Even if this isn’t the best time to travel it’s important to keep your dreams alive! I look forward to taking my next trip and most importantly I need to have something to look forward to. This is why I’m actively looking at travel destinations and planning post-pandemic trips. It helps keep me sane and besides I love travel planning.
It’s no secret that I caught the travel bug on my first trip abroad. I just love discovering new places, tasting local dishes, learning about local customs and cultures. Despite the fact that my husband and I have had the chance to take many trips, all of them unique and memorable in their own way, we still have many places we hope and plan to see in our lifetimes. We may not make it to all of them, but we sure will try to get to as many as possible!
We enjoy all sorts of trips and like to mix things up. On our bucket list we have once in a lifetime dream trips like safaris that require lots of pre-planning as well as easy to plan scuba diving vacations at dive resorts. We also have lots of ideas for road trips, cultural city trips and exotic holidays to faraway lands.
Below I’ll share with you some of our dream trips that we would love to do as soon as it’s possible.
1- Another African Safari
We love safaris, and we have our eye on Botswana. Botswana is special and offers great animal viewing opportunities. It’s home to all of Africa’s Big Five: lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos and Cape buffalos. Botswana’s landscape is diverse and includes the world’s largest inland delta, the Okavango Delta. A large section of the country is also covered by a semi-arid sandy savannah, the Kalahari Desert. To the north you have the Chobe National Park, an area known for having the largest population of elephants in the world.
Planning a safari takes time and if you want to stay at a specific game reserve, you have to book well in advance. Sometimes even as far as a year, especially during high season. This is why we have already planned our next safari to Botswana and Victoria Falls for next summer.
We look forward to seeing the mighty Victoria Falls nicknamed Mosi-oa-Tunya (The Smoke That Thunders) by the locals. It’s the largest waterfall in the world and can be heard from a great distance (25mi, 40km). We opted to combine Victoria Falls with a safari in Botswana, but the falls could also be easily combined with a safari in South Africa.
We’ve had the good fortune to have been on safari twice before, once in Kenya and Tanzania and another time in South Africa’s private games reserves near Kruger National Park. There’s nothing more exhilarating than being only a few feet away (almost within touching distance) from these majestic animals. It’s both thrilling and awe-inspiring!
We hope one day to also have the chance to go to Namibia for more animal viewing. But also, to see the huge sand dunes of the Skeleton Coast dropping into the Atlantic Ocean and perhaps watch the sun rise over the dunes of the Namib Desert.
2- Castle Hopping Road Trip in Germany
We have wonderful memories of our castle hopping adventure in Ireland. We had so much fun visiting and staying in castles that we decided to repeat the experience but this time in Germany.
We will be renting a car in Frankfurt and plan on visiting as many castles as we can in the Rhine Valley and Southern Germany. There certainly isn’t any shortage of castles in Germany, there’s about 20,000 to choose from! We also want to spend time in Cologne where we plan on visiting the magnificent Gothic cathedral.
In Ireland we had rented a car and had a few hair-raising moments driving on the left side of the road but the freedom of having our own wheels was definitely a plus. We wouldn’t hesitate to do this again in Scotland and England. Eventually, we also plan on visiting castles on other road trips to Romania and France’s Loire Valley.
Road trips require planning ahead to optimize what you can see and do in the time you have. You don’t want to end up having to drive all day to get to your next stop because you didn’t account for traffic, smaller roads, or scenic stops along the way.
We also highly recommend booking your accommodations in advance. You don’t want to end up in a rat race to find a bed as the night sets in. Believe me we’ve been there, and we ended up having to settle for a less than ideal room at a much higher price (See the full story in our Canadian Rockies Road Trip post).
Finally, before you hit the road be sure to check if you need an international driver’s permit.
3- Cambodia and Angkor Wat
Well this is another bucket list trip for us. I’ve been dreaming of seeing Angkor Wat for a very long time. To think that we almost made it there last February after Vietnam, but because of (you guested it!) the pandemic, we postponed the Cambodia part of our trip.
November to February are good times to go but do keep in mind that the Lunar New Year is a very busy travel time and that attractions in Southeast Asia can get quite crowded. In 2021 the Lunar New Year falls on February 12th, so we started to look at options for November. Of course, since we already did the Vietnam part, we need to modify our original itinerary. We plan on visiting Siem Reap and the Angkor Archeological Park, Phnom Penh and perhaps somewhere along the Gulf of Thailand for a few days of scuba diving.
Cambodia is easily combinable with Vietnam, Thailand or Laos.
If you have visited Cambodia, we would love to hear about some of your must-see places.
See our post: Temples of Angkor and Siem Reap, Cambodia
4- Scuba Diving Vacation in Fiji, Maldives or French Polynesia
We would be happy with any of these destinations for a scuba diving vacation. However, my preference would be Fiji because, similar to Hawaii, there are other top side activities to see when not diving. From what I’ve seen, Fiji’s reefs look pristine and full of life. It is known for its colorful soft corals.
Even if we have the chance to dive often here in Florida, these places have other species of fish and creatures that are endemic to the South Pacific or the Indian Ocean. And of course, the thought of a dreamy overwater bungalow is an experience I would love to have at least once.
Of course, there are many other alternatives closer to home in the Caribbean too. Bonaire, Cozumel and Roatan are all wonderful destinations for scuba diving vacations. Grenada is also a good choice and has many wrecks to dive on including a sunken cruise ship, the Bianca C.
5- Istanbul, Turkey
I’m not sure why but this city has fascinated me for a very long time. I can’t pinpoint why I haven’t made it there yet, hopefully, 2021 will be the year. Istanbul a city with a long history. This is even more apparent in the Old City where iconic monuments like the Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cistern and the Blue Mosque are located.
There are also many other historical sites and museums to visit. Let’s not forget about all the specialty dishes to try and the Turkish coffee too.
Separated by the Bosporus Strait, Istanbul straddles both Europe and Asia. Where else can you say that you visited one city and two continents on the same day?
I would combine a trip to Istanbul with a visit to the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia and the ancient city of Ephesus. And I would like to visit in the fall, when the temperature is cooler, and the high season for tourism is over.
6- Somewhere in South America: Easter Island, Iguazu Falls or Uyuni Salt Flats
We haven’t explored much of South America yet, but these are the places we would love to see. As a bonus there are many direct flights from Miami.
Easter Island has been on my radar for a long time. I think it’s because of the mysterious moai. I can’t help but wonder why the Rapa Nui people erected such colossal statues on the island. Apparently, it’s even possible to see one while scuba diving. That would be pretty cool. Another place in Chile that I would love to see is the Atacama Desert.
Another place we would like to visit in South America is Iguazu Falls. We were thinking of combining this trip with Buenos Aires in Argentina and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. If you have been, we would love to hear about it.
The Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia are also on our list of places to go. In April, they are covered with a shallow coat of water giving them a mirror-like appearance.
Obviously if you haven’t been to Machu Picchu, you really should include this in any itinerary. It’s breathtaking. We loved our adventure in Peru’s Sacred Valley, but another interesting trip we did was to Northern Peru. There we visited among other things, Kuelap, dubbed the Machu Picchu of the North.
A Galapagos Islands cruise was another wonderful adventure we highly recommend. Imagine standing next to animals and birds that are totally unafraid of humans. This is a unique experience, don’t you think?
7- Another Croatia Road Trip
We loved our first trip to Croatia so much that we plan on organizing another road trip to the Balkan Peninsula. It’s a really beautiful part of the world to see with a lot of history. On our first visit we had just finished watching Game of Thrones and made it a point to visit some of the places where some of shows were filmed.
We would again rent a car to reach lesser visited areas and perhaps revisit some of our favorite places in Croatia. But our plan is to visit a different part of the country. I do want to see the huge roman amphitheater in Pula which is located in Croatia’s Istrian Peninsula.
An itinerary idea would be to explore Northern Croatia and spend a few days in Slovenia. However, Dubrovnik, which is situated further south, would be best combined with Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Cruises are another option mainly to visit some of Croatia’s islands. To see other parts of the Balkans, a river cruise on the Danube from Budapest to Bucharest would be a good option.
8- Antarctica
One day I hope to go on an expedition cruise to Antarctica. From what I’ve seen online and in books, the scenery looks absolutely breathtaking. I know it will be cold, but it would be worth it. Now I just have to convince my husband!
Conclusion
These are all wonderful destinations to visit and planning a trip might just be what the doctor ordered. It’s important to have something to look forward too and I hope this lineup will inspire you to make your own list of places to go for when the time is right.
Be sure to look at our Travel Planning Guide to help you plan your dream trip. For more travel inspiration look at our travel destinations and trip ideas sections.
How about you, are you in the habit of planning ahead or do you just book at the last minute?