Adventurous Kate had a post where she criticized the bucket list – the list people make of things they want to see/do before they die (a.k.a kick the bucket). In it she wrote about the importance of getting specific with your bucket list, listing the travel dreams that you want to do, and giving yourself a timeline to do them. Setting travel goals is important, but it’s more than that. It’s not just good enough to wish to go somewhere. If you want to go to Spain you can’t just dream of hopping on a flight to Lanzarote. You need to get the time and money to go, and you actually must book a flight.
Kate encouraged her readers to come up with 5 to 10 travel priorities they have, and to do at least one of those things in the next two years, which got me thinking about the 5 places I’d want to visit. I’m calling this list My Five in Five. five places I want to visit in the next five years. I wanted this list to consist of places I haven’t visited yet. As of this moment these places seem like a pipe dream for me to visit. I’m not rich. There is no inheritance for me to spend, and no sugar daddy to support my travel aspirations – right now my travel account has a grand total in it of $150. Time will not be on my side either, as I still have four semesters of school to finish in the next two years.
These points aren’t to give me sympathy, but to show I’m not special. When someone says, “I can’t travel right now because of. . .” I understand. Money, time and other obstacles can make travel difficult, and even seem impossible. Being unhappy is something I don’t believe in either though, and I’ve learned that waiting for things to change is useless. Nothing will change and nothing will happen unless you do something about it. This is why I’m going to actively work toward achieving my 5 in 5 goals. As I start saving and making concrete plans I’ll be sharing them with you, so you can see the hard work I’ve done to reach my travel goals.
I’ve used Travel Math to calculate the distance between where I live (Edmonton, Alberta) and the capital city in each place I want to visit. While I do plan to visit more than just the capital city in each place this was a simple way of arranging this list by approximate distance from where I live.
1. Newfoundland
Distance to St. John’s: 4225km (2625 miles).
It may seem odd to have a Canadian province on this list, but Newfoundland (aside from Quebec) is the only province I haven’t been to. Most of this is due to distance as Newfoundland is the furthest province from Alberta (New Orleans is closer to Edmonton than St. John’s). Newfoundland has their own time zone (half hour ahead of Atlantic time), their own slang, and a culture that is unique in Canada. I want to visit Newfoundland to see icebergs, humpback whales, and to set first on the land where the Vikings first settled in North America. I’d love to explore the province, from the bars on George Street in the capital of St. John’s, to the natural beauty of Gros Morne National Park.
Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland.
2. Croatia
Distance to Zagreb: 8002km (4872 miles).
There are a lot of destinations in Europe that I want to visit, and revisit but Croatia stands out to me. It could be that I’m also being influenced by the stories I read and the pictures I’ve seen of Croatia in various travel blogs and guidebooks. I want to wander around the historic cities in Croatia like Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik. I want to visit some of the 1000 islands that Croatian has like Vis and Lokram, and explore others I don’t even know about. I want to mesmerized by nature and varying shades of blues and greens in Plitvice Lakes National Park. More than this I want to learn more about Croatian culture and history by visiting the country itself.
Hvar, Croatia
3. Morocco
Distance to Rabat: 8026km (4987 miles).
I’ve barely touched on my obsession with Morocco, but ever since I was a kid it’s a country I’ve wanted to visit There’s something I find fascinating about the country, and it’s hard for me to explain exactly why. I can say I want to visit Morocco because of its unique blend of cultures from Arabic, to Berber, to French and to Spanish. I want to marvel at ancient Roman ruins like in Volubilis. I want to see Islamic art and architecture like the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca. I want to wander down the blue streets of Chefchaouen, experience the hustle and bustle of the souks in Marrakech, and see giant dunes of the Sahara in person. In many ways Morocco is the destination I fear the most, but not for the reasons you might think. I fear that I’ll go there and my expectations will be dashed. Worse yet I fear my expectations will be surpassed, and Morrocco will continue to have an inexplicable pull on my heart.
A Riad in Morocco close to Marrakesh.
4. Peru
Distance to Lima: 8049km (5001 miles).
Peru is a country I’ve wanted to visit for a while. I’d be lying if I said Machu Picchu wasn’t a big reason for why I want to visit Peru, because it is. Of course it isn’t the only reason. Like Morocco, but not quite as intense, there’s just something I find really intriguing about Peru. I love history and culture and aside from Machu Picchu I’d love to visit other ruins like Choquequirao and Isla del Sol. I’d love to visit cities like Lima and Cusco, as well as see natural landscapes like Lake Titicaca and the Amazon Rainforest.
Machu Piccu in Peru
5. Australia
Distance to Canberra: 13, 521km (8402 miles).
Australia is the country/continent that’s the furthest from me. It’s also the largest place on my list. I know I could probably live in Australia, and not see it all. Trying to say what I’d want to see and do in Australia within this small paragraph would be impossible, but I’ll give a few highlights. Large cities like Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Australia. Amazing natural beauty like The Great Ocean Road, the Barrier Reef (probably should learn to swim for that one), and Uluru. More unexplored land and things to see that I never knew about. Plus it’d be great to visit some of the Australians I met on my Europe tour a few years ago.
The Twelve Apostles along the Shipwreck coast, Australia
Bonus: The rest of the world.
Picking just five places for this list was really hard. I didn’t have any countries from Asia on this list, but there are many places in Asia (and in the rest of the world) that I want to visit. This list isn’t set in stone, and neither are the activities that I’ve mentioned in this list. As Cole and Adela from For Jandals point out in their post Why I Want To Tear Up Our Bucket List I also don’t want this list to rule my travel life. If I get the chance to travel somewhere not on this list, and I have the means to go there then I’ll travel there.
Do you have a Five in Five list? What places would be on it?
This post has been written by me and was graciously brought to you by Thomson.co.uk.
Hi Alouise,
I have also read Kate’s article on the bucket list. It’s so difficult to sit down and pick up 10 favourite places you want to go to. I find your choice very interesting. Croatia is close to Poland, but unfortunately I’ve never been there. It’s an amazing holiday destination: cheap and the locals are very hospitable, not even mentioning the beautiful beaches!
Peru is on my bucket list as well. I’m heading to South America in August 2013 
))) so I hope to see you there x 
Great post and lovely photos. I know there are not yours, but I like them a lot.
Agness x
Hi Agness thanks for the comment. Honestly I’m pretty indecisive and if I were to wait another five minutes I’d likely start changing my mind, and making my 5 in 5 list a list of a 100 places I want to see in the next 5 years. Your trip to South America sounds great I hope you can make it to Peru.
Peru is at the top of my travel list, too, although I’m hoping to make it there in the next year.
That sounds very exciting. I hope you get to go to Peru next year. Thanks for the comment.
Great list! I find the more I travel the longer my ‘bucket list’ gets. I’ve been to Croatia, Morocco and Peru, and think they are all wonderful places. The next 6 countries I’ll be checking off (in one giant trip) are Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa.
Wow it sounds like you have a pretty amazing trip coming up. Thanks for the comment Thomas.
I’ve also never made a list — too much of my travel depends on budget, who will travel with me, etc. But I love reading other people’s lists for ideas!!
I usually try not to make my lists too set in stone, but I find I need a concerte goal to motivate me, so a bucket list can help with that. Thanks for the comment Abby.
Yeah I’ve never created a bucket list because I felt the same way as Kate – more definite goals mean that something will actually happen. Come to Australia! It’s a big trip, but it’s worth it
Thanks for the comment. I’m working on finding a way to Australia – I’m sure it will be worth it.
wow, I am amazed at the startling coincidences I have stumbled across on this site! My name is Alouise too (I’m a highschool student in Sydney Australia) and I too have gone through the journey of looking up my unique name only to find a cool singer with the exact same one! And going through your site, I see that your birthday is july 23, which is amazing, as mine is july 22 anyway, I know this is completely unrelated to your post but I have nowhere else to put it, so hello! Another fun fact is that you want to celebrate your birthday in winter, in Australia, july IS winter (admittedly probably not as cold as Canada)!! Anyway, I know I sound creepy, but I just wanted to say It’s so wonderful to meet another Alouise with an almost identical birthdate
I knew there were other Alouises out there. I’m sure the singer you found named Alouise was the same one I found. Crazy that we both have the same name and our birthdays are just a day apart. Thanks for the comment.
I think there is always one country that seems to call to you as a travel destination. You can never explain the fasination you just know you need to go!
I also thought that Newfoundland was a great place to visit. Maybe you could probably mix Quebec and Newfoundland in one trip:). Anywho, another great post
Thanks Murielle. I’d definitely like to go to Quebec too, and if I do end up in Toronto for TBEX I’ll definitely make an excuse to go.
Those are beautiful! I think it’s hard for me to narrow down the places I want to visit because that list always changes. And really, if an opportunity to travel arises, I just take it.
Thanks Suki. Picking these five places was really hard, and if I waited any longer to write the post I probably would have changed my mind and put down 5 other places. And I totally concur with your last point.