Table of Contents
My Journey to Every Country in the World – FAQs
I did it! It took me over a decade of full-time travel, but finally, I achieved one of my life’s goals to visit every single country in the world! I started the day after I finished University in 2006, and finished on St Patrick’s day, in March 2017, 11 years later (I’m Irish, so I finished in style, in an Irish bar in Olso, Norway).
So if you’re wondering how I afforded to visit every country in the world, do I have rich parents or did I really go to North Korea, then here are some frequently asked questions I get when people hear about me visiting every country in the world. Hope it helps!
FAQs about visiting every country in the world
How Many Countries Are There in the World?
That’s actually a tricky question because it depends on what you call a country! The ‘correct’ answer is somewhere between 193 and 215 countries, the most technically correct answer is that there are 197 countries in the world, I blogged about why that number is correct here.
How did you visit every country in the world? Tell me your story in short.
I was born in Ireland, so starting there. Grew up in Northern Ireland, so that was number 2. We didn’t go on holiday until I was 14 (poor family, single-mum etc), but then we went to Frane, and I made an escape to the Netherlands and Belgium to see a girl when I was 16!. So I was on 5 countries before I went to university at 18. During my university days, I did very little other than get up to no good, drink too much and avoid studying. I did spend a couple of summers in the US working with disabled kids though, a worthwhile venture, and I made it to Canada one of those summers. So by aged 22, in 2006, I was on 7 countries.
Then, after another summer working on Summer Camps in the US after my university was finished, I did a month in medical research in Ireland which paid me $3000. Using that money in 2007 and I flew one-way to Bangkok, to teach English in Thailand, and it was there that my life changed from poor Irish kid to self-made millionaire blogger.
South East Asia
I was still broke initially and spent the next couple of years visiting almost every country in East and South-East Asia, whilst teaching English in South Korea, and Thailand. Without the luxury of a normal gap-year budget, I travelled on $15 a day (that’s accommodation, food, activities), which meant sleeping in bus stations, airports, people’s houses that I met along the way. 27, still broke, I decided to use the Working Holiday Visa Australia, where I got a job in B2B sales for a company in Sydney. Lived there for 15 months, I started my blog there, and it changed my life (NOTE: If you want to know how to start a travel blog, or start a blog about any topic, I laid it out here so you can do it in less than 30 minutes!).
I quit my job in Australia in 2010, with my new blog live and on the internet, spent $10 doing a Cape Town to Cairo trip via public transport independently, and blogged while I did it. By the end of 2010, I was 28 years old, and I had visited 49 countries. I was making $1k a month from my blog, and I travelled cheaply. I was finally free.
Move to Thailand
2011 I moved back to Thailand to focus on my blog, and to cut a long story short, within 18 months I was making $30kUSD per month online. In 2012 I overlanded from China back to Ireland, and then I travelled 9-12 months every year from then until 2017, visiting 25 countries a year or so, 2 weeks per country, when at last I visited Norway, my final country, 197/197.
Once you are making money from your laptop, and don’t have a ‘real’ job then suddenly visiting every country in the world is a lot more achievable, even if you can get to $1,000USD per month, then you’re free to travel. It was a game-changer for me.
In which order did you visit every country in the world?
Visited in Chronological order, the * denote something that isn’t a country (like Hong Kong, for example, even though it should be).
- Republic of Ireland
- UK
- France
- The Netherlands
- Belgium
- USA
- Canada
- Thailand
- Laos
- Cambodia
- China
- Bangladesh
- India
- Nepal
- South Korea
- Vietnam
- Malaysia
- Singapore
- Japan
- The Philippines
- Brunei
- Indonesia
- East Timor
- Australia
- Sri Lanka
- Zimbabwe
- Zambia
- Botswana
- South Africa
- Swaziland
- Mozambique
- Malawi
- Tanzania
- Kenya
- Uganda
- Rwanda
- Ethiopia
- Somalia
- Djibouti
- Sudan
- Egypt
- Jordan
- Syria
- Lebanon
- Burma
- Taiwan
*Hong Kong
*Macau
- North Korea
- Mongolia
- Russia
- Kazakhstan
- Finland
- Estonia
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Belarus
- Ukraine
- Moldova
*Transniistria
- Romania
- Bulgaria
- Macedonia
- Kosovo
- Greece
- Albania
- Montenegro
- Croatia
- Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Serbia
- Hungary
- Israel
- Palestine
- Italy
- Vatican City
- San Marino
- Switzerland
- Liechtenstein
- Slovenia
- Austria
- Slovakia
- Czech Republic
- Poland
- Germany
- Denmark
- Sweden
- Luxembourg
- Qatar
- Bhutan
- UAE
- Portugal
- Spain
- Andorra
- Monaco
- Iceland
- Papua New Guinea
- New Zealand
- Solomon Islands
- Vanuatu
- Fiji
- Tonga
- Samoa
*American Samoa
- Kyrgyzstan
- Tajikistan
- Uzbekistan
- Iraq
- Maldives
- Iran
- Azerbaijan
- Georgia
- Armenia
*Nagorno Karabahk
- Turkey
- Malta
- Cyprus
- Mexico
- Belize
- Guatemala
- El Salvador
- Honduras
- Nicaragua
- Costa Rica
- Panama
- Brazil
- Uruguay
- Paraguay
- Venezuela
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Peru
- Bolivia
- Argentina
- Chile
*Antarctica
- Suriname
- Guyana
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Grenada
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Saint Lucia
- Barbados
- Dominica
- Antigua and Barbuda
- St Kitts and Nevis
- Dominican Republic
- Haiti
- Cuba
- Bahamas
- Jamaica
- Bahrain
- Kuwait
- Algeria
- Tunisia
- South Sudan
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Burundi
- Comoros
- Madagascar
- Seychelles
- Mauritius
- Lesotho
- Namibia
- Angola
- Republic of Congo
- Gabon
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Equatorial Guinea
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Nigeria
- Benin
- Togo
- Ghana
- Ivory Coast
- Burkina Faso
- Niger
- Mali
- Guinea
- Liberia
- Sierra Leone
- Guinea-Bissau
- Senegal
- Gambia
- Mauritania
- Morocco
- Cape Verde
- Libya
- Eritrea
- Afghanistan
- Turkmenistan
- Pakistan
- Palau
- Federated States of Micronesia
- Marshall islands
- Kiribati
- Tuvalu
- Nauru
- Yemen
- Saudi Arabia
- Oman
- Norway
= 197 countries in the world:
193 UN member states, + Palestine, Kosovo, Taiwan and the Vatican City.
How many countries are there in the world?
Good question! There are a few different answers to this – the United Nations list, the FIFA list, the travellers century club list, but I’ve gone with the most internationally recognized list, ratified by the UN, plus Palestine, Taiwan, Kosovo, and the Vatican City making 197 countries in total. I wrote about how many countries there are in the world in-depth here.
How Many People Have Visited Every Country In The World?
The last I heard, 91 people have done it (EDIT: It’s somewhere between 100 to 200). Most of whom are older Americans who sold companies, got rich and then spent their retirement hunting a new goal. I’m hoping there will be a new breed of younger people doing it, building something as they go. People like Chris Guillabeau, Lee Abbamonte and Graham Hughes have all kinda done it too, and they were a big inspiration for me, but they count airport stopovers, or stepping one foot over a border, not getting visas and getting stamped in, or flying in, staying in an airport hotel and flying out as their travels.
For me, I want to FEEL the country, and overlanding when I can so I can experience the place. Breaking records like ‘fastest person to visit every country’, in my opinion, is awful. It goes against all the beauty that travel should bring.
How long have you been doing this?
I started my travel life in 2006, the day after my final exam at university, so almost 15 years. Wow.
How long do you stay in each country to make it count?
I do this because I love travel, even over a decade later, I still love it – crossing borders, new currencies, stressing about logistics, I’m addicted to it all. And although I may only stay a couple of days in the more dangerous countries – like the time I went to Mogadishu, Somalia, historically I’ve spent a couple of weeks in each place. Now the countries are more obscure and become a little scarier, the time has reduced, but I do it for the travel, not for the box-ticking.
I know a lot of people who have completed this goal look at it slightly differently than me. As I mentioned earlier Graham Hughes – the first guy to visit every country without flying, Lee Abbamonte or Chris Guillebeau, one of my inspirations. Those guys went about it with a view to get in, get out, move on. Lee, for example, didn’t get out of the plane and transitted through many, and spent less than an hour in lots of them. Graham counted physically stepping one foot over the border, taking a photo, and moving on. Chris didn’t make it to Eritrea, just the airport, and as a travel hacker he was more about fly in for a few hours, maybe a night, nice hotel and fly out again. Cassie De Pecol spent less than 24 hours in over 100 countries, for example, eeek.
Doing it my way
Personally, I want adventure, I want crazy stories to tell my grandkids, and some crazier ones to tell in the bar. But all these guys, they helped me believe it was possible, and I’ll always, always be grateful for that. For me though, war zones aside, I like to try to ‘feel’ the country before leaving. It’s not a box-ticking exercise for me.
Where possible I overland – Japan, to East Timor, Mexico to Argentina. China to Ireland, Cape Town to Cairo. It’s fun, I get to see the countries and it’s cheaper, but sometimes it’s not possible due to visa problems etc. All that being said, I don’t really have rules as to what counts, but at the very least you’d have to get stamped in the country by their immigration, although it will be much cooler if I can actually travel throughout the country, or overland through it.
How much does it cost to travel to every country in the world?
I spent about $250,000USD to visit every country in the world. You could probably do it for about $100k if you’re fast and happy to rough it. My 250k though, that’s not as dramatic as it sounds. This was my whole life, I’ve been doing this as a lifestyle for more than a decade, so this journey is not ‘a trip’ as much as it’s my life, so equally I guess I could ask how much did your life cost over the last decade?
Probably something similar to my travels, in fact probably more. Let’s say you can do it for somewhere between $100k to $500k, I love to do everything that’s on offer, so I’m probably around the middle of that mark. Also, now I get a lot of my activities and hotels sponsored by brands and agencies due to my blog, which has helped a lot. Another HUGE benefit of blogging!
Also, the internet may have taken some of the romance of out traveling, but being able to book stuff online (even random overland journeys sometimes, look in the widget below) has made it a lot easier and cheaper than the people before me.
How do you fund this? Do you have a sponsor? You come from a rich family? etc etc etc.
I mentioned above. But of the 11 years it took me, from 2007 to 2012 I was broke, living off $15 a day or so. Then from 2012 to 2017 when I finished all 197 countries, I was making good money online blogging.
I then started my blog, OneStep4Ward.com, and started to sell advertising on it. Once I realised how online marketing, and SEO work, I started a media company, Step4WardMedia.com, so I work as I travel and it’s worked out ok in the end. Combine that with the fact that I have a team of awesome people who work with me for my companies means I can keep traveling until I reach my goal. If you wanna read more about how I make money blogging, and how you can too, read this
What was the most dangerous thing that happened to you?
I’ve had a few close calls. I’ve been to the hospital multiple times around the world, from Thailand to Korea, to Australia, even India and Burkina Faso. The most dangerous though? Either a guy getting shot in front of me in Angola, or trying to smuggle myself from Ivory Coast to Liberia during the Ebola crisis. Not good times.
What was your favourite country?
I get asked this a lot, and it’s so hard to answer! Firstly, I should say I am now based in Thailand, where I bought a condo in Bangkok. I’m in the process of building a house in Chiang Mai too. So that’s something – Thailand clearly ticked a lot of boxes for me. But it’s a great place to either live, or holiday in. Not to ‘travel’. Not to have an adventure. If I was pushed on the best place in the world to travel, I’d say it’s Socotra Island, Yemen. And lucky for you, I’m now running tours to Socotra every year, so come and join me!
What was the hardest country in the world to visit?
Visiting every country in the world is slowly getting easier as the world becomes smaller. COVID 19 aside, airfares are cheaper, visas are opening up, less war etc. But when I was doing it, the hardest countries were Saudi Arabia. It took me over a year to get the visa. Yemen. I had to hitchhike on a cargo ship for 4 days to get there due to the war. Equatorial Guinea, Algeria and Libya were tough too. Traveling to Libya was a bit crazy actually, you can read about that here.
After visiting every country in the world, what’s next?
I am trying to become the first person in history to visit every country in the world (done, the South Pole, the North Pole (done, I ran the North Pole Marathon there – crazy) and climb the Seven Summits (the highest mountain on every continent), 4/7 done.
Also, I have a goal to donate $1m in my lifetime. We started a non-profit called Mudita Adventures to do just that, and we’ve donated over $200k in the last 4 years or so.
Also, I want to start a family. I’m engaged, and building my home in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Will I slow down on these crazy adventures? I doubt it. I would love to cycle New York to San Francisco, I’d love to row across the Atlantic Ocean (EDIT 2021, I did row the Atlantic!), I want to see how quickly I can summit the highest peak in every country in Europe, and maybe even create an ultra marathon in Socotra, Yemen. Let’s see!
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As you know, blogging changed my life. I left Ireland broke, with no plan, with just a one-way ticket to Thailand and no money. Since then, I started a blog, then a digital media company, I’ve made more than $1,500,000 USD, bought 4 properties and visited (almost) every country in the world. And I did it all from my laptop as I travel the world and live my dream.
Wonderful accomplishment, buddy! I have a question though. I, too, look up to Graham, Lee, Chris and Cassie. When you said the following:
“Lee, for example, didn’t get out of the plane and transitted through many, and spent less than an hour in lots of them. Graham counted physically stepping one foot over the border, taking a photo, and moving on. Chris didn’t make it to Eritrea, just the airport, and as a travel hacker he was more about fly in for a few hours, maybe a night, nice hotel and fly out again. Cassie De Pecol spent less than 24 hours in over 100 countries, for example.”
Did you see any of their proof to make those assumptions? I’ve actually met Chris and he did enter Eritrea, showed us his stamp and pics in the country. I also saw Cassie at one of her speaking engagements, and spoke to her afterwards where she showed her “evidence” book she had to submit to Guinness World Records and she only spent less than 24 hours in 15 countries, not 100.
Never met Lee, but he’s been to over 300 countries! Have watched a lot of his interviews.
Anyways, would love to see where you got those assumptions from if you have em. If not, I’m going to trust the sources, they’re all so incredible people and I doubt they’d lie. Not possible actually after seeing their proof.
But hey, you’re incredible and have really achieved something big, kudos! Anyways, thanks again for sharing!
J
Hey Josh. Sure! Chris blogged the fact that he never entered Eritrea, but got deported from the airport hangar (or whatever you call it), and not allowed into the country proper not sure if he’s been back since.
Lee also got caught by a guy in the ‘Every Passport Stamp’ group for the flights transitting though the countries, hence why he recently returned to some random countries, to right those wrongs.
And Cassie, I think her ‘travels’ are better left uncommented on after her self-proclaimed ‘1st women to visit every country in the world’ lol.
I hope travel remains something people do for adventure, the romance of new cultures, not flying in and ticking a box. Then again, that’s not my right to dictate, so each to their own, and good luck to them.
Also, there simple aren’t 300 countries to visit, anyone who claims to have done so is chasing clout.
Congrats for you have visited a lot of places and keep on inspiring other people through your blog! More adventure to come!
Thank you
sound like a box ticker in denial mate. you did it for the bragging rights. overland, non overland. makes no difference. you’re still speeding through at least west and central africa for the big tick.
Please can you tell us all what you have done with yourself for the past 10 years. We can make a fair comparison and decide whether your comment is really worth considering at all…
I don’t understand why you have to rub your negativity on a person who has truly achieved something incredible.
Just something curious to know, why did you place Oman almost at the last before Norway? Oman is quite an easy country to visit unlike its neighbours Saudi Arabia and Yemen and has quite a lot to do there. Or did you keep it second last on purpose?
Because Yemen was next door and I knew I’d do them together in the end
Hi Damien. I’m a Syrian born and raised in Sweden, spent my summers there and I was there this summer and had a great time. Most of Syria is now safe. Damascus is 1000% safe, even safer than many European and American cities – very low crime rate and no terror incidents whatsoever ever since the war ended in Damascus in May. The Syrian coast in the Mediterranean is also very stable and has never had war and is very untouched and peaceful, with great beaches and lush nature. Hamah and Homs is also completely safe, but Homs has some sad destruction that you may or may not want to see. Aleppo is largely safe, however there is shelling on the edges west of Aleppo. However, you’ll be completely safe if say, you want to go to Aleppo just to go to the old city in the east (with the amazing citadel) where there never is any shelling whatsoever 🙂
Feel free to check out my Instagram account where I have posted many photos from my trip:
https://www.instagram.com/damascenex/
Two Norwegian travellers have recently gone to Syria and written about it:
Gunnar Garfors: https://garfors.com/2018/10/how-to-visit-syria/
And
Unusual Traveler (Christian Lundgren) https://www.unusualtraveler.com/traveling-around-syria-for-10-days-during-wartime-how-was-it-really/
https://www.unusualtraveler.com/traveling-to-syria-everything-you-need-to-know-update-november-2018/
Check out this video: https://www.facebook.com/963Sham/videos/601231953607512/
Please do not hesitate to ask more questions, I am sure this may be shocking to hear at first, as this is not the image being brought up by media:)
hope one day can travel like you
I am also trying to visit every country in the world. You already managed to visit them all, congrats on that! Currently I am on 105 countries of 197 and I don’t count airport stopovers either. But I do count a visit to a country as soon as I stepped into it’s territory. So once I have cleared immigration, I would just walk straight back and still count it. But that hasn’t happened in many places so far (only Micronesia, but I will go back there anyways to get to Nauru and then properly visit it).
I will be in my mid 30ies when I finish every country (unless something unexpected happens) and people often ask me what will come after that. I personally don’t think I will change much. There will be less drive to visit some weird places but I would go back to the best places. There are so many things I haven’t seen in some countries yet – or so many ramen shops in Tokyo that I haven’t tried yet 🙂 anyways, really inspiring! I also started a travel blog to track my progress on traveling to every country. Parts of it thanks to your inspiration: https://197travelstamps.com
Cheers,
Mike
Nice to see a realistic approach to counting countries. I got sick of reading articles about thoses doing it solely for bragging rights and no actually spending any quality time in the country.
I am at 158 over c20years, most of which holding a full time job (with some travel component). I’ll get to all in the end, but big sections (like tiny Pacific nations) will need to come when I have more time.
I’d love to know how many have really completed the goal. I think 91 is an underestimation. If you strip out the most problematic 5-10 nations it must be in the thousands.
I am also just setting up my list of visited countries and will enter no.95 (BruneI) in about 2 hours!
Interesting to see that we count the same, or lets say nearly. I added Kosovo ato get to 196 and will decide about Taiwan once i get there in November 🙂 But it might end up on the list as well, making it 197 too 🙂
http://www.chrisontour84.de/travelreports/
Cheers
Chris
Hi johnny
Well done
It’s not easy
I will probably be the second Irish man after you
I am from Tralee Kerry
182 independent countries seen now out of 195
13 to go
And I work full time as a consultant intensive care doctor!
Aged 45
5 more in November I’d say
But the wars are a problem in Yemen,Syria and Libya for visas
They will burn out eventually
They blew up the airport in Libya the day before I was supposed to go the last time!
Hi Damien. I’m a Syrian born and raised in Sweden, spent my summers there and I was there this summer and had a great time. Most of Syria is now safe. Damascus is 1000% safe, even safer than many European and American cities – very low crime rate and no terror incidents whatsoever ever since the war ended in Damascus in May. The Syrian coast in the Mediterranean is also very stable and has never had war and is very untouched and peaceful, with great beaches and lush nature. Hamah and Homs is also completely safe, but Homs has some sad destruction that you may or may not want to see. Aleppo is largely safe, however there is shelling on the edges west of Aleppo. However, you’ll be completely safe if say, you want to go to Aleppo just to go to the old city in the east (with the amazing citadel) where there never is any shelling whatsoever 🙂
Feel free to check out my Instagram account where I have posted many photos from my trip:
https://www.instagram.com/damascenex/
Two Norwegian travellers have recently gone to Syria and written about it:
Gunnar Garfors: https://garfors.com/2018/10/how-to-visit-syria/
And
Unusual Traveler (Christian Lundgren) https://www.unusualtraveler.com/traveling-around-syria-for-10-days-during-wartime-how-was-it-really/
https://www.unusualtraveler.com/traveling-to-syria-everything-you-need-to-know-update-november-2018/
Please do not hesitate to ask more questions, I am sure this may be shocking to hear at first, as this is not the image being brought up by media:)
Hello johnny
One word legend
Just wanted to know how the hell you managed to visit Iran and Israel?
Cause I know once you visit one of those country’s you can’t really enter the other one?
Just interested to know
I’m originally Iranian but lived most of my life in London and I think you will be inspiration to a lot of people from around the world no matter what race, colour, religion and country they are from, Which is something unfortunately we don’t have people like your self much around the world
Keep it up and wish you all the best in your future journeys
they wont stamp your passport in Israel. they will just give you a separate visa make sure you dont lose it. they know that once youve entered Israel you wont be able to visit other countries/
The worry is unfounded. I had an Israeli stamp in my passport but a year later, that passport expired and I got a new one. I have since been to a number of Gulf Arab states, no problem at all. What is a concern though is visiting countries that Trump considers “evil”. Even on a new passport, they seem to know that you have been to Iran.
Thats really cool to know u r coming to Saudi Arabia……wish i cud meet u nd get inspired live 😀
You are such an inspiration….if i am not wrong ur next step is in Saudi Arabia ….nd that is soooo awesummm cz i stay there…..wish i could meet u 😀 nd get inspired live
You have Norway to go?? Gosh I live in Finland but never been to Norway, now that is going to be one of the most beautiful countries you’ve ever seen! I wish I could join you.
Thanks for the inspiration and various information about your travels. I too would like to visit all the countries. I am currently traveling in Costa Rica and in a few days will visit country #60 – Panama. I work full time as an international teacher, but having lived in Mexico, Brazil, Malaysia, Italy, Germany and now again in Mexico, I can easily travel during vacation time. I look forward to hearing of your final four countries. Cheers!
hope u can too mate
PHEW! that’s a lot of countries. few more to go! Good luck, Johnny!
Slowly getting there 🙂
Try to read your article and learn about many country. Hope i will do world trip soon.
Hey! Where are you from? I want to backpack the world as well!
Ireland 🙂
Hey Johnny! It’s awesome what you are doing here and I hope you will be able to visit every single country on your list!
I just wanted to ask you to please remove “Nagorno-Karabakh” from under Armenia and put it under Azerbaijan. Although practically you can only access Karabakh from Armenia, it is still considered a part of Azerbaijan by law.
Thanks a lot!
KM
It’s not under anything, it stands alone on my website, I don’t get into politics here, and thank u KM 🙂
I love travelling to new places. For me it’s exciting to know I have the rest of my life to travel and explore many new countries around the world. Aren’t you afraid you will have lost something when there is no new place to visit? It’s such an ambitious project. As an Irishwomen it would make me immensely proud for you to be in the record books for this !
thank u 🙂 I’m a little scared for sure, but the world has many amazing things i’ve yet to see 🙂
Really inspiring post and a good example. It’s glad to have found this blog and know about you, I’ll be a follower now! I have a question, what are you going to do after you take down all countries form the list?
Regards,
WeiLe Ng
Hello WeiLe.. Good question buddy!
I believe sky is the limit. Who knows after striking all the countries on the face of the earth he may would like to play golf on Mars stopping en-route on moon to sip chilled beer on Mons Huygens (Tallest mountain on moon). May be passion of travelling fuels the zeal of Johnny to always take “One step 4 ward”. Hence, as I said before- sky is the limit!!
haha, Kalyan is right, I’m a goal orientated person, so i’ll set a new goal, but first – sleeeeep 🙂
thanx
you’re welcome mate 🙂
thaknsssssssssssss
Wow you have been so many places. i love to go too but it is hard for me. i just been a few country. i hope one day i will try more. i see you have been to Turkey. I am from Turkey,place call Cappadocia. It is very nice place. Have you been to cappadocia my home town I hope one day i will write my own success story like you.
yeah i’ve been there mate, beautiful
I’d like to say that the day will soon come when Sardinia will not be part of Italy anymore, but that’s never going to happen. In any case, we are a world apart and if you haven’t been perhaps you can consider visiting 🙂
never been, and i really really wanna visit 🙂
Hi I’m from Nigeria. I haven’t ever left my country but I’m hoping to soon, I”ld love to be a business traveller; breakfast in London dinner in Hong Kong kinda thing…lol.
Holler when you visit and make sure you come to Lagos, Nigeria….cheers
that sounds tiring buddy haha 🙂
Great blog, Johnny. I see that Chad is still on your list of countries to go. I am an expat working in N’Djamena for the next year so if you do make it, give me a holler. All the best on your adventures.
thanks so so much for ur hospitality mate 🙂
I just got back from Japan. I am currently blogging about it. Its amazing how many places you have seen.
it’s surreal to think about it, but normally im focused on the next place, i’ll get to thinking about it when i’m done 🙂
An amazing and inspiring post! Hope you could achieve your dream and be a big inspiration to others. It’s a hard challenge but don’t give it up!
thanks mate, i’ll keep trying 🙂
Hi man! Awsome website and blog you have! Congrats on your 150 visited country! I’m only on 32! 😉 I came across your website looking for tips to see and do in Montenegro! Your tips are very much apreciated! 😀 Can I ask you why Norway is the last country to visit on your list?! See you when you finish in Oslo! 😀
It’s not definitely Norway yet mate, still considering 😛
Congrats on doing so well. I have the same goal as you do. I am determined to visit every country in the world, but I travel so slowly that it will be a long time before I reach that goal. 🙂
when do u wanna finish by Zoe?
This is just awesome, Nepal is my dream. Wish i could be you man, very glad to find this blog. Regards from Brasil.
thanks buddy, and i love ur country 😛
Hi! I learnt about this blog from the Business Insider article. Very inspirational (I know you’ve heard that too many times!!) I actually graduated from Uni. of Bristol this year.. and I just want to follow your footsteps haha! I’ll see 😉
you can do it mate 🙂
great post!!! you are almost there dont give up
slowly getting there 🙂
Can’t believe you came to Honduras already .
Awesome list. Hope to reach even 1/4 of it.
For sure u can 🙂 I need to add that last quarter too, I’ll race u 😛
Hey mate!
Just wanted to say I have really enjoyed reading your blog since discovering it last week. You’ve been the source of much inspiration! Starting a website with my friend (another intrepid traveller and professional photographer) over the next week or two. We’ve been talking about it for ages, but your success has spurred us to action.
Not sure if your list of ‘to-do’ countries is sequential.. But if Norway is last, perhaps you’d consider ending your epic trip in Trolltunga (google image if you haven’t heard of it)? Up there with the most amazing natural rock formations I have seen, with an epic view over the Norwegian Fjords. Sitting on the edge of the rock with a few 1000 ft drop below you is just the most unique feeling, perhaps only rivalled by Yosemite Point in California. Well from what I have seen so far (probably about 1/3 the number of countries you have haha). Completely understand if you have different plans, but it’s such an stunningly beautiful place. Think it would be up your alley from what I’ve read of your adventures 🙂
I know you’re very busy, but do you have an email address I could get in contact with at all? Would love to pick your brain with a few questions about starting out, maximising a target audience, and other nitty gritty details. If you don’t have time, I completely understand as well 🙂
Enjoy Africa, and safe travels.
Daniel
hit me on my facebook fan page mate. And is that rock formation you’re talking about ‘Pulpit Rock’? Or the rock wedged between two cliffs? Both those are on my hit list 🙂
Ah yes Pulpit Rock is great, but Trolltunga is less touristy and in my opinion way more epic. It’s a bit of a hike, but so worthwhile. http://www.hardangerfjord.com/ImageVault/Images/id_4439/width_506/scope_0/conversionFormatType_WebSafe/ImageVaultHandler.aspx
Will contact you on Facebook soon 🙂
Gahhh….I love a good list! This is the sorta to do list you just want to have in your life.
I’m new to following you! It was my Dad who actually told me about this fantastic website – I’m a wee aspiring blogger from NI 🙂
Thanks for the great post!
hey Sarah 🙂 Thanks for reading, you’re Dad sounds like a smart guy 😛
This FAQ greatly helps in answering why you spend only a couple of days here and there now for some of the latest countries you have visited. I hate when people land in an airport, and say that they have “visited” a place when clearly they have not. At first, I thought you were only spending a couple days in countries just to “tick boxes.” Now that I see that you only do that in countries where you need to minimize your safety risks, I commend you on your efforts and respect that travel mindset. Good luck in finishing your goal by the end of 2016!
Cheers mate, lots of central africa is pretty sketchy :S Also, I have so many biz and life plans so I want to finish my goal before I’m much older, hence rushing a bit more now 🙂 Thanks 🙂
We are looking forward to seeing your visit to Lesotho…we were there for two weeks and found it a fascinating country!
I’ve been now, such a beautiful country with amazing landscape 🙂
Totally Inspiring !
thank u 🙂
Love your travels, even if I fear for you sometimes (Somalia, Eritrea, Sierra Leone…) By “not ticking the box” how do you cope with counting say China or USA? These countries are so vast and so much to see they are almost impossible to see without spending weeks travelling round (I know, I’ve done it / doing it)
I’ve spent months in China and USA – around six months in each 🙂
Massive party when you reach Norway? 🙂
That’s the plan mate 😛
this is inspiring!Thanks for sharing the tips with us! u’re awesome
Thanks for reading Aiden, good luck 🙂
thanks for sharing, i dont even know some of the countries listed here… hehe
what’s your next goal once you reached your 193rd country? 🙂
Which ones didn’t you know Fei? After every country? SLEEEEEEP, haha 😛 Let’s see, some crazy cycling trips i think 🙂
Thank you for sharing . 2 things iv always wanted to do is travel and work with animals. Unfortunately i injured my foot which makes it harder for the animal job.
So far iv only travelled to 5 countries, all in EU. These have all been with family or friends. I havent had the confidence to go alone. I am now 28, turning 29 next month and feel frustrated with the amount of time iv wasted; though iv always faced financially difficulty and this injury is limiting my job prospects recently.
Before covid 19 i was on track to go see italy but now its too risky and sitting at home not being able to attempt my dreams is driving me nuts.
Your story is inspiring and its cool knowing someone not far from me ( i live in England) has managed it rather than always hearing about people from US etc.
I hope once lockdown is over and we can travel again that i will start some epic journeys!