The Summer Isles, Scotland (Dreamstime)

Why? Who doesn’t fancy an island to themselves? Sadly, most of us don’t have a Branson-sized budget – but that doesn’t mean you can’t claim your own patch of sea-lapped solitude.

Thanks to the fact that Scotland has almost 800 islands, as well as a favourable attitude to wild camping, it’s possible to tick this must-do off the list without spending a penny. Tiny Tanera Beag, the second-largest of the 20-odd north-western Summer Isles, has never been inhabited – though you might be joined by a few sheep, occasionally brought here to graze.

You can sea kayak from the mainland, over Badentarbet Bay and around larger (inhabited) Tanera Mor to reach Tanera Beag. Once you’ve hauled ashore, look out for seals in the lagoon by Eilean Flada Mor, climb to the island’s 83m high-point for views over the nearby rock stacks and skerries, and pitch your tent amid the heather to feel like a laird for the night.

How to tick it off your list: Achiltibuie, on the coast of Wester Ross & Sutherland, is the best access point. Tanera Mor is 3km offshore; Tanera Beag is just beyond. Plan to visit in spring, summer or autumn.

Like that, try this: Canoe to little Algonquin Island, on Ontario’s Kawawaymog Lake, to stay in a Canadian log cabin, away from the world.

Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (Dreamstime)

Why Kilimanjaro? It’s travel’s greatest trekking summit – and it could well be losing its snows. Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro deserves to be on every travel bucket list.

No other mountain manages to combine such a wealth of wow-factors to tick all those boxes: it’s an aesthetically awesome monolith poking out of the African plains; it’s a tough but achievable challenge; at 5,895m, it’s the roof of a continent; it’s a climatological oddity, proving snow can sit virtually on the equator. Tick, tick, tick, tick.

But just to add an extra bit of tock to all those ticks, doom-sayers predict that those snows might be gone in just a few decades – all the more reason to tackle Kili quick.

There are several routes to choose from. Many opt for the Marangu Route due to its steady slopes, however it has a fairly low success rate as the quick five-day ascent does not allow many to acclimatise sufficiently. The Machame Route is more difficult but a much higher success rate.

How to tick it off your list: Kilimanjaro cannot be climbed independently. Choose a longer trip to allow more time for acclimatisation and increase your chances of success.

Like that, try this: For extra kudos, try climbing Argentina’s Aconcagua, a tougher, higher, non-technical challenge.

Classic cars in Havana, Cuba (Dreamstime)

Why classic Havana? Hop in an iconic vintage motor before they get scrapped. It’s all change in Cuba. A gentle thaw in relations with their big neighbours to the north means that some travel to the island has become (slightly) easier for American citizens and some trade restrictions have been lifted. 2019 marked the 500th anniversary of the founding of Havana, so there’s never been a better time to visit.

For now, Cuba remains quite unique, with an intoxicating je ne sais quoi that’s strong of culture and loose of hips. Perhaps the most iconic Cuba image, though, is of a classic 1950s car bumping down a Havana backstreet.

While you can, take a tour in vintage motor, listening to its retro roar as you glide by the capital’s crumbly grandeur.

How to tick it off your list: You can’t self-drive a classic car, but several companies offer tours with driver/guides.

Like that, try this: Up the ante: join a Rickshaw Rally, to negotiate India at the wheel of a tuk-tuk.

A total eclipse (Dreamstime)

Why the eclipse? To be in the best place when the world goes weird. Total eclipses – when the moon blocks out the sun, basking the earth in an eerie glow – happen roughly every 18 months. But you need to be in the right place, ideally somewhere in the path of the solar maximum, to fully appreciate the effect, and you’d have to wait an average of 375 years to see two total eclipses from the same spot.

Sometimes being in the path of an eclipse is simple. On 21 August 2017, the total eclipse swung right across the middle of the USA, visible in states such as Wyoming, Nebraska and South Carolina; its point of greatest eclipse just north-west of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, where totality lasted for over two minutes.

Sometimes, though, it’s a bit trickier – the eclipse in March 2015 was best viewed in the snowy wilderness of Svalbard. Part of the battle is securing a place on a good, expert-led eclipse-watching trip: these specialist departures can fill up well in advance.

How to tick it off your list: The next total solar eclipse is due on 8 April 2023, visible in Australia, and there’s even the chance to see it by air. Cloud cover will affect the quality of eclipse-viewing; if possible, check forecasts and head for clearer skies. The NASA Eclipse site is a mine of information.

Like that, try this: There are plenty of once-in-a-lifetime wonders to witness in Antarctica. Discover some of the best here.

A grey whale calf in Baja (Dreamstime)

Why Baja California? Closer encounters with massive mammals. You can see whales in lots of places, but there are few spots where you can actually give one a hug. From December to April grey whales gather in Baja California’s San Ignacio Lagoon to mate, calve, nurture their young and – so it seems – have a jolly old time with the weird human creatures that sail out to see them.

Despite having been hunted to near extinction, these greys bear no grudge; indeed, they bump into boats and surface within touching distance, inviting pats and strokes. However, there’s only a short window of opportunity to see the greys here each year, with February, March and April the best months, and good trips sell out far – often years – in advance.

How to tick it off your list: Activity varies by month, so time your visit perfectly. In February you see more breaching adults; calves grow more confident in March to April, approaching boats more frequently.

Like that, try this: From Jan to April you can swim with humpbacks in the Dominican Republic.

Photographing the Northern Lights (Shutterstock)

Why the Northern Lights? To record a spectacular photo of the Northern Lights that you saw. In this age of instant images and selfies, it’s not good enough anymore to just see the planet’s most spectacular light show – to hopefully be in the right place at the right time – now you have to snap a frame-worthy photo of it too.

One way to increase your chances of filling that memory card is to join an aurora photography tour. You’ll not only get tips from pros on how to snap the show – sharpening up those DSLR skills for those future travels – but they’ll also be attuned to where those spectral waves are most likely to start pulsing through the night.

Your daylight hours will then be spent exploring the wild Arctic terrains that best yield luminous results – Finland, Norway, Iceland, Sweden or Canada.

How to tick it off your list: October to November and February to March are the best times to see the Northern Lights. Remember that dark skies yield better displays, you’re best off avoiding the full moon, and you’ll have to be flexible during your trip. The Aurora Borealis may not appear on the night of your schedule tour, but they could be out in full-force the next night – so be prepared to change your plans at a moment’s notice.

Like that, try this: Look for the Southern Lights (Aurora Australis) on New Zealand’s Stewart Island.

Autumn in New Hampshire (Dreamstime)

Why New Hampshire? You’ll get to see fall colours without the other people. The idea of visiting New England in autumn, wending between comely white clapboard houses, verges lined with pumpkins and forested hillsides completely aflame, is a romantic notion. Now add in hiked prices and all the other cars and coaches trying to get to the same scenic lookout, and it isn’t quite so dreamy.

Arguably the best way to appreciate the glorious death of New England’s trees is to stride among it, camping out each night. So, why not combine a smidgen of the Appalachian Trail – the East Coast’s seriously long long-distance hike, bucket list-worthy in itself – to see the leaves without the crowds.

The 70km stretch between New Hampshire’s White Mountains and the Vermont border is particularly renowned for its fabulous fall foliage – think maples smouldering crimson, dogwoods turning purple and birch trees burning gold.

How to tick it off your list: Fall colours usually start to appear in New England from mid-September. Shelters and campsites along the trail are basic.

Like that, try this: Make for Québec’s Laurentian Mountains, where the sugar maples turn magnificent late-Sept to mid-Oct.

Two young girls form huaorani tribe in the amazon rainforest, Yasuni National Park, Ecuador (Dreamstime)

Why the Ecuadorian Amazon? To glimpse a unique culture, but to do it sensitively and responsibly. Understandably, many struggling minority tribes don’t want to be gawped at by tourists passing through – the arrow-firing Sentinelese of the Andaman Islands being a case in point.

But for some such groups, tourism is providing a cultural lifeline, and travellers staying at lodges or booking tours owned and run by the tribes themselves are helping to keep endangered traditions alive (and protect their much-threatened environment from developers), while also giving visitors an authentic insight into how the peoples have existed for centuries: everybody wins.

The indigenous peoples of Ecuador’s Oriente seem to have mastered this kind of community eco-tourism; there are several well-regarded options. For example, the Cofán – one of the oldest Amazonian tribes have been running community-based ecotourism in northern Ecuador since 1978.

Trips here include canoeing and piranha fishing, sleeping in traditional thatched huts and trekking into the wildlife-dense rainforest with Cofán guides – with optional overnight camping trip for the adventurous minded.

How to tick it off your list: Trips to the Cofán community at Zabalo depart from Lago Agrio (seven to eight hours from Quito by bus).

Like that? Try this: Visit the El Molo of Lake Turkana, Kenya, for whom tourism is helping their economy.

Everest Base Camp (Dreamstime)

Why Everest Base Camp? To complete an epic trek, then snooze with the summiteers. The treks to Everest Base Camp – a breathtaking 14-day out-and-back into Sagarmatha NP to the foot of the world’s highest mountain – is a classic.

Everest has received negative press when it comes to overtourism, after a photograph of a queue to its summit went viral online in 2019. But if the mountain has been a bucket list item you’re desperate to conquer, don’t let this photograph put you off, as these treks bring in millions for the Nepali economy, and help to support local people.

We do suggest trying a less-popular trekking route to EBC, to reduce both the traffic and the wear and tear of the main route. The Chhukung Valley, Bhote Kosi Valley, and the Dudh Kosi Valley are all strong alternatives.

Do note, most treks are not actually allowed to stay at Everest Base Camp – it requires specific permission. Most hikers visit their 5,340m goal for a ‘been there’ photo op, then descend to nearby Gorak Shep to sleep.

However, a few special departures do offer the chance to overnight at the iconic camp, and it’s far more likely when it’s peak-season for summiteers. It’s a unique opportunity, to both sleep in the shadow of the mighty mountain and to speak to the brave/mad souls making their final preparations; you might even see teams setting off up the notorious Khumbu Ice Fall, the start of their push for the top.

How to tick it off your bucket list: Summiteers usually arrive at Base Camp April/May, so plan your trip accordingly. keep yourself healthy, too, as trekkers with illnesses will not be allowed to stay at Base Camp to avoid potentially infecting the climbers. This goes without saying, but you can’t climb Everest independently.

Like that? Try this: Hike up to Camping Arolla (1,950m), in Petit Praz, Switzerland – Europe’s highest campsite.

Inside the Sistine Chapel (Shutterstock)

Why the Sistine Chapel? Massive art, small crowds. Damn Michelangelo for not picking a bigger room! The 40m long by 13m wide box, squished into the Vatican Museum complex is woefully inadequate for the 25,000-odd people who now traipse through here every day.

Yes, the iconic ceiling, and particularly the altar wall’s Last Judgement, are probably the most impressive paintings you’ll ever see – but that’s only if you can see them, over the heads of the rest of humanity.

Fortunately, there is another way. It’s possible to book private tours of the site, which take small groups into Vatican rooms usually off limits, and finish in the Sistine Chapel for an after-hours viewing of Michelangelo’s masterpieces, without all the other people.

How to tick it off your bucket list: Advance booking is essential, so don’t delay in organising your visit to the Sistine Chapel.

Like that? Try this: When in Rome… join a nighttime, lesser-crowded tour of the Colosseum.

Glacier National Park (Shutterstock)

Why Glacier National Park? A rare, time sensitive chance to see retreating ice from a capricious drive, that’s why. The Going-to-the-Sun Road somehow carves an 80km-long furrow through the mountains of north-west Montana. It’s also notoriously difficult to clear of winter snows. Portions of it remain open year-round, but the very earliest in the season that the entire length might be accessible is mid-June.

Then, by late September, parts are off-limits all over again, leaving a brief window for a traverse. It’s worth trying though: the road slices through the parks most dramatic sections, with hair-raising hairpins and a haul over 2,026m Logan Pass.

You can also see the park’s rapidly retreating Jackson Glacier from the tarmac, which you should certainly pull over for – it’s estimated that Glacier NP may be entirely glacier-free by 2030.

Like that, try this: Norway’s switchbacking Trollstigen is closed in late autumn and winter.

A white spirit bear (Dreamstime)

Why British Columbia? These rare bears roam only here. Even for a country big on big empty, Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest takes some beating. What the GBR does have, though, is lots of lovely wildlife: grey wolves, grizzlies, cougars, orca, sea otters, humpback whales and, uniquely, Kermode – or spirit – bears.

These unusual ursines are black bears with a recessive gene, which renders about 10% of them creamy-pale. Like spirits, though, they’re tricky to spot – fewer than 400 are thought to exist.

But if you head to the right part of this roadless, fjord-cut, river-riven rainforest, you might be in luck. The area around Klemtu is a known Kermode hang-out, and lodges accessible only by floatplane have guides expert in tracking them down.

How to tick it off your list: The best time to visit is late August to mid-October, when returning salmon tempt bears to the rivers.

Like that, try this: Visit Timbavati’s white lions, on Kruger NP’s western edge, South Africa.

The Trans-Siberian passing through Mongolia (Dreamstime)

Why the Reunification Express? Resurrected after the Vietnam War, the Reunification Express travels from Hanoi in the north, all the way to Ho Chi Minh in the south.

This slow and spectacular route, with its railway longer than 1,700km, only takes two-days to complete (for those doing the whole thing at once). But of course, you have to get off, stretch your legs and explore the history of Vietnam, as it passes through Hue, Danang and Nha Trang.

Taking in the views from the carriage windows is a pure delight, passing sugar-sand beaches, jungles of banana-leaf trees, rural fields and new glass cities.

It’s not the most luxurious way to travel, but its one for real train enthusiasts, who love a rumbling journey accompanied with oodles of history.

How to tick it off your list: If not the whole thing, make sure to tick off the first segment to Da Nang. November to April is a good time to visit.

Like that, try this: Ride The Canadian, from Toronto to Vancouver, another vast, cross-country, multi-day epic.

Hippos in the Zambezi River (Dreamstime)

Why the Zambezi River? Run the great river, while you can. The Zambezi is one of the world’s most iconic waterways, slicing its way through south-eastern Africa and famously plunging over Victoria Falls.

Rafting it – whether you choose a short trip from Livingstone or a multi-day, beach-camping expedition – is up there with the world’s greatest river journeys. You’ll tackle hair-raising rapids called things like Oblivion and The Devil’s Toilet Bowl. You’ll might spot hippos lazing in the channels and even crocs on the banks.

How to tick it off your list: Book your trip to the Zambezi for sometime between August and December – that’s low water season, and the best time for rafting.