In this post we will be sharing with you our exciting dream 2023 Bucket List for these two seniors traveling! While we are loving our time in Colombia, our visit is coming to an end. The New Year will be here before we know it so it is time to update our ever changing Bucket List for 2023 forward!
Let’s be clear, just because a country is listed on our 2023 Bucket List does not mean it is in stone so it can easily be changed. We like to think that we are very fluid in our travel. The Big Guy says it is more like a Wish List for us & I guess that is a true statement. Even we as seniors traveling know politics change, visa/entry rules change, etc. so if it does, it might effect whether or not we make it to that country.
With every town/country we travel, we have to compare cost of living in that particular place, are the locals nice, can we see ourselves living permanently there? Make sense? But we do like to dream…We are pretty darn sure we will not ever “settle” in some countries but there are things that might draw us there for an extended visit & we have some of those on our new list.
It’s Time to Update our Original Bucket List for International Travel!
It has been quite sometime since we posted our original Bucket List. That list consisted countries we had not previously visited – mostly in Central & South America, Africa & Southeast Asia. We knew at some point we wanted to find our piece of paradise to settle in but we also knew it might not be the first country we land so we wanted alternatives – thus our Bucket List.
Mexico, Ecuador & Colombia were all original need to visit places & each earned the ‘we can live here’ status. So while brain storming for our 2023 Bucket List, these three countries will remain as they all seem to fit the ‘we can live here’ happily!
Peru was not on the original bucket list to travel but we felt as long as we were next door we might as well visit. We stayed three months & although Arequipa was nicer than Lima (to us) neither city met our needs/wants for a permanent home. We met several lovely forever friends in Lima, but the cost of living & cool weather was a turn-off for us. Both had sites that are well worth a visit but definitely not an indefinite stay for us.
Bolivia, Costa Rico & Belize did not make it to our flight plans for this year.
The remaining countries on our original list were Portugal, Africa {no particular country}, SE Asia & China & did not make in our traveling for 2021 or 2022 but Portugal & Uganda will remain on our 2023 Bucket List. Now on to our 2023 Dream Bucket List for these two senior travelers!
Our New & Improved 2023 Dream Bucket List For These Senior Travelers!
Of the utmost importance this year is to get me up & somewhat fluent in Spanish so with that in mind, Spanish speaking countries are top of the list for 2023! Lets get started!
Mexico
We absolutely loved Merida, Mexico. We will end 2022 in Merida & open the new year 2023.
People in Merida immediately made us feel like part of their family & we made some wonderful life long friends that we like to call our extended family. We can’t wait to get back to see our family in Merida. We even started our quest to learn Spanish in Merida – we felt yep this is it.
Than we got to thinking Mexico is a huge country & we only spent time in one area. Maybe Oaxaca & then up to Mexico City to finish out our six months? Nothing in stone. We are waves of a flowing river, constantly moving so we may change the towns we want to visit but for now, this is the plan!
We can stay six months in Mexico without residency so that is a huge plus to our monthly budget! The only con to Mexico is the government is constantly changing the requirements for residency so that is definitely something to consider.
Colombia
We loved everything about Medellin! Three months flew by like it was three weeks. Great temperatures year round, everything is green in nature, friendly to a fault & absolutely fabulous! One of the most budget friendly cities for our senior budget – its a total no brainer that we need another extended stay in Medellin.
I’ve read where Colombia is updating its residency requirements in October so will wait & see if that affects our plans.
Ecuador
We only spent a month in Quito earlier this year & really enjoyed our time there. The locals were very friendly & local restaurants had amazing amuerzos [mid day meal] at a budget friendly price. We didn’t have a bad meal & it was super affordable to eat out daily. Volcanoes, Equator, beautiful historical Cathedrals & building architecture were fabulous. The city was gorgeous, clean & deserves a second visit BUT…
We want to pick out a couple other spots in Ecuador as well as Quito to finish off our time there. More research will be needed to see if we spend part of our Ecuador time in a different city, just haven’t decided where yet.
The only con was higher grocery or shopping items (depending on what you wanted due to import tax).
We can stay in Ecuador 90 days without a visa BUT we could apply for extension to 180 days from our state of residency.
Portugal
Don’t ask me why Portugal came on to our Bucket Lists? I’m thinking a EuroRail pass may be the ticket to see various parts of Portugal as well as connecting countries. I don’t see us living there but it definitely is in constant discussion with The Big Guy that we need to make a trip there & he is almost onboard, since the value of the U.S. dollar is almost equal to the Euro!
What to see in Portugal & where would we land? Lisbon, Porto, Faro, Algarve Coast? We will need to deep dive into where we want to go at some point.
We can stay in Portugal for 90 days so that still fits into our budget travel. Residency requirements are doable for us but again the cost of living would have to fit into our monthly budget so…..
The con would be language as I am making my way through Spanish and Portugese is the native language in Portugal, but I’ve read that English is spoken in some parts of the larger cities?
Bolivia
Bolivia will stay on our list for now but we need to do some due diligence before we plan a trip there. Every country we have visited South of the Border has something to offer but just not sure a trip will be taken there this year.
Salt flats, llamas, plants, etc so I know we would be kept busy for a bit.
The con is a visitor visa that is required for a 30 day visit and would cost $160 USD each. It looks like it can be extended for 90 days & also requires yellow fever vaccination. The Big Guy will probably point out all the many other countries that will allow stays of 90 days or more with a U.S. Passport and $0 entry fee. So Bolivia will probably not see us anytime soon.
Guatemala
Guatemala just recently came into the conversation of countries we might want to visit. The country has everything – Mayan history, great food, The Jungle AND volcanoes. Point me in that direction!
The con is the violence listed online & on the U.S. Travel Dept. I was a little skittish when I read that article but then The Big Guy had to show me where they say the same things & worse about other countries we have visited with no problems…What! Again, no country is without its problems including the U.S. so we take this info with a grain of salt & of course caution. Back to Guatemala, so if we decide to visit Guatemala we will be careful as we always are & as nice as we always try to be & we should be fine but this will need more of a deep dive before we schedule a trip. Guatemala if you are reading this get your act together so we can get there!
We could stay 90 days without visa but we can also apply for 90 day visa to extend to 180 days.
Brazil
Waterfalls, Amazon rain forest, beaches…There is a lot to see in Brazil & we have not narrowed it down to one town yet. We will do that once the discussion of Brazil starts looking like a definite. I do know November thru March is the warmest season so I’m up for that but the expense may move it off the list. With the heat also comes rainy season so…this will require a little research. We are all for going during “slow season” so we just need to figure out if that fits into our plans for 2023.
We could stay easily 90 days & renew for additional 90 for a total of 180 days [within a one year time frame] which fits perfectly for us.
Philippines
This was a last minute addition to our 2023 Bucket List. The Big Guy is adamant we should look into the Philippines for an extended visit. I’m not sure about living there but I am up for a trip to check it out. No idea what we will see. It boasts great weather, friendly locals & an affordable cost of living which all sounds good but…
The Hanging Coffins in Sagada would be an amazing site to see but to get there requires hiking & such possibly beyond me but the photos of it are amazing. Philippines consists of thousands of islands full of bird watching, waterfalls, beaches & mountains. Island hopping, crossing a hanging bridge or seeing the Batad rice terraces would be amazing. We’ll see if this happens or not?
We could stay for 30 days but an additional six month visa extension is available & it can be renewed a certain number of times. Something to look into if we really liked it but…
Uganda
We both have been fascinated by Africa & I have dreamed of a safari ride through the African jungle, you know like what you see on TV. Well, I never even thought this would be a possibility as I’ve always been told how expensive it is to travel to Africa. We have checked & found air flights we could handle AND DRUM ROLL PLEASE, it happens The Big Guy has friends in Uganda that are looking for a place to stay and will help us navigate a trip to Uganda but the ship is still out until we see some action. Fingers crossed.
What I want to do in Uganda is go on a Gorilla trek!!!! Truth is, this can be very expensive so realistically it would be a huge dent into our travel budget but if we get to Uganda who knows what we will see. I’m up for it. There are said to be only 1063 of the Eastern mountain gorillas as of a survey in 2018! This would definitely be a dream if it comes to fruition.
Although we could stay in Uganda for 90 days with no visa, I don’t see this trip being anything other than a trip to see Africa. This is what makes our Bucket List a dream list. Neither of us has a desire to live there permanently, based on the lifestyle we have seen on U.S.television, but who knows what reality we may find during a live visit.
India
I really don’t see us living in any part of India but we definitely would like to make a visit there. What to see?
The Taj Mahal in Agra is first on my list along with the spiritual Varanasi & the beaches of Goa. Now the problem is all three places are a distance from the other so you see the conundrum a trip to India imposes? How in the heck do we choose where to go? More on this later.
Only 30 days in country is allowed so that alone may keep India at the bottom of our dream bucket list!
2023 Bucket List
So here it is. Will we see all the countries on our Bucket List? Heck No!! But we know we will get a few of those this coming new year & the others? You never know. It really depends how long we are able to stay in THAT country just using our U.S. Passport. We might decide the time is right to pop over to Uganda or Portugal before we head back to Central or South America? That is the beauty of a bucket list – its fluid like these two traveling seniors. Let’s see where the New Year takes us! Happy Travels.