[imagesource: Tripadvisor]

Sometimes I like to listen to Sufjan Stevens’ song that swoons about how “we’re all gonna die” to remind myself that life ebbs and flows and that there’s no better time than now to get cracking on the things you most want to do.

And then I just sit and stare into space, not doing said things, wasting further daylight. I guess listening to woeful songs meant to inspire a fuller life doesn’t do the trick for me.

If you hope to be anything like the people that Tripadvisor holds in high esteem – as in the ones willing to traverse the world to check off each item on the Travellers’ Choice Awards’ list of the Top Bucket List Experiences – perhaps give Sufjan a miss for the moment.

I will, however, continue listening until my bank account is ready.

As Time Out notes, the experiences recommended by Tripadvisor are only possible with a budget somewhere between ‘moderate’ and ‘millionaire’.

The travel-rating site collected reviews based on quality and quantity over the past year and ranked the finest experiences that feature the terms ‘bucket list’, ‘extreme’, ‘lifetime’, or ‘unique’ in their description.

Their top travel experience is something called ‘Premium Red Dunes, Camel Safari & BBQ at Al Khayma Camp’ (pictured up top), which sounds like a lot:

[It includes] a seven-hour tour of Dubai’s Al Lahbab desert by jeep, camel and sandboard (yep, that’s a surfboard, but on sand). The experience sure seems pretty fun and lavish – but one of the best experiences in the entire world? We’ll leave you to decide that one, but it certainly has some good reviews.

The other stuff on the list is a bit more typical of a more normal bucket list, with a couple of hot-air-balloon experiences and spine-tingling extreme-sports experiences thrown in the mix.

Here’s their full top 10 for 2022:

1. Premium Red Dunes, Camel Safari & BBQ at Al Khayma Camp, UAE

2. Classic Inca Trail Trek, Peru

3. Hot Air Balloon Ride Over Luxor, Egypt

4. Balloon Ride and Champagne Breakfast in Cappadocia, Turkey

5. Blackstone Beach and Cliff Jump, Aruba

6. Rotorua Ziplining Forest Adventure, New Zealand

7. San Juan Arenales Caves and River Adventure, Puerto Rico

8. Skydive Tandem, Sao Paolo, Brazil

9. Northern Lights Adventure with a Greenlander, Norway

10. Swim With Manatees, Florida, USA

Just like that, I’ve purchased a few more lottery tickets. You can find further details of each bucket list tick here.

“Make the most of your life, while it is rife, while it is light…We’re all gonna die” – Sufjan Stevens.

[source:timeout]