Bucket List Ideas: 154 Things to Do in Life

What are good bucket list ideas?

Good bucket list ideas are experiences you would be sad to miss: a trip, a skill, something brave, something you make and something you do for other people. The best lists mix a few big dreams with plenty of ideas you could do this year, and some that cost nothing.

Below are all 154 ideas from our free bucket list maker, one line each, grouped by type and then by who they suit: couples, kids, cheap or free, before 30, before 40 and this year. In the maker you can tap ideas onto your list, add your own, give each a date, tick them off and print the list on one page.

Travel bucket list ideas

From a weekend with no plan to the far side of the world. Start with one trip you could book this year and one big dream to save for.

1. See the Northern Lights
2. Take a road trip with no fixed plan for a weekend
3. Visit all the national parks in one state
4. Ride a long-distance train through the mountains
5. Travel somewhere on your own
6. Visit the town your grandparents grew up in
7. Stand in two countries at once at a border marker
8. Take a trip where you only pack a carry-on
9. Watch the sunrise from a mountaintop
10. Go island hopping
11. Visit a city where you do not speak the language
12. See a wonder of the world in person
13. Spend a night in a lighthouse, treehouse or cabin
14. Take a trip to the city your favorite book is set in
15. Visit every state that borders yours
16. Be a tourist in your own town for a day
17. Go on a cruise or a long ferry ride
18. Celebrate New Year's Eve in another city
19. Take a trip with your parents as adults

Adventure bucket list ideas

Ideas that make your heart beat faster. Use a licensed guide or operator where it matters, and start with the indoor versions if you are nervous.

1. Go skydiving or indoor skydiving
2. Swim with sea turtles or in a coral reef
3. Ride in a hot air balloon
4. Go white-water rafting
5. Try rock climbing at an indoor gym
6. Go zip-lining through the trees
7. Learn to surf or paddleboard
8. Go snorkeling
9. Take a helicopter ride
10. Ride a roller coaster in the front row
11. Try a flying trapeze class
12. Go dog sledding
13. Run a 5K, then a 10K
14. Sleep under the stars without a tent
15. Go on a multi-day hike
16. Kayak at night in a glowing bay
17. Try an escape room
18. Go horseback riding on a beach or trail

Outdoor and nature bucket list ideas

Mostly cheap, often close to home and good at any age.

1. Watch a meteor shower away from city lights
2. Climb the highest point in your state or county
3. See a total solar eclipse
4. Grow your own vegetables for one summer
5. Plant a tree and visit it every year
6. Go whale watching
7. Camp for a whole weekend
8. Swim in a lake, a river and the ocean in one summer
9. Watch the sun set and rise on the same day
10. Walk a whole trail from one end to the other
11. Spot 25 different birds and write them down
12. Go on a full-moon hike
13. Go fruit picking at a farm
14. Have a picnic in the first snow
15. Visit a botanical garden in every season
16. Go tide pooling at low tide
17. Build a real snow fort or sandcastle

Creative bucket list ideas

Make something with your hands or your voice. Finishing counts more than being good at it.

1. Write a short story and let someone read it
2. Take a pottery class and keep what you make
3. Paint a picture and frame it
4. Sing karaoke in front of strangers
5. Take an improv or acting class
6. Make a photo book of one year
7. Knit or crochet something you wear
8. Build a piece of furniture
9. Record a song, even just on your phone
10. Start a blog, newsletter or podcast and publish 10 episodes
11. Enter a photo, baking or art contest
12. Write a letter to your future self and open it in 10 years
13. Make a short film with friends
14. Keep a sketchbook for 30 days
15. Write your family's story and share it
16. Design and plant a flower bed
17. Dance in a class or on a stage

Bucket list ideas for learning something new

Skills that take a few minutes a day rather than a free month.

1. Learn to have a simple conversation in another language
2. Learn to play one song on an instrument
3. Read 50 books in a year
4. Learn to swim well, or teach someone to
5. Learn first aid and CPR
6. Learn to drive a stick shift
7. Learn to cook five dishes by heart
8. Learn basic car care, like changing a tire
9. Take a class just for fun at a community college
10. Learn to code a simple website
11. Learn to name the constellations you can see
12. Learn to juggle three balls
13. Read a classic you pretended to read in school
14. Learn to play chess well enough to win a game
15. Learn sign language basics
16. Visit every museum in your city
17. Finish an online course with a certificate
18. Learn to invest and set up a retirement account

Food bucket list ideas

Tastes and kitchens worth remembering. Several of these can happen this week.

1. Eat at a restaurant with a tasting menu
2. Bake bread from scratch
3. Take a cooking class in another country
4. Try a food from every continent in your own city
5. Host a dinner party for eight
6. Make pasta by hand
7. Cook your grandmother's signature dish
8. Eat at a food truck festival
9. Tour a farm, a winery or a chocolate maker
10. Eat street food at a night market
11. Grow herbs and cook with them
12. Make jam from fruit you picked
13. Eat breakfast in bed on an ordinary Tuesday
14. Enter a chili or pie contest
15. Cook a meal for someone who needs it
16. Try a dish you disliked as a child again

Bucket list ideas that give back

Ideas that help someone else. Most take one afternoon.

1. Donate blood
2. Volunteer at a food bank
3. Register as an organ donor
4. Mentor someone starting in your field
5. Plant trees with a local group
6. Pay for a stranger's coffee
7. Foster a pet from a shelter
8. Run or walk for a charity
9. Write thank-you letters to three teachers
10. Volunteer abroad for a week
11. Clean up a beach, park or trail
12. Teach a free class in something you know
13. Give away half of what you own
14. Visit a nursing home and play a game with someone
15. Make a care package for a friend going through a hard time

Bucket list ideas for friends and family

The ones people most often say they wish they had done sooner.

1. Throw a surprise party for someone
2. Call an old friend you lost touch with
3. Record an interview with a grandparent
4. Plan a family reunion
5. Go on a weekend trip with your best friends
6. Take a class with your partner
7. Write a letter to someone who changed your life
8. Have a no-phones day with your family
9. Renew your vows or plan a big anniversary
10. Build a family tree
11. Go on a date to the place you first met
12. Take a trip with just one of your kids
13. Host a holiday for everyone
14. Make a new friend after 30
15. Teach a child something you love doing
16. Take a family photo with every generation

Personal goals for your bucket list

Bigger life goals. Give each a first small step so it moves this month.

1. Pay off all credit card debt
2. Save six months of expenses
3. Run a half marathon
4. Do one pull-up
5. Keep a journal for a whole year
6. Go a month without social media
7. Speak in front of an audience
8. Ask for a raise or a promotion
9. Start a side business and make the first sale
10. Buy or build a home of your own
11. Touch your toes, then do the splits
12. Take a whole week off with no email
13. Get a professional photo you actually like
14. Declutter every room in your home
15. Make your bed every day for 30 days
16. Write your will
17. Walk 10,000 steps a day for a month
18. Do something that scares you once a month

Cheap and free bucket list ideas

A bucket list does not need a big budget. These cost little or nothing:

1. Watch a meteor shower away from city lights
2. Watch the sun set and rise on the same day
3. Be a tourist in your own town for a day
4. Donate blood
5. Record an interview with a grandparent
6. Write a letter to your future self and open it in 10 years
7. Read 50 books in a year
8. Sleep under the stars without a tent
9. Plant a tree and visit it every year
10. Bake bread from scratch
11. Clean up a beach, park or trail
12. Call an old friend you lost touch with
13. Go a month without social media
14. Learn to juggle three balls
15. Spot 25 different birds and write them down

Bucket list ideas for couples

Things to plan together, from a cheap evening to a trip you save for:

1. Ride in a hot air balloon
2. Ride a long-distance train through the mountains
3. Take a pottery class and keep what you make
4. Make pasta by hand
5. Go on a date to the place you first met
6. Go on a full-moon hike
7. Kayak at night in a glowing bay
8. Take a class with your partner
9. Celebrate New Year's Eve in another city
10. Eat breakfast in bed on an ordinary Tuesday
11. Dance in a class or on a stage
12. Try an escape room

For a picture version to hang up, see the couples vision board ideas.

Bucket list ideas for kids and families

Ideas children can help choose and remember for years:

1. Watch a meteor shower away from city lights
2. Try rock climbing at an indoor gym
3. Spot 25 different birds and write them down
4. Record an interview with a grandparent
5. Go tide pooling at low tide
6. Learn to name the constellations you can see
7. Go fruit picking at a farm
8. Bake bread from scratch
9. Volunteer at a food bank
10. Have a no-phones day with your family
11. Write a letter to your future self and open it in 10 years
12. Be a tourist in your own town for a day

Doing a seasonal list with the kids? The fall bucket list printable has 114 ideas just for September to November.

Bucket list ideas before 30

Ideas that are easier while your time and plans are still flexible:

1. Travel somewhere on your own
2. Stand in two countries at once at a border marker
3. Learn to surf or paddleboard
4. Learn to have a simple conversation in another language
5. Learn to invest and set up a retirement account
6. Speak in front of an audience
7. Take an improv or acting class
8. Host a dinner party for eight
9. Visit a city where you do not speak the language
10. Do something that scares you once a month

Bucket list ideas before 40

Ideas people often put off for "one day" until the forties:

1. See the Northern Lights
2. See a wonder of the world in person
3. Save six months of expenses
4. Build a piece of furniture
5. Plan a family reunion
6. Mentor someone starting in your field
7. Write your will
8. Make a new friend after 30
9. Go on a multi-day hike
10. Take a trip with your parents as adults

Bucket list ideas for this year

A short list you can finish in twelve months. Pick five or six and put each in a month:

1. Watch a meteor shower away from city lights
2. Run a 5K, then a 10K
3. Learn to have a simple conversation in another language
4. Write a short story and let someone read it
5. Donate blood
6. Call an old friend you lost touch with
7. Swim in a lake, a river and the ocean in one summer
8. Host a dinner party for eight
9. Keep a journal for a whole year
10. Read 50 books in a year
11. Camp for a whole weekend
12. Try an escape room

How do you make a bucket list you actually do?

1. Collect freely first. Write down every idea that makes you think "I would love that". Cut the list later.
2. Mix sizes. One or two big dreams, several things for this year and a few you could do this month.
3. Give each idea a "when". A month, a season, a year or an age. A date turns "someday" into a plan.
4. Write the first small step. Big ideas start with something you can do in ten minutes.
5. Put the next step on your calendar. Choose the day and the moment, for example "Saturday morning after coffee, look up flights".
6. Keep the list where you see it. On the fridge, in your notes app or as your lock screen, and tick ideas the day you do them.

Here is how three ideas look once they have a date and a first step:

If an idea is really a habit, such as reading 50 books or running a half marathon, a 30-day plan with one small step a day works better than a line on a list.

What does research say about bucket lists?

No study has tested bucket lists as such, but research on experiences supports the idea. In surveys and experiments by Van Boven and Gilovich (2003), people said money spent on experiences, such as trips and concerts, made them happier than money spent on things. Kumar, Killingsworth and Gilovich (2014) found that waiting for an experience felt more pleasant and exciting than waiting for a new possession, so a date on the calendar is part of the reward.

Planning helps too. In a meta-analysis of 94 tests, plans that named when and where people would act were linked to better follow-through than good intentions alone (Gollwitzer and Sheeran, 2006). That is why the maker has a "when" box on every line.

These are average results from studies, mostly with students and adults in the United States, not a promise that every idea will make you happy.

What are common bucket list mistakes?

• Only huge ideas. If every item needs a passport and savings, nothing moves for years. Add ideas you could do this month.
• Copying someone else's list. Keep the ideas that excite you, not the ones that look good online.
• No dates. "One day" rarely comes. Even a rough season helps.
• Never updating it. Cross ideas off when they stop appealing and add new ones as you change.

Where to go next

Build your own list with the bucket list maker: pick from all these ideas, add your own, give each a date and print it. For a picture version, make a bucket list vision board. If you are not sure which part of life needs an adventure, score it first with the wheel of life.