend Outstanding in the Field enough. They just released their 2022 schedule, and they’re hosting one at Hearst Castle!! You can check 2 of these items off your list with just one trip! (I’ve been scheming how I can go to that haha but I don’t think it’s gonna happen.)
Bucket List Experience #7: Cherry Blossoms in Japan
I recently asked my friends on Instagram what international travel experience is on your bucket list, and so many people came back with one word: Japan. I felt that so deeply because I was lucky enough to go there myself in 2018 and experience what the country has to offer. Between the culture, the technology, the cuisine, the fashion, the language, and the history, I totally understand why going to Japan is so high on so many peoples’ bucket lists. Read about my trip here:
Japan for First Timers: Everything to Consider Before You Go
Many travelers who visit Japan try to time their trip to see the famous cherry blossoms, or sakura. It’s no easy feat because these flowers only bloom for about 2 weeks per year, usually sometime in April. They’re a beautiful metaphor for the fleeting nature of life, and they’ve been celebrated by the Japanese for centuries.
Japan is very far from us here in America, which makes visiting under normal circumstances a challenge. And right now with the pandemic, it’s not possible to go as a tourist. So how can we evoke a similar vibe here in the U.S.? By planning a trip to Washington, DC.
You can see these pink blooms in DC each spring because back in 1912, Japan gifted the U.S. cherry trees as a gesture of friendship (wish we both would have remembered that in 1941 but I digress). If you can time a trip to DC correctly, you can witness this beautiful part of Japanese culture here in America. Some other things I would recommend adding to a DC cherry blossom itinerary to make it feel that much more Japanese-inspired: an omakase tasting at Sushi Ogawa and a bath house experience at Berkeley Springs.
Bucket List Experience #8: Exploring Ancient Ruins
Travel is a way to connect with present day culture, but it also offers a gateway to people of the past, an opportunity to cross paths with ancient civilizations. Places like the Colosseum in Rome, the Parthenon in Greece, Chichen Itza in Mexico, and the Inca Trail in Peru are all worthy of your bucket list. But the U.S. is considered to be a young country in comparison. Is it possible to get an experience like that here?
While we don’t necessarily have world famous ruins, we do have Native peoples who have been living on this land for thousands of years. Present day tribes who are willing to share their heritage with travelers, like when I went to Monument Valley with a local Navajo guide. He could trace his direct ancestors back 18 generations (~500 years) and showed us ruins that were about 3,000 years old. My mind was blown. It felt so special to learn about the Navajo people, then and now.
Read more about that trip here:
How To Spend 4 Days Adventuring Through Arizona
Another trip on my U.S. bucket list is doing a road trip around New Mexico to learn about more Native American tribes. I would love to see the historic adobe buildings in Taos (a UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Historic Landmark), dip in hot springs in Truth or Consequences, and marvel at the beauty of White Sands National Park.
Bucket List Experience #9: Backpacking in Patagonia
If you’ve seen pictures of Patagonia (def google it now if you haven’t!), you’ll know that replicating its epic nature scenes anywhere else is not possible. So just remember that this post is meant to find substitutes that inspire a similar feeling.
If a multi day trek through the wilderness of Patagonia is calling your name, you might also like camping and rafting in the Grand Canyon. I haven’t personally done this, but I have visited the National Park and was blown away. The Grand Canyon really is… grand. Its scale is hard to comprehend, and I think it would give a similar WOW factor.
There’s a company called OARS that offers tours in the Grand Canyon where you raft the Colorado River with all your supplies anywhere from 5-18 days. The camping would give that trekking and camaraderie feeling, and the rafting and hiking would add that hit of adrenaline.
This is another thing I saw Sherry from OttsWorld do, and it looked like such an amazing adventure! Read her post here: My 10 Days Rafting in the Grand Canyon.
Bucket List Experience #10: Central America Surf and Yoga Retreat
You know that feeling in life where you’re exhausted from working too much, eating badly, not sleeping enough, not making time to exercise, spending too many hours scrolling on your phone, drinking too much, etc? AKA “being an adult?” Then a trip where you actually nourish your body and mind could be just what the travel doctor ordered.
I was lucky enough to do a trip like this right before COVID in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. I planned a DIY surf & yoga retreat where I spent 8 wonderful days at the beach. That week was a huge confidence booster for me– I wrote about it in real time which you can read here. There are many spots in Central America to do something similar, and lots of people also do this type of trip in Bali. I came up with the perfect place to do your own surf/yoga retreat right in the U.S.
Santa Cruz is a super cute NorCal surf town known for having great beginner waves. Sign up for a few surf lessons (I’d say 3-4 over a one week period is a nice start if you’re a true beginner). There are a handful of surf shops in town to choose from, but Club Ed is the most affordable and has the best reviews. In terms of yoga studios, there are plenty of options. I would honestly walk in to one nearby and see if you can snag any weekly deals or free trials. Otherwise I’d pay for 3-4 walk in classes.
In addition to the surf and yoga, fill your days with nourishing food and relaxation. Santa Cruz is such a beautiful coastal town with very zen ocean scenery (perfect for lounging with a good book or your journal). There’s no shortage of healthy food spots… I mean there’s even a Cafe Gratitude so the fancy vegans have arrived! You will feel so rejuvenated after a trip like this!
Conclusion
Even with all the challenges surrounding travel these days, it just takes a little creativity to plan an epic trip right here in the U.S. We’re so lucky to live somewhere with SUCH diverse landscapes from sea to shining sea. I hope at least one of these ideas has made its way to your bucket list!
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