Editor’s letter

We don’t generally talk about trips of a lifetime in National Geographic Traveller. Or bucket lists. Or places to see before you die. Because somehow doing so can trivialise travel, reducing the world to a shopping list of spots to tick off.

Shuffling along in a queue, waiting to see the Mona Lisa at the Louvre was that moment for me — a bucket list experience that fell a long way short of my expectations. Travel is a subjective thing, of course, so when it’s reduced to looking at something devoid of that personal connection it can lose its appeal. Which is why our Trips of a Lifetime list encompasses destinations such as Japan and Hawaii, along with landmark attractions like the Grand Canyon, Great Barrier Reef and Bolivia’s salt flats — natural wonders you can discover for yourself, hopefully minus the queues and ticket offces.

Many, like Iguazu Falls and Borobudur are far-flung — these are trips of a lifetime, affer all — but many, like Stonehenge and Pompeii, are close to home: life-changing places right on your doorstep.

Our selection has been carefully picked by our team of editors and writers, who concluded that while these are trips of a lifetime, they’re not necessarily once in a lifetime; the grandeur of these destinations and sights means that many warrant repeat visits.