MY TRAVEL BUCKET LIST FOR 2017/18

Like a shopaholic who spends every waking minute shopping, I’m probably what you’d call a travelholic (or a holidayholic, neither of which have a particularly nice ring to them). If I’m not glued to my laptop screen watching travel videos, I’m googling travel guides or searching for flights and hostels. I guess you could say it’s more than a hobby – travel is a huge, huge passion of mine.

The downside of this is that I’m constantly excited about new countries that my ‘travel bucket list’, so to speak, changes almost weekly. What was at the top of my list will be replaced almost instantly after a few hours of research into a new destination. I thought it was about time I jotted down a few places that seem to continuously float in and out of the top spot as these are the trips I’d like to take sooner rather than later!

JAPAN

Japan has always been on my list – purely because it’s such a fascinating country and I love going to places that are polar opposite to what I’m used to – but it’s only been the past 6 months or so that I’ve been really desperate to visit. I know I would absolutely love it and every time I think about the culture and the amazing experiences it has to offer, I get so so excited.

INDIA

India hasn’t always been on my bucket list. In fact, I only really started looking into it a couple of months ago but ever since I’ve had this urge to go. I know India isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and it definitely isn’t for the faint hearted, but as I mentioned above – I love a good culture shock! I love being completely blown away and thrown out of my comfort zone – personally I think those are the experiences and countries you remember the most. I would never be brave enough to go on my own (and even if I was it obviously isn’t recommended) but I would love to go on a budget tour so I can experience REAL India but with the added benefit of safety. Again, I feel like I would really love it (even though I’m aware that most people hate India to begin with, but always end up loving it when they get used to it)!

AUSTRIA

The sole reason I want to go to Austria, if I’m honest, is because I really want to go on Contiki’s skiing trip based in Hopfgarten. Part of me is a little bit scared because skiing is so not fun when you don’t know what you’re doing (especially for someone like me who struggles with carrying heavy boots and skis because I’m legit the weakest person ever). It’s never fun being out of your comfort zone and struggling with something that everyone else around you is good at, but with that also comes the sense of achievement when you see yourself improving. I learnt how to Ski in just one day in New Zealand (granted I wasn’t very confident or fast), but it’s made me want to continue learning so I can acquire a new skill and be proud of myself. Oh and I also really want to experience Après Ski and cosy chalets and hot choc in front of the fire and roast dinners and paragliding over the slopes and Bobbahn and a day trip to Salzburg (because who doesn’t love The Sound of Music?)

MEXICO

As much as I love experiencing everything when I go away and making the most of my trip, I have the tendency to overexert myself to the point where I don’t feel like I’m on ‘holiday’. When this happens, you end up going back to work even more exhausted than you were before you left because you haven’t had the chance to relax and recuperate. Although I’ve always been against resort holidays, part of me thinks it would be a nice novelty to just sit and sunbathe in luxury all day whilst sipping all inclusive cocktails and eating my own body weight at all-you-can-eat restaurants. I love Mexican food and Latin culture, so have always liked the idea of going to Mexico. But seeing how popular Mexico is as a luxury resort destination has given me the idea to kill two birds with one stone and possibly spend a week at a resort followed by a week backpacking and experiencing the culture. Best of both worlds ay! After all, as much as I like the thought of relaxing and sunbathing, I know I’d be bored to death if I did it for 2 weeks!



CROATIA

I’ve seen a lot of marketing on Facebook and Twitter recently for ‘The Yacht Week’, which if you don’t know is basically a week long sailing party holiday around various exotic coastlines. Now I’m a bit of a sucker for a party holiday, which is probably why I love Thailand so much, so the promo video definitely does a good job of making someone like me want to book! There are tons of destinations to choose from but Croatia is the original and most famous coastline to sail around, so personally it’s the one I’m most interested in! Plus I’ve heard Croatia is meant to be beautiful and I’m really keen to explore more of Central and Eastern Europe. The Yacht Week is slightly more expensive because of its reputation, but the rise in popularity of sailing holidays has encouraged other companies to offer pretty much identical trips for cheaper. As long as the reviews are good, I’d happily go with one of the smaller companies to make it slightly cheaper. It’s all about doing research really and seeing how each company differs and what will suit you the most. But definitely check out The Yacht Week – it looks SO fun!

HUNGARY

It's no secret that Budapest is famous for its stag dos and is ridiculously popular with groups of lads wanting a cheap weekend away drinking and partying. I'm definitely a fan of drinking and partying, so it sounds like somewhere I'd like to go right? But who knew it was equally as famous for its thermal baths? Shamefully, not me! I'm a sucker for beautiful architecture and natural hot springs so BUDA - YOU CAN COUNT ME IN.

So that’s my travel bucket list for 2017/18! No doubt I’ll visit some other places instead of the ones on this list as a lot of holidays depend on where my friends want to go, especially mini getaways to Europe, so I’m more than happy to compromise!

What’s on your travel bucket list?

xxx