Travel on your bucket list? You may not have to go far.

Having a bucket list of all the adventures and challenges you’d like to take on before ‘kicking the bucket’ seems like such a good idea.

In the post-Easter lull many of us will be reflecting on the joys of globetrotting and perhaps thinking of ticking off a few long-held ambitions, to skydive or swim with sharks, perhaps?

But now it seems all that travel was too much of a good thing and, as over 50s, we don’t need to go to great lengths to be happier we just need to be more connected (and by that I don’t mean via the internet).

The warning about the downsides of bucket lists comes from Marc Agronin, a psychiatrist who recently wrote about this in the Wall Street Journal.

“As they travel the world to soak up experiences, too many seniors inevitably lose track of what really matters—their connections to family, friends and community. They feel like strangers in their own homes,” he says.

His theory is that instead of the transitory thrills of a dream holiday we should create something more lasting by investing in relationships with our families and communities.

An example he gives is to take grandchildren away with you on a holiday they’ll never forget and share some of your wisdom away from home.

“I have no doubt that people who take a trip to Spain with children and grandchildren, or volunteer at a local community centre, are much more content, much happier, than the passive voyeurs who whiz by, thrilled with the speed and all the photos, but sadly missing the bigger picture,” he says.

Maybe you don’t have to go that far. Americans in one survey listed Australia as top of their bucket list destinations followed by three other South Pacific destinations in their top ten – NZ, Fiji and Tahiti.

PS Whatever you decide don’t forget travel insurance if going overseas. It might not automatically cover you for the most dangerous of pursuits but it should get you out of trouble much of the time.