What should I put on my Bucket List Top 5 places ?

[Talios]

I’m recently retired, early 50s, very fit and active. I’ve decided to draw up a top 5 inspirational places to visit with the aim of doing them in the next 10 years.

So I’m looking for suggestions, preferably personal/recommended specific places to visit or things to do (so not a general “do an African safari”), or somewhere unusual or breathtaking.

NOT looking at Europe (unless it’s an unusual or not well known fabulous place) and NOT Australia/NZ.
I have reasonable budgets but nothing extortionate like £30k for Antarctica!

Things I love:

Wildlife (on land and under water)
Adventurous and outdoorsy
Amazing scenery
A little history/culture but not the main driver

Things I’m not interested in:

Food and wine
Fancy hotels (unless there’s more to the place that the hotel)
Cruises (unless it’s a smaller boat somewhere special )

Provisionally on my list is:

Diving with manta rays (any specific recommendations welcome as there’s several places in the world, I’m a certified diver)

Visit/ canoe up the Amazon jungle probably Brazil or Guyana

So any suggestions what else I can add?

Three trips I've loved:

Alaska
Hawaii (although not Honolulu, which I hated)
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

Three I want to do:

Iran (meant to be 2024, but looks unlikely now)
Norwegian fjords
Galapagos

@MrsHamlet Be aware that if you do Iran you’ll then need a visa for the USA, and they may well want details of all trips you’ve done for the last gazillion years. And it can take months.

@WarningToTheCurious I suspect Iran is off the cards for the foreseeable anyway, sadly.
But thank you for the warning.

Machu Pichu- and also (while you're in Peru!) get a flight over the nazca lines.
Loved Peru.
sigh

@Talios please consider Big Island, Hawaii. Night dive out of Kona to see mantas dancing, it’s like a ballet and unlike anything I’ve ever seen anywhere else. I’ve dived all over the world and it is, without doubt, my favourite diving experience. You go under at dusk, fin to the site where they’ve just put a light on the sea bed. You sit there about 8 metres down and the mantas come, they ‘dance’ together for 40 or so minutes as there is so much plankton in the water attracted by the light. It’s mesmerising. For the non divers amongst us, you can snorkel and hold onto a float, looking down from above which is also fab.

I know you said no cruises, and not Europe, but the Hurtigruten trip down the Norwegian coast would be an epic trip.

I haven't done it, but I have been to Norway and think you need to see it from the sea. And the ship doesn't sound like a cruisey kind of cruise.

I had friends who went and their photos were amazing.

Lucky you! South America. Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru.

Rio, Paraty. Santa Catarina, inland to Iguazú. Iguazú Falls is spectacular - see it from the Brazilian and Argentinian sides.
Buenos Aires is fantastic, Mendoza, travel from there to Santiago. Valparaiso. Also Perito Morena glacier.

The buses are brilliant for long distance travel,with reclining bed seats.

Cambodia and Vietnam. Just incredible to see and learn about the history. Wonderful people.

Just realised this thread is super old!
She's probably travelled her bucket list by now 🤣

In the last 10 months? I doubt it.

Good options from @Adultchildofelderlyparents, Easter Island is a great call, I would add:

See wild polar bears in Churchill (Canada) or Spitsbergen.
Climb Kinabalu in Borneo (and see the orangutans afterwards) or Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
See mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or DRC, they keep putting the price up but an hour with those creatures is magical.
Not done this one, but there is a super fancy train trip in Kyushu (Japan) which I think you could combine with seeing Yakushima Island (UNESCO world heritage island), Nagasaki and there are some good onsens near Fukuoka. This may be a bit expensive though, and not sure of exact train itinerary.

Hi all, I’m the OP on this and thought it fun to update a couple of years later.
Ive done-

Iceland - traveled the ring road, amazing scenery, out of this world. Blessed with beautiful dry warm weather although the wind is incrediblly strong . Defo recommend, very expensive to eat out though. Only thing I’d change is I wished I’d stretched the budget to get a few days in Greenland as well.

China - was originally going to be Japan but changed to China incl a few days in Hong Kong. Loved China, such an underrated destination but so so worth it. Iconic sights of the Great Wall, terra cotta warriors, avatar mountains, rafting in Yangshuo, such variety of history and scenery. Very cheap to eat out, a faff to get the expensive in-person visas but once there, a very easy holiday (we had a private guide/driver in every stop).

Brazil - sailed on the Negro/Amazon river, amazing spectacle, trekked through the jungle, saw jaguars hunting on the Pantanal, saw the iconic sights in Rio etc. a huge country and so much more to see. The most expensive of the trips so far, but included a lot of internal flights and the boat/lodges aren’t cheap.

Still to do - Peru for the sights/scenery/MP . And Raja Ampat is to be our manta ray liveaboard plus more island hopping/wildlife sights Indonesia.

Hope everyone else is getting their bucket list destinations ticked off!

@Talios 2 years ago we did Peru/ Ecuador & Galapagos - that was on my bucket list . I'd certainly recommend G.I.
We were safe in Ecuador, but if it's changed there might be a way around it.
All our P/E/GI flights were with Latam, they might have a flight direct from Peru to G.I. Also, I believe that Latam now fly to U.K. - might be worth checking.

I looked at Ecuador but yes, large parts of it are no-go at the moment. We’re doing Iberia to Peru, then Latam for the internal flights. Sacred Valley, Cuzco, MP, Rainbow mountain, Colca Canyon, Nazca lines, Ballesteros island etc.

Thanks for the update OP, great to hear.

French Polynesia is on my bucket list.