Planning a bucket list trip in 2024? You’re in just the right place; we have all the recommendations you need to decide on your next once-in-a-lifetime holiday.
We know just how popular bucket list travel is across the UK, but we wanted to find out a little more about exactly where Brits are travelling to. We’ve carried out some research, looking at monthly searches, Google Trends and social media impressions to work out which bucket list items prove the most popular.
If you’re looking for bucket list inspiration, here are the UKs top experiences.
The UK’s top travel bucket list experiences
1. Go on safari
Top of the bucket list for Brits is going on safari, with almost 8.5k people looking up ‘safari holidays’ each month – and an incredible 8.6B views for the hashtag ‘safari’ on TikTok. Africa is the most renowned continent for safari adventures, with popular destinations including the Amboseli National Park in Kenya and Kruger National Park in South Africa.
2. Ride a hot air balloon
Brits looking for a once-in-a-lifetime experience are looking to the skies – riding a hot air balloon is the second most popular bucket list item, with over 7.3k people a month looking to book a balloon experience. Cappadocia in Turkey is a highlight for hot air balloon enthusiasts, offering breathtaking views of the region’s unique rock formations and distinct fairy chimneys.
3. See the Northern Lights
The awe-inspiring Northern Lights rank third for the UK’s top bucket list destinations. 7.1k people search for ‘Northern Lights holidays’ each month, and the TikTok hashtag has over 995M views. The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, are best seen from destinations around the Arctic Circle, with Tromsø, Norway, a hotspot for visitors looking to witness this natural phenomenon.
4. Go white water rafting
The research uncovered Brits are looking for adrenaline experiences, with white water rafting making the top five list. 6.5k people a month search for this white-knuckle activity. Luckily for Brits, rivers in Scotland and Wales, such as the River Tay or River Dee, offer opportunities for white water rafting. The Colorado River in the USA and the Futaleufú River in Chile are popular destinations for more extreme rapids.
5. Fly first-class
It’s not just where to travel that’s making Brits bucket lists, but also how to travel: taking a first-class flight comes in fifth in the ranking with over 6.5k people a month searching for first-class airline options. From fine dining and exclusive service to luxurious surroundings, opting for a first-class flight allows many Brits to tick off a bucket list experience even before touching down at their destination.
6. Go parasailing
Adrenaline experiences also scored highly on our list, with parasailing coming in as the sixth most popular bucket list experience. 5.7k people each month search for the activity, with the parasailing hashtag on TikTok having over 627 million views!
7. Go hang gliding
Similarly, for number seven, we saw Brits want to push their boundaries and experience something totally different – like hang gliding. This thrilling activity is searched for almost 3k times a month and has over 142 million views on the TikTok hashtag.
8. Visit Alcatraz
With almost 3k people a month in the UK looking up Alcatraz tours, this iconic destination comes in eighth on the UK’s bucket list. The hashtag for the San Francisco former penitentiary sees over 1.1 billion views on TikTok, reflecting the unique pull it continues to hold today.
9. Visit Pompeii
Continuing the historic trend, the ancient city of Pompeii in southern Italy places ninth on the UK’s bucket list. 2.4k people a month search for tickets to this bucket list destination, with TikToks showing the destination pulling in almost 749 million views.
10. Skydive
Finally, Brits proved they’re all about unique, exciting experiences, as skydiving finishes up the top ten bucket list. 1.8k people each month search for skydiving experiences, and TikTok’s showing skydives have an incredible 3.3B views – making skydiving the second most popular experience on social media!
Bucket list trends: Unique experiences are in while swimming with dolphins takes a dive
As well as analysing the top bucket list experience, we also wanted to look into which experiences are increasing – and decreasing – in popularity.
We found unique, extreme, and adrenaline experiences are increasingly popular options, with visiting an active volcano, cave diving, visiting Alcatraz, cliff diving and glacier hiking all appearing in the full top 30 list. Swimming with sharks ranked 19th, with the nail-biting activity doubling in interest over the last year.
This is in stark comparison to previously popular bucket list activities such as riding elephants and swimming with dolphins. Searches for swimming with dolphins have declined over the last five years, while searches for riding elephants have halved since their peak in July 2021.
When it comes to animal and wildlife experiences, we can see more and more people opting for experiences where they can witness wildlife in their natural habitat, rather than previously popular activities like riding elephants, which raise ethical issues.
Overall, it’s clear Brits want travel experiences beyond the ordinary. As a country, we’re seeking adrenaline adventures such as skydiving or exploring iconic sites like Alcatraz, showing a growing appetite for unforgettable travel experiences that create lifelong memories.
If you’re considering a bucket list holiday, why not create your own unique itinerary with eShores? From island hopping and relaxation to city breaks and cultural exploration, we have a huge range of experiences and luxury holidays just waiting to be explored.
Why choose eShores?
One to One Service
Our experienced personal travel consultants will ensure you find the most suitable holiday, whilst taking care of every last detail. Everything from start to finish will be effortless.
100% Tailor Made
We can use any hotel, in any destination, so we will craft an itinerary to suit your exact needs. Also, as we can provide any itinerary, the only holiday we'll offer, is the one that's right for you.
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Our ATOL bonding provides you with the financial protection you need and as a member of the Travel Trust Association, you'll have 100% financial protection. Covering you for any eventuality.
Competitive Pricing
As a tour operator & travel agent, we'll search the market to ensure that we find you the best price. Also as an online business, we can ensure our prices are as competitive as possible.
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AlisonFletcher
Brilliant trip organised by Dave, included Helsinki, Tallin, Vilnius and Riga. (4 different countries) Everything ran smoothly. Dave organised hotels, flights, taxis, ferry and coach. Have used this company a few times and can't recommend highly enough they are fab 😀
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Sandra
As always, Chris was extremely helpful and knowledgeable. He gave me good advice on my travel plans and booked the holiday on my behalf. I've used eshores a number of times, and will continue to do so.
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Harrison
We haven’t been on our trip yet but based purely on the experience of booking the trip we are pleased with the result. It started with a bit of a hiccup as we spoke to a member of staff who never came back to us but when we reached back out again we were placed in the hands of Andy who has helped us book a 2 week trip to India including the golden triangle and then a few days on the beach. Andy was very patient with us with our changes to our tailor made holiday, even when we asked him to explore different areas only to revert back to the original plan. He also recommended moving the holiday back one week which created a saving of over £700 which meant we could upgrade the room for our beach stay in Goa. Andy was also available on weekends if we wanted to speak and regularly picked up the phone as opposed to keeping it to purely email dialogue. Hopefully the holiday will be amazing but based on the booking experience I would recommend eShores if you’re looking to book a tailor made holiday
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Wendy
I spoke to Lynette who was extremely helpful in understanding the trip that myself and my sister in law wanted from Thailand. Myself and my sister in law are both 72years young and we are really looking forward to our trip.
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Dawn
Excellent service from Matt at eShores. So very helpful and nothing was too much trouble. I booked Mya holiday after all his hard work finding me the perfect holiday that I wanted. Superb service and not pushy all all.
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Amrik
We have booked two big holidays this year for a group of 8 and a group of 10, Rachel has coordinated our holidays with the utmost excellence, during the consultation we changed countires hotels and even flights but it did not phase Rachel one bit. Exceeds customer expectations by helping advising and supporting throughout the holiday. We are off to Thailand and Dubai in August and then followed by India and Thailand in November, I have rang emailed Rachel many times during the booking and I got very prompt responses even on her days off. Rachel is a credit to EShores and EShores is setting standards regarding customer focus.
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IainWilliam
I can’t praise Lynette at EShores enough. She has organised my trips perfectly to the point that I wouldn’t use anyone else. She listens to what I want or to the problem I have and comes up with a solution. Nothing is too much trouble. Try them out yourselves and I bet you become a repeater too!
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Kevin
At short notice, I needed a quote to travel through the USA (July the 20th) I emailed eShores with an idea of what I wanted to do, within a short period of time I had a response from Matthew, After several amendments to my holiday which wasn't any trouble to Matthew, Holiday all booked, now looking forward to travelling through the USA Have to say, the service I had through eShores was fantastic, well done Matthew for working through the changes,
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Marcus
Dealt with Adam who was great, I went back and forth many times, nothing was a problem for him. We got there in the end and Adam arranged a 3 place holiday to Malaysia and Singapore. We go on 5th August, will if update review when we return. EShores so far brilliant hats of to Adam.
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Jill
We as a family used eShores last year to go to USA, and they were brilliant, my husband and 1 are going to Italy with them this September and we have just booked again to go back to USA with them next May, very efficient and Matt is lovely to deal with
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