Next Chapter Travel

More Bucket List Adventures: Australia to Europe by Sea, Greece, Türkiye & India by Rail

“Because life is short and we’ve still got places to see.”

Four years after their last global journey, and with cancer, recovery, and lockdowns finally behind them, Emma and Darryl board a cruise ship bound for Europe.

The route? From Australia to Greece via South Africa, Mauritius, Morocco, and more.

From there, it is trains and buses across ancient Greek landscapes, through Bulgaria and Türkiye, and deep into the heart of India. But this is no packaged tour.

There are bucket list sights, yes—but also sleepless nights, questionable coach drivers, lost passengers at borders, and the humbling realisation that Indian hawkers can outsmart you with QR codes.

There are rooftop breakfasts, muesli under the stars, and generous strangers who appear just when needed.

Told with honesty and humour, Next Chapter Travel is a story of resilience, curiosity, and connection — a reminder that life is short, and journeys are what shape us.

Health issues don't stop the love of travel.

I was so excited to listen to this audiobook because I just finished book 2 in this series, and it was quite a delight. I hoped to add more destinations to my ever-growing bucket list, and this book did not disappoint. Emma and Darryl’s adventures began on a ship half full of animals—I’m not sure I could’ve done that, but there were comedy shows, many restaurants, book clubs, and even the occasional haircut. Additions to my bucket list were seeing the Indian Ocean, going on an African safari to see the exotic animals Emma described so vividly, and visiting the Namibian Desert to see the vibrant pink flamingos, which I had tried so hard to see when I visited Curaçao. Santorini, Greece, with its cable car, ruins, white-washed buildings with blue-domed roofs, was another of my favorite stops on their lengthy itinerary, but it is already on my list. Their adventures were full of laughter, challenges, and sometimes scary moments, but it was all worth it to see the intriguing sites they saw so they could share them with other readers and me. I’m so glad I read this entertaining book.