250 Best Retirement Bucket List Ideas & Epic things to Do
This retirement bucket list will inspire you to dream, plan, and find purpose in building your wealth.
Why You Need a Bucket List
Do you ever feel like you’re stuck in the ho-hum of everyday life? A few years ago, I had a random bookstore conversation with a 20-something who planned to retire and live adventurously in his 30s.
Hours after, I kept thinking about the fire in his eyes. His dreams were like an electrical storm, crackling with intensity. It got me to question my own tired and weary beliefs. And dream a bit brighter too.
So, do you have to wait until you retire? Heck no!
Weave these epic retirement bucket list ideas into vacations, sabbaticals, or a beautifully adventurous lifestyle. After all, you only live once. Make it count friend.
Grab the free pdf template at the end to begin building your retirement bucket list!
Travel Bucket List Ideas
First, use these travel destinations for inspiration.
1. Spend Mardis Gras in New Orleans
2. Stroll in downtown Charleston, South Carolina
3. Drink wine in Tuscany, Italy
4. See the Egyptian pyramids
5. Go to a Broadway show in New York
6. Walk or bike across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
7. Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef, Australia
8. See the ancient city of Petra, Jordan
9. Visit Stonehenge, England
10. Walk the Great Wall of China
11. Take an Alaskan Cruise
12. Learn about the American Revolution in Boston, Massachusetts
13. Attend the International Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico
14. See the Eiffel Tower, Paris
15. Horseback in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado
16. Visit all 7 continents
17. Set sights on the Taj Mahal, India
18. See Buckingham Palac in London, England
19. Visit Machu Picchu, Peru
20. Go on a safari in Zimbabwe
21. See the breathtaking mountains in Switzerland
22. Explore the Grand Canyon, Arizona
23. See the Redwoods in California
24. Zip line in Costa Rica
25. See Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park
26. Look for the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland.
27. Visit every national park in the United States
28. Tour a vineyard in Napa Valley
29. Visit the Space Center in Houston Texas
30. Go to a Japanese tea ceremony in Kyoto.
31. Wander along the coasts of Ireland
32. Walk the beaches in Tahiti
33. See the world’s tallest building in Dubai
34. Adventure in South Island, New Zealand
35. Try out San Diego’s Southern California charm
Related:
Adventure Retirement Activities
These retirement bucket list ideas will make you feel vibrant and alive.
36. Get a tattoo
37. Go whale watching
38. Ride in a helicopter
39. Swim in all four oceans
40. Drive a race car
41. Take a hot air balloon ride
42. Take a motorcycle road trip across the US
43. Take a cooking master class
44. Tour a haunted house
45. Go skinny dipping
46. Stand on an active volcano
47. Learn how to fly a plane
48. Learn to drive a stick shift
49. Learn how to sail
50. Learn self-defense (or martial arts)
51. Learn a foreign language
52. Learn a new instrument
53. Haggle in a market
54. Swim with dolphins
55. Go truffle hunting in
56. Attend a Wimbledon match.
57. Visit a coffee farm and learn about coffee
58. See your favorite singer in concert
59. Experience the symphony
60. Go to a rooftop bar with live music
61. Walk inside an igloo
62. Go snorkeling
63. Go scuba diving
64. Walk on hot coals
65. Attend a live TED TALK
Related: Motivating Save Money Phrases
Retirement Bucket List Challenges
Challenge yourself and get out of your comfort zone.
66. Read all the great classics
67. Challenge yourself to read a book a week for a year
68. Run a marathon
69. Do a Polar Plunge
70. Do a 30 day declutter challenge
71. Go ghost for a while (by getting off your digital devices for a set time or finding a cabin in the woods to reconnect with nature)
72. Hike a mountain
73. Learn to surf
74. Learn to navigate with only a map and compass. (I watched my son do this for Boy Scouts. It was awesome!)
75. Devote one year to learning a new sport (golf, pickleball, etc.)
76. Solve a Rubik’s cube
77. Learn how to code
78. Learn Chess
79. Set a Guinness World Record
80. Learn CPR
81. Publish a book
82. Complete a money saving challenge
83. Wake up before the sunrise every morning (See: Millionaire Morning Routine Ideas)
84. Introduce yourself to someone new every day for a month
85. Visit a new place once a week for a year
Fun Things To Do When You Retire
Don’t take yourself too seriously!
86. Be a contestant on a game show.
87. Create a family cookbook
88. See an old school drive-in movie
89. Learn to juggle
90. Jump in a pool with your clothes on
91. Get a palm reading done
92. Win a “best ugly sweater” award
93. Take photos of a changing season in nature
94. Jump off a diving board
95. Create a wine collection or wine cellar
96. Become an extra in a movie
97. Dance in the rain
98. Get a live Christmas tree
99. Crash a wedding
100. Jump in a taxi and shout “follow that car!”
Related: Fun Money Saving Games
Meaningful Retirement Bucket List
Next, use these things to do when you retire to help others and stay purposeful.
101. Leave a $100 tip
102. Rescue or adopt an animal
103. Sponsor a child
104. Re-connect with an old friend (or family member)
105. Volunteer (local library, cleaning up trash, youth groups, etc.)
106. Start a charitable foundation
107. Plant a tree in someone’s honor
108. Mentor
109. Meet someone you admire
110. Write a thank you note to someone every day for a month
111. Give away your favorite book to 5 friends
112. Help someone else with their bucket list
113. Forgive someone you need to forgive
114. Start a business that brings out your passion
115. Make friends with 10 new people
Related:
Romantic Couples Ideas
116. Go camping together and watch the sunrise.
117. Renew your vows in Las Vegas
118. Have a makeout session under the Northern Lights
119. Ride a gondola in Venice, Italy
120. Hold hands while walking on the beach
121. Go on a wine (or beer, whiskey, coffee, etc.) tour through your nearby city
122. Visit a quaint bed and breakfast
123. Learn to cook your partner’s favorite meal
124. Learn to write your partner a love note in another language
125. Take salsa dancing lessons
126. Take waltzing lessons
127. Find the most scenic hiking locations in your city
128. Create a Saturday night stargazing picnic ritual
129. Re-create your first date (or honeymoon)
130. Go on an axe-throwing date (Or try a wine and painting date)
Related: Great Couples Side Hustles
Food Retirement Bucket List
131. Learn how to make sushi
132. Take a street food tour
133. Try every kind of style of pizza. Decide on the best (Chicago, NY, etc.)
134. Learn about molecular gastronomy
135. Eat an (edible) insect
136. Make your own pizza (and throw the dough!)
137. Brew your own beer (or make wine)
138. Create a signature cocktail (name it after your favorite thing)
139. Eat lobster from Maine
140. Bake a pie from scratch
141. Eat gelato in Italy
142. Choose one cookbook and cook every item in it
143. Compare the best barbecue from different places in the U.S.
Not your thing? Compare the best coffee, wine, hot dogs, etc. Pick what you are interested in and make it a taste-testing tour!
144. Dine at a Michelin-star restaurant.
145. Find your favorite sushi place
146. Try frog legs
147. Try English fish & chips
148. Taste chocolate of the highest quality
149. Eat a beautiful French pastry
150. Eat fish that you catch yourself
151. Drink out of a coconut
152. Make pasta from scratch
153. Try cuisine from every continent
154. Make a recipe that your ancestors used to make
155. Eat at a farm-to-table restaurant
156. Try Baklava
157. Get room service from a fancy hotel
158. Can or preserve something
159. Eat at a restaurant with a sensational view
160. Eat paella
Related:
Big Ticket Retirement Bucket List Ideas
Next, these ideas might cost you a pretty penny. But they’ll be worth it!
161. Attend a black-tie event
162. Go to the World Series
163. Go to the Superbowl
164. Attend an Olympics or World Cup event
165. See a famous ballet
166. Restore classic cars
167. Invest in a rental property (or 10)
168. Collect fine art
169. Invest in (or buy) a vacation home
170. Fly first class
171. Sit front row at a concert or sporting game
172. Name a star
173. Explore a rainforest
174. Go on a cruise
175. Visit all 50 states
Related: Best Quality Vs Quantity Ideas
Things to Do With Family
176. Wow your kids and grandkids with a magic trick
177. Host a fancy tea party
178. Put together a water balloon family war
179. Create a community garden with your extended family
180. Make family photo books with your grandkids
181. Teach your grandkids about investing
182. Make a secret handshake with your grandkids
183. Rent a place on the beach for your family every year
184. Host Sunday night supper where everyone’s invited
185. Read aloud a book with your grandkids. Then, watch the movie together
186. Build an epic living room fort with your grandkids
187. Walk a marathon! Go 26 miles in a weekend by splitting it up between people. Enlist the whole family!
188. Teach your grandkids how to make your favorite recipes
189. Start a foodfight
190. Create a family time capsule
191. Build a giant sand castle
192. Create a family motto or logo
193. Complete a 1000 piece puzzle.
194. Photobomb your grandkids
195. Write a memoir
196. Run through sprinklers
197. Spend a day taking beautiful natural pictures with your grandkids
198. Take your grandkids to something that interests them (a planetarium if they love stars, etc.)
199. Teach your kids a childhood recipe
200. Take your grandkids on a milestone trip or coming-of-age trip
Related:
Health and Wellness Ideas
201. Get a professional massage
202. Meditate regularly
203. Go on a meditation or yoga retreat
204. Try a social media or news detox
205. Journal 3 things you’re grateful for daily
206. Design a room in your home you adore
207. Eat 3 salads a week
208. Create a consistent exercise routine
209. Walk 10,000 steps a day
210. Relax in a hammock with a good book for a day
211. Go vegetarian (or Paleo, Keto, etc.)
212. Participate in a themed or charity walk
213. Walk in nature every day for a week
214. Get into bike riding (set a monthly goal for miles)
215. Go to a yoga retreat
216. Soak in a Turkish or mud bath
217. Relax in a sensory deprivation tank
218. Make a beautiful vision board
219. Try cupping therapy
220. Take yourself out on a picnic
221. Create a relaxing music playlist of your favorite songs
222. Find a favorite candle
223. Send yourself flowers
224. Schedule your yearly checkups ahead of time
225. Spend one morning a week wandering in nature, with only a notebook and pen.
Related: Best Financial Wellness Tips
Unique Retirement List Ideas
Finally, you’ll love these retirement bucket list activities that are creative and different.
226. Create a personal art gallery. Take up the hobby of painting or drawing and then display your work in a special room.
227. Become a beekeeper
228. Build a home library
229. Go to a book signing of your favorite author
230. Stand in two states at once. (One leg in each state!)
231. Learn to throw knives
232. Attend a Renaissance festival
233. Watch a space shuttle launch
234. Witness a solar eclipse
235. Attend a murder mystery dinner
236. Drink a bottle of expensive champagne, wine, or liquor
237. See a foreign film
238. Ride in a horse-drawn carriage
239. Swim with manatees (jellyfish, turtles, etc.)
240. Dog sled
241. Read a banned book
242. Go to a roller derby
243. Get ordained
244. Hike every trail in a state park
245. Send a message in a bottle
246. Learn how to pick a lock
247. Airboat across an alligator swamp
248. Go on a police ride-along
249. Walk on a black sand beach
Free Template Retirement Bucket List
What’s Next?
Build your nest egg with these articles!
