If you were able to read Part 1 of our Dream Destinations – Collaboration series, you will have seen a variety of bloggers highlighing some of their favorite locations around the world that they aspire to visit.
We are continuing this featured series with another collection of great destinations that I am sure many of you will also dream of visiting one day!
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the travelers that have shared their dreams with us and we hope that you all get to fulfil these some day soon!
Afghanistan – The Crowded Planet
People always think I’m weird when I tell them my dream destination is Afghanistan. When I was a child, I used to own a book of flags that listed all the countries in alphabetical order, and Afghanistan was always at the top of the list.
On top of that, one of my favourite books is Rudyard Kipling’s Kim, and I love the passage about the Khyber Pass. As a child, I was convinced I would stand on it one day, and it still is one of my ultimate travel ambitions.
I would love to visit Afghanistan for two reasons; to explore the mountains and learn about the country’s culture. The first time I saw a picture of the Hindu Kush mountain range I couldn’t believe my eyes; I thought it was the most beautiful landscape I had ever seen.
I wanted to go to Afghanistan so much that I very nearly accepted a job there, backing out only when I was told that for security reasons it would have been impossible for me to walk around without military escort. For the time being, visiting Afghanistan will continue to be my dream.
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Bora Bora – Carmen’s Travel Tips
Since I live in South Florida with a tropical climate, many people would be surprised to hear that my dream destination is Bora Bora. There is something really appealing to me about being able to jump right off the deck of my bungalow and plunge into totally still turquoise waters.
The island’s isolation in the South Pacific makes for both a serene and stunning vacation. It’s one of the most picturesque destinations in the world. Bora Bora has an even tropical climate and ridiculously crystal clear waters. They have lush mountain peaks with views that go on forever. There are unbelievable sunsets that people say have to be seen to be believed.
Finally, there’s that dreamy name: Bora Bora. It just sounds so relaxed and exotic. This is why Bora Bora sits at the top of my list of dream destinations.
I’m looking forward to the day I can go. I’m hopeful that my husband will surprise me for my 50th (hint, hint).
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Iceland – The Trusted Traveller
I don’t even need to think about my number one dream destination. It’s without a doubt Iceland. I’ve been pining over Iceland for years now and even had myself booked to go there two years ago but it fell through due to personal reasons.
From the pictures I have seen and what I have read about it, it’s landscapes and attractions are out of this world and unlike anything I have ever seen before. I’d love to do a road trip around the ring road that circles the island, stopping whenever I see something amazing which I imagine that will be a lot!
Visiting during the colder months is a must for me. It’s always been a dream of mine to see the Northern Lights and Iceland is one of the best places to see them. Plus coming from Sydney where it never gets even close to being cold enough for snow, it’s a novelty I love to indulged in whenever I get the chance.
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Maldives – Green With Renvy
A dream destination means something different to everyone. For me, it conjures up the notion of a place I’ve always wanted to visit but perhaps will never get the chance. Something I can experience only in a dream.
Located in the Indian Ocean, you can choose an island from the more than 1200 square miles that make up this location. Many of the resorts are eco-friendly and sustainable. Soothing spa treatments, overwater bungalows and dining on ocean to table seafood make for a serene dreamy journey’s end. I can almost taste the lime, coconut and fresh tuna served with a thin Nan like bread-oh my!
Nighttime brings a beat on the body beri drums creating rhythms from the Dhivehi culture. And then gentle lapping waves are the only sounds you hear as you drift off to sleep. White, coral sand beaches and glorious underwater reefs, yes, this is the Maldives, my dream destination.
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Orient Express – Adventures of a Carry On
I’ve always loved train travel; the convenience and the possibility of booking a ticket at the last minute, or changing your mind and staying an extra day or two with no penalties. Therefore, my dream destination is not so much about a place as an experience. I want to travel in the lap of luxury on the famous Orient Express.
I’d start in Paris and travel to Istanbul via Budapest and Bucharest. I’ve never been to any of the cities on this route and they are all on my bucket list. With beautiful art deco details throughout the train and five star dining, the Orient Express is, to me, the epitome of romance and adventure. And that’s what travel is all about.
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We have yet again been privileged to feature a number of awesome Dream Destinations.
Do you want to feature? If so, send us an e-mail to admin@abritandasoutherner and we would be delighted to feature you among a variety of other great travelers!
Thanks for featuring me guys! I’m in great company.
Cheers Jen, we appreciate you taking the time to contribute to this great collaboration!
Thank you for letting me be part of your dream destination series. All of these other places on the list look fascinating.
There really are some cool spots here aren’t there? Thanks so much Carmen for taking the time to contribute to this post!
Thanks for including me in the feature-it’s great fun to see everyone’s interpretation of “dream destination”. Would love the chance to visit all of them!
Alison, we appreciate you taking the time to contribute to this great collaboration. As you correctly pointed out there are so many amazing destinations here that would be great to explore. If we could all just find the time and money…well life would be way too easy I guess 🙂
Afghanistan is an impressive goal. I hope Margherita gets to achieve it. That would be one amazing trip.
I would LOVE to do the Orient Express one day!
I definitely agree with you Jennifer about Afghanistan. I was very surprised when I saw this but figured it was a great addition to a unique collaboration of destinations.
I’d love to visit the Maldives one day!
We actually looked into visiting the Maldives last year but the cost of visiting there put us off at the time, pretty much comparable with Bora Bora but I guess the reality is that you have to pay for ultimate luxury!
Great list! I’d love to go to Bora Bora one day… That can be done on a budget, right?
You can try your best Krista! We would love to go there sometime. Honestly here is the best way that I have found to get there. Whenever you are taking a trip to Australia or NZ, book a flight from there to Papeete, Tahiti and then a direct flight from there to either Bora Bora or Moorea. That seems to be the cheapest way to get there at least from either UK or USA. But then of course you have to find the money for those gorgeous overwater bungalows 🙂
Thanks for featuring me along so many inspiring travellers. I love the idea of the Orient Express especially. As I know we’ll never be able to fork out the price for the luxury train, a few years ago we did a DIY Orient Express, from Italy via Venice and all the way down the Balkans, finishing in Istanbul. I was in tears when I saw the Bosphorus from my train window.
You are NOT weird. My 9 year old daughter’s dream trip is Iraq…hope she gets there someday.
Wow Jen that is a strange one but hey that may just go to show that your daughter has her eyes set on traveling all around the world, even to the most unique spots that most folks are not interested in exploring. I am convinced that beyond the war, terror and negative media exposure these nations receive, there are some parts of the country that are beautiful. The reality is though that the majority of us will never find out because our fear levels are too high to visit these places.
Thank you so much for taking the time to participate in this great collaboration. Wouldn’t it be so cool to take any train ride around different countries? Aside from the Orient Express I would be interested to hear what other routes folks would like to take but maybe that is for a different collaboration 🙂 Personally the Great Canadian Railway sounds pretty awesome but I wouldn’t say no to any that take in a variety of different countries etc.
Reading through everyone’s dream destinations has given me a huge case of wanderlust.
That is exactly the point of these types of posts Brianna – to give folks inspiration to get out there and travel the world!
I would join any blogger on their journey. 😀 The Maldives are beautiful. Been there three years ago and I´m a huge fan of Bora Bora.
Very envious of you Christina that you were able to visit the Maldives a few years ago. Bora Bora would be the ultimate in luxury travel I am sure. I think Bob made a great point though for anyone considering visiting the Maldives that the reality is that they may be slowly disappearing due to rising sea levels and in a few years time, even during our lifetime, they may no longer be an option!
Definitely Afghanistan would be my choice! is not as easy for a solo female traveler but not impossible…Especially after reading A thousand Splendid suns by Khaled Hosseini (also author of the famous The kite runner), book that taught me much more than anything I knew about Afghanistan before!
Thanks for this additional information Elena! I know that solo travel for females is for the most part more difficult than their male counterparts but just as you stated, anything is possible if you really want to achieve your goals.
I’d love to visit all of these places but I love that Afghanistan is on the list!
I agree with you completely Ashley that its so nice to see a diverse collaboration here. Whenever I asked folks to send over their Dream Destinations, I could never have imagined just how diverse people would be. It just goes to show how different we all are and that is what makes such a great post!
Afghanistan has always fascinated me, so I’m with Margherita. I’d like to visit the Maldives as well, primarily because they’re disappearing. The likelihood that they’ll be underwater in our lifetime is quite great.
Very true Bob about the Maldives. It would be nice to see them at least once in your lifetime.
What a great idea and series!! It’s sooooo hard to choose just one place, but if I absolutely had to, it’d be Norway. Norway with an unlimited budget!
I’ll second Iceland! Would love to go there… have been to Greenland a couple of times and enjoyed it, but I suspect Iceland offers a little more variety what with the geysers and greater accessibility around and about. One day, one day… 🙂
I can completely understand why Iceland would be so many peoples dream destination! It was like a dream come true when we went! We hired a big fat hummer and drove around the ring road over the Easter holidays. Not only did we see wild horses, glaciers, geysirs and icebergs! We also saw the Northern Lights too! Simply amazing!
My dream destination would be a safari in Africa. I have worked for 2 Africa travel specialists and have sold Botswana, Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania to many a traveller but have never got the chance to go….its our dream place! Everyone who has been says its the best thing ever…
Wow so many places to choose from here. I love the idea of going to Bora Bora but like Bob has said because those luxury little Islands in the Maldives are disappearing at such a rapid rate I think when our budget can finally afford it they might be the first stop – they are just so expensive! We price it up and then realise we can travel for a whole year else where for the same cost!
I also LOVE the idea of the orient express. I really want to do the trans siberian at some point!
I’ve only managed one place on this list so far – the catalogue of places I want to visit seems endless!
Hi Karen, we all seem to have a list that is rapidly growing but I think that’s ok because without an aspiring travel list we would have no idea where to begin!
So nice to see unusual destinations, such as Afghanistan, make the list. I also love the Orient Express 😀
Definitely agree with you Rashad! It’s crazy to see how much of a diverse range of destinations we receive for this collaboration.
Great post, I love the idea of collaborating with other bloggers like this! Iceland is definitely one of my dream destinations, too 🙂
Thanks Emily, we are proud to have hosted so many great bloggers in this series with many more to come hopefully 🙂
Great post some of these places I have been to and some of them I am still dying to see. I may have to think twice may 3 or 6 times before heading to Afghanistan.
I have to say that I am still with you Bianca on Afghanistan, I am still not convinced but fair play to anyone that goes there! These types of posts really make you start ‘dreaming’ about visiting all corners of the world for sure.
Iceland is on my list but having seen the post on Afghanistan I am tempted! I would also love the Orient Express – the thought of travelling a route that so many others have done and then arriving in Istanbul – heaven!
We are heading to Iceland in December en route to a European tour of a few countries. We are really excited about heading there as there are so many cool attractions. Four days will not likely be enough to see everything but at least it will give us a glimpse of what Iceland has to offer. I am still not totally convinced on Afghanistan but as I have mentioned in another comment, looking beyond the war and issues that this country has, I am sure there is a lot of hidden beauty worth exploring.
I would love to travel to Bora Bora! I feel the place is so unique and has so much to offer. It is my idea of a picture perfect paradise!!
If only it wasn’t so darn expensive to get there Constance! But I guess that just adds to the luxury value and makes it even more secluded.
Oh wow Afghanistan would be interesting … who knows one day!
One of the surprise Dream Destinations for sure right 🙂 I wonder if ‘one day’ Afghanistan will become a haven for tourism, who knows….I am sure stranger things have happened!
A great idea and wonderful collaboration! So interesting to read about the dream destination of such great bloggers. My favorite would be Afghanistan as well. I have a friend who works there as a volunteer (on women’s right) and I feel so small and meaningless when hearing her stories, it would be great to give something back.
As for my other dream destinations: Namibia, the Marquesas islands and Iceland. One day… 🙂
Great to hear so many success stories Nina of folks who head to these types of countries such as Afghanistan and do so much good for the world. I also have a friend who is based in a Chinese province and they are looking to expand to either Kazakhstan or Afghanistan to help some of the orphan children and mothers who have currently no chance of making a living.
You also have a great collection of other dream destinations! If you would like to feature in a future post, please let me know and shoot us an e-mail! We would be delighted to feature you.
I liked the first part of this post series and it’s not different with this post either. Love reading about people’s dream destinations, I would have never guessed Afghanistan for example as one of them. You can always learn interesting personal opinions from posts like this! Looking forward to the continuation of this series!
Another great piece that has me “dreaming”! 🙂 Bora Bora sounds perfect right now as I’m looking out my window at clouds and wind. And my son and I were just talking last night about taking a train trip and hadn’t thought about the Orient Express. New things to add to my bucket list. It’s also fun to have met a couple new bloggers!
Love all of these dream destinations! I would love to take the orient express! Train travel just feels like you are stepping back into another time plus all the stops are amazing!
Another great destination list. I highly recommend Iceland for anyone that loves the outdoors!
Ohhh Afghanistan! Now that was was a surprise. Great goals, I hope you all reach them.
I really love this series. Iceland and Bora Bora would be amazing!
Cheers Kristen! We are so excited about heading to Iceland in December…Bora Bora, well that will have to wait a couple more years but definitely a Dream Destination 🙂
This was a very lovely read! I will have to go check out the other ones too. I find it really interesting to hear what other people’s dream destinations are and then compare it with my own ones. Also gives me some new ideas for the list! Carmen certainly convinced me on Bora Bora 😀 And I’m even from South Florida too!
I have read a compilation of exotic travel locations you ever visited. you really a true traveler. My armpits never imagine how you could do it. I love it and I want to do as you do, but I do not have the power to it. Exotic locations I’ve ever visited is Gili and Bali in Indonesia. only limited to that. but I love it. thanks for the share. interesting post.