30 Things to Do Before 30

Yesterday marks the day that Michael officially transitioned from a twenty-something dude to a man in his thirties. Yikes! I mean, YAY! {insert crowd applause here} In honor of his three, glorious decades on our fine planet, I’m lighting a fire under your butt. Said fire is to encourage you to remove your tush from your chair and check some boxes off your get-er-done list, because time waits for no one. Getting older is a good, nay, GREAT, but it can make some aspects of travel a little more challenging. So while you’ve still got some pep in your step, can handle a few falls, and have the guts to rough it, you might as well make your younger years count!

Don’t have a list? Fret not my dears. Let this 30 Things to Do/See Before 30 be your guide. Happy travels!

1. Trek 26 miles along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu.
2. Eat an entire meal consisting only of things made with bacon.
3. Pretend to be a street performer, then run away when people start gathering around you.
4. Take an overnight train and catch a few winks in a sleeper car.

5. Rent a motorcycle (in Batanes).
6. Do your laundry in a sink.
7. Go to the highest point of something and yell as loud as you can.
8. Sneak into an overpriced attraction.
9. Get up close with an endangered animal.

10. Skydive.
11. Search for the Northern Lights, and hopefully find them!
12. Skip public transit and walk everywhere.
13. Don’t get a room. Spend a night under the stars sleeping on a beach or in the park then watch the sun come up.

14. Eat street meat.
15. Rent a room from a stranger (try Airbnb).
16. Can’t read the menu?  Order blindly.
17. Hike the Path of the Gods along the Amalfi Coast.
18. Take 24+ hours to get somewhere.

19. Stay up all night in Las Vegas.
20. Go off the grid.
21. Stay in a unique abode (trullo, caravan, chalet, tiny house, etc).
22. Take a photo of yourself doing something daring (i.e. too close to the edge!).
23. Swim with sharks (or whale sharks, the gentler giant).

24. Eat banana pancakes to your heart’s content in Thailand.
25. Run with the bulls in Pamplona.
26. Follow your feet, not a map, and let yourself get lost.
27. Live on $5 a day.

28. Take a peek at the Red Light District in Amsterdam, then get some Dutch apple pie.
29. Use the phrase, “I’ll have what she’s having,”  and actually mean it.
30. Make friends with a stranger, and spend the day with them.
31. and just one more (for good measure)… Conquer a fear.