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Here they are… my Top 5 Destinations

February 17, 2020 / 39 Comments

Are you looking for the best, most amazing, sure-fire bucket list destination for that once in a lifetime trip?? Who isn’t, right? I get asked often where was my favorite place I’ve traveled to. To be honest, it’s really hard to name a single destination or even the top three, but I’ve decided to narrow it down to MY TOP 5 in this blog post.

Firstly, I would say it all depends on what you like to see and do on vacation. I adore the active, adventurous kind of trips, so these are the ones that make the top of my list. There’s something special about going to a place that looks and feels like another world, so foreign to what we know and surroundings that awaken all of our senses.

So here are my top five in no particular order of preference as they were all equally AMAZING.

MALDIVES

I rarely return to the same place but this one is an exception. I’ve been to the Maldives three times and three years in a row (2009, 2010, & 2011)! However, we went to three different islands each time.

For two of the trips, we stayed in a water bungalow with our own private deck on the water and even a glass floor where we could watch the fish below us. How neat is that?! Here is a link to my Facebook album for the trip in 2010.

our water bungalow view on the island of Vakarufalhi

The Maldives islands are located in the Indian Ocean and are an archipelago of 1,192 coral islands grouped into 26 coral atolls with 200 inhabited islands and 97 islands with tourist resorts.

our seaplane view of Vakarufalhi Island where we stayed the 3rd time in 2011

For each trip, we flew into the capital of Male and then took a small boat or seaplane to reach our Gilligan-like island for a one week stay. Seriously, the place reminded me of the deserted island in the popular 1960s t.v. show Gilligan’s Island (loved that show)!

This was the beach bar on Fihalhohi Island from the 2nd trip in 2010

One thing you need to know about the Maldives, especially the smaller quaint islands we stayed on, is that there is not a whole lot to do. It’s the ultimate relax and unwind kind of place.

that’s me swinging without a care in the world 🙂

We did, however, do lots of snorkeling (one of the best in the world in my opinion) right off the island with amazing house reefs, kayaking, windsurfing, water skiing, fishing, and spa massages treatments.

We would do daily beach walks around the island outer perimeter which would take a total of 20 minutes! Can you even imagine an island so small?? The water and beaches were gorgeous and the weather was always good. And yes, I would definitely return here again!

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS (Ecuador)

one of my pictures of the Sally Lightfoot crabs

This was a faraway trip from Switzerland but it was totally worth the long journey to see this magical place. If you like wildlife, especially the kind you don’t normally see in most places in the world, then you will LOVE this spot.

We visited four of the total 13 islands (San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, Floreana, and Isabela) by taking a boat and staying in hotels on each island.

land iguanas
lazy land iguanas on Isabela Island

Our many activities during the two-week organized tour (with Galakiwi, the best!) included biking, snorkeling with sea lions, sharks, and marine iguanas, walking the pristine beaches with land iguanas all around us, kayaking with sea lions and fairy penguins swimming alongside us, hiking a huge volcano crater rim, and boating along with dolphins swimming and jumping beside us.

greeted by a land iguana as we arrived on the island of Floreana
the Blue-footed Booby – so cool!

We learned about and saw the many varied animal species including sea lions, penguins, land and marine iguanas, sharks, bright red Sally Lightfoot crabs, giant tortoises up to 100 years old, blue-footed boobies, frigates, flamingos, and many other different kinds of birds.

As I am such a nature lover and enjoy outdoor physical activities, the Galapagos experience was indescribable.

We walked along the edge of the massive Santa Cruz volcano

It’s also a very educational trip for youngsters to learn about the theory of Darwin and the interesting history of these Ecuadorian islands. Check out my dedicated page and video of this trip as well as more pics in my Facebook photo album.

ICELAND

Iceland is incredible and exceeded my expectations. We loved everything about this place, including its many waterfalls with stunning rainbows, lunar type landscapes, iceberg lakes, black sand beaches, gorgeous Icelandic horses and cute Icelandic sheep, bursting hot geysers, crater lakes, majestic mountains, and the very cute and colorful capital town of Reykjavik.

at the beautiful Skogafass Fall

One thing is for sure… you won’t get bored here. So much to see and visit, it’s hard to squeeze it all in.

the lush canyon of Kirkjubæjarklaustur

One thing I especially liked about Iceland was the lack of people. Sure, there are many tourists in the well-known spots, but you can drive for miles without seeing another soul.

Jökulsárlón-Glacier lagoon

This place makes my top list due to its landscape uniqueness, amazing nature, fresh clean air, and wide-open spaces!

Goðafoss Waterfall

If you haven’t seen it, I shared an overview and our video of Iceland here and my Iceland bubble hotel experience here.

Kirkjufell Mountain

You can see my full photo album here on Facebook.

this was my signature pose in all my Iceland photos 🙂

SRI LANKA

On one of the safaris during our two week trip in Sri Lanka

This is one place I never imagined going to, mainly because I hadn’t heard much about it or thought for some reason it was dangerous. I’m glad I finally ventured here in December 2017.

standing on top of Sigiriya Rock

Why did it make my top list you ask? It stood out because of the varied landscapes (mountains, rolling hills, flatlands, and beaches), the fascinating temples and monuments, and the many fun activities including surfing, white water rafting, safaris, cooking class, fresh market shopping, whale watching, train rides, and visiting tea plantations.

loved all the wild monkeys everywhere we went

You can find more pictures in my Facebook album and on the Sri Lanka page.

in the south near Weligama

VIETNAM

And last, but not least on my top 5 list is the interesting country of Vietnam! We spent 2 weeks in November 2014 visiting the north (Hanoi), center (Hoi An), and south part (Ho Chi Minh).

On our Junk boat drifting down the Mekong

We did an organized trip through Islandhopping.com which was a combination of sleeping in hotels and boats with many daily biking trips.

this was a very cool floating village

I found Vietnam intriguing with the gorgeous landscape, lovely people, and interesting culture. We saw the remote countryside as well as the crowded cities but loved it all.

Some of our activities included seeing a water puppet show, canal boat trips, visiting temples, cooking class, kayaking caves, and eating lots of yummy Vietnamese food!

beautiful colored lamps in Hoi An town

Here is a link to my Facebook album from that trip and more details and a video on my Vietnam page.

overlooking Halong Bay after a tough hike to the top

AND THE RUNNERS UP ARE…

I have to at least mention the other places that were very close to making my top 5 list. There are Costa Rica, Norway, and Canada! Check out my pages on those countries.

And now I’m curious about what destinations would be in your top 5! Let us all know by leaving a comment below. We all want to build our Bucket List!

If you are looking for assistance to plan your next trip, I am here for YOU! I love to plan travel itineraries for myself and others. For more details on how I provide this service, please check out my Itinerary Planning page and drop me a quick email at jan@janadventures.com to get started!

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