50 countries by the end of 2017 - Can I do it?

It's new chapter of my life and I'm back with the travel bug. I have decided I would like to get my countries visited list to 50 by the end of 2017 - So can I do it? My heart is saying "hell yes", my mind is saying "It's doable but maybe tough" and my bank balance is scream "Are you crazy women, think of rental property you could buy??".


As ever, my heart seems to be ruling me (which is why I've had so much heartache already!). I've crunched the numbers and it works out that I have ten countries to visit to get to my target.


Now, that sounds like a lot however I already have three different countries booked. I'm heading to Oslo, Norway soon with my sister so that will be a new country to explore.


I also have a wonderful trip to the Philippines booked for a few weeks time. I literally cannot wait to get my hiking boots on, roam the mountains and cool off in the incredible turquois seas.


Finally I have Turkey booked in June. Again I get to visit here with my sister (her countries list is racking up too!). Turkey will be more a rest and relaxation holiday but we may see a little bit of the country locally (providing it's safe to do so).


I'm excited for these new adventures. I always love the freedom of travel, the ability to meet new and exciting people and visit stunning countries. I've always loved to explore new places. Dean used to tease me and say my life is lead by one holiday to the next. This was true (however I don't think he meant it as a compliment).


I guess in one way it is an opportunity to escape 'life' for a while but the things you discover when you travel enrich your every day life. One of my favourite travel quotes is by J.R.R Tolkien: "Not all those who wander are lost". For some reason I feel a little bittersweet with this quote. Part of me does "wander" to lose myself from every day life however it shows, this is not a bad thing.


So getting back on track, I now have seven more countries to plan for. I have seen an amazing Caribbean cruise that I'd like to go on in September. It starts off in Puerto Rico and visits U.S Virgin Islands, Curacao (never heard of here before), Aruba and St. Kitts. That'll be five amazing countries!


Some may say I won't have that much time to visit the country in full however I still think it totally counts as visiting :-) That then leaves just two more countries.


With my lack of annual leave, these will need to be weekends away. I used to love flying out from work on a Friday and coming back late Sunday night. I'd like to go to Iceland (not the food shop!) and possible Denmark so both of these would be good for a quick weekend break.


If anyone else has any other suggestions for travel ideas then do let me know.

My Travel Bucket List

After quite a bit of discussion I've finally convinced Marco that travelling is a great idea. He seems to be warming to my idea of why it's so good to broaden your mind but the next steps is where to travel too.

I said ideally I'd like to visit three countries a year. Yes I know that sounds utterly spoilt to some people but travel is my hobby (well one of!) so I like to do it often.

Marco has agreed that I need to limit my travel to 'risky' countries to once per year and the other two times maybe more safe places like Europe (because there hasn't been any issues in France and Belgium lately...!).

No doubt we'll 'debate' those risky countries but I've made a list and I have 42 new countries on my list to visit. Obviously this is over my lifetime but it's so exciting to have a plan of all the countries I'd like to visit.

I thought I'd share my list with you and see if it inspires you to want to visit any of them too. I'll start with what I believe are the 'risky' countries.

1. Cape Verde - Beautiful African beach resort.
2. Gambia - again lovely African beach resort and nature.
3. Madagascar - again because of Africa.
4. India - sadly various issues with crime but so much to see.
5. Israel - middle east (enough said!).
6. Jordan - as above.
7. Russia - again so many beautiful places but it's pretty corrupt in places.
8. Bolivia - high poverty so also high crime rates.
9. Chile - as above.
10. Colombia - as above.
11. Venezuela - as above.
12. Argentina - as above.

I know some of those places won't interest Marco at all so I'm happy to find a well organised tour to visit with. I always feel so comfortable with those tours as the guides are so knowledgeable and experienced.

The rest of my list is equally as exciting but hopefully seen as 'less risky'. Some of these will make amazing long weekend breaks and others require a bit longer to visit. Here the list continues;

13. Mauritius.
14. Morocco (could be argued a little risky).
15. Turkey (also a tad risky depending where).
16. Seychelles.
17. Japan.
18. Maldives.
19. Hungry (I'm starving actually!!).
20. Austria.
21. Croatia.
22. Gibraltar.
23. Iceland.
24. Monaco.
25. Norway.
26. Poland.
27. Montenegro.
28. Sweden.
29. Vatican (and lots more of Italy).
30. Antigua.
31. Aruba.
32. Bermuda.
33. British Virgin Islands.
34. Turks and Caicos.
35. Puerto Rico.
36. Panama (perhaps don't go canoeing).
37. Cayman Islands.
38. The Bahamas.
39. Australia.
40. Cook Islands.
41. Fiji.
42. New Zealand.

A lot of the places I want to visit are faraway shores and would be ideal for when I'm retired. But there are also lots of amazing places I can visit now.

Marco hasn't travelled much at all so it'll be nice going to places like Spain with him and of course seeing far more of Italy.

I find dreaming and 'planning' these holidays is sometimes just as much fun as actually being on holiday.

Here's a few pictures of the incredible places I wish to visit.

Vatican City.

Trolltunga, Norway. 

Columbia. 

Salto Angel, Venezuela.