41 trips to take before you turn 40
Climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia and enjoy incredible views of the harbor.
Marvel at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, which has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world.
Go on a luxury safari in South Africa's Kruger National Park. The Royal Malewane offers beautiful accommodations, safaris, and up-close interactions with animals.
Enjoy a meal at El Celler de Can Roca. The restaurant — located in Girona, Spain — took the No. 1 spot on this year's list of the World's 100 Best Restaurants.
See the Rocky Mountains reflect in the crystal-clear waters of Moraine Lake at Banff National Park in Canada.
Throw colored paint at a crowd during Holi, a two-day festival in India where you’ll get lost in a sea of bright-colored flours.
Stroll along the beachfront walkway, the Promenade des Anglais, in Nice, France. The small city on the French Riviera has world-class restaurants, museums, art galleries, and hotels.
Browse the colorful food options at the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market in Bangkok, Thailand. Chances are, you won't recognize a lot of what's at the market.
Go snorkeling in the Maldives, home to some of the world’s largest coral atolls and most beautiful marine life.
Explore Petra, between the Red and Dead Seas in Jordan. The half-built city is surrounded by mountains, passages, and gorges and is one of the world’s most famous archaeological sites according to UNESCO.
Glide along the canals of Venice, Italy. Hire a private water taxi, which is less touristy than taking a gondola ride.
Go hiking in the El Chaltén region of Patagonia, where you’ll see breathtaking panoramas of Mount Fitz Roy and glacial lakes that reflect the stunning landscape.
Source: Lonely Planet
Feel the rhythm of a real Flamenco dance show in Andalusia, a region that sits on Spain's southern coast.
Watch the Northern Lights from your private glass igloo while staying at the Hotel Kakslauttanen, located in Finland’s wilderness.
Learn more about Hotel Kakslauttanen >
Cruise through Ha Long Bay in a junkboat, located in the Gulf of Tonkin in northeast Vietnam.
Climb to the top of the Key West Lighthouse in the Florida Keys and enjoy incredible views of the island and the ocean.
Go island hopping in Greece and marvel at the bright white buildings with rich blue rooftops that line the sea. Santorini, Crete, and Mykonos are some of Greece's most well known islands, but if you're looking for a little more seclusion try Rhodes, Kos, or Corfu.
Take a helicopter ride over the majestic Iguazu Falls, which borders Argentina and Brazil and is home to over 200 waterfalls.
Dive into the Silfra fissure in Iceland's Thingvellir National Park, a crack between the North American and Eurasian continents. It's one of the only places in the world where you can swim between two continents at the same time.
Splurge on what's considered to be the best sushi in the world at Sukiyabashi Jiro in Tokyo. The three-star Michelin restaurant and its chef, Jiro Ono, were the focus of a documentary called "Jiro Dreams of Sushi."
Walk through Antelope Canyon, located on Navajo land near Page, Arizona, to see its intricate shape and lighting throughout the day.
Ride through Europe in style on the Venice Simplon-Orient Express. The train goes from London to Venice and stops in other cities along the way.
Climb the 777 steps to Taung Kalat, a Buddhist monastery in Myanmar that's perched on top of an extinct volcano plug, which offers incredible views of the ancient city of Bagan.
Try your luck and gamble in one of Las Vegas’ famous casinos.
Stay at the Oberoi Udaivilas resort in Udaipur, India, which was just named the best hotel in the world by Travel + Leisure. The hotel resembles a traditional Indian palace, and includes luxury amenities like butler service and a private boat ride across Lake Pichola.
Indulge in a once-in-a-lifetime meal at The French Laundry, one of Thomas Keller's three-star Michelin restaurants in Napa Valley, California.
Walk through the Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park in Gansu Province, China, where you'll see colorful rocks resulting from red sandstone mineral deposits that date back over 24 million years.
Trek through Bwindi National Park in Uganda and discover the gorillas that hide there.
Celebrate New Year's Eve in London. Find a good spot along the Thames to hear Big Ben chime at midnight and then watch the fireworks display against the backdrop of the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament. Then spend the rest of the night partying at the city's nightclubs.
Gaze at the thousands of tiny glow worms in New Zealand that illuminate the Waitomo Glowworm Cave.
Explore the natural beauty of California's Sierra Nevada mountains in Yosemite National Park.
Trek up to Mount Everest in Nepal. The scenery is breathtaking and you'll feel like you've really accomplished something. The country is still recovering from the massive earthquake it endured in April, but it remains one of the most popular destinations in the world for trekking.
Explore the golden sand dunes of the Namib Desert and the majestic peaks of the Naukluft mountain range at Namib-Naukluft National Park in Namibia.
Play Muirfield in East Lothian, Scotland. The golf course is one of the oldest in the world, and was the host of the 2013 British Open.
Journey through the backwaters of Kerala, India, in a houseboat.
Ski down Chile’s Volcán Osorno, a stratovolcano that's home to both challenging and intermediate-level slopes. On a clear day, you can see the Pacific Ocean from the Glacier Station.
Learn more about Volcán Osorno skiing.
Source: CNN Travel
Light a lantern during Loi Krathong, a festival in Thailand where people light millions of lanterns and send them up into the sky. Some of the best places to see the festival are in Chiang Mai, Ayutthaya, and Sukhothai.
Cruise through the Mediterranean Sea on a yacht.
Gorge yourself on grilled meats at a parillada in Argentina or a churrascaria in Brazil.
Explore the magnificent rice paddies of Bali, Indonesia.
Go 'glamping' ("glamorous camping") and stay in a luxurious tent with butler service, an ensuite bathroom, electricity, and more at the Paws Up Resort, located on a 37,000-acre traditional cattle ranch in Montana.
Learn more about Paws Up >
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