My travel diaries didn’t really kick off until 2014, when my husband and I made a conscious decision to travel more and see the world. Luckily we’ve managed to trolley travel to some amazing destinations like; Mauritius, Spain, Dominican Republic, Dubai, Mexico, Jamaica, and so far in 2016; Thailand, Canada and Cyprus.
You might have noticed that I called myself a ‘trolley traveler’ aka ‘traveler with a trolley case’. That’s my opposite of a ‘backpacker’- sorry I’m not cool like that, although I have my moments of #livelikealocal!
Over the last few years I have experienced and seen some amazing, and truly breathtaking locations that will make you look twice! So what’s better than to get you all up to speeds with my travel diaries, by sharing my top 5 must do bucket list experiences from around the world!
You’ll get all the details on where they are, how much they cost, where to book, which hotel we stayed at and inside tips if you decide to go. And don’t worry the list doesn’t contain a host of shameless selfies (check out my instagram for that!)
1. Cape Greco Sea Caves (Ayia Napa, Cyprus)
When you think Ayia Napa, you think about drunken teenagers getting tattoos of their favorite curry houses on their hips (this is actually a true story!) But ignoring that, Ayia Napa has some stunningly natural landmarks, and one not to be missed is Cape Greco.
This place is truly picturesque and really showcases the beauty of Ayia Napa. The more you explore Cape Greco the more hidden caves there are to see.
The most captivating cave can be seen by a short climb down from the top of the cliff. This tucked away cave really takes your breath away with crystal clear blue waters making it a hotspot for some magnificent pictures!
Location: Cape Greco located in Ayia Napa (Southern Cyprus)
Price tag: FREE
Booking: No booking required, and can be easily reached by taxi, bike, and foot.
Hotel location: King Jason in Protaras
Top tip: Wear appropriate footwear like water shoes, so you can easily climb the cliffs.
2. Dolphin Discovery (Isla Mujeres, Mexico)
Probably the ultimate bucket list experience that has to be done, and been so widely available I wanted to tick this one off somewhere distinctively beautiful. So my trip to Cancun was the perfect destination! An hour’s catamaran ride from Cancun, across the Caribbean ocean took me to one of the most beautiful islands I’ve set foot on – Isla Mujeres! It’s here where my love for Dolphins developed; these creatures are amazing and so incredibly intelligent.
For anyone that’s scared of doing this, believe me when I say there’s nothing to be scared of, as soon as I got into the water the friendly nature of the Dolphins just took any fearful nerves away. There’s various packages to pick from I went for the ‘Dolphin Swim Adventure’ which lasts around 50 minutes with these beautiful marine mammals.
Location: Isla Mujeres, Cancun, Mexico
Price tag: £100 pp
Booking:http://www.dolphindiscovery.com/cancun-islamujeres/cancun-activities-dolphin-swim-adventure.asp
Hotel location: Beach Palace, Cancun
Top tips: Negotiate a deal on your professional pictures; we got all of ours on a CD for around £40
3. Dunn’s River Falls (Ocho Rios, Jamaica)
If you’re an adventurer and like the feeling of accomplishment then Dunn’s River falls is definitely one for your bucket list! You can get to Dunn’s River falls in different ways, but I preferred by Catamaran (got to top my tan up on the way.)
On board the catamaran overlooking the crystal clear waters
The falls stand at around 600 feet, which is pretty impressive right? But what really makes this an UNFORGETTABLE experience is that you get to climb the falls from the very bottom, all the way up to the top!
Making your way through the vertical sections of the falls is not an easy climb, and I wasn’t prepared for some of the hideous spiders and stuff I saw on the way. The fall water is really fresh and kind of cold, but it’s supposed to do wonders for your skin so I wasn’t complaining. It’s a crazy adventure getting to the top but there’s some incredible picture taking opportunities which I took full advantage of! Definitely a must if you’re visiting Jamaica!
Location: Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Price tag: £70pp
Booking:http://chukka.com/book-jamaica/ocho-rios/details/57560/jmocho-catamaran-experience-wlunch-ocho-rios/
Hotel Location: Gran Bahia Principe, Runaway Bay
Top tips: Take a water proof camera for all your pics, and wear water shoes for the climb up. They have some professional guides that take pictures, if you decide to buy these make sure you negotiate we paid around £20 for a CD with all pics on!
4. Chukka Horseback Ride N’ Swim (Runaway Bay, Jamaica)
As you can probably tell by my post, Jamaica has so much to offer and there’s something really exotic about horse riding across the Caribbean ocean (maybe that’s because it is!) Taking in the breathtaking views of Jamaica, whilst riding a horse gave this fun filled adventure that extra edge.
Although you can’t tell by the pictures, I was really scared at first because I’ve never ridden a horse before, but the guys at Chukka were great and made me feel at ease. The whole ride lasted around 4 hours with the first couple of hour’s ridding on land, then finishing off in the Caribbean ocean.
Location: Ocho Rios (Near Runaway Bay)
Price tag: £50pp
Booking: http://excursionsinjamaica.com/index.php?option=com_rsform&Itemid=159
Hotel location: Gran Bahia Principe, Runaway Bay
Top tip: Take a waterproof camera and tip one of the tour guides to take all your pics for free!
5. Bob Marley’s Birth Village (Nine Mile, Jamaica)
I have to start this one by saying, whether you’re a Bob Marley fan or not you NEED to do this! I love Bob Marley’s music, and visiting this tranquil village of his birth home and final resting place; Nine Mile was an inspiring experience. It was so moving to see where Bob Marley’s journey started and so powerfully influenced his music.
The whole experience is like a music pilgrimage, especially going into Bob Marley’s bedroom, the one he famously sings about in “is this love” (‘We’ll share the shelter of my single bed; We’ll share the same room – Jah provide the bread. Is this love – is this love – is this love -Is this love that I’m feelin’) love this song!
Entrance to Bob Marley’s bedroom
The inspirational mount zion rock is still there, where Bob Marley meditated regularly and wrote a lot of his songs.
At the top of Mount Zion is the entrance to Bob Marley’s tomb stone – Jah Bless
Clearly there are some things I can’t discuss on this post about the experience at Nine Mile. But if you go you’ll know what I mean…! Oh and what’s great is at the end of the tour you get to go to an authentic jerk center for a bit of finger lick’ in jerk chicken.
Location: Nine Mile located in Saint Ann’s, Jamaica
Price tag: £45pp
Booking: http://www.thomson.co.uk/destinations/attraction/Lucea/Reggae-With-A-View-993196
Hotel Location: Gran Bahia Principe, Runaway Bay
Top tip: The guides are pretty firm about a ‘no photo’ policy; you just need to be a little sneaky in your photo taking strategy hehe.
So there you have it, my must do bucket list experience from around the world! I hope you enjoyed my first travel post.
I would love to hear your views and comments on my top bucket lists above. Don’t forget to share my post with anyone going to any of these amazing places, and could do with some inspo.
Whenever I travel next, I’ll be keeping my blog up to date so if you enjoyed this post – see you on the next journey!
Poonam x
Great blog!