Still wondering what to do on your summer vacation. We asked StarFish Medical employees to share their bucket list vacation activities. It’s four years and a pandemic since our first Vacation Bucket List blog. Outdoor Activities, Family and Friends, Travel, Community, and Education (or some combination of these categories) were high on StarFish 2022 plans.

Not surprising, but as one participant noted, “I think after COVID we’re aiming low compared to the first bucket list!” In no particular order, here are 30 bucket list vacation plans to help inspire your summer fun.

TRAVEL

1. Skydive in the Swiss Alps. I have always wanted to do it and I said I would only skydive if I could make it there.
2. Dive in the Caribbean.
3. Take my wife to Florida for honeymoon. It will be the first out of country vacation after our marriage.
4. Go to Copenhagen or Amsterdam, see the sights, and bike ride around the city!
5. Take a train across the Outback in Australia in the +40 deg C heat of summer (Australian summer).
6. Visit the amazon before its gone.
7. SCUBA dive with Whale Sharks at Koh Tao in Thailand.
8. Go somewhere I don’t know about, play soccer, eat good food, then take a ferry to the most beautiful city in BC and tell my story back at StarFish and make people jealous.
9. This year I’m hoping to go to Indonesia. Saying that we’re going to be in Indonesia is as far as I’ve gotten so far. But I don’t have to figure out the details for another six weeks, so it’s all fine. Indonesia is one of those countries that is a giant mystery to me. It has 100 million people there, it’s super complicated, with all these islands, and it’s going to have some interesting cultures.

FAMILY AND FRIENDS

10. My choice is not as exciting as Indonesia. I’m hoping to spend a little bit of time on the beach, just North (Vancouver) Island and go on a few overnight hiking trips with my kids.
11. Spend time in the sunshine and with friends and family to feel connected.
12. Visit a close friend I haven’t seen in a long time.
13. Travel to India to visit family. 🙂
14. Shred guitar with friends.

OUTDOORS

15. Kayak camping in the Deer Group of islands – a great place to get away and see whales!
16. Learn surfing.
17. Scuba diving a shipwreck!
18. Camp in the mountains.
19. Three backpacking trips.
20. Bikepack!
21. Ride in a Hot Air Balloon.
22. Camp, kayak, hike, and ocean time.
23. Camping is also on my bucket list. I’m hoping to go on a couple overnight hiking trips as well, hopefully up to Tobermory! It’s a spot in Ontario where the water is crystal clear.
24. On my bucket list is going to Tofino, surfing there, and then traveling a bit through the Rockies for a couple of days. That’s what I’m looking forward to.
25. I’ve got a few items. Dragon Boat Festival is coming up over the summer, so I’m hoping my competitive women’s team beats our counterparts from Nanaimo. They beat us last time by a second. We’re hoping to re-engage and beat them this time.
26. A bucket list vacation that I’m not going to do this year but is aspirational for a future year. I’d like to paddle from Lake Superior to Winnipeg. I think that would be fun but might not fit exactly into a four-week vacation.

COMMUNITY

27. Join a 150 km cycling event in Muskoka (Great Cycle Challenge Canada), to support community initiatives in raising funds for humanitarian purposes, health reasons and exploring beautiful places (commune with nature). This will be the first time that I’ll be riding 100 kilometers straight with a mountain bike.
28. I’m taking the Third Douglas Scout troop to meet the Lieutenant Governor. That’s going to be exciting. (This elicited a colleague’s reaction: I could only dream that I would someday be a Scout Leader. But you are doing it, Nick. You’re my hero.)

EDUCATION

29. I really like the idea of jumping on finishing my PhD as well. I want to also finish my defense because I must defend my thesis. I’ve just got to get that over with. I guess that’s my summer vacation, too.
30. I guess this technically counts as a bucket list item because I only want to have to do it once: Finish up or put a lot of work into my thesis. I want my PhD done!