I collect experiences like they’re coins or baseball cards. And some of the best ones, no matter how arbitrary, are what I like to call the “mosts.” Whether it’s the first, tallest, biggest, smallest, oldest, longest, hottest, or otherwise… you can bet I want to see it. Here is my ever-growing “most bucket list.”
This post contains affiliate links. This means I get a commission if you buy/book something I’ve linked to. I only ever recommend things I have used or would use myself.
Top 15 experiences for your most bucket list
Here are the fifteen most impressive bucket list-worthy sights you should see in your lifetime. Based on data, not just my opinions.
Walk or drive on the longest street
Yonge Street is 1,896kms and runs through Toronto, Canada. It’s the dividing line between the east and west sides of the city centre, so it’s a major orienter for all Torontonians.
See the tallest building
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai opened in 2004 and remains the tallest building in the world, at 830 metres – nearly a kilometre high!
Explore the biggest cave
Hang Son Doong is about half-way down Vietnam, near-ish to the city of Hue. They found it by accident in 1990 and only went on an official expedition in 2009! You can visit on a guided tour.
Hang Son Doong Cave, Vietnam
Ring in the first New Year
The Pacific Island nation of Kiribati is the only country +14 UTC, so the 130,000ish people who live there are the first to celebrate New Year’s Eve.
See, climb, or abseil down the highest waterfall
At 979 metres tall, Angel Falls in Venezuela isn’t accessible by car or bus. You’ll need to fly to the nearest town and then hop on a boat… which takes one day to get there! So you’ll really need some commitment to knock this off the list.
Swim in the biggest coral reef in the world
The Great Barrier reef just off the coast of Australia is one of the most iconic things about the country! This is your opportunity to enjoy some world-class snorkelling or diving.
Take the shortest commercial flight
Ok this one is bad for the environment and completely unnecessary, so I don’t know why I put it on the list. I guess I just think it’s hilarious. There’s a two-minute flight between Westray to Papa Westray, two of the Orkney Islands of Scotland. But there’s also a ferry that takes under 2 hours.
Explore the smallest country
Vatican City is just 0.49 square kilometres and has a population of 1,800 people. This is an easy one to check off the list when you’re visiting Italy, because it’s literally in Rome. But I have bad news. Even though it’s a country, you don’t get a stamp in your passport for visiting. Lame, right?!
Dip your toes in the longest river
Aside from Egypt, you can also visit the Nile River from Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Sudan, and South Sudan.
Contribute to the weight of the heaviest building
Romania’s complicated past involves an egotistical communist leader who went a little overboard when building his home, the Palace of Parliament. It’s a whopping 4 million tons and actually sinks 6mm into the ground every year. You can visit the inside and, therefore, add an extra few kilos/pounds to it.
The Palace of Parliament, Bucharest, Romania
Visit the highest capital city
La Paz, Bolivia sits at 3,625 metres above sea level. For reference, Machu Picchu is 2,430m and the peak of Kilimanjaro is 5,895m! So you may experience some altitude sickness when crossing this one off your “most” bucket list.
Visit the coldest capital city
Nope, not Reykjavik. Not Oslo. Not even Moscow! Guess again. Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, has an average annual temperature of just 0.2 degrees. Yes, Nuuk, in Greenland is colder, but it’s not really a true capital city because it’s part of Denmark.
Sweat in the hottest place
You’d probably imagine a trip to the Middle East to check this one off, but wrong again! Death Valley, USA, regularly sees summer temperatures upwards of 45 degrees, making it the hottest place on Earth.
Hike the longest mountain range
The Andes run along the western part of South America and include other-worldly hiking regions like Patagonia and Machu Picchu. You can explore the Andes from Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
Visit the first of all firsts, the Cradle of Human Kind
Where it all began! The oldest human remains found in the Cradle of Human Kind are 3.9 million years old. Sorry, Young Earth Creationists.
Extra "most" bucket list items
More of the most… because it’s never really enough, is it? It’s an ever-growing list! Drop a comment below if you have something epic to add.
Most bucket list: Locations
- Most northern city: Longyearbyen, Norway
- Most isolated country: Narau
- Oldest city: Jericho, Palestine
- Most southern city: Ushiaia, Chile
- Most densely populated city: Mogadishu, Somalia
- Least populated country: Mauritania
- Steepest street: Baldwin Street, Christchurch NZ
- Most northern brewery: Macks Ølbryggeri, Tromsø, Norway
- Newest country: South Sudan
- Biggest country by landmass: Russia
Most bucket list: Natural landscapes
- Highest mountain on Earth: Mt. Everest, Nepal
- Largest forest: The Amazon Rainforest, South America
- Largest lava tube: Kazumura, Hawaii
- Largest waterfall in Asia: Ban Gioc Falls, between Vietnam and China
- Highest mountain in Africa: Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
- Largest desert on Earth: Antarctica
- Largest “actual” (i.e. hot) desert: Shared across 10 countries
- Deepest lake: Lake Baikal, Russia
- Oldest ruins: The stone wall of the Theopetra Cave, Greece
- Steepest, tallest cliff: Mount Thor, Canada
- Largest waterfall by flow rate: Inga Falls, Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Largest active volcano: The Big Island, Hawaii
Mount Everest
Most bucket list: Human creations
- Largest temple: Angkor Wat, Cambodia
- Biggest roller coaster: Kingda Ka, New Jersey, USA
- Oldest mosque: Masjid Qubā, Saudi Arabia
- Largest aquarium: Chimelong Ocean Kingdom, China
- Biggest wall: The Great Wall of China
- Longest bridge: Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge, China
- Biggest airport: King Fahd International Airport, Saudi Arabia
- Most expansive human-made land: the Flevopolder, Netherlands
- Largest fort: Rani Kot Fort, Pakistan
- Longest stairway: The Neisen Railway, Switzerland (11,674 steps!)
