By THE SOLITARY WRITER · Published May 12, 2020

Every one of us has a travel wishlist or ideas for a bucket list getaways. Most of us have been dreaming of wide-open spaces and hoping that we can safely travel again. While vacation travel shortly is unlikely, there is no harm in fantasizing about one of these 8 bucket-list getaways. Even if a trip cannot happen anytime soon, the exercise of visualizing and planning is good for the soul.

Dream Now, Travel Later – 8 Bucket List Getaways

Big Sky Retreat:

If outdoor adventures like hiking, mountain biking, fly fishing, skiing, snowshoeing or dog sledding are your style, look to visit Big Sky, Montana and stay at The Wilson Hotel. Located on the edge of Yellowstone National Park, the town is home to Big Sky Resort and its 5,850 acres of ski terrain, as well as shaded forests, wildflower-filled meadows, rocky mountaintops, and clear, serene rivers and streams. 

Play Cowboy at Luxury Ranch

Red Reflet Ranch is an all-inclusive 28,000+ acre luxury resort and working ranch on the west slope of the Bighorn Mountains in Wyoming. The closest sign of civilization is a town with a population of about 260. Guests stay in their private chalets, and family-friendly activities include horseback riding, ATVing, ziplining, swimming, fishing, shooting, and indulging in gourmet farm-to-table cuisine. The ranch is open for business now. 

Adventure Cycling

Plan an epic bike tour of your own with maps and other resources from the Adventure Cycling Association, which offers more than 48,000 miles of routes across North America like the TransAmerica Trail and Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. If self-guided isn’t your style, Adventure Cycling also leads a variety of tours every year, from van supported to inn-to-inn and fully supported. 

Antarctica Eclipse

An awe-inspiring expedition cruise to see the ice and wildlife of Antarctica always require planning, and 2021 offers a sporadic experience when a solar eclipse will plunge part of the Southern Ocean into darkness. Adventure Life is booking a selection of ships that will position themselves in the path of totality for the Dec. 4 event. 

Tiny House Base Camp

 Just minutes from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Fireside Resort capitalizes on the small house craze and the classic appeal of rustic cottages by offering 25 pint-size, luxuriously outfitted small house rental units designed by Wheelhaus. The resort is located a stone’s throw from Grand Teton National Park and the Jackson Hole ski slopes. It is a great place to post up for a ski trip or a summer getaway.  

Mediterranean Escape

Explore Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily on this island-hopping cycling tour by Ride & Seek. The exceptional diversity of the islands through the numerous cultures, amazing gastronomic variations, strikingly rugged interior landscapes paired with stunning coastlines of white beaches and emerald waters, and locals with an incredibly strong sense of place. Mediterranean charm is genuinely at the heart of this tour. 

Bryce & Zion by MTB

Soaring red stone spires and ancient citadels of rich Navajo sandstone give way to haunting hoodoos and curving arches of rock — a geologist’s dream and a mountain biker’s paradise. The rides offer swift lines that wind and wend through deep Alpine meadows and Aspen forests only to spill out onto yawning mesas and buttes. The world-famous trails of Red Canyon’s Thunder Mountain, Cassidy, and Casto Canyon, symbolize but a few of this tour’s many highlights. 

Fly Fish Montana

Big Hole Lodge is defined as one of the great fly fishing destinations in North America. The wild trophy trout fishing possibilities are unmatched in the West, along with the unpressured fishing experience of Southwestern Montana. This Orvis Endorsed lodge is nestled in a magnificent wilderness setting in the Pioneer Mountains with a beautiful trout stream at its doorstep.