Originally published 2023 / Updated May 2026

May 2026 update: After losing Turbo last year and sadly becoming dog-free (a phrase that just does not have as nice a ring to it as “home-free”), we had a bit of a travel re-think as we fulfilled the seven months worth of European plans we already had in place. The wider world opened up to us and our bucket list expanded. With much deliberation – including charts, graphs, and post-it murder boards – we developed a rough sketch for a two-year “bucket list tour” and set off for Asia in December 2025. Almost six months have passed since then and we’re having another re-think. We just miss having a dog too much, and have realized that perhaps we don’t need to live in a lot of our “bucket list countries” and instead can just visit them on vacation (I’m talking about you, India!). Still in the process of figuring this out, but in the meantime, I’ve updated the bucket list below and added a few more ✓s. We’re a work in progress 🙂

May 2025 update: I’ve added in several ✓s since I originally posted this list. But I hope to also carve out some time soon to update the items on the list. Sadly, since we started traveling in Nov 2021, we have lost both of our dogs. Trixie passed in Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic in June 2023 (sarcoma diagnosed the month before in Budapest, Hungary); and Turbo died in Santa Flavia, Sicily, Italy in March 2025 (osteosarcoma, but he was almost 15 years old, so maybe not quite as tragic?). In this window while we grieve our dogs and before we adopt new dogs – which we will certainly do, it’s just a matter of time – we plan to expand our travels to places that require long flights and/or are no-pets-allowed. It requires a bit of a re-think…

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Caveat — before we even look at the list, I want to stress that I know not everything on here will be possible. Maybe not even a third of it. It’s pretty extensive, and requires a LOT of travel. Yes, we are traveling full-time, but who knows if or when we’ll be able to get to many of the places below. I hope to use the list as a bit of a planner, but a lot more goes into determining where to stay than just a box to be ticked. There are quite a few items on the list that will require a decent level of health, stamina, and athleticism too. And while we do hike regularly and work out even more regularly, nothing can stop the progression of time (and, ugh, joint deterioration). Which is a total bummer because look at that list – it’s AWESOME!!

And here we go!!

✓ = we did it!!

Long Distance Walks / Europe

• West Highland Way in Scotland (quarter ✓ / we did two days with one overnight)
• Spain’s Camino de Santiago (Frances route, with a finish to Finisterre)
• Sweden’s Kungsleden trail
• England’s Coast-to-Coast Trail
• Tour du Mont Blanc (France, Italy, Switzerland)
• Rota Vicentina, Portugal
• King Ludwig’s Way, Germany, with John ❤️

Long Distance Walks / The Rest of the World

• ✓ Kumano Kodo, Japan. DONE! May 2026
• Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Peru
• Overland Track, Australia
• Great Ocean Walk, Australia
• Milford Track, New Zealand
• Cape Winelands Walk, South Africa
• Jordan Trail (Dana to Petra), Jordan
• Lost Coast Trail, USA

Epic Day Hikes / Europe

• Samaria Gorge, Crete, Greece. ✓ SORT OF DONE! We hiked the Imbros Gorge on Crete, because the Samaria was still closed for winter. Apr 2024
• ✓ Terrasses de Lavaux, St-Saphorin to Lutry, Switzerland – Swiss Wine Trail over Lake Geneva. DONE! July 2023
• Five Lakes Trail, Zermatt, Switzerland
• Seven Lakes Valley, Triglav National Park, Slovenia
• Seven Rila Lakes Loop, Rila National Park, Bulgaria
• ✓ Preikistolen, Norway. DONE! Sept 2024
• Puez-Odle Altopiano, Dolomites, Italy
• ✓ The Ladder of Kotor, Kotor, Montenegro. DONE! Apr 2023
• Fira to Oia, Santorini, Greece
• Ben Nevis (mountain track), Scotland
• Seven Hanging Valleys Trail, Algarve, Portugal
• Red Wine Trail (Rotweinwanderweg), Ahr Valley, Germany. Pinot Noir!
• Snowdonia, Wales

Epic Hikes / The Rest of the World

• Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
• Glaciers National Park and Monte Fitz Roy, Argentina
• Banff National Park, Canada
• Cape Breton Highlands, Canada
• Torres del Paine, Chile

Living Experiences / Europe

• Stay on a sailboat and sail Mediterranean islands (Greece, Croatia, Turkey?).
• ✓ Stay on a river houseboat. DONE! Utrecht, Netherlands, May 2025
• Campervan (Iceland, the Nordic countries, Scotland?)

Living Experiences / The Rest of the World

• Live on a sailboat in the Caribbean

Other Adventures / Europe

• ✓ Whisky tastings in Scotland. DONE! Sept & Oct 2022, Dec 2023, Summer 2025
• Oktoberfest in Bavaria Germany
• ✓ See the Northern Lights. DONE! Norway, Oct 2024
• Overnight in an ice hotel
• See the Templar’s castle in Chartres France
• ✓ Visit Dracula’s castle. DONE! Sept 2023
• Thermal baths in Iceland (Mývatn Nature Baths?) or somewhere cold (Norway, Sweden, Finland?)
• Sauna and cold dip in Sweden (Norway/Denmark?)
• Have a soak at a Prague beer spa (maybe)
• See a Shakespeare play at London’s Globe Theater
• ✓ See a play at a regular London Theater. DONE! Nov 2022
• ✓ Visit the ruins of Pompeii. DONE! Nov 2024
• ✓ See the ruins of Rome. DONE! Feb 2022
• ✓ Ruins at Athens. DONE! Feb 2024
• Go the the Glastonbury Music Festival
• See the tulips blooming in the Netherlands
• ✓ Have beers in classic Irish/Scottish/English pubs (with live music). DONE! Sept-Nov 2022; Dec-Feb 2023; Jun-Aug 2025
• See polar bears in Norway (Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard?)
• Spend the night in a castle
• Medieval Week in Visby, Sweden (island of Gotland)
• Visit many of Europe’s best bookstores
  • Juristische Bibliothek, Munich Germany;
  • Book Store Dominicanen, Maastricht Netherlands;
  • Tronsmo Bokhandel, Oslo Norway;
  • ✓ Shakespeare and Company, Paris France. sort-of DONE! May 2025 (too crowded to go inside)
  • Otherwise Bookshop, Rome Italy;
  • Blackwell’s Bookshop, Oxford England;
  • La Biblioteca de Babel, Palma, Mallorca, Spain;
  • Atlantis Books E.E., Oia, Santorini, Greece;

Other Adventures / The Rest of the World

• Visit the ruins of Troy (Hisarlik, Çanakkale Province, Turkey)
• See additional Roman ruins in Turkey (Constantinople / Eastern Roman Empire)
• Visit the ruins of Carthage (Tunis, Tunisia)
• See the ruins at Petra, Jordan
• Visit bazaars in north Africa
• Train ride across Canada
• Ride the Orient Express
• African Safari, booked for October 2026
• See the Great Pyramids in Egypt
• See Emperor penguins on Antarctica
• Tour the Galapagos
• See the moai on Easter Island (Rapa Nui)
• Walk untouristed sections of the Great Wall of China
• Sailing and/or snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, Australia
• Sail the Maldives
• Sail Polynesia, Tahiti, Society Islands including Bora Bora, Moorea, and Huahine
• Sail the Seychelles, booked for November 2026
• ✓ Snorkel somewhere tropical. DONE! Thailand Jan 2026 & Cambodia Feb 2026
• ✓ Kayak in a bioluminescent bay. DONE! Cambodia Feb 2026
• Visit Nova Scotia – find site of Nana’s old cabin, paddle on the lake, and hike to the river
• Go to the Andaman Islands 😄 ✓ Sort-of-done: We went scuba-diving off islands in the Andaman Sea, Thailand Jan 2026
• Visit the rest of the world’s best bookstores (re: list on gMaps – Mexico City; Tokyo; Bangkok; Mumbai; Lagos, Nigeria; Buenos Aires; Tangier, Morocco)
• Zip lines all around the world
• White water rafting all around the world

John: uh… what she said!