20 Trips to Take When You Can't Wait for Retirement

Back in the day, people would leave school, start working, get a family and a mortgage, work even harder to pay for it all and if they managed to make it to retirement age without dying of stress, they’d go on epic trips. Why would you wait that long to go see the world, though? With so many opportunities to work remotely and finance your trip, you can start ticking off items on your travel bucket list while you’re young. These 20 trips to take when you can’t wait for retirement will inspire you.

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Hike to Machu Picchu

A visit to Machu Picchu is one of those trips you must take in your 20s. Of course you can travel to Machu Picchu by train and bus but then you won’t get to see the magic of dawn at this UNESCO World Heritage Site. The classic hiking route to Machu Picchu is the Inca Trail but if you want to avoid the crowds and help protect the trail, there are several spectacular alternative routes you can take.

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Take the train across Canada

Seeing a huge country like Canada takes time but it’s also possible to do it in less than a week. How? Take the Canadian between Toronto and Vancouver. It’s one of the best train trips in Canada.

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Drive the Cabot Trail

The Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia is one of those Canadian road trips you need to take at least once. It makes a loop of just under 300 km around the northern tip of Cape Breton Island and passes through quaint fishing villages and Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

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Cycle around France

One of the best ways to see the French countryside is not from the window of a tour bus but from a bicycle, so you can feel the sun on your skin and breathe in the fresh air. It’s a great way to travel on a budget too, with more than 10,000 registered campsites across the country.

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Walk the Great Wall of China

If you’re feeling ambitious and have 18 months to spare, you can walk the entire length of the Great Wall of China. However, simply walking along a small section of this marvel of construction is an unforgettable experience. A word of warning though: the Wall is much steeper than you think.

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Travel Iceland’s Ring Road

Lava fields, waterfalls, hot springs, fjords, quirky villages and elf rocks: these are just some of the many attractions along Iceland’s Route 1, better known as the Ring Road. Drive or cycle it in summer for better road conditions and the chance to see puffins. Iceland is one of the cheapest places to travel from Canada, thanks to low-cost flights.

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Go on safari

You haven’t had lived until you’ve had a drink while watching the sunset over the African bush, with the sounds of lions or elephants in the distance. East and Southern Africa has plenty of safari destinations and you can choose a package to suit your budget. Remember to bring your camera, though.

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Drive along the California Coast

California State Route 1 stretches over about 1,000 km between Orange County and Mendocino County. The road takes you along rugged coastline with some great beaches and surfing spots, cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco and spectacular places like Big Sur. You also get to cross the some of the world’s most breathtaking bridges, including the Golden Gate Bridge, off your bucket list.

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Travel the Ruta Maya

La Ruta Maya may not be one of the hidden gems of Mexico and Central America but it’s a great way to experience the highlights of this part of the world. It covers mainly Belize, Guatemala and the southern part of Mexico and includes ancient archaeological sites, stunning beaches and jungle settings. At least one leg of your trip should be in a "chicken bus", the preferred local mode of transportation for people and their livestock.

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Travel the South African Coast on the Baz Bus

Long coastal trips usually mean that you need some wheels of your own if you want to stop and overnight where you want to along the way. In South Africa, however, the Baz Bus is a hop-on, hop-off backpacker bus that allows you to travel along the coast between Cape Town and Durban, taking in the Garden Route and the Wild Coast along the way.

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Cruise the Amazon

A cruise along the Amazon, the world’s biggest river, is one of life’s ultimate adventures. If you want to avoid the crowds and really feel like an intrepid explorer, take one of the off-the-beaten-path cruises in the Peruvian Amazon, where you’ll get to see that those huge water-lily pads really do exist.

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Have an ecotourism adventure in Costa Rica

Costa Rica is one of the world’s top ecotourism destinations and with good reason: national parks and protected areas make up more than a quarter of the country’s surface. Here you can climb volcanoes, cruise along rivers, trek through the jungle or watch baby sea turtles hatching on the beach. You can also visit the mysterious stone spheres of Diquis, one of the World Heritage Sites you may not have heard of.

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Chase literature in the Lake District

William Wordsworth, Beatrix Potter, Lord Tennyson and Sir Walter Scott are just some of the writers and poets who found inspiration in England’s Lake District. A visit to the region, one of the newer newer World Heritage Sites, allows you to see the places where they lived and worked and if poems about daffodils don’t move you, you can always indulge in some water sports instead.

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Dive the Great Barrier Reef

The largest structure made by living organisms stretches over 2,300 km off Australia’s east coast and one of the best ways to truly appreciate the wonder of the Great Barrier Reef is to get up close and personal with it. Diving here you might see whales, dolphins, dugongs, turtles, eels, sharks, seahorses and giant clams. You might even find Nemo.

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Sail the Nile in a Felucca

Of course you can cruise the Nile in a luxury boat but for a more authentic – and cheaper – experience, consider sailing on a felucca instead. From aboard one of these traditional Egyptian sailboats you get to watch life along the river slowly float by while working on your tan. While you’re in Egypt, you’ll also want to visit the pyramids, one of the world’s top inspiring ancient places.

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Get the blues along Highway 61

Highway 61, more officially known as U.S. Route 61, is a must if you prefer destinations for music lovers. The route, which links New Orleans to the city of Wyoming, Minnesota, basically follows the course of the Mississippi River. It’s also known as the Blues Highway and is so steeped in musical history that Bob Dylan named one of his most famous albums after it.

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Temple-hop in Southeast Asia

Angkor Wat is probably the most famous of South East Asia’s temples but it’s not the most colourful. Throughout the region you’ll find Buddhist, Hindu and Taoist temples that will blow your mind. One of the great things about travelling in Southeast Asia is that it’s one of the world’s cheapest regions to visit.

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Become a Caribbean castaway

The Caribbean is one of the easiest destinations for Canadians who want to get away from it all and just shoot the breeze for a while. If your worst nightmare is staying at an all-inclusive family resort where you’re surrounded by other people’s children, the Caribbean also has fantastic adults-only resorts where you can be a castaway in style.

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Live it up at Carnival

Before the Catholic period of fasting known as Lent starts, people throw one last party, and they go all out. Carnival is known for music, dancing and lots of food and you don’t have to be Catholic to join in the revelry. Whether it’s Rio, New Orleans, Venice or any of the other best places to celebrate Carnival, it’s a party you have to attend at least once in your life.

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Explore the Canadian Rockies on horseback

The Canadian Rockies offer spectacular scenery but let’s face it: part of the area’s beauty lies in the smell of fresh air and fir trees. You can’t really appreciate this from inside an air-conditioned vehicle but on horseback you can truly become one with nature and get to play cowboy or cowgirl too.

Want more Canadian travel inspiration? Don't miss the top things to do in every province and territory of Canada.