Flightster

10 destinations on my travel to-do list

• by Shannon Albert
• on December 15th, 2010
• 8 Comments

I’ll occasionally post an “ask anything” blog post on my blog so that my readers can send questions my way. Every single time, I get questions about where I want to travel next. Here’s the thing: compared to most avid travelers, I haven’t been to that many places. My list is so, so long and I’ll go pretty much anywhere. Here are the next 10 destinations on my list.

1. New Zealand

Ever since I sat next to a woman on a plane and discussed that her favorite trip ever was to New Zealand, I’ve been fascinated with going to this lovely island. What’s the slogan – “come for Australia and stay for New Zealand?” The mix of climates, the gorgeous scenery and the lack of deadly critters makes it hugely attractive.

2. Florence, Italy

I realize I could just say “Italy” but I think there are so many individual cities in Italy worthy of their own trip. We’ve been to Rome and Vatican City so another trip to Italy would probably be focused mostly on Florence. Travel and Leisure magazine ranked Florence as the best city in the world multiple times and TripAdvisor usually ranks Florence in the top 5 best destinations in the world. The idea of renting an apartment for a week or two, traveling to all of the various local museums and eating some of the best food in the world sounds completely delightful.

3. Japan

I’m pretty positive the entire country couldn’t be covered in one trip but I’d love to see Tokyo and as much of the rest of the country as possible someday. My son happens to be obsessed with many Japanese things, particularly the technology and whimsy that are part of the culture. They also have a Disney park so maybe our every-other-year trip to a Disney park could be in Japan one of these years.

4. Paris, France

Another destination fueled by a child. My daughter speaks French and studies fashion so she would really love to go and I’d love to take her.

5. Amsterdam

Not so much for the drugs or red light district but the canals, the bicycles, Anne Frank, the museums. So many PG rated things to do. I’m sure we’d love it.

6. England

It’s hard to believe that I haven’t been to England. I actually used to hang out on expat message boards for Americans who had moved to England. I love British sense of humor, the history, the mix of casual and formal. Everything. I want to go. My husband has been and has long said that a tour that allowed for a view of several castles would be great for me. I hope to someday find out.

7. Cape Town, South Africa

Though I’m not a fan of soccer, the World Cup gave a huge amount of exposure to Cape Town and now it’s one of those things that I seem to notice pretty frequently. Tim Ferriss has raved about hiking and the nearby safaris and then there’s internet marketing guru Glen Allsopp who has lived there off and on the past few years and raves about it. I’d love to have a chance to go and rave about it myself!

8. Victoria, British Columbia

You had me at “one of the most British cities in North America” which kind of makes up for the cold weather that I shudder to think about enduring. The tearooms, antique shops, cool stores, great coffee and whale watching make it seem like such a perfect place to visit. It doesn’t hurt that my BFF is now located in northwest Washington and my husband’s dream is to go on an Alaskan cruise. We could accomplish so much with one long trip.

9. Turkey

I’ve rarely spoken to an American who wished to go to Turkey but I’m pretty sure that’s just due to the seemingly super scary location. 25 million tourists a year visit Turkey to see places like Istanbul, the historical sites and the Mediterranean coast. People also flock to Turkey for medical tourism because the country benefits from low health care costs while having the quality enforced by the European Union.

10. Hawaii

I hesitated to put this one on the list because usually my list items are international but I just couldn’t keep it off. I really want to go to Hawaii! Though it is perhaps more touristy than I’d normally like, there are ways to tour that aren’t quite as touristy. It’s impossible to ignore the fact that various beaches in Hawaii make almost every list of the best beaches in the world. Though it is in the United States, the unique Hawaiian culture offers another fascinating facet to this destination. Most people who have visited Hawaii love it and want to return. I’d like a chance to see it for myself.

If this list has 1000 things on it, I could still have locations that would be missing because I’d go almost anywhere. What’s on your list? Anything on my list that you think is overrated and shouldn’t be there?

Shannon Albert

Shannon loves to share awesome, fun and hopefully useful info that she's collected and to connect with other travel freaks. She loves the planning part of travel as much as the traveling itself. Shannon's background includes working as a web developer and as a digital producer for an advertising agency. She lives in Texas with her husband, 2 kids and dog. New York City is her favorite city. Her blog is shannonalbert.com.