Semmes’ Rest of the World Travel Bucket List

Around the World Bucket List My bucket list is a never-ending work in progress. I am continuously adding, altering, changing, and updating it. I love discovering new things, learning about new destinations, being inspired to try something new, etc. So, my bucket list serves as a reminder to me of the massive, exciting, ever-changing world. Do I think I will accomplish everything on my bucket list? I sure hope so! Anything is possible!

Make sure you check out all my other Bucket Lists! Here is my Travel Bucket List for other countries around the world. Keep in mind that I will be constantly adding and editing items on this list. And, let me know if I should add anything else!

* The numbers refer to the items from Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Travel book

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Hindi, English, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit
BEST TIME TO VISIT – November to March in the plains and July to September for the Himalaya
CAPITAL – New Delhi
- See below
Relax on the Andaman Islands
Learn how to wear a sari
Get a henna tattoo in India
Celebrate Holi
Celebrate Diwali
Travel India by train
Uttar Pradesh
- Agra
  - Akbar’s Mausoleum
  - #5. The Taj Mahal (UNESCO)
  - Explore the Agra Fort (UNESCO)
  - Explore the abandoned imperial fortress city of Fatehpur Sikri (UNESCO)
- #355. Fatehpur Sikri
- #102. Dashashwamedh Ghat
- The ancient city of Varanasi
- Historic Prayagraj (Allahabad)
- Take a boat ride down the Ganges
Uttarakhand
- Look for tigers, leopards, and wild elephants in Corbett National Park
- Practice yoga at Rishikesh, India’s yoga capital
- Find the snow leopards and sloth bears at Gangotri Park
- Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks (UNESCO)
Punjab and Haryana
- #326. Golden Temple
- Attari–Wagah border post
Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh
- #396. Thukse Monastery
- Kashmir Valley
Deli
- #240. Old Delhi
- India Gate
- Visit Gandhi Smriti, a museum dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi
- See where Gandhi died
- See the Akshardham Temple Complex
- See the Red Fort Complex (UNESCO)
- See Qutb Minar and its Monuments (UNESCO)
- See Humayun’s Tomb (UNESCO)
Northeast States
- Spot the rate one-horned Indian rhino
- Go on a safari at Kaziranga National Park (UNESCO)
- Feed the animlas at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation
- Kaziranga Discovery Centre, built by Elephant Family,
- The Great Himalayan National Park (UNESCO)
- Manas Wildlife Sanctuary (UNESCO)
- Walk on the Root Bridges of Cherrapunji
Karnataka
- #222. Virupaksha Temple
- Explore the ruins of Hampi (UNESCO)
- Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, tropical forest
- See the Mysore Palace
- Find the Group of Monuments at Pattadakal (UNESCO)
Tamil Nadu
- #192. Meenakshi Amman Temple
- Puducherry’s French Quarter
Telangana and Andhra Pradesh
- Visakhapatnam coastline
- Spot a Bengal Tiger inside Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve

Bihar and Jharkhand
- Attain enlightenment at Bodhgaya, where Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) attained enlightenment
- See Budda’s ashes at Vaishali
- Find the elephants at Jharkhand’s Betla (Palamau) National Park
- Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya (UNESCO)
West Bengal and Sikkim
- Take in the spectacular Himalayan views
- Spot the Royal Bengal tiger at Sunderbans Tiger Reserve
- Trek through the tea fields in Darjeeling
- Get lost in the forest of one tree, the Great Banyan Tree
- Find a clouded leopard at Kanchenjunga Biosphere Reserve (UNESCO)
Rajasthan
- Udaipur
- Track tigers in Ranthambhore National Park
- Jaipur, “The Pink City” (UNESCO)
  - See the Palace of Winds
  - See the monkeys inside Hanuman’s Temple
  - #180. Visit Amber Fort
  - See the Jantar Mantar, Jaipur (UNESCO)
- #48. Jaisalmer, “The Golden City”
- Take a camel safari
- Jodhpur, “The Blue City”
- Ranakpur Temple
- See the Hill Forts of Rajasthan (UNESCO)
- Keoladeo National Park (UNESCO)
- Walk on The Great Wall of India
Maharashtra
- Mumbai
  - Bollywood
  - Stay at Taj Mahal Palace
  - Play cricket on the Oval Maidan.
  - Place petals in the Banganga Water Tank
  - Shop at the Chor Bazaar
- Wander inside the Ajanta Caves (UNESCO)
- See the Ellora Caves (UNESCO)
- Elephanta Caves (UNESCO)
- The Konkan Coast
Gujarat and Daman & Diu
- Visit the historic city of Ahmedabad (UNESCO)
- See Rani ki Vav, the Queen’s Stepwell, in the town of Patan (UNESCO)
Goa
- Relax on Agonda Beach
- See the Churches and Convents of Goa (UNESCO)
Central India (Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarth)
- See tigers at Bandhavgarh National Park
- Khajuraho Group of Monuments (UNESCO)
- Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka (UNESCO)
- Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi (UNESCO)

Bangladesh

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Bengali
BEST TIME TO VISIT – October to February
CAPITAL – Dhaka
- #291. Old Dhaka
- Survive the crowds at the Sadarghat docks
See the historic Mosque City of Bagerhat (UNESCO)
Find the Ruins of the Buddhist Vihara in Paharpur (UNESCO)
Spot a Royal Bengal tiger in the Sundarbans, the largest contiguous mangrove forest in the world (UNESCO)
See the waves crash on St. Martin Island
Stroll down the world’s longest beach at Inani near Cox’s Bazar
Wear a lungi (sarong) for the day

Bhutan

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Dzongkha
BEST TIME TO VISIT – March to May and October to November
CAPITAL – Thimphu
#367. Punakha Dzong, the biggest fortress in Bhutan
Hike to the Tiger’s Nest Monastery
Observe (or partake) an archery tournament
See the Takin, Bhutan’s national animal, at the Motithang Takin Preserve
Watch the monks dance at the Tsechu festival
See the Trongsa Monastery

Maldives

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Divehi
BEST TIME TO VISIT – Year-round
CAPITAL – Male’
Take an island photo from the airplane
Stay in an overwater bungalow
Eat at an underwater restaurant
Spot whale sharks, manta rays, and hammerheads in the Indian Ocean

Nepal

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Nepali
BEST TIME TO VISIT – September to November and March to May
CAPITAL – Kathmandu
#90. Visit Everest Base Camp
#126. Durbar Square
#196. Bodhnath Stupa
#317. Chitwan National Park (UNESCO)
#401. Swayambhunath Temple
Take a flight over the Himalayas
Visit Lumbini, the Birthplace of Buddha (UNESCO)
See Kathmandu Valley (UNESCO)

Pakistan

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Urdu and English
BEST TIME TO VISIT – November to April in the south and May to October in the north
CAPITAL – Islamabad
- The Pakistan Monument
- See the massive courtyard at the Faisal Masjid
Lahore
- #348. Lahore Fort
- See the Badshahi Mosque
- Fort and Shalamar Gardens (UNESCO)
See the ruins at Moenjodaro (UNESCO)

Sri Lanka

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Sinhalese and Tamil
BEST TIME TO VISIT – December to March
CAPITAL – Colombo
#191. See the Sigiriyam the Lion Rock (UNESCO)
#382. Polonnaruwa (UNESCO)
#399. Galle Fort (UNESCO)
#407. Temple of the Tooth
See the “sacred footprint” on Adam’s Peak
#453. Horton Plains & World’s End
Visit Ella
See the elephants in Udawalawe National Park
Explore Sinharaja Forest Reserve (UNESCO)
Visit Anuradhapura (UNESCO)
See the elaborate gardens and frescoes in the ancient fortress at Sigiriya
Relax on the beaches in southern Sri Lanka
Search for leopards and elephants in Yala National Park

Afghanistan

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Dari and Pashto
BEST TIME TO VISIT – April to June and September to October
CAPITAL – Kabul
See the Minaret and the Archaeological Remains of Jam (UNESCO)
The medieval city of Herat
See the blue domes of Mazar-e-Sharif’s Shrine of Hazart Ali
Relax at Band-e-Amir Lakes

Bahrain

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Arabic
BEST TIME TO VISIT – November to March
CAPITAL – Manama
Find the Tree of Life near Jabal ad Dukhan
Qal’at al-Bahrain, Ancient Harbor and Capital of Dilmun (UNESCO)
Bahrain Pearling Trail (UNESCO)
Bahrain National Museum
Travel King Fahd Causeway to Saudi Arabia
Attend the Formula One Grand Prix
Spot flamingos on the Hawar Islands
Dive for pearls, visit the Museum of Pearl Diving, and learn all about Bahrain’s industry

Iran

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Farsi
BEST TIME TO VISIT – April to June and September to November
CAPITAL – Tehran
#53. Naqsh e-Jahan
#357. Ancient Persepolis (UNESCO)
#479. Pol-e-Khaju
Visit Masjed-e Jāmé of Isfahan (UNESCO)
Explore Bisotun (UNESCO)
Marvel at all the color of Imam Square in Esfahan

Iraq

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Arabic and Kurdish
BEST TIME TO VISIT – April to September
CAPITAL – Baghdad
Explore the ancient city of Hatra (UNESCO)
Babylon (UNESCO)
Visit the citadel of Erbil, one of the oldest inhabited cities on earth (UNESCO)

Isreal

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Hebrew
BEST TIME TO VISIT – Year-round
CAPITAL – Jerusalem
- See the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem
- See the old city of Jerusalem (UNESCO)
- See the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem
- #256. Church of the Holy Sepulchre
- #86. See the Dome of Rock
Visit Tel Aviv (UNESCO)
Visit the Holocaust Museum
#328. Beit She’an
#332. Makhtesh Ramon
#443. Sea of Galilee
Old City of Acre (UNESCO)
Walk around Bahá’i Holy Places in Haifa (UNESCO)
Float in the Dead Sea
See Mar Saba Monastery on the West Bank
Explore the desert of Negev (UNESCO)
Masada (UNESCO)
See the Rosh HaNikra Grottoes
Climb Mt. Tsfahot for views of the Red Sea, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia
Visit the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem

Jordan

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Arabic
BEST TIME TO VISIT – April to May and September to October
CAPITAL – Amman
#295. Float in the Dead Sea
Petra (UNESCO)
Visit Qasar Amra (UNESCO)
Explore Wadi Rum Protected Area (UNESCO)
See the Roman ruins in Jerash
Clim Mt Nebo, where Moses looked out upon the Promised Land

Kuwait

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Arabic
BEST TIME TO VISIT – February to April
CAPITAL – Kuwait City
Visit the Grand Mosque in Kuwait City
Failaka Island

Lebanon

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Arabic
BEST TIME TO VISIT – Year-round
CAPITAL – Beirut
#370. Baalbek (UNESCO)
Explore the city of Byblos (UNESCO)
See the Pigeon Rocks
See Qadusha Valley (UNESCO)
Explore the Jeita Grotto

Libya

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Arabic
BEST TIME TO VISIT – October to March
CAPITAL – Tripoli
Archaeological Site of Sabratha (UNESCO)
Explore the old town of Ghadames (UNESCO)
Explore Leptis Magna (UNESCO)
Visit the city of Cyrene (UNESCO)

Oman

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Arabic
BEST TIME TO VISIT – October to April and June to September for the monsoon season (and the region at its lushest)
CAPITAL – Muscat
#287. Ras al-Jinz
#455. Nizwa Fort
#496. Mutrah Souq
Explore the Frankincense Trail (UNESCO)
Explore Al Hoota Cave
Relax on the beach of Masirah
See the cliffs and the frankincense trees in Mughsail
Wander through the Wadi Shab
Drive over the Hajar Mountains
Take a dip in the Bimmah Sinkhole

Palestine

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Arabic
BEST TIME TO VISIT – March to May and September to November
CAPITAL – Ramallah
See the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem (UNESCO)

Qatar

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Arabic
BEST TIME TO VISIT – November to March
CAPITAL – Doha
- View the modern architecture on the waterfront of Doha
- Visit Palm Tree Island
- See the Museum of Islamic Art
- Explore the Souq Waqif, a 19th-century souq
Al Zubarah Archeological Site (UNESCO)
Relax on the beaches in Al-Wakrah

Saudi Arabia

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Arabic
BEST TIME TO VISIT – November to February
CAPITAL – Riyadh
Explore Al-Hijr (UNESCO)
Relax at the Al-Ahsa Oasis (UNESCO)
Visit Mecca
- See the Ka’ba
Visit Medina
See ancient Nabataean city (with the Madain Salah)
Visit Jeddah
Snorkel in the Red Sea
Venture into the Empty Quarter, the world’s most famous deserts
Visit Dir’aiyah and learn about the origins of Wahhabi Islam

Syria

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Arabic
BEST TIME TO VISIT – March to May
CAPITAL – Damascus
- Explore the ancient city of Damascus (UNESCO)
Discover the ancient city of Bosra (UNESCO)
See the historic wooden waterwheels in Hama

Turkey (see Southern Europe Bucket List)

United Arab Emirates

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Arabic
BEST TIME TO VISIT – Late October to late February
CAPITAL – Abu Dhabi
- #322. Shikh Zayed Grand Mosque
- Louvre Abu Dhabi
- Emirates Palace
Visit Dubai
- See the world from the top of Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building
- Marvel at Dubai’s skyline
- Go shopping in the Dubai Mall
- Stay at one of the many beautiful 5-star hotels
- The National Museum
Go on a desert safari
Visit the beautiful ports in Khor Fakkan
Ride a camel
Visit the oasis town of Al Ain (UNESCO)
Visit a souq

Yemen

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Arabic
BEST TIME TO VISIT – October to March
CAPITAL – San’a
- Visit some of the 14,000 ancient buildings in the 2,500-year-old San’a (UNESCO)
#290. Socotra Island (UNESCO)
Visit the walled city of Shibam (UNESCO)
See the “Manhattan of the Desert” at Wadi Hadramawt
Walk across the Shaharah Bridge

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Arabic
BEST TIME TO VISIT – October to May
CAPITAL – Cairo
- Explore Cairo (UNESCO)
- #178. Visit the Egyptian Museum
- See the Sphinx and the Pyramids
#25. See the pyramids of Giza
Sail down the Nile
See Memphis (and the Necropolis) (UNESCO)
#238. Visit Luxor Temple
#71. See Mt. Sinai
#82. Visit the Valley of the Kings
#95. See Abu Simbel (UNESCO)
Go scuba diving in Dahab
Ride a camel
Swim in the Red Sea
Have a tea at the Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan (where Agatha Christie wrote “Death on the Nile”
#186. Karnak
Find a fossil in the Whale Valley (UNESCO)
Visit Siwa, an oasis town in the Sahara

Antarctica

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – N/A
BEST TIME TO VISIT – November to February for “summer” and March for marine mammal spotting
CAPITAL – N/A
#161. See the Shackleton’s Hut
#286. Ross Ice Shelf
Go on a zodiac boat cruise and spot seals, penguins, and humpback whales
Observe and learn more about penguins at Neko Harbour
Do the arctic plunge in Deception Bay
See the icebergs at Paradise Harbour
Explore Deception Island
Visit a research station

Armenia

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Armenian
BEST TIME TO VISIT – May to September
CAPITAL – Yerevan
Go to the Monastery of Geghard in Goght (UNESCO)
Holy Echmiadizin, the seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church (UNESCO)
Visit Dilijan, the “Switzerland of Armenia”

Azerbaijan

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Azeri
BEST TIME TO VISIT – May to June and September to November
CAPITAL – Baku
- Explore the old city of Baku (UNESCO)
- See the Flame Towers in Baku
- See the futuristic architecture of the “flickering” Flame Towers and more
#409. Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center
See the volcanoes at Gobustan National Park (UNESCO)

Georgia

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Georgian
BEST TIME TO VISIT – April to October
CAPITAL – Tbilisi
#193. Visit the Tbilisi Old Town
#254. Davit Gareja
Explore the old town of Mtskheta (UNESCO)
See the Gelati Monastery (UNESCO)
Hike around Mount Kazbek
Visit Batumi on the Black Sea coast

Greenland (Denmark)

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Greenlandic and Danish
BEST TIME TO VISIT – April for dog-sledding and skiing tours and July to mid-September during the thaw
CAPITAL – Nuuk
#70. Go to Ilulissat Kangerlua
The ice Fjords around Greenland (UNESCO)
See the island of Uummannaq
Dog sled on Disko Island

Kazakhstan

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Kazakh and Russian
BEST TIME TO VISIT – May to September
CAPITAL – Astana
Visit the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi in Turkistan (UNESCO)
Walk around the Aral Sea
Visit the city of Almaty
See the magnificent Altay Mountains

Kyrgyzstan

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Kyrgyz and Russian
BEST TIME TO VISIT – June to September
CAPITAL – Bishkek
Stay in a traditional yurt
Issy-Kol

Mongolia

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Mongolian
BEST TIME TO VISIT – June to September
CAPITAL – Ulaanbaatar
#423. Khongoryn Els
#498. Erden Zuu Khiid
Explore the Gobi Desert
See the rock carvings at the Mongolian Altai (UNESCO)
Celebrate the Naadam festival
Gallop on horseback across the open grasslands
Stay in a yurt

Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (UK)

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – English
BEST TIME TO VISIT – November to March
CAPITAL – Edinburgh
See Napoleon’s Tomb
Explore the island of Tristan da Cunha
Gough and the Inaccessible Islands (UNESCO)

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (UK)

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – English
BEST TIME TO VISIT – Late October to March
CAPITAL – Grytviken
Eat a sandwich on Sandwich Island
See the wildlife of seals, penguins, and over 50 million birds!

Svalbard (Norway)

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Norwegian
BEST TIME TO VISIT – May to September
CAPITAL – Longyearbyen
Cruise the waters in search of seals, whales, walruses, and polar bears
Spot a reindeer

Tajikistan

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Tajik
BEST TIME TO VISIT – June to September for the mountains, March to May, and October to November
CAPITAL – Dushanbe
#249. Tajik National Park (UNESCO)
A road trip down Pamir Highway
Take in the views of the peaks, Buddhist stupas, and the Silk Road forts from the Wakhan Corridor
Relax at the Marguzor Lakes
View the Pamir Mountains

Turkmenistan

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Turkmen
BEST TIME TO VISIT – April to May and September to November
CAPITAL – Ashgabat
Explore the “Dinosaur plateau” and search for dinosaur footprints in Kugitang National Park
Get hot at the Gates of Hell
See the wacky monuments of Ashgabat
See the ancient Seljuq capital of Merv (UNESCO)
Ride an Akhal-Teke horse
Splash in the Caspian Sea

Uzbekistan

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE – Uzbek
BEST TIME TO VISIT – April to June and September to October
CAPITAL – Tashkent
#257. Registan
Explore the historic center of Bukhara (UNESCO)
#462. Kalon Minaret
Visit the city of Samarkand (UNESCO)
Visit the Shah-i-Zinda
Haggle in the bazaars

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2 Comments

Diving in Cyprus on January 10, 2020 at 7:38 pm

Well done to the author. A excellent post.
Reply
Cyprus Elpida on January 13, 2020 at 2:48 pm

We love your content. Regards from Pissouri Bay Divers from Cyprus!
Reply