These Are the World’s Most-Searched “Bucket List” Travel Experiences!

Surely, the pandemic has led to an increase of pent-up wanderlust for many of us. If there’s one thing that most people have realised over lockdown, it’s that life’s too short to postpone your dreams. Did you find yourself searching for “bucket list” travel options to get through this hiatus? Well, you’re definitely not alone! 

A research from digital marketing agency, SEO Travel, has shown the top travel experiences that people searched for the most over the past year. Together with luxury travel operator, Unforgettable Travel, they gathered up 135 of the world’s most popular bucket-list destinations and used software to see how many people were making plans to visit each place. This study covers searches from May 2020 to May 2021, with Dubai’s Burj Khalifa — aka the tallest building in the world — clinching the top spot. 

Are you ready to finally check a new destination (or two) off your travel bucket list? With the help of Trafalgar — a recipient of the 2022 TripZilla Excellence Awards in the Most Innovative Tour Product category — you can make your travel dreams come true by selecting from over 303 itineraries across 72 countries and seven continents! Still in need of more travel inspiration? Here are Trafalgar’s once-in-a-lifetime trips to add to your bucket list!

Also read: Will Revenge Travel Save the Tourism Industry?

Top bucket list travel experiences around the world

Here are the top 10 most searched bucket list adventures, as well as the number of global monthly searches for each. 

1. Visiting the Burj Khalifa in Dubai – 10,000
2. Sailing around the Statue of Liberty in New York City – 9,300
3. Hiking to the Mount Everest Base in Nepal – 9,000
4. Cruising the Nile in Egypt – 7,900
5. Going to the Top of the Eiffel Tower – 7,900
6. Seeing the Las Vegas Strip – 7,400
7. Crossing San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge – 7,400
8. Seeing New York City from the top of the Empire State Building – 6,500
9. Touring the Louvre in Paris – 6,400
10. Exploring the Colosseum in Rome – 6,400

It seems that after a year of being mostly cooped up at home, many travellers are itching to explore and reach great heights. 

“The fact Dubai has remained open to visitors for the vast majority of time during the pandemic will have aided its position,” said Luke Harvey, marketing manager of Unforgettable Travel, in an interview with CNBC. 

Popular bucket list adventures by continent

This research also showed a list of bucket list travel experiences and destinations for each continent. Here are the ones that garnered the most attention in specific parts of the globe. 

Asia

1. Visiting the Burj Khalifa in Dubai 
2. Hiking to the Mount Everest base camp in Nepal
3. Touring the Taj Mahal
4. Traveling to Japan during cherry blossom season
5. Seeing China’s Forbidden City
6. Diving at Indonesia’s Raja Ampat islands
7. Watching the sunrise at Angkor Wat
8. Swimming in the Dead Sea
9. Touring the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur
10. Seeing the sunrise at the temple of Borobudur

As you can see, many travellers around the world are looking forward to seeing the continent’s man-made marvels, both ancient and modern. Nature attractions that are considered “extreme” are also on the list, specifically the world’s tallest mountain (Mount Everest), as well as the lowest place on Earth (the Dead Sea). 

Also read: Here’s How Asia’s Travel Industry Is Helping Frontliners!

Europe

1. Going to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
2. Touring the Louvre in Paris
3. Exploring Rome’s Colosseum
4. Going to the Glastonbury Festival
5. Partying in Ibiza
6. Riding the Orient Express
7. Seeing La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona
8. Visiting Buckingham Palace in London
9. Cruising the Norwegian fjords
10. Running the London Marathon

With most of Europe opening to vaccinated travellers from select countries, many travellers can finally visit these bucket-list destinations soon. Although, do keep in mind that some of these attractions are still not open again. 

North America

1. Visiting the Statue of Liberty
2. Seeing the Las Vegas Strip
3. Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge
4. Going to the top of the Empire State Building
5. Taking a helicopter tour over the Grand Canyon
6. Road-tripping down Route 66
7. Attending Coachella
8. Seeing Niagara Falls at the U.S.-Canada border
9. Camping in Canada’s Banff National Park
10. Seeing Mount Rushmore

Apart from four highly searched travel experiences in major cities, the rest of the items here are located in the countryside. And clearly, months of lockdown has led people to appreciate the great outdoors even more! 

Oceania

1. Snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef
2. Watching a show at the Sydney Opera House
3. Seeing New Zealand’s Hobbiton
4. Visiting the monolith of Uluru, or Ayers Rock
5. Staying in an overwater bungalow in Bora Bora
6. Touring New Zealand’s Waitomo Glowworm Caves

Speaking of the great outdoors, nearly every bucket list travel activity here is nature-centric.  Hey, might as well make the most out of the fact that Oceania is the second-least populous continent, right?

South America

1. Hiking to Machu Picchu
2. Seeing the wildlife of the Galapagos Islands
3. Experiencing the biodiversity of Costa Rica
4. Walking on Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni (salt flats)
5. Visiting the Iguazu Falls where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet
6. Seeing the Moai statues of Easter Island
7. Visiting San Pedro de Atacama desert
8. Exploring Patagonia
9. Sandboarding in Huacachina in Peru
10. Seeing the Amazon rainforest 

Outdoor excursions also reign supreme for this category. Landing on the top spot is Machu Picchu — which also happens to be among the New Seven Wonders of the World. This famous bucket list destination even had a captivating opening ceremony late last year! 

Also read: These Are the World’s Most Liveable Cities in 2021

Which of these exciting adventures are also on your travel bucket list for 2021? Stay tuned to our website for more updates on important travel news! Better yet, drop us a note on our official Facebook page, too. 

---

Featured image credit: kasto via Canva Pro