The top 3 travel destinations on my bucket list!

One thing every traveller finds is that the more you travel, the more you want to travel!

Comparisons of experiences over a beer in the hostel bar, lead to an ever growing list of places to visit, even if you are up to 52 countries visited like me! (I was lucky enough to travel for 13 months).

Here’s the top 3 destinations on my bucket list:

1 – Iceland

I’ve been wanting to visit Iceland for a fairly long time – what’s the main reason? The Northern Lights! It would be magical to see this natural phenomenon, but I would go prepared with a time lapse camera in case my eyes let me down!

The only reason a visit didn’t get included in my year off was because its effectively Europe (no long haul flights required, making it an ideal long weekend) and its expensive (I’d prefer to enjoy it when I’m earning and not on a backpacking budget!).

What else draws me to the land of Ice? Well I’m a bit of a geek – I did a Geophysics degree at University, which involves studying earthquakes and volcanoes – all of which are in abundance in Iceland, which sits on top of the continental divide (literally half way between Europe and America!).

The rifting apart of the tectonic plates creates plenty of geothermal activity, like the geysers and results in strange, but beautiful landscapes:

Iceland is known for its stunning waterfalls, and is also a location for some of the colder climes shot in Game of Thrones (I know I did say I’m a geek!).

To warm up after all the traipsing around in the cold beauty, I definitely need to visit the famous geothermal Blue lagoon. The water is meant to be a naturally healing as well as warm, and the location looks gorgeous:

2 – Cuba

I never got to Cuba on my travels around South America – I decided to leave Central America for another time – which in my world includes Caribbean islands!

My friend Tiva and I have had Cuba on our radar for a while and now that relations with the US are getting better, visiting has become a top priority – mainly to get there before it is spoilt by vast cruise ships.

Why Cuba? Well strangely enough I’ve written about why I want to go and what I want to do and see before! (check out all the details and my 10 reasons to visit Cuba here).

These basically sum up to vibrant culture, great food, beautiful country, well preserved architecture, music, rum and finding out more about its history.

A selection of typical dishes – apparently the only way to see the island and get the best food is to stay with locals at a homestay – i.e. in their house. Restaurants outside of resorts are typically communist aka not great!

Beautiful Caribbean beaches

Colonial architecture

The history of Che

The selection of rum and the cocktails such as Cuba Libre!

3 – India

India has taken a top spot on my travel list after talking to friends that have had wonderful experiences there, including Cat who I travelled with for 6 months in South East Asia and South America.

Now that a work friend is getting married later this year, the dream to visit may become a reality!

As India is such a large country, you either need lots of time (month(s)?) or several trips to see the diverse sides. If I go this year I would be heading to Delhi, and the attractions immediately around, as part of the Golden Triangle including Agra and Jaipur.

The beaches of Goa, only a 2.5 hour flight away, are also a draw in the dark UK winter months!

First stop in Agra would be the Taj Mahal, the famous symbol of love

I think everyone has to get a picture in front of the reflecting pools!

Then a visit to the Agra Fort

Then on to Jaipur – the pink city – named after its pink stone buildings, including the Amber Fort. Jaipur is also known for its bazaars – great for shopping!

Also here is where you can find the magical floating palace or Jai Mahal (water palace), another architectural gem.

Another key reason I want to visit India is for the food!

I love food in general and particularly spiced food – I don’t mean hot necessarily, just super tasty! A visit to the markets, dosas for breakfast, sampling the street food and perhaps a cooking lesson would all be part of my trip!