ten dream destinations in five years
- Bebhinn Flanagan
- Apr 5
- 4 min read
Some people make five-year life plans with SMART goals and performance 📏 metrics.
I make five-year travel plans - complete with flight confirmations, too many open tabs, and books with turned corners.
I’m not saying these trips will change my life… but I’m also not, not saying that.
Some have been living rent-free in my head for years. Others showed up from nowhere.
Either way, they’ve earned their spot on my 'ten dream destinations in five years' list.
snow, stars and silence: finland 🇫🇮
I kicked things off in Finland earlier this year - and honestly? What a way to start 2025.
We didn’t see the Northern Lights for the first two nights, but on night three, there they were. Finally. I almost cried 😭. Nature’s finest light show; Netflix can’t compete with Mother Earth.
The whole trip felt like one long, frostbitten exhale: snow-covered forests, deep winter silence, and cuddling huskies. I also faced my oddly specific fear of snowmobiles - mildly terrifying at first, but ten minutes in, I just wanted to go faster and faster.
There were hot sweaty saunas, crisp morning walks, and a sense that I’d stepped completely outside the noise of life.
Finland showed me a quieter version of myself. I liked her.
blue domes and bold moves: uzbekistan 🇺🇿
Coming very soon: Uzbekistan. A place rich with things I don’t yet understand - and that’s the appeal.
I’ve never set foot in Central Asia, which makes this feel properly electric. There’s something exciting about entering into a region with no personal reference points - just open eyes and a willingness to explore.
Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva… cities that sound like they’ve been picked out of a fairy tale. I’m craving the kind of travel that teaches you something ancient. That reminds you the world is far older and wiser than you’ll ever be.
Uzbekistan feels like exactly that.
whisky, waves and welcome home: scotland 🏴
A little closer to home - Scotland. But don’t mistake proximity for predictability as this year I’m heading to Islay for the Feis Ile whisky festival.
It’s part pilgrimage, part excuse to wear excellent knitwear and pretend I understand all those whisky tasting notes.
That sea spray? It hits different. Salty, bracing, home.
There’ll be whisky (obviously), ceilidh dancing that escalates quickly, and at least one clifftop moment where I feel like I’ve wandered into the emotional climax of a BBC Scotland drama. Cannae wait.
east asia sequel: south korea 🇰🇷
After an unforgettable trip to Japan in 2024, we’re now prepping for East Asia, The Sequel: South Korea.
The more I read, the more obsessed I become.
Seoul’s layered charm, Jeju Island’s volcanic calm, Gyeongju’s quiet magic… it’s all contradictions, and I am so here for it.
Also: The films 🎥. The skincare. The emotional attachment I’ll develop to kimchi.
This trip is the perfect sequel to Japan – with its own delicious and distinct plot twists.
diving deeper: mexico 🇲🇽
Mexico has been whispering to me - and now it’s happening. It’s actually booked. It’s the reason I’m finally getting my PADI certification this year (still can’t believe I’m saying that).
I’ve dreamed of diving into cenotes that feel like ancient cathedrals, or drifting through Cozumel’s coral reefs and coming up for air with a salt-soaked grin.
Truthfully, I’ve got a real love/hate thing with the ocean.
There’s something so healing about water, and I love to swim.
Yet the moment I start thinking too hard about what might be under me, I panic.
But we’re doing it anyway. Fear, meet newly acquired fins 🤿.
Oh, and I’ll be starting in Mexico City for Día de los Muertos. Casual.
Mexico feels like the right place to go deep - literally and emotionally.
mulled wine with meaning: slovakia 🇸🇰
Slovakia at Christmas. Yes, it’s a vibe - and not the curated, influencer kind.
I want a kind of winter that feels cosy, not commercial.
Think wooden stalls, proper crafts, and pastries that taste like someone’s gran made them with full-fat joy. Bratislava’s markets promise exactly that.
I’ll bring a big scarf, a small suitcase, and a healthy disrespect for portion control.
white stillness, wild scale: antarctica 🇦🇶
This is the big one. The obsession.
Antarctica has sat on my dream list for years, and now I’m saving with real intent.
2027, I’m coming for you Antartica.
The idea of all that white space - ice, silence, scale - it’s not just beautiful. It’s otherworldly.
And did I mention the volcanoes? And penguins? Come on!
It’s not a holiday. It’s a threshold.
It’s the final continent for me. And I will cross it.
tiled stories and late dinners: portugal 🇵🇹
Portugal is right there. So close. So often discussed. And yet... somehow… never booked.
Lisbon’s steep streets, Porto’s river glow, Maderia's beauty - I’ve fallen for it already.
I want mornings with good coffee, nights that stretch out over vinho and conversation, and detours that become the whole point. And pastel de nata. I want a lot of pastel de nata.
Portugal feels like the kind of trip where nothing dramatic might happen - but everything shifts anyway.
plains, pride, and perspective: tanzania 🇹🇿
Tanzania is about scale - not grandeur, not ego.
I want to watch the Serengeti breathe.
Sit still in the Ngorongoro Crater.
Be somewhere that makes me feel small in the best possible way - not diminished, just properly placed.
It’s about bearing witness to the Earth.
one left to choose 🙈
Okay, I lied. That’s nine trips, not ten. There's one spot still open.
Maybe it’s an under-loved city with more soul than skyline.
A place where nothing matches, but everything works.
Do I go west to Peru? East to the Philippines? South to South Africa?
Or do I keep it ‘local’ and finally get to Denmark or Georgia?
I’m open. I’m listening. I’m probably already browsing Google Flights.
your turn
So - what would you pick for that tenth destination?
What’s the place that’s been living in your head rent-free?
Let me know. I’m all ears - and possibly one impulse booking away.
Turas maith,
Bebs
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