Plan Your Trip With Our Free Printable Bucket List Template

Most people have at least a vague idea of the dreams and goals they want to accomplish in life. But time has a nasty way of flying by, whether you have accomplished your dream goals.

That’s why creating a bucket list can come in handy. While you’ll find plenty of bucket list templates that cater to different categories, we’ve whipped up a travel bucket list template designed to help you plot out your adventures around the world.

We’ll even walk you through each of the simple steps needed to customize your bucket list, complete with ideas along the way. So get ready to let your imagination run wild as you use our free printable bucket list to map out a path to achieving your goals! 

What’s A Bucket List? Do I Need One?

Okay, so a bucket may not seem like the most apt metaphor for achieving all your dreams. But the idea behind a bucket list is to create a list of things you want to do before you “kick the bucket.”

Editorial Note: For the uninitiated, to “kick the bucket” means to die – coming from the act of using a bucket as a stool when hanging one’s self, the final act before death being kicking the bucket from underneath your feet, leaving you to hang by the neck until dead. The more you know!

A bit morbid, perhaps, but also a solid reminder that we each have a limited amount of time to grab life by the metaphorical horns (or literal horns if fighting something with horns is on your bucket list). Many people choose to sit down and create a literal bucket list in order to turn their dreams into solid goals.

Getting your bucket list ideas out of your head and onto the page is a great way to stay focused on all the crazy things you want to do while you still have the chance. Our template is designed not only to help you solidify your travel bucket list but to help you visualize and plan out each trip in detail.

Download Our Bucket List Template

We get it – sitting down and making a list of all the things you want to do in life can be a tad bit intimidating. That’s why we’ll provide you with suggestions every step of the way.

You might even consider printing out extra bucket list templates for your friends or family so you can complete them together. The important thing is to have fun and keep in mind that you can always add to or change your bucket list items over time.

1. Download Our Free Bucket List Template

First thing’s first, press that download button to download your printable bucket list template! Rest assured, we went with an ink-friendly minimalist template design to keep things easy on your printer.

While we did throw in a few splashes of color, you can always save ink and adjust your settings to easily turn your template into a black-and-white printable. Now, let’s jump right in and turn your blank bucket list template into a personal planner for all your travel dreams.

2. Find Your “Why”

One of your very first tasks will be to take some time to write about why you want to travel the world. Don’t worry, this isn’t a graded assignment, but it’s one we suggest doing nonetheless.

Why? Because it’s going to help you realize exactly why it’s worth putting in the hard work to achieve your desired goals.

Let’s face it, travel is awesome, but it also involves a lot of planning and expense. Get specific about the reasons it’s worth pursuing anyway.

While the answer will vary considerably from person to person, here are some example “whys” to help inspire you:

• To experience the culture of a different country
• To learn new things, embrace new ideas, and maybe even test-drive a new language
• To bond with your kids before they grow up
• To discover more about who you are as a person
• To fill your life with unforgettable adventures
• To take a break from the constant grind and reflect on your life

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3. Narrow Down Your Bucket List Items

While you may initially be alarmed at the minimalist design you’ll find on the next page, there’s a reason we only included space for a few items in each category. The goal was to help you overcome the temptation to list out every single destination you’ve ever dreamed of visiting.

Hey, if you have the time and resources to visit a different country every summer, then print out additional copies of page three and knock yourself out. But for most of us, narrowing it down to just a few key locations can help keep things a lot more realistic. 

Remember, bucket lists are supposed to be fun – you’ll find that our simple design guarantees you won’t just end up overwhelming yourself. This part of our list template includes various categories like “cities” and “landmarks” to help you pinpoint the goals that interest you the most. 

If your dream goals include seeing a particular landmark like the Great Pyramid, or the Great Barrier Reef, those are great places to start. Or maybe you’ve always longed for a certain experience, like spending Christmas in New York or taking a road trip across Europe.

No matter which section you start on, fill in the others accordingly until you reach a max of four to five different trip ideas. Remember, if you accomplish all the goals on this list, you can always print out another blank bucket list template and keep going. 

4. Get Specific

When your travel bucket list is solidified, it’s time to imagine each of your goals in detail. The next few pages of the template are identical so that you can dedicate one to each of your bucket list ideas.

This part of your bucket list will be dedicated to turning a great idea into a solid plan. If your list template is full of exotic places around the world, then it’s perfectly fine to plan out trips years in advance.

Start to think about who you’ll be traveling with, whether it be a best friend, your family, or even solo. Then imagine the fun things you want to do throughout your journey.

Maybe you want to watch the sunrise over the Taj Mahal or scuba dive on a dream vacation to Belize. No matter what calls you the most, write it out!

After each page takes shape, start to look into how much each trip will realistically cost. Then create a plan for tucking away cash, perhaps in a special savings account where you stash a certain amount of money each time you get a paycheck.

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5. Write Out Your Experience Wish List

The great thing about a printable bucket list template is that you can print more than one copy of certain pages if you like. While we recommend dedicating the first few pages to a small number of larger travel goals, the experience section of the template can be a lot more versatile.

After all, this section doesn’t necessarily have to include things you have to leave the country, or even your hometown, to accomplish. This is where you get to organize all the things you’ve always wanted to try, no matter how big or small.

Here are just a few ideas to get your creative gears turning:

As you can see, this section of your bucket list template doesn’t have to include huge goals, simply fun tasks that can make your life richer. You’ll quickly discover that many of the fun things you come up with don’t even cost much (or any) money.

You might even consider using free printables of the “experience” page to create sub-bucket lists. For instance, you might have a summer bucket list, a bucket list of things you hope to do with your kids, and so on.

6. Keeping Track of Your Lifetime Goals

No matter how you choose to customize your bucket list template, post it in a place where you can see it to remind yourself of all the things you want to do in life. We’ve even included a checkable list that you can use to check off each item when you achieve it.

Last but not least, you’ll find an “accomplished” section where you can record your thoughts about each task you achieve. How did it make you feel to accomplish a goal you set for yourself, no matter how big or small?

What experiences did you have? What did you learn about yourself or the world throughout each journey? Using the free printable accomplishment page to create a journal can serve as a reminder of how great it feels to live a life of your own design. 

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