Travel, it’s a word that can mean so many things to different people — an escape from the ordinary; a method of getting from point A to point B; the journey you take to discover someplace new. Whatever the word travel means to you, we’ve all dreamt, at some point in our lives, about packing our bags and going to explore our fantasy destination.
So where exactly do people dream of traveling to and where would they go if given the opportunity to visit anywhere in the world without having to pay for it? Those were the questions I recently asked the fans and followers of Life Traveled In Stilettos. The answers were somewhat expected and unexpected at the same time. While many of the top places readers wanted to go, if time and money were no object, mirrored that of the world’s most visited countries and cities, our fans also picked remote laidback places where time was a second thought, and relaxing on a soft white sandy beach listening to the waves roll in was their ideal dream vacation.
Ready to see if your dream destination made the list? After tallying the results, here is the list that I hope will give you some inspiration when you are ready to start planning your next dream vacation.
The Top 3 Cities
- Paris
- Dubai
- New York City
We weren’t surprised with Paris ranking as the number one city, as it has been one of the most visited cities in the world year after year. However, we were surprised that notable cities like Miami, London, or Tokyo were hardly mentioned.
Runners up to the top three dream city destinations include: Amsterdam, Venice, and Singapore.
You might be interested in reading: 12 Romantic Things To Do and See In Paris, Quick Guide to the Best Parks of Paris, Free and Fun Things To Do In NYC, 9 Interesting Things About Amsterdam
Top 10 Countries
Our readers and fans had 193 countries to choose where they could take a dream vacation. While we are aware that some countries may not be accessible due to current political instability or for safety reasons, our top ten list came from 52 different countries mentioned that were bucket list destinations.
- Italy – By far this was the top dream destination mentioned. Tuscany was the most mentioned area in Italy people wanted to travel to.
- The United States – While the U.S. is a huge country that would take considerable time to explore, the places most respondents mentioned were: Hawaii, California, NYC, Florida, and the National Parks.
- France – This is no surprise with Paris being the number one destination city people are dreaming of visiting.
- Greece – Exploring the Greek Islands is a popular bucket list dream destination for many.
- Australia – From cosmopolitan cities like Sydney and Melbourne, gorgeous beaches, the rugged Outback region, and the Great Barrier Reef, Australia is on many dream vacation lists.
- Switzerland – Whether it was a summer hike through the Alps, or a winter ski vacation, Switzerland ranked high for adventure and nature lovers.
- United Arab Emirates – The exotic and uber posh city of Dubai helped to put the UAE in the top 10 countries people want to travel to.
- Spain – Whether you’re longing for the beaches of Barcelona or the beauty of the Pyrenees mountain, Spain has more UNESCO Biosphere Reserves than any other country on earth.
- Ireland – The luck of the Irish has many readers looking for four-leaf clovers and that pot-of-gold in hopes of visiting the the beautiful Emerald Isle.
- England/UK – Royalty, the British invasion of rock and roll, and a wealth of historical sights were many reasons our readers had England/UK as a top place they want to visit.
Runners up include: Scotland, Germany, the Netherlands, Iceland, Czech Republic, Portugal, Peru, New Zealand, Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Puerto Rico, and Thailand.
Other Highly Ranked Dream Vacations
Although readers mentioned tropical destinations located in the South Pacific, Caribbean, and other parts of the world, as their dream vacation, there were too many individual responses which kept these places off the “top 10” list. As a whole, a tropical vacation destination would have been ranked as the third most popular bucket list destination.
- The South Pacific – Traveling to the South Pacific is a dream for many of our readers. Most notably, the most often mentioned destinations were: Bali, Bora Bora, Fiji, Maldives, and Tahiti
- The Caribbean Islands: Puerto Rico, Barbados, Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos were the most popular island destinations.
Asia, the Middle East (which is technically in Asia), Africa, and India were also places readers wanted to visit during their lifetime.
- Asia – Singapore, Japan, China
- Middle East – Israel, UAE, Turkey
- Africa – Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, South Africa
- India – Goa was listed as a dream destination
What Didn’t Make The List
What was interesting were places that typically have a lot of tourist traffic and should be a dream destination, didn’t end up on the list. In fact, I was surprised that some countries like Canada, Mexico, Hungary, Austria, or any South American country were not picked as places for a dream vacation destination by any respondent. U.S. States, like Alaska and Maine, which are heavily visited, didn’t make the list either.
It is important to take into account that our survey/poll was not a scientific or in-depth study, but was a causal question asked to our 100K+ readers and fans. The answers were purely based on where the respondent felt they would go if money or time was no object.
Drop a comment below in the “Comments” section and let me know if you agree with this list. If your dream destination did not make the list, tell us where you really want to go if money or time was no issue.
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