See our Advertiser Disclosure here.
My friend recently posted a question on social media that garnered quite a few interesting responses: What’s on your anti-bucket list? If a bucket list is al list of things you want to do before you die, what are things you don’t have a desire to do?
Several people said taking a cruise is on their anti-bucket list. Thousands of people trapped on a ship together? Not appealing to some. (But my family loves cruising!)
The topic got me thinking of a travel-related anti-bucket list. I’m so excited about travel that I had to really think hard about my list. Aside from obvious places where there is currently war and unrest, there are only a few places and travel experiences on my travel anti-bucket list.
Route 66 Road Trip
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: I don’t like car trips. Nobody in my family does. Even if we were to only drive 3-4 hours per day, it would still seem like a chore. I’ll take a long flight over a road trip any day.
Mount Everest
For me, climbing Mount Everest (or any tall mountain for that matter) is out. I’m afraid of heights, and the entire experience would be torture.
African Safari
This is actually my husband’s anti-bucket experience because we were recently discussing the idea. His reason for avoiding this is funny. Because of our bad luck seeing animals on other vacations, he thinks we would travel all the way there and not see any animals. For example, while whale watching outside of Vancouver, we were the first boat in a while that didn’t see killer whales. On our tour of Australia last year, we were one the few groups to not see kangaroos in the wild. Just our luck!
Atlantic City
I was born in New Jersey, so I have nothing against the state. But, I have no desire to ever visit Atlantic City. I’m not into gambling, and I’d rather go to Las Vegas for shows.
Extended Camping/Nature Trip
I can deal with getting dirty for a day or two. But, I like comfortable beds and refreshing showers. So, an extended camping trip or rafting trip that involves being outdoors 100% of the time is on my anti-bucket travel list.
Never Say Never….
A few years ago, I had no desire to visit Australia and New Zealand. I thought the flights were too long, and the area just wasn’t that appealing to me. Fast forward a few years later after my husband convinced me we had to go. I loved Australia and New Zealand! One of my all-time favorite trips. So, never say never to a destination or trip idea.
What’s on your travel anti-bucket list?
CLICK HERE TO VIEW VARIOUS CREDIT CARDS AND AVAILABLE SIGN-UP BONUSES
Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
There are places that I haven’t necessarily put at the top of my list to visit, but when I read this article and the comments, it made me re-think why there are places I do not want to visit. I do not care for crowds and having strangers touch against me, so big cities that require public transportation are on my list of places to avoid; however, my wife enjoys traveling to big cities, so we compromise and visit them along with smaller cities and national parks.
Just to say that an area or region is off of my travel plans without ever visiting once is narrowminded. I arrange youth exchanges for my Rotary district, and we encourage students to adapt to new ways of doing things and be open to new places. I enjoy seeing the world from new perspectives, and sometimes, places that I never could imagine enjoying turn out to be some of my favorite places to go again and again.
I would hope that this article would have been written in a different vein, but each of us are different. I think that we should all be a little more openminded in where we will visit, and seeing different places might help us recognize that the differences aren’t that different.
@Arkansas Traveler Thank you for sharing your perspective. I agree that we should be openminded for travel, hence the “never say never” section of the post. But, mostly it comes down to people’s personal preferences and travel styles. Who knows, when my kids are grown maybe they will invite me on a long road trip and I’ll have a blast. But, for now, I’m seeking out different travel experiences that I know I enjoy better.
What a wonderful idea for a post. Thanks.
Mainland China – Both my wife and I have strong dislikes of the Might Makes Right philosophy of mainland China, so that’s pretty much not gonna happen. Also, the mainland Chinese have been pretty lacking in social graces of any type to us or each other in our experience during many trips to Asia, including photo bombing and taking our food off our table while we’re eating.
India – Pardon the phrasing but the rape culture is seriously off putting. There was a female travel blogger who wrote on the subject a couple of years ago and her post didn’t do much to soothe my concerns. We’re considering Sri Lanka as an alternative.
The Bahamas – I saw plenty of the Bahamas growing up in Miami and being a professional travel agent there. It’s physically gorgeous but particularly in Nassau the Bahamians both need and seriously dislike American tourists. Yes, I see the contradiction and so do they.
Honorary mention:Oklahoma, although I’m willing to be swayed on this one.
@Christian Thanks for sharing. My family really enjoyed the Broken Bow area of Oklahoma–it reminded us of Colorado.
Ha, that’ll teach me to avoid messing with Oklahoma. Glad to be wrong.
1. Camping
I don’t know when that switched, because I used to enjoy camping for a day or two. But at some point I thought, “this is more work and hassle than anything.” I go on vacation to avoid stress, not add to it.
2. Southeast US.
Mississippi, Alabama, etc. Pass.
3. Myrtle Beach
Plenty of much nicer beach areas to visit. If I’m going to spend my money, and limited time away, why on earth would I pick one with a reputation among many for being trashy? No thanks.
I’ve heard that about Myrtle Beach, but the water still looks good so I probably wouldn’t turn down a trip there. 🙂