Top 9 Destinations for Your Travel Dream List

We are fortunate to travel more than the average American family, especially a family with young kids. We’ve been to over 40 countries and our travel dream list continues to get longer and longer. It seems like the more places we discover, the more our appetite grows to explore the world. So often, we visit a place and decide to go back again because we loved it so much. Travel is definitely our addiction. As far as addictions go, I’d say traveling is a pretty healthy one. 😉 People often ask us “Where do you recommend for our travel bucket list?” Or “Of all the places you’ve visited, what has been your favorite?”

So we decided to compose a travel dream list of 9 destinations we absolutely adored and think you should visit too. Here are 9 of our favorite places to add to your dream list of travel destinations. Don’t worry about needing to spend a fortune either, because we travel hacked to and/or through each of these locations, which saved us thousands of dollars. In fact, we saved over $271,000 in 2.5 years travel hacking to all of these locations plus more. Read our WTA savings reports for more about how we traveled for free or cheap and how you can too when you visit these dream list destinations!

1. Maldives

The Maldives are at the top of most travel bucket lists. Photos of this paradise make it easy to see why. Between turquoise waters, overwater villas, pristine coral reefs teeming with life, and white sand beaches, what’s not to love? We have been fortunate to visit the Maldives twice already as a couple, and want to return with the kids next time. We checked off staying in an overwater villa in the Maldives at the Park Hyatt Maldives, where we used our World of Hyatt reward nights and points to stay for free. We jumped off our deck into the crystal clear water to go snorkeling with reef sharks, sea turtles, and fish in every color of the rainbow. We also flew there for only $38 on Emirates First Class using points!

2. Japan

Japan has been on our dream list for years and we were so excited to visit with our children during the fall.  We spent 3 days in Tokyo and then took a road trip to Osaka, with stops at Hakone and Kyoto. We were amazed by the ancient temples and stunning architecture and loved the delicious cuisine. Autumn was a great time to visit when the fall foliage was breathtaking. However, visiting Japan in Spring is still on our bucket list to see the beautiful cherry blossoms in bloom. We also want to visit a traditional onsen (hot spring), dress up like a geisha, and take the bullet train across the country next time. Read our Japan savings report to see how we saved $71,000 travel hacking to and through Japan. We used points to get a JAL First Class flight for $18 per person, a free suite at the Park Hyatt Tokyo, a suite for $150 plus points at Grand Hyatt Tokyo, and a suite for $55 and points at Grand Hyatt Osaka.

3. Amalfi Coast

The Amalfi Coast in Italy is one of the most picturesque coastlines in Europe. Each town is built into rocky cliffs and overlooks the stunning Tyrrhenian Sea, part of the Mediterranean. The Amalfi Coast is home to luxurious boutique hotels like Le Sirenuse, where John Steinbeck stayed in the 1950’s and made it famous. We visited in the summer of 2017 and have a return trip planned for summer of 2019 since it was so amazing! A trip to the Amalfi Coast is about relaxing, taking in the epic views, taking a boat ride, and enjoying delicious Italian cuisine. We cannot wait to go back and use our reward nights from Leading Hotels of the World to stay for free at Le Sirenuse! See more of our stunning photos of the Amalfi Coast that will convince you to add it to your travel dream list.

4. Iceland

Iceland is another hugely popular destination and is one of our favorite places in the world! The breathtaking scenery includes moody mountains, icy blue glaciers, magical glacier lagoons, black sand beaches, steaming blue lagoons, and awe-inspiring waterfalls. It is paradise for nature lovers, photographers, and drone owners who can capture spectacular images of the scenery. If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, Iceland has multiple filming locations for the HBO Series that you can visit on your own or on a Game of Thrones tour.

We visited Iceland in the winter and again in the summer and loved both seasons, which offered completely different landscapes. We want to go back again in the winter since we didn’t manage to spot the elusive Northern Lights! We travel hacked in Reykjavik at Radisson but also used AirBnB. If you’ve never used AirBnB before, get $40 off your first trip of $75 or more through our link. The Small Luxury Hotels partnership with Hyatt means that Hotel Ranga in South Iceland may also open up for travel hackers in the near future! Travelers can score cheap flights to Iceland with WOW Air for as low as $69 one-way during sales.

5. Costa Rica

Costa Rica is another country we’ve visited twice but plan to return to because we are such huge fans. It doesn’t hurt that we can stay there for free at the Andaz Peninsula Papagayo using our Hyatt reward nights and World of Hyatt points. Combine that with nearly free (paying taxes and fees only) flights on Southwest Airlines using our Southwest points and Companion Pass, and Costa Rica is a very affordable vacation for us. We visited in summer of 2017 and then went back again to celebrate our anniversary in 2018 with our kids. There are so many adventure bucket list opportunities in Costa Rica, like ziplining, visiting animal sanctuaries, soaking in hot springs, chasing waterfalls, horseback riding, sailing, hiking, and more! Costa Rica is paradise for animal lovers and nature lovers and we can’t wait to go back to explore more of the country.

6. Dubai

We made our first visit to the Middle East on the way to the Maldives when flying Emirates First Class on points, which is based out of Dubai. We weren’t sure if we’d like Dubai, which is not your typical Middle Eastern city. It is the City of Superlatives, with the world’s tallest building, biggest mall, largest dancing fountain, etc. It is also one of the richest cities in the world, and is all about excess, glitz and glamour. We ended up loving Dubai once we found the traditional souks, Dubai Miracle Garden, and Global Village, which is like Dubai’s version of Epcot Center at Disney for a fraction of their cost. Dubai pleasantly surprised us and we’d like to return and discover more of its authentic cultural activities as well as go up in the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. We stayed at the exquisite Park Hyatt Dubai for only $125 plus Hyatt points in a suite.

7. Oman

For a more authentic Middle Eastern experience, we took a 4 hour road trip from Dubai and visited Oman. The sultanate of Oman absolutely blew us away with its sheer beauty, incredibly hospitable people, and cultural richness. We visited in February when the temperatures were perfect, but do not recommend going during the hot season. We enjoyed our first glamping experience in the desert, went rock climbing and abseiling on one of the highest mountains in the Middle East, stayed at Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar on the location princess Diana visited decades ago, and swam in the most beautiful valley we’ve ever seen. Oman is a hidden gem and ever since we left we’ve been thinking about how we’d like to return! Check out our top 5 beautiful places in Oman. Remember that we flew into Dubai for $38 and then drove to Oman, so got there for incredibly cheap. We also used points to stay for free at Grand Hyatt Muscat and a Leading Hotels of the World reward night to stay free at The Chedi, one of the most luxurious resorts in all of Oman.

8. Montenegro

Montenegro is a hidden gem of the Balkans and somewhere we fell in love with immediately. This Eastern European country is home to some of the most beautiful beaches we’ve ever seen on the Mediterranean, walled medieval villages, many historic UNESCO sites, the world’s second longest canyon, Southern Europe’s largest lake, and impressive mountains. Make sure to explore the ancient fortified old town of Kotor, which offers breathtaking views of the Bay of Kotor from the path up to St. John’s Fortress. We splurged on a stay at the luxurious Aman Sveti Stefan, which occupies an ancient walled fishing village on a tiny islet on the Mediterranean. Dress up like Montenegrin royalty on top of Mount Lovcen. Enjoy delicious fresh fresh and local wine at some of the best prices in Europe. There’s so much to love about Montenegro, called the Pearl of the Adriatic, and known for its “wild beauty”. Check out our best photos of Montenegro to inspire you to visit. We flew to Montenegro on points with Turkish Airlines, and then later drove back into the country from Dubrovnik, Croatia.

9. Budapest

Budapest was ranked “World’s Second Best City” by Condé Nast and is full of culture, art, history, romance, and thermal spas. We enjoyed meandering around the historic castle district, with the Fisherman’s Bastion that looks straight out of a Disney film or fairytale. We had time to visit 2 thermal spas– Szechenyi and Gellert. Don’t leave Budapest without enjoying a spa day! It was so blissfully relaxing and surprising affordable for a big European city. We also enjoyed a walking tour, pub crawling with some locals, dinner at a local family’s home, historic cathedrals and so much more! Check out our post about the 20 best things to do in Budapest to see why this city deserves a spot on your travel dream list. We stayed there for free on points at Hilton Castle District, which has stunning views of Parliament and the Danube River. We flew there for only $39 on Lufthansa First Class.

Which location is at the top of your travel dream list?

Which dream destination will you visit first? It’s so hard to pick favorites when we find something we love about everywhere we visit, but these 9 beautiful destinations are high on our list. What other countries are on your travel bucket list? Please share in the comments. To start your journey on how to travel for free or cheap, get our FREE travel hacking checklist.

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