26 of the best trips of a lifetime (2024)

Everyone’s got that one trip they’ve always been planning, the one forever on their bucket list, begging to be ticked off. What? You haven’t? Well, in that case, we’ve got some suggestions for the best trips of a lifetime on our beautiful blue planet.

Main photo: The river Douro in Porto, Portugal (Getty Images)

1. Take a small ship cruise in Croatia

Croatia specialises in sumptuous small ships: ones petite enough to nip into secluded bays, yet big enough to host kayaks, libraries and en suite staterooms. Most embark on a sun-kissed cruise around islands seldom seen by larger ships — of which there are over 1,200 to choose from. A case in point is the Kvarner Gulf. Centred around the sand-trimmed island of Losinj, expect an azure array of islets, channels and snorkel spots.

2. Get to know Angkor Wat

The ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia are often called the Eighth Wonder Of The World and you’ll never forget your first glimpse. Just a stone’s throw from Siem Reap, the ruins send a shiver down your spine. They’re best seen at dawn as the light touches the lotus-shaped towers, the carved reliefs of ancient apsara (heavenly dancing nymphs) strangely animated.

3. Spot the northern lights

Only a handful of destinations offer the chance to see the jaw dropping aurora borealis, where fluorescent shades colour the skies like sweepings from heaven. Visitors to Iceland can partake in this ethereal light show for a full eight months per year. Luck is also a factor, with some guests gaining their best view of the northern lights from the airport bus to Keflavik, which passes through an eerie midnight moonscape. Iceland also offers myriad other attractions by day, from geysers to glaciers and grand waterfalls. Finnish Lapland is a another great option to see the world’s greatest light show.

Best things to do in Lapland

4. Ride the Orient Express to Venice

Gone are the days when Balkan royalty, Bulgarian assassins and even Agatha Christie rode the luxury train from Paris to Istanbul. However the current incarnation of the Orient Express still encourages gentlemen to dress for dinner, à la Hercule Poirot. This two-trains-in-one service rides the Belmond British Pullman from London, before 1920s carriages salvaged from the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits pick up passengers at Calais for a luxurious night ride through Europe.

5. Sip port in Porto

Sandeman, Taylor’s, Graham’s. For centuries, port’s most famous marques have shipped barrels into the Atlantic Ocean from the Porto dockside, itself part of a Unesco world heritage site. Now each warehouse offers bespoke tastings of 10, 20 and 30-year-old vintages. Art shows, cheese tastings and even traditional fada music concerts are sometimes performed alongside. True port aficionados can ride the train or cruise boat up the Douro River past endless vineyards. Both rail and river were used to haul barrels of port back to Porto until the 1960s.

6. Take an Italian cooking course

It’s a pastoral dream to roll one’s own pasta or stir an unctuous passata di pomodoro on a sun-kissed morning in Italy. Fortunately, local bilingual chefs are on hand to teach hungry students how to make panna cotta or torta della nonna in every Italian province from Tuscany to Puglia. The best thing? Italian cooking courses are normally hosted in the most charming of inns and villas, with organic orchards and lashings of local wine thrown in.

7. Explore the Pompeii ruins

In AD79 a pyroclastic cloud from Mount Vesuvius inundated Pompeii, preserving the Roman city in volcanic ash. Fortunately for historians, Pompeii was a wealthy settlement. The in situ snapshot of ritzy Roman life includes forums, baths and centrally heated villas, plus erotic frescoes and witty graffiti. Cobbled streets around the Temple of Apollo and Stabian Baths have been peeled back to their original state, rendering any visit a ghostly stroll back to classical times.

8. Take a rail trip in the Scottish Highlands

When travelling through the United Kingdom’s most majestic wilderness, one might pass white sand beaches, redundant railway tracks, lochs, peaks and more Gothic castles than Bavaria. The particular appeal of the Highlands is the lonesome proximity to wildlife and the vivid canvas of vegetation, which colours from pastel moorland to deep forest. The best, and most memorable, way to see them is on locomotion, where you can start things off at the base of Ben Nevis and snake around freshwater lochs.

9. Cruise the Danube

No river navigates more countries, or passes through a greater historical timeline, than the mighty Danube. Some claim river cruises come into their own at the four Danubian capitals of Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade, where passengers can jump ship for art, wine, baths and culture. Others prefer the natural highlights of Austria’s forests, Croatia’s vineyards or the Iron Gates gorge in Romania. What’s clear is that a tranquil riparian sojourn, with wine on tap and bikes at the ready, will float anyone’s boat.

10. Walk the Great Wall of China

China is home to iconic Unesco world heritage sites such as the Forbidden City, giant pandas, the awe-inspiring Terracotta Army and — perhaps best of all — the majestic Great Wall. While it would take over six months to walk in full, taking a section to trek is definitely worthwhile — as well as being more family-friendly.

11. Take a bath in Budapest

The Hungarian capital is blessed by 125 thermal sources. Since Ottoman times these have been channelled into gloriously rococo bathing establishments. Rudas Baths dates from Turkish occupation and still offers the hammam, body scrub and underwater massage services from times past — plus strictly segregated bathing on weekdays. Gellert Baths opened in 1918, making them a spring chicken in thermal terms. Here art nouveau touches meet with Thai massages, plus mixed-sex bathing daily from 6am.

12. Munch Michelin stars in Copenhagen

13. Vineyard tasting tour in Champagne

Vineyard tours in the rolling hills of Champagne can be undertaken by eBike, luxury car, private coach or even vintage 2CVs. Each excursion couples a visit to one of 2,400 local producers, which may specialise in sparkling rosé, pairings with local fish or cheese or – increasingly frequently – fully organic production.

You must visit one of the grand Maisons de Champagne in Épernay or Reims. At both Pommery and Moët & Chandon, subterranean cellars stretch for tens of kilometres, with bubbly tastings after every tour.

14. Swim with dolphins in the Azores

The jade-tinted waters of the Azores are brimming with pods of dolphins — and it’s one of the only places where you can swim alongside them guilt-free, if you fancy adding this amazing experience to your bucket list. The best way to do this is to take a class with a local marine biologist. They’ll explain how you can encounter dolphins respectfully, before giving you the chance to clip on a snorkel and swim side by side with a pod.

15. Go on a grown-up interrailing trip

Things have changed since the Interrail pass launched in 1972 for under-21s. Interrailing for grown-up gappers is in a class of its own, with both adult and discounted senior passes, as well as unlimited train travel through 30 European nations. Many first-timers go for broke with itineraries panning from Istanbul to northern Norway via Portugal’s Atlantic shores. A more sedate way to travel is via a single country pass for, say, Italy or Spain, offering anything from three to 30 days of track-side culture.

16. Have a punt on the Palio

Siena’s Palio was a suitable backdrop for James Bond in A Quantum of Solace. The extraordinary horse race is a riot of colour and chivalry contested by 17 of the city’s historic districts (contrada). There is no better way to see than with a trackside view, watching the Palio from an apartment balcony right on the Piazzo. The race is fast, furious and subject to somewhat elastic rules: don’t be afraid to ask a local what it is going on.

17. Meet Malaysia’s orphaned orangutans

Coming face to face with Malaysia’s extraordinary wildlife is just one part of this visit to Borneo. The sem*nggoh Nature Reserve and Sepilok Orangutan Centre work to rehabilitate orphaned primates and trip here include meeting the keepers and some of their young charges. But that’s not all Borneo has on offer. Meet orangutans and pygmy elephants, enjoy the beaches of Kota Kinabalu, pause for thought at the monuments to Allied prisoners of the Second World War.

18. Go beyond the Golden Triangle

One cannot miss Jaipur, the Taj Mahal and Delhi: these are the corners of the Golden Triangle and the key to any classic tour of India. But there is much more to see in India. The sacred river Ganges is the lifeblood of Varanasi, just as the tigers of Ranthambore National Park are the symbol of the subcontinent.

19. Walk on the wild side in Costa Rica

From white sandy beaches to the towering Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica lives up to its Spanish name: the “Rich Coast”. For visitors, wildlife has long been the main attraction, with cougars, crocodiles, toucans and tree sloths among its 300 indigenous species. Nature lovers will be in their element in San Jose and the Tortuguero National Park and adrenaline junkies are also catered for, with the zip lines and high rope bridges of the Arenal Volcano National Park. Visits to farm and a cocoa plantation provide an opportunity to meet the locals, a cooking class will bring the flavour of Costa Rica back home and soaking in the country’s hot springs will soothe any aches and pains. The Pacific ocean and the proximity to the United States lap one side of the country, with the Caribbean in reach on the other.

20. Drink in Cuba’s charms

Daiquiris and mojitos are as much a part of Cuba as Cohiba cigars and vintage cars. Visitors will experience both the queen of co*cktails and the king of cigars in grand style. There is time to explore in Havana before embarking on a tour of the island, from laid-back Viñales to the cobbled streets of Trinidad and the Bay of Pigs.

There is more to Cuba than revolution and resistance: dance the rumba, learn to mix co*cktails, visit a cigar factory, tour in a vintage open top car and swim in the clear waters of the Bay of Pigs.

21. Tour two continents in a single day

Istanbul played host to three empires: the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman. For two millennia the city has been divided across two continents, allowing visitors to sip tea in Europe, lunch in the markets of Asia, then return to European shores for a seafood feast at sunset. The ferries that cross the Bosphorus Straits offer 15 minutes of sightseeing heaven, with the Topkapi Palace and Blue Mosque visible from the prow. A new sub sea Metro service also connects Europe and Asia via a deep Bosphorus tunnel.

22. Cruise Norway’s fjords in summer

Nowhere on Earth couples such towering topography, where Tolkien-esque cliffs dwarf even the grandest of cruise ships. Dramatic waterways like Geirangerfjord inspire awe with their otherworldly grandeur — as well as offering opportunities to kayak, visit local farms, make a mountain bike descent, or a RIB “safari”. Furthermore, Norway’s mile-high mountains — and mile-deep seas — maintain an edge-of-the-world ecosystem replete with white-tailed eagles and Atlantic dolphins.

23. Go back in time in Jordan

The ancient city of Petra awaits, with its blush-coloured rock formations and ancient tombs lit by candles come nightfall. Head to Wadi Rum if you want to stargaze from martian pods, or swap floating in the Dead Sea for splashing about in the hot springs waterfall at Ma’in. Don’t just pass through the capital, Amman, without a visit. You’ll find a huge a Roman amphitheatre constructed during the reign of Emperor Antonius and a magical hilltop citadel perfect for soaking up the echoes of prayer calls as you peer out across the city and its multiple mosques.

24. Dive in the Great Barrier Reef

Probably one of the world’s most incredible underwater scenes — bar perhaps the Galapagos Islands — it’s no wonder the Great Barrier Reef is Australia’s pride and joy. While it’s impressive from above — it’s actually the only living structure that can be seen from outer space — sink below the surface and you’ll find everything from luminescent coral gardens, white-tipped reef sharks and marine turtles to butterflyfish and sea snakes.

25. See Holland’s tulips in bloom

Spring in Holland is more a of natural wonder than a trip of a lifetime as such, but not one to overlook. Visit to find over 800 varieties of tulips bursting into bloom, spreading a riot of colour across the landscape. The best place to see them is Keukenhof Gardens between the end of March and mid-May.

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