1. Focus on the Destination
When you create a bucket list with items to check off you are, by definition, creating a list of things to simply complete. The end result is not really the point of travel, and when you’re only focused on the end goal, who knows what you might be missing along the way! For instance, say you were trying to cross visiting the Effiel Tower off your bucket list. In order to make sure you visit it, you’ve purchased tickets to the top in advance. You end up getting lost from your hotel and having to rush through the city of Paris in order to make your ticket time. As Douglas Knight New Canaan says, there’s never a reason to rush through Paris! You’ve also missed out on so many possible experiences and sights by rushing in order to make an arbitrary time that really doesn’t mean anything. This kind of results-oriented traveling blinds the traveler to possible experiences.
2. Popularity
Articles and lists of “50 Things to Do Before You Die” are often so widely read, and so similar across different publications that sites that were once considered somewhat out of the way are now “must see” on every privileged traveler’s list. This groupthink when it comes to traveling actually makes the sites that are mentioned again and again less desirable, as they are now more crowded and less natural.
3. Environmental Impact
Part of what puts many destinations on a bucket list, to begin with, is the fact that they are slowly (or quickly, in some cases) disappearing. The Great Barrier Reef, the glaciers in Glacier National Park, the ice caps in the Arctic, these are all slowly on the decline. What many travelers selfishly don’t realize is that the huge amount of carbon expended to get someone from, say, Chicago to Australia is part of the reason that these priceless landmarks are in jeopardy. Of course, no one is suggesting that you don’t travel, but it is important to remember that every choice you make as a citizen of the world has an impact.
4. Deathbed Tourism
The concept of a bucket list inherently contains the idea of death, as the list is something you hope to accomplish before you “kick the bucket.” Now, there’s certainly nothing wrong with the idea of death, or even keeping it in your mind from time to time. However, there is something to be said for letting your life unfold naturally, and not forcings yourself into a lot of travel in the last few years of your life when you’ve never been much for adventure. There’s no reason to cram in a lot of arbitrary destinations just because you’re beginning to feel the reality of your own mortality.
5. Lack of Personal Attention
Another problem with bucket list travel is the idea that one bucket list should fit everyone. Just because the Pyramids are on most bucket lists doesn’t mean that this is the right choice for you and your family. Instead of making choices based on lists that don’t take your family, heritage, hobbies, and personality into account, why not try a private, luxury travel agency that can help you create a trip that is a trip of your dreams. Douglas Knight New Canaan can help you design a trip that is meaningful, inspiring, and one that will nourish your soul for the rest of your life.
All in all, bucket lists can be a useful place to start planning your trip and a good place to get ideas, but there’s no such thing as a one-trip-fits all, and there’s certainly no one list that everyone should feel forced to follow. Travel magazines and large, impersonal travel agencies profit off of selling the same must-have bucket list experience to everyone, whether these destinations fit the needs and interest of a client, or not. Do yourself a favor and work with a real travel agent to create the trip of your dreams.