If You Won Mega Millions, Where Would You Go First?

Mega Millions jackpot winners dream big. What’s your first stop—luxury getaway, exotic escape, or world tour?

So there you are—staring at the phone screen like it’s just whispered a secret. Your numbers hit. You’ve won the Mega Millions. Not ten grand, not a cool million. We’re talking billionaire-level digits.

The world tilts a little. And then comes the real question: where do you go?

Surprisingly, not to some high-security vault to roll around in cash. Not to Rodeo Drive or a yacht showroom.

No, the first place I’d go is… nowhere. At least, not right away.

First Stop: Silence

I’d vanish into a corner of the world where my name means nothing and my bank account isn’t a headline.

Think: a salt-licked beach in the Azores or a windswept cottage in the Isle of Skye. A place with spotty Wi-Fi and locals who still talk in stories, not hashtags. Because before splurging, before the chaos hits—I want hush.

Decoding the Dream Destinations

After that initial decompression, cue the jet fuel.

Sure, Bora Bora sounds dreamy. Bungalows hovering over turquoise like hummingbirds over a flower. But I’d crave somewhere wilder.

The Masai Mara is my call. Sunrise safaris, lion sightings that feel like you're eavesdropping on nature’s power meeting. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Kenya drew approximately 1.75 million international travelers in 2023—and honestly, I’d be one of them with binoculars and awe in tow.

Or maybe Iceland. Not for the Instagrammable lagoons, but for the surreal glow of the northern lights—the kind that makes you feel small in the best way.

A Road Trip with Ridiculous Sunglasses

Money changes things, sure. But sometimes, a top-down drive down California’s Highway 1—with Fleetwood Mac in full scream and wind messing up your overpriced haircut—is worth more than diamonds.

Pull over at some no-name diner where the pie is suspiciously good, and you remember that joy isn’t always branded.

Throw in Napa Valley, where you’ll pretend to understand tannins while dropping $300 on a bottle you chose solely because it had a cool label. You’ve earned a little chaos, right? Especially since the largest Mega Millions jackpot ever hit $1.602 billion in August 2023.

Rich Conversations and Real Company

Okay, here’s a curveball: winning the Mega Millions doesn’t just upgrade your travel—it upgrades your passenger list, too. Or at least, it complicates it.

Do you take your ride-or-die best friend, the one who’s shared noodles and paychecks with you since university? Your sibling who still owes you twenty bucks but knows all your dark secrets? Or do you go solo for a while, letting silence be the only voice that doesn’t suddenly ask you for “just a small loan”?  

Wealth Can’t Buy Wonder (But It Can Book Kyoto in April)

Once the frenzy settles and your inbox quiets down, it’s less about flexing and more about feeling.

Beauty’s personal. Some might chase Monaco and champagne showers. Me? I’m booking Kyoto during Sakura season—those fleeting cherry blossoms that remind you money’s great, but magic’s better. Or maybe the Scottish Highlands. Just me, fog so thick it feels like a secret, and folklore whispering in the wind.

Where would you go first? Somewhere that grounds you, or somewhere that blows your mind open? Drop your dream pick—because even if you haven’t won (yet), we can still build a wanderlust list worthy of royalty.