how much to visit every country in the world

Every Country in the World

How to Visit Every Country in the World

By Henrik Jeppesen

Introduction

I am a Danish traveller who has visited every country in the world before turning 28, making me the youngest Scandinavian to do so. I did it on a low budget, which involved a lot of challenges. I hitchhiked hundreds of times, stayed with local people, slept in public places and managed to do partnerships with more than 100 airlines and hundreds of hotels to complete this project in 2016 by finishing the United Nations list of countries . That’s 193 independent countries or 195 if you include the two observer states, Palestine and Vatican City.

Instead of settling down after visiting every country, I continued to travel and completed two other lists of countries in 2018.  The National Olympic Committees that has 206 members, and  FIFA’s list of 211 nations . I have visited more than 1,500 destinations and also reached 301 countries and territories combined on Travelers’ Century Club’s list of 329 countries and territories, but that is a subjective list, and I don’t plan to visit the remaining 29 territories. It is almost impossible to visit destinations like Wake Island and British Indian Ocean Territory, and they are not the most exciting places to visit anyway. Some of the territories are very expensive, like a trip to the South Pole will cost around 45,000 dollars. I can travel for several years instead of just doing that one trip. You can read more about how many countries there are in the world in this article .

Instead, I prefer to spend time in countries I love than visit every country in the world again. It’s my conclusion after visiting them all. You can read more about me here .

In this article, I will give you some tips on how to visit every country in the world, even on a very low budget.

TOP 10 TIPS

1. make time to travel full-time and don’t have bills to pay at home.

Some travellers have managed to visit every country in the world while maintaining a full-time job, but for most people, only travelling during holidays, will mean you will have to travel quite fast to be able to visit every country in the world, instead of really enjoying the destinations. Especially if you want to travel economically and cover several countries in the same part of the world on the same trip. It’s much easier to do if you decide to be a full-time traveller, for at least some time. During this time, it’s a good idea not to have any bills to pay at home.

If you own a house or an apartment, you can try to sell it. If you are renting, you can terminate the lease. If you own a car, you can try to sell that too. It’s important not to have bills to pay at home in order to make full-time travel attractive. One exception could be a phone subscription if there is one in your home country covering many, if not all of the countries you are attempting to visit.

2. Travel light

It’s an obvious one, but travelling light can save you a lot of time and money. It used to be that you just needed to avoid checking in a bag, which is easy, but now some airlines will even charge you for larger hand luggage. The key is to look at every single item and evaluate what you really need.

I can recommend investing in the ultra-lightweight Microsoft Surface Go instead of a heavy laptop and bringing a minimum amount of clothes. That’s a good start. You can wash your clothes wherever you stay, as long as you have access to a sink, instead of bringing a lot from home. Not bringing a separate camera (and separate charger) anymore also saves me some space. The quality of the cameras of mobile phones these days are very impressive and enough for me. I can recommend the website,  DxOMark  for mobile phone’s camera reviews.

3. Be creative with visas

Visas are probably the number one thing we, world travellers, dislike about what we do. If I could buy a special passport with visa-free entry to all countries, I would have been to all countries much earlier I’m sure. It’s hard work and research pays off. All embassies are different. In Europe, you might need an invitation to an African country you want to visit, but instead of applying in Europe, you might get a visa for that country at an African embassy in a day with no requirements.

I can recommend the following: Sudan visa in Aswan, Ivory Coast visa in Nouakchott, Cameroon visa in Libreville, Central African Republic visa in Pretoria, South Sudan visa in Nairobi, Ghana and Burkina Faso visa in Abidjan to name a few. Rabat, Morocco is, however, the number one place to get visas for African countries based on my experiences. It might be a great idea to rent an apartment or a hotel room for two weeks in Rabat and get as many visas as you can. Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Niger and Liberia were all easy to obtain with no requirements besides passport photos, filling the forms and obviously paying the fees.

If I had the time, several other African countries were also possible, including Mali that confirmed it would be easy to obtain a visa. It just didn’t work with my schedule and I instead later got the visa for Mali in Saudi Arabia. Finally, it can be a great idea to contact local tour operators and ask if they can help with a visa on arrival for countries where you need a visa. I have been surprised to learn that a visa on arrival is possible in several countries with a tour operator’s help instead of getting it in advance through a consulate or an embassy.

4. Free accommodation

Travelling to every country in the world on a low budget can often be a challenge. A night in a comfortable hotel might make you go out of the budget, and sometimes there is no public transport to reach a city from the airport. One of the times this happened to me was in Suva, Fiji in 2015. I arrived late and had two nights there, but nowhere to stay and for transport, a taxi would be the only option except hitchhiking. Instead of hitchhiking in the dark, I decided to talk. 

I talked to a local man at the airport about myself and my situation, and after a few minutes, he offered me transportation and a place to stay. In this travel tip (Free Accommodation), it’s important that you trust people and that you are not afraid of rejections. Asking people is one way to get free accommodation and a way to start a conversation could be “Do you know of a cheap place to stay here?”.

Of course, this ‘tactic’ involves risk, and there are certainly places in the world where I would be more likely to ask for free accommodation in the streets than others. However, life is a risk in itself; many things can happen at any given time. You don’t have to say yes to a place to stay the first moment you start talking, but rather decide if the person chooses to offer you a place to stay. It gives you some time to determine if it’s a person you actually trust. 

You can also do a social media post about your situation, or send a message to someone you think might know a person in the destination you are visiting. I did just that on an evening in Sydney, Australia, and shortly after one of his friends picked me up.

Couchsurfing  is the only website I have used for free accommodation, and it’s also the most popular website of this kind. Couchsurfing’s website says they are “a  global community of 14 million people in more than 200,000 cities.”  To have success with Couchsurfing, I recommend spending time setting up a good-looking profile.

I would highly recommend including information about yourself, so hosts can get to know you before making a decision. Adding a link to your Facebook profile might make you more trustworthy, but the main thing for both the host and the Couchsurfer is feedback. It’s also a good idea to check the profiles of the ones you contact and make the messages personal instead of sending many cold messages.

After setting up a profile, it’s essential to check feedback from other travellers and then contact the hosts. Don’t expect fast replies on Couchsurfing and it’s best to write to at least a few in each destination, as I’m sure a lot will say no or ignore the request. The downside with Couchsurfing is the time you spent trying to organize accommodation, that you often don’t know how it’s going to be, and the lack of privacy. 

With Couchsurfing, you pay with your time, both beforehand and during the stay. However, often the company is great and can be a great cultural experience. I think it depends a lot on how fast you travel. If you are in a rush, it might be a stress factor. However, if you travel slow, it can perhaps be the very best way for you to travel.

With Couchsurfing, you at least should spend a fair amount of time talking to your hosts, and it’s also a good idea to help with something if there is an opportunity. You might even bring a gift. A Couchsurfing host in Australia specifically asked for wine in 2009, but that was the only time I received such a request.

Another option of free accommodation is to take care of other people’s houses while they are away. You can also volunteer, which could be practical for more than the usual short stays you can expect with Couchsurfing hosts or if you talk to strangers in the streets. There are several other websites you can use, but my experiences are limited to Couchsurfing.

5. Cheap accommodation

For cheap accommodation, Airbnb and hostels are the first options that come to my mind. Free accommodation comes with some downsides, so if time equals money, it might be far better for many people to pay for cheap accommodation. To begin with hostels, I didn’t use them much in my travels as I value a good night’s sleep very highly, and I have big problems sleeping in a room with people I don’t know. Every time I have tried to sleep in a hostel room with strangers, I have not managed to sleep at all, so it’s not for me.

If you are able to sleep in rooms with strangers, hostels can be a great way to keep the cost down compared to booking hotels. Where hostels have been helpful for me, is when I can sleep in a room alone. Many hostels have private rooms you can book, often a lot cheaper than a hotel, while you might often have to share the bathroom with other travellers. That’s usually not a problem for a night or two. My best tip about hostels is if you are travelling out of season to call and ask about availability for a bed for the night and ask how many people that will be in the room. Chances are you will be the only one and that way you can get a private room for the price of a dorm bed. I only thought of this in 2019 after I was surprised to know I was the only guest at a hostel in Denmark. Later, I asked at another destination, and I again got a private room for a dorm bed price. I might use this tactic again in the future as it’s undoubtedly hard to beat the value.

Airbnb has really opened new possibilities to the way I live and travel. First and foremost, just like on Couchsurfing, it’s a good idea to spend time setting up a good-looking profile and checking the feedback of other people who have stayed at the places of which you are interested. In comparison with Couchsurfing, on Airbnb, you can see a lot of information about the places, and have a much better idea about what it will be like. I like spending time checking out potential new places to stay.

For me, Airbnb has changed the way I live as I have been able to negotiate great prices on long-term rent. It is not obvious on Airbnb, but you can click “Contact host” and write to the host without actually booking. It is an opportunity to introduce yourself, explain your situation and ask if they would be interested in renting out their place long-term at a better rate. I have several times been able to stay at places that would have been way over my budget.

Another tip is to write if it would be possible to see the place first which allows you to make a good first impression and increase the likelihood that they would be interested in renting out for a longer period at a much lower rate. There are many benefits to this when it comes to travel. The possibility to stay in places for at least a month, get the opportunity to experience and understand the destinations you visit a lot better.

For long-term rent, many would think one has to pay a deposit and probably invest in furniture, but with Airbnb, almost all places already have that, and you can avoid the expensive deposit the housing companies usually require. I am a minimalist and with Airbnb, I can easily move in and out of places. On Airbnb, you can see the availability calendar for all the places, and getting a huge discount is a lot more likely out of season. For example in Denmark, the big tourist season is the three summer months, while many of the places in summer destinations have a lot of availability for the rest of the year which is an excellent opportunity to get a really low rate. In a country like Denmark, I have paid the equivalent of just under 450 dollars per month including electricity, water, heating and internet to stay in a private room with a private bathroom including shower.

For short stays, Airbnb is also an excellent option to save money compared to hotels. In a lot of cases with hotels, you pay a lot for services you don’t need. Often you only need a clean room and a night’s sleep instead of paying for a hotel with a business centre, swimming pool, gym, bathtub, bathrobe, TV and concierge. Services you might not have time to use before your journey continues. On the other hand, I really like staying in hotels when it makes sense financially.

The possibility to arrive at any time, that you pretty much know what you are going to get, and that it’s often a good night’s sleep in a quiet and comfortable room. To avoid the uncertainty with things like Couchsurfing and Airbnb is another reason I usually book hotels for short stays, but for extended stays, Airbnb has been a tremendous help to my travels and how I have lived over the past few years.

6. Save money on hotels

This article is not only for those on a tight budget. If you are rich and value your comfort, I fully understand why your preferred accommodation would be hotels for your travels instead of focusing on cost. It’s easy, you have privacy, and you can often count on a good night’s sleep and WiFi that works. If there are any problems like noise or no hot water, people can take care of it quickly. Yes, I definitely prefer hotels, but there is often a significant price difference between hotels and hostels/home stays.

The challenge for me is to bring that difference down by booking great hotel deals, so booking the hotel instead of alternative accommodation is worth it. There are many options to save money on hotels, and it’s often something that can be time-consuming if you would like to make sure you are getting the lowest rate because none of the hotel search engines compares all booking sites.

One tip is to start your search on a hotel search engine like  HotelsCombined.com , and then compare with booking sites not included in their hotel search engine. Also, the hotel’s official website might be the cheapest option. For people that don’t want to waste time on making sure they get the best deal, Booking.com is my favourite hotel booking site, and is often the cheapest, but not always.

In 2020, I found a low rate on Booking.com for Steel House Copenhagen that is part of Arp-Hansen Hotel Group and based on the past experiences with the brand I remembered that it was cheaper to book on their website and sure enough, it was. They even had a different room category than Booking.com, a single room at a very low rate.

Booking directly with the hotel is definitely preferred if the price is lower or the same, as you don’t pay a high commission to a third party website like Hotels.com, and in case of any problems or change of plans, you are more likely to be able to make changes if you have booked directly.

While HotelsCombined is my favourite hotel search engine, I often start at Booking.com, then find the best deal for me, depending on the purpose of the trip, then compare with HotelsCombined.com, and finally, I might check the official website and other sites and apps to make sure I get the best deal. Some of those sites include Nustay.com, SnapTravel.com (via Facebook Messenger), HotelTonight.com and HRS.com. You might also compare with other hotel search engines such as Kayak, Skyscanner and Trivago to see if any additional sites show up with a better deal.

Once you have found the deal you want, there are additional ways to save money or earn credit for future travel. For Booking.com it is possible to get 5% back as WizzAir credit if you first visit WizzAir.com, click “HOTELS”, and book through them. It’s the same price, but you receive 5% of the booking amount as flight credit to use on WizzAir. 

WizzAir is a Hungarian low-cost airline with an impressive route map so this option is one I highly recommend to do if the best deal is on Booking.com. Ryanair also offers 5% back as flight credit when booking through their hotel search engine, including several booking sites like Hotels.com and HRS.com, but not Booking.com.

Some of the booking sites have their own loyalty program, like Hotels.com that gives you a free night after ten eligible nights, that is the average of the price you have paid for the ten nights. Hotels.com is rarely the cheapest website based on my experiences, but when they are, it obviously makes sense to register the nights through their loyalty program.

Also, there is a marketplace for hotels. RoomerTravel.com is an online marketplace for selling and buying discounted hotel reservations. Plans often change, and many have experienced getting stuck with a non-refundable hotel reservation, but instead of losing the money, they can sell it online and just have Roomer change the name of the reservation. 

You can also search for coupons for specific booking sites, hotel chains, or individual hotels. My favourite free coupon website is RetailMeNot.com that might bring the price down a bit. For more significant discounts, it might be worth it to buy coupons, like I did some years back from a guy selling 50 and 100-dollar Expedia coupons. Also, it might be worth checking out FlyerTalk.com where users can post hotel deals, and if you become an active member and have a minimum number of posts, you can get access to “Coupon Connection” where you can exchange coupons, points and miles with other users. 

Finally, you can also save money on hotels by collecting points in loyalty programs, and get great sign-up bonuses on credit cards if you live in the US, but since I don’t, I would instead like to mention some benefits of elite status in loyalty programs which can include free upgrade subject to availability, welcome amenities, priority check-in and other benefits.

I was once a platinum member of Starwood Preferred Guest, and it was an excellent experience. I didn’t earn the status. I saw a promotion where Accor’s loyalty program offered free status, so I got that, and then I found out that Starwood Preferred Guest status matched. Another positive result of spending a lot of time online researching ways to make my travels better and cheaper. Some say time is money, and as my budget was low, I definitely paid with my time instead.

7. Low-cost airlines

One of the main reasons I have visited every country in the world is low-cost airlines. Having time and flexibility helps a lot in securing these ultra-cheap tickets. Low-cost airlines generally have downsides for some travellers like no free check-in bag, no free drinks or food, and some airlines like Ryanair will charge you if you don’t check-in online ahead of time. Low-cost airlines are generally cheap, but what makes them extraordinarily valuable for flexible travellers are their promotions.

By signing up for newsletters or following them on social media, you can get updates about valuable promotions. I have been able to fly from Copenhagen to Africa for less than 8 dollars with a stop in Italy. From India to Malaysia for less than 50 dollars. Around the same for Malaysia to Perth in Australia and a roundtrip ticket from Denmark to the Gambia, although the last one was not actually a low-cost carrier, but a special promotion from a Danish charter company.

In Europe, I have flown Ryanair many times for less than 15 dollars, and I could continue. Instead of continuing with price examples, I will here list some of the world’s low-cost airlines as of 2020:

Africa: Fastjet . Asia: AirAsia – Cebu Pacific Air – IndiGo – Jetstar Airways – Peach – Scoot . Australia: Jetstar Airways. Europe: EasyJet – Eurowings – Norwegian – Ryanair – Vueling – WizzAir . USA: Jetblue – Southwest Airlines – Spirit – WestJet . South America: Gol Transportes Aéreos – Viva Air .

For additional airlines, I can recommend Wikipedia’s article “ List of low-cost airlines ”.

If you have a lot of time, you could sign up for all the airlines’ newsletters, follow them on social media and book fast when they have promotions. The promotions are sometimes limited to a short time frame, with a limited amount of the extraordinarily cheap tickets available on a limited number of routes.

8. Save money on flights

There are many ways to save money on flights besides using low-cost airlines. The first tip is also to do with social media, and it’s to look online for great deals. I have spent a lot of time on Secret Flying’s Twitter profile, where they post great flight deals several times per day. Because of them, I flew from Vienna to Eilat in Southern Israel for one Euro in 2019.

It’s always a good idea to collect air miles as it’s free, but the most significant benefit of miles seems to be with credit cards. Sign up bonuses and the possibility to earn miles every time you use the card. Sadly this is almost only limited to the USA and perhaps a few other countries. In Denmark, there are a few options, but without the great benefits like in the US. Some travellers have been able to play this “game” very well and earned a lot of miles by investing their time in this.

I have never had elite status on an airline, but that’s another great benefit. Selecting airlines from the same alliance over and over again might be much more valuable for you than always looking for the cheapest ticket. I have flown business class several times and had access to lounges. Lounges can be beneficial, especially for long layovers, but generally, I prefer to spend little time at the airport. Transportation like flying for me is about getting from A to B safely and comfortably. Preferably without wasting too much unnecessary time.

On the other hand, business-class travel has never been worth my money or miles, except when there was a thing called BMI Diamond Club. This loyalty program had an option to buy miles at a great value, and then use them for business class, for example between continents at a much lower price than if you had purchased the ticket with cash. It would be around the same or slightly more as buying an economy ticket for the same route in some cases. Unfortunately, the program doesn’t exist anymore, and I haven’t found a great alternative since.

My current favourite is the British Airways Executive Club because of its low redemption rate for short-haul flights. Some short-haul flights are costly, and as I don’t earn many miles year-around, the ones I do earn can be very valuable in this program. For example, flying my favourite airline, Sun-Air of Scandinavia, is very expensive. Still, since it’s a franchise of British Airways, it is part of this program, making an award ticket possible for just 4000 miles and a small cash amount (or 2,200 miles and an approximately three times the cash amount).

2,200 miles can give an approximate 80-90% saving on some of Sun-Air’s routes compared to buying the ticket directly with cash. So how do you earn British Airways miles? Flying British Airways obviously or flying any of their One World partners. Star Alliance is overall probably a better alliance, but because of the low redemption option on British Airways, they are only the next best alliance for me.

On Star Alliance, I like United Airlines MileagePlus-program the most because of the redemption options. SkyTeam is another alliance which includes Air France and KLM. Their loyalty program, Flying Blue has not impressed me as the redemption requirements are far from the options of British Airways and United.

9. Flight search engines and third-party booking sites

Another way to save money on flights is by using a flight search engine. I have spent a lot of time (often too much time) trying to find the cheapest possible ticket. It’s often been a waste of time to spend hours trying to save a small amount of money. Instead, it would have been better if I had spent that time in something productive. I’ve used several different websites like Kayak, Momondo and Skyscanner when it comes to flight search engines.

What matters most is the price difference between booking on an airline’s official website and booking on a third-party booking site. If you have any issue with your flight whatsoever, you are much more likely to get help from the airline than the third-party website. In many cases, the airline might ask you to contact your travel agent or where you bought the ticket. If there’s just a small price difference, I prefer booking with the airline directly, but sometimes it’s possible to save a lot of money on third-party booking sites with Flybillet.dk and Ticket2Travel.dk being my favourites.

Vayama.com used to be another favourite, but they no longer operate. I would highly recommend to check out the reviews of the third-party websites on sites like Trustpilot, as some are riskier to book at than others. Sometimes I have received the ticket instantly while I other times have been surprised that they first have to look at the request. It can create stress and frustration, especially if it turns out later that the ticket is no longer available.

If you are in a pleasant financial situation, I would highly recommend booking directly with the airline. My financial situation wasn’t the best being on such a low budget, and I’ve often felt it would be best to save the money and taking a risk instead of the safer option. Probably comparable to travel without travel insurance to save the money, but of course on a much smaller scale.

A final tip about third-party websites is to don’t use your primary e-mail. You might receive a lot of unwanted e-mails with “special offers” for your trip. My theory is they might not make any profit on at least some of the tickets they sell cheaper than the airlines but instead try to make a big profit on a hotel stay or car rental now that they can e-mail you.

Around the world tickets and flight passes are other ways to save money on flights. I don’t have experience with this, but many travel agencies sell around the world-tickets cheaper than if you book the tickets separately. However, suppose you focus on low-cost airlines and are flexible about the destinations you want to visit. In that case, you might be able to do it a lot cheaper yourself, so it depends if you’re going to pay with your time or prefer an easy solution. If you haven’t travelled much before, it’s probably better to go with the around the world ticket, as you will have a travel agent to contact in case of problems.

Flight passes can be of excellent value if you want to visit a lot of destinations in a short time frame. Air Asia made an unlimited pass (all you can fly for a year) in 2020, while a Norwegian airline called Widerøe several times has offered one ticket with unlimited flying. A deal that was so great that Forbes called it “An Outstanding Travel Bargain”. That’s just two examples, but if you google this subject, you will find several other flight passes that might be ideal for you depending on your preferred style of travel and where you are planning to travel.

10. Low-cost buses

In recent years, several low-cost bus companies have made travelling on an ultra-low budget more affordable. My first big experience with a low-cost bus company was Megabus between American cities in 2009, which impressed me greatly. A lot of tickets were available for a dollar plus a reservation fee of 50 cents. The United States is not a great country when it comes to public transportation compared to Europe. To reach beautiful remote places, a rental car, taxi, Uber (or similar apps) or hitchhiking might be your only option unless you want to walk or cycle, while you in Europe can reach many beautiful remote places by train or bus.

German Flixbus is probably the biggest low-cost bus company as of today. The company was founded in 2011 and described themselves with “400,000 daily connections to over 2,500 destinations in 34 European countries”. Although bus travel is not my favourite kind of travel, Flixbus is undoubtedly one of the best bus companies. Like many other buses nowadays, it offers Wi-Fi, comfortable seats and power outlets on at least some of its buses. Flixbus is unlike many low-cost airlines, often cheap if you book on the same day. However, it’s best to book in advance and look for promotions by signing up for their newsletter and/or follow them on social media.

Besides this, they have a great value deal called InterFlix, where you can buy five tickets for 99 Euros. The catch here is that you can only book direct trips, so it’s valuable to use them for long bus journeys, and buy separate tickets if you plan to visit other destinations close by on the trip. Another way to save money is to buy Flixbus vouchers online. I have purchased several Flixbus vouchers on eBay. It might not be worth it for many people, but for those on a tight budget like me, it might be very well worth it especially if you are planning to visit a lot of European countries.

Finally, sometimes Flixbus give away coupons as it happened to me at a bus station in Poland. To compare prices for European bus routes, I can recommend Busradar.com. Some of the other low-cost bus companies you might want to check out includes: Boltbus, Eurolines, Greyhound Express, National Express, Peter Pan Bus Lines and Redbus. Besides this, many smaller companies operate just a few routes like AfricanLiner between Lilongwe and Johannesburg, while Kombardo Ekspressen operates a few routes in Denmark.

I haven’t experienced anything terrible happening to me on a bus, except for the noise and bad smells. I am not a fan of smokers that during stops think it’s OK to smoke a cigarette in or near the door and to expose passengers to passive smoke. It also used to sometimes be an unpleasant experience taking trains, but several countries have now implemented a smoking ban on platforms.

One of the benefits of bus travel is you often get from city centre to city centre which is not the case when flying. Transportation to and from the airport can be costly. Tehran, Oslo and Munich come to mind. Oslo and Munich had very expensive trains. Tehran’s international airport had no public transportation to the city, so I decided to use my thumb, but more about that in the next subject below.

Honourable Mentions

Hitchhiking.

Hitchhiking is a great way to experience cultures and save a lot of money. I have hitchhiked in close to 100 countries and territories and been in more than 1,000 cars total. I hitchhike depending on the location and situation. I think it would be fair to say smaller islands generally are safe and easy, but the situation also depends if there is any public transportation available and if it’s cheap. Like in Ireland, public transportation wasn’t cheap, so I decided to hitchhike instead.

There might also be situations where it can be dangerous to hitchhike, like in the centre of a big city, but what you can do instead is talk to people. I have managed to get rides this way as well. For example, in Munich, I was frustrated about how much the train would cost to the airport. As I had plenty of time, I decided to walk the streets and look for people with bags. I found a man and his son and asked if they were going to the airport and if I could join. It worked out. “If you don’t ask you don’t get”, but it might be really uncomfortable to ask, and it’s not a wonderful feeling to get rejected. Two situations come to mind, the British Virgin Islands and Samoa.

In the British Virgin Islands, I was waiting for a LIAT flight to St. Maarten, sitting close to a British couple that said they were going to stay at Radisson hotel, which is on the French part of the island, called St. Martin. As I had a reservation at the same hotel, I decided to take a chance and talk to them about my project and if I could get a ride. The flight was approximately three hours delayed, and it would arrive very late in St. Maarten. I felt the couple were sceptical about me, and the man said he didn’t know if they would get there by taxi or boat.

After arriving in St. Maarten, I saw them on the way to a car, and I asked again if I could join, and the man just said: “I’d rather not”. Fair enough. I understand. That’s just what sometimes happens when you ask a lot to make your full-time travel to every country possible on a very tight budget. The other situation was in Samoa where I successfully hitchhiked several times, but one time a man stopped the car and asked where I was going and then demanded money to take me. I didn’t want to do that as the whole idea of hitchhiking is getting a free ride. He then got angry and said something bad I have luckily forgotten. When you have interactions with many thousands of people, there will be bad experiences here and there. Thankfully nothing really bad has ever happened to me hitchhiking, except for some scary situations.

Save money on food

After accommodation and transport, food is probably the third biggest expense when travelling the world. Some countries have some cheap local restaurants, where even people on a low budget easily can afford to eat. However, in general, going to supermarkets instead of restaurants will save you a lot of money when travelling.

It’s up to each person to decide how light they want to travel, but there are some very portable blenders you can buy cheaply online. That gives you the possibility to make, among other things, healthy smoothies, that can be very cheap, tasty and nutritious. Healthy and nutritious food can be a challenge travelling around the world where cheap fast food is often easily available, but I believe it’s well worth it to prioritise your health travelling the world.

Suppose you decide to invest in a small portable blender; I recommend bananas, carrots, and beetroots. They are usually very cheap at supermarkets, and with that in mind, you can make a cheap, nutritious smoothie for less than 50 cents in many countries.

Start a blog

Without the internet, I would not have been able to visit every country in the world. Having a blog gave me the opportunity to do partnerships and get valuable, and in some cases, necessary help from a lot of people. It’s something to consider to be able to get the help you might need to make this work.

It is a way to potentially make very valuable partnerships that can save you a lot of money. If your blog gets very popular, you also have the opportunity to make good money. That can, for example, be via affiliate marketing. To begin you can use Blogger.com for free, but for a great WordPress-hosting, I recommend DreamHost .

Enjoy it, be prepared and take your time

If you decide to visit every country in the world, instead of focusing on rushing through the countries, it’s better to slow down, plan your travels properly and enjoy the places you visit.

I have done slow travel, and I have done rush travel, and slow travel wins every time. Rush travel can be extremely stressful, especially trips that are not well-organised. There can be a lot of uncertainty, many surprises and many of those surprises can be negative. So please enjoy it, be prepared and take your time.

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A Travel Planning Guide

Travel cost calculators for countries around the world.

Budget Your Trip is designed to help you plan a better vacation by gathering travel costs for various destinations around the world. Whether you're traveling on a shoestring budget, or looking to splurge on a luxury resort, our website will help you understand how to get the most for your money.

We offer travel planning resources that you can use to estimate, plan, and track your travel budget. Our information and resources are free of charge for travelers. If you're in the beginning stages of planning your trip, you can search for your destinations here , find your favorite place, and see what others have spent on low-end, mid-range, and luxury trips and vacations. Alternatively, you can select a country from the list of countries to find out what the typical mid-range travel costs are for that area. The costs are broken down by category and include everything from accommodation, to food, entertainment and transportation budgets. These destination budget pages also give you an overview of what to expect in your chosen country, things to see and do, how to best get around, and what you can expect from the local cuisine. From a country page, you can dive deeper into specific cities, too. This information is designed to be used as a starting point for you as you begin deciding where to go and how much you need to save.

All of our information comes from travelers just like you. All of the average daily travel costs are calculated from travel budgets that have been provided by real people who have already visited these locations. This way, you can get a realistic perspective on what you might spend. Our numbers are constantly updated to ensure that you get the most up-to-date information. If you register on our website (free) you can use our travel planning tools to help you plan your own budget before your trip even begins. You can break down your estimated expenses by category and see graphs and charts of where your money will likely go. Learn which cities and countries will have the greatest impact on your trip expenses, and rework your route to ensure that you get the most bang for your buck.

Then, once your trip begins, you can track your budget to make sure you don't overspend. Whether you're going on a one week holiday, or a one year odyssey, it helps to know that you're not spending more than you have saved. By tracking your budget on this website, you'll also be helping other travelers. If you notice your destination of choice is missing from our list, track your trip costs on our website and help future travelers. Your expenses will be added to our estimates, and as our data grows, so does our comprehensiveness and accuracy.

This is a tool that is created by travelers, for travelers. We understand how important budgeting is to a trip. Guidebooks may offer some budgeting advice, but information is often out-of-date, difficult to locate, and limited in its value. This website is supported by a community of travelers who want easy accessibility.

Are You Just Beginning?

Many travelers become overwhelmed when they begin planning their trip. If you're going on vacation for a few weeks, it's hard to narrow down your choices to one or two countries. If you're taking time off of work for a gap year, planning your route can get overwhelming to say the least. Whatever type of trip you're planning, you should first narrow your options down by region. Some parts of the world are more expensive than others, but within regions there is a lot of variability as well. You can also check out our travel planning guide for tips and advice on traveling cheaper.

Narrowing Your Options

The region or countries you decide to visit will dictate how much money your trip will require. It's best to understand costs before you begin your trip, so you know exactly what to expect from your destinations of choice.

Asia in particular has countries that range from super expensive, like Japan, to very low cost, like India or Nepal. Southeast Asia is well known as an affordable destination for those on a limited budget, but if you want a high end vacation, there are plenty of resorts in Thailand as well.

Africa can be surprisingly expensive for first time visits. Depending on your country of choice, the selection of hotels can be limited, restaurants may be overpriced, and safaris can quickly eat away at your budget. Still, you'll find plenty of affordable places to go in this vast continent. Ethiopia is an unexpected surprise for visitors who want to see a different side of Africa. Morocco is Africa with an Arab twist, and Kenya is probably your most affordable option if you're hoping to do a safari.

South America is another region that is reasonable in cost. Some countries, like Brazil, may quickly eat away at your budget, but others, like Bolivia, are perfect for those with limited financial options.

In Europe, you'll quickly find that your money goes a lot farther in the Eastern European countries than it does in the Western European countries. Still, prices can be quite high all over, so it's good to learn a few tricks, like couchsurfing, to ensure that your finances stay in check.

If you're headed to North America, national parks and small towns are usually the least expensive options. Consider traveling with a tent and you'll save yourself a lot of money. While hostels are few and far between, campgrounds are abundant, particularly near the most popular parks like the Grand Canyon and Yosemite. In Mexico, head inland and you'll find many more affordable choices than you would on the coast where luxury resorts are abundant.

The Caribbean Islands are not a popular option for independent travelers. You'll rarely find a backpacker spending time in the region, but if you're looking for a comfortable vacation with all the amenities, then you've found the right place to go. Despite the high costs, or perhaps because of them, it is important to understand which islands offer the best deals for cost conscious travelers.

Central America is a small region, but it has a lot to offer. It is a great introduction to a new culture, and your budget can be kept to a minimum. Still, if you're looking for a resort, you don't have to look far as there are many diverse places to stay in this fascinating area.

Many people shy away from the Middle East, but those that make the trip are greeted by a welcoming culture, friendly people, and a one of a kind experience. Countries are diverse in style, culture, and costs, so it's best to do your research ahead of time and choose places that will fit your travel style to ensure your trip is all that you hoped.

Australia and New Zealand are no longer budget destinations, but backpackers still flock to the area. By planning ahead and looking for the best deals you can ensure you get the most out of your trip.

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How Much Would It Cost to Travel to Every Country in The World?

CommonCentsMom.com is advertiser-supported: we may earn compensation from the products and offers mentioned in this article. However, any expressed opinions are our own and aren't influenced by compensation. The contents of the CommonCentsMom.com website, such as text, graphics, images, and other material contained on this site (“Content”) are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional financial or legal advice. Always seek the advice of your Financial Advisor, CPA and Lawyer with any questions you may have regarding your situation. Never disregard professional advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website!

QUICK ANSWER: To travel to every country in the world, it would cost you $96,000 if you spent only one day in each country. If you spent 3 days in each country, it would cost you $289,500. If you spent 1 week in each country, it would cost you $675,500 and it would take 3.7 years to finish your round-the-world trip.

As soon as one receives their first passport book, the dreams of filling it with visas and stamps start drifting into their heads. From eating local cuisines and learning traditions, to hiking some of the most breathtaking places known to man, the world offers plenty of dreams to chase after.

With over 190 nations in existence, there’s no shortages of places to explore. But what if you wanted to visit every country at least once? How much would it truly cost to travel to every country in the world?

Before You Begin: Settling Business at Home

Prior to charting your course, it’s critical to start your planning at home. Taking time for an around-the-world trip requires many of resources, including a starting budget and reduced obligations.

Starting your big voyage should start with plotting your financial picture. Because you may not be earning regular income while on the road, it’s important to ensure you not only have enough to start, but also extra to cover unforeseen emergencies. Additionally, you will also need to plan for any obligations you leave behind, like housing payments and outstanding debt.

Making an around-the-world trip requires careful financial planning. As part of your strategy, be sure to have plans for housing before and after your trip, as well as a way to take care of any bills you may have to pay.

Setting expectations and creating a plan

For many people, it may be impossible to actually visit every country in the world. For example: American nationals are banned from visiting Iran and North Korea, while Canadian nationals are warned to stay away from the African nations of Burundi and the Central African Republic.

Those details notwithstanding, the first step in any grand adventure is setting a plan and expectations. Transportation, accommodations and food will all need to be added to your daily budget. The prices for meals every day and a bed at night will change based on where you are going. While the average hotel rate in Paris, France was around $269 per night in 2019, while the average daily hotel rate in Phuket, Thailand in 2019 was closer to $100 per night.

To begin setting up your quest to travel to every country in the world, start by charting your course on the map, and research any visas you may have to get ahead of time and their cost. This goal should take into account the time you have available to travel, any anticipated average expenses per day, and transportation costs to get between point to point.

Traveling Within Scales of Economy

Although traveling from country-to-country is an expensive proposition, it doesn’t have to be out of reach. As you process your planning, there are plenty of ways to reduce costs and go efficiently from country to country.

First, minimize your anticipated air travel. Aside from traveling overseas, air travel can be expensive and unnecessary when going on the land. Trains and buses are not only more economic, but allows you to maximize your ability to visit more countries. As you plot your course, always look for ways to travel over roads and railways first.

Second, consider how to save money when looking for accommodations in foreign cities. While hotels can be expensive, person-to-person websites like AirBNB, Homestay and VRBO can offer lower cost alternatives with local hosts. If you’re traveling to a place where these options aren’t available, hostels can offer a budget-friendly alternative. Before booking either option, be sure to read reviews and understand you may be staying with hosts or other travelers with shared facilities. By understanding what you are getting into, you can ensure that you are getting accommodations that meet your expectations.

Finally, consider any hotel points, airline miles, or cash back you may have earned through credit card spending. Frequent flyer miles can reduce the amount you will need to spend on airplane tickets, while hotel points can be used to get free hotel nights. Using points, miles and cash back earned by your everyday spending, you can stretch your budget even further and enjoy your trip even further.

Setting an Around-The-World Trip Budget

You’ve plotted your course and set a date. The time has come to set a budget for those international travel. How much should you dedicate per person, per day?

As a starting point, you can expect to spend an average of $500 per person, per day.

This $500 budget will cover:

1. Lodging (Hotels, hostels, etc.) 2. Daily meals (Breakfast and dinner, at a minimum) 3. Transportation from city to city 4. Extra incidentals you may need

It’s important to remember that this is a rolling average per day, and not every city or stopover will consume the full amount. While it may be tempting to spend more in cities with a lower cost of living, keeping a disciplined budget can ensure your adventures go without fail.

With that budget in mind, your budget may be set by how much time you want to spend traveling. If it was possible to spend one day in each country, it would cost $96,000 to visit every country in the world. However, that estimate is not realistic: trains and buses don’t run every day, and spending only one day at each destination doesn’t give you enough time to learn about the culture and appreciate the location.

This is where its important to balance time with budget. Consider the following scenarios:

1. Three days in each destination: 579 days (1.59 years), estimated $289,500 2. Five days in each destination: 965 days (2.64 years), estimated $482,500 3. Seven days in each destination: 1,351 days (3.7 years), estimated $675,500

Factors to Consider in the Cost of a World Trip

The countries you choose to visit.

Spending time in developed countries, like Australia, Europe, and Japan, can increase your travel costs. On the other hand, traveling in less developed countries can save you quite a bit. For instance, traveling to Asia, Africa, and South America are cheaper. For instance, you can expect to spend about $50/day/person in a country such as Cambodia. That amount allows you to eat well and stay in nice hotels.

So, try to spend more time in less developed countries that have a lower cost of living. Your travel costs will go down and you can take in more sights with the money saved.

There’s also a way to keep food costs down each day. You can do that by minimizing restaurant visits and using local grocery stores. You can save more on food by cooking your own meals.

Eating out every day of your world trip can be pretty expensive, even when traveling in a cheaper country. When you add alcohol and desserts to your meals, food costs can rise exponentially. There goes your budget!

On the other hand, eating locally is cheaper, and you can get a taste of the local cuisine. If you want to eat out, search for food stalls, where you can find inexpensive street foods. Staying in an accommodation that offers some cooking facilities is another way to keep food expenses down. Cooking your meals rather than eating out saves a lot of your budget for other fun activities and experiences.

Cost of Activities

When you travel around the world, you expect to see and do fun things! But you have to have the money to do that. Attraction and sightseeing fees quickly add up, taking a large part of your budget.

Decide what you like to do that can be a cheaper option or free. Do you like to see artwork and religious places? In some locations, it’s possible to visit local churches, where you can find beautiful, famous works of art (and some you didn’t know existed!).

Do you like to hike? Consider taking in some hiking trails or walking to explore a new city. You can also find free museums and other things to do along the way.

The good news is that you don’t have to do it all at once. Seeing the world is a marathon, and not a sprint. Through strong planning and a focus on meeting your goals, seeing nearly every country in the world is an achievable and plausible goal.

Although it may feel like a lot of money, seeing the world is more about the journey than the achievement. With smart planning skills and taking a broad view, it’s possible to set a budget to visit every country in the world, and create a lifetime of memories.

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The Road to 193: Visiting Every Country in the World

Many years ago, I wrote an article entitled “The Road to 193” , in which I somewhat nebulously outlined my plans to visit every country in the world over the course of my lifetime.

Like many of you, with my travel plans having ground to a halt and life progressing at a slow pace these days, I’ve had the chance to reflect on my past travels and daydream about future adventures. And there’s nothing like a black swan event like a global pandemic to remind me that unexpected things will always come up in life, and that if I don’t take active steps to make my goals a reality, they may simply never happen.

And so, I feel it’s the right time to revisit and reiterate my aspirations to eventually visit all of the UN-recognized sovereign states, and to plot out a strategy for progressing towards this lofty goal over the coming years and decades.

Why Visit Every Country in the World?

Whenever the idea of visiting every country in the world is floated in conversation with fellow travellers, it’s usually accompanied by a debate as to whether this goal is something worth pursuing in the first place. After all, shouldn’t travel be about more than tallying up a list of countries and checking items off a list?

No doubt, there are many cities around the world where not even a lifetime would be enough to fully absorb the place, let alone a country, let alone all the countries. That’s part of what makes travel such an enrapturing pursuit in the first place – knowing that there’s an endless world out there to explore, an endless series of new adventures to look forward to.

I think there’s a subtle distinction to be made between aiming to see as much of the world as possible, and visiting all the countries purely for the sake of it.

I’ve always championed the belief that every place on Earth has something unique to offer to the discerning traveller, and I do feel that no single definable objective captures that spirit better than visiting all 193 recognized countries.

Sometimes, I hear about fellow travellers on the Road to 193 doing things like stepping across a border into a new country, only to return immediately and check it off their list. My aim will be to avoid doing this whenever possible, and ideally spend at least one night, if not a couple of nights, within the borders of each nation in order to get a proper taste of the place.

And if that isn’t possible, and I don’t feel I’ve done a place justice (as is currently the case for, say, Bosnia & Herzegovina, where I stopped briefly in the port town of Neum on the bus ride across Croatia to buy something at a convenience store) – then the country will be added back to the end of the list, so that I make sure I pay it another visit if and when I complete my goal on paper.

141 Countries to Go…

I’ve visited 52 of the UN member states as of February 2021, which leaves me with 141 countries to go on the Road to 193.

Written out like that, the task appears just as daunting to me as you might imagine. If I estimate that I’d be able to visit 10 new countries per year on average, this is a task that will take me the next 14 years, until I’m 40 years old, to complete.

It’s important to set actionable and measurable goals, after all, so I think that’s a fair barometer to measure against as I aim to make slow but steady progress towards this goal year after year.

Now, obviously, some countries will be easier than others to visit, especially since many of the 52 countries I’ve already visited count among the “easier” countries for Canadians to enter without a visa.

I was fairly young the last time I discussed the Road to 193. Now that I’m a bit older and have clearer sense of where life is going, it’s important to lay out the logistical considerations that will be essential in making this goal a reality.

Short-Term vs. Long-Term Goals

I think it makes sense to tackler the more challenging countries sooner rather than later. Some of my more adventurous trips over the next couple of years are going to be focused around more distant destinations like Africa, the South Pacific, and Central Asia.

Africa will be the biggest challenge, with no less than 52 countries left to explore after Ghana and Egypt (and plenty of reasons still to return to both of those).

Besides the sheer numbers, though, there are many more factors to consider: the costs and efforts required to obtain visas, the high cost of travel within the continent, and not to mention the greater risks that remain associated with travelling in many African countries.

It’s all part of what we’ve signed up for as dedicated travellers, but there’s no denying that the risks of visiting, say, Mali or the Central African Republic do bear some consideration.

It’s another reason to focus on travelling to this part of the world in the short-term future: I’m more comfortable taking on a daring travel style these days than in the future when I have a young family that depends on me. 

The islands of the South Pacific have been a source of longstanding fascination for me. Having completed a journey through Micronesia on the United Island Hopper , I’m looking forward to exploring more of these remote, rarely-visited islands further south across Melanesia and Polynesia.

(The threat of global warming means that the local way of life on these islands may be radically different in a couple decades’ time, as some of the islanders are already facing the prospect of being forced out of their homelands by rising sea levels within their lifetimes. That’s another reason for me to prioritize visiting these countries before it may be too late.) 

Central Asia and its environs, like Iran and the Caucasus, will also be a big area of the map to tackle. Thankfully, quite a few of my friends have expressed interest in exploring these places, too, so I look forward to bringing a few travel buddies along in this part of the world.

Speaking of which, I’ll also have to give some thought as to which new countries to visit on my own or with my friends, and which trips bring along Jessy as my travel companion.

As much as we’ve enjoyed extended journeys along the Trans-Siberian Railway in the past, as Jessy embarks on a career of her own, she’d probably be less enthusiastic spending her precious vacation time accompanying me to places like… the Guineas: Bissau, Equatorial, Papua New, or the regular one. 

Instead, I’ll be saving the more traditional tourist destinations that I haven’t visited yet, such as South Africa, India, Peru, or French Polynesia for trips that we’re able to go on together, while saving the more audacious trips for my own agenda.

(Okay, French Polynesia isn’t one of the 193 sovereign states, but an aspirational Bora Bora trip is definitely something I’m aiming for, too.)

After tackling some of these gaps in my travel map, I’ll leave the “easier” destinations, like Europe, Central America, or the Caribbean for the more distant future, which are more feasible to visit with a young family in tow. I also envision spending lots of time in Asia, so the remaining Asia-Pacific countries I’ve yet to visit should also be pretty easy to reach.

The Magic of Miles & Points

Being able to earn and redeem points for flights and accommodations won’t necessarily bring you to every country around the world in a straightforward manner, but it can certainly give you a leg up in terms of planning out the trips.

Say I wanted to plan a trip to Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Well, the fifth-freedom flight by Royal Air Maroc would cost $518 one-way in economy class… or alternatively, with Royal Air Maroc joining Oneworld now, only 9,000 Avios in business class.

The same principle applies all over the world, not only with Avios but also with Aeroplan now that the latter is distance-based, too. Throw in Aeroplan’s ability to book stopovers for 5,000 points on a one-way, and the possibilities grow even more numerous.

For the hardcore traveller who wants to see as much of the world as possible, credit card welcome bonuses and loyalty program sweet spots are the ultimate secret weapon.

I will say, though, that they can also offer a different temptation of their own. Indeed, over the past few years I probably would’ve gotten to visit quite a few more countries if I hadn’t always been so focused on flying the “perfect” itinerary with new business class and First Class experiences at every turn. 

Now that I’ve been fortunate enough to complete most of my aviation-related bucket list items, I’d like to focus my travel efforts more consciously on exploring new destinations as the world opens up again over the next few years.

The idea of travelling to every country in the world is something that every kid has thought about when staring at the world map.

I myself vividly remember spending long hours gazing at the map on my wall, wondering what life was like in all the different countries out there from Afghanistan through Zimbabwe, and it’s a real privilege to be in a position to pursue this goal in earnest in my adult life.

Being grounded by the pandemic has definitely brought this objective into sharper focus for me, and I’m looking forward to getting started on exploring the remaining 141 countries once things start to get better – and to document the journeys here over the years and decades to come. 

• Earn 80,000 MR points upon spending $15,000 in the first three months
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• Annual fee: $799

Prince of Travel is Canada’s leading resource for using frequent flyer miles, credit card points, and loyalty programs to travel the world at a fraction of the price.

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How Much Does It Cost To Visit Every Country In The World?

I’ve mentioned a few times that going to  every country in the world  wasn’t as expensive as most people initially think. But how much did it  really  cost?

The short answer is that I’m not 100% sure of the precise figure. I didn’t tally up every expense associated with ten-and-a-half years of travel, and I didn’t save all the receipts. Much of the travel (perhaps one-third) was done in cooperation with other work and commitments. The whole time I was living in West Africa, for example, I was visiting a bunch of new countries, but usually in my capacity as an aid worker for a charity.

Even during the time when I was focused mainly on going to countries for no good reason, it wasn’t a business project. It wasn’t something I needed to account for or get reimbursed. It was a personal challenge that I would have pursued regardless of the cost.

Once I transitioned out of aid work and moved to Seattle (2006), I began working toward my first 100 countries,  as noted in this long-ago post  from the early days:

Considering the various factors, I finally worked out a rough estimate of about $500 per country. At 65 countries to go, I realized that my financial cost to visit 100 countries would be approximately $32,500. After thinking it over, I decided that $32,500 was a small price to pay compared to the experiences I would gain from visiting 100 countries. By Western standards, $32,500 is less than the average individual income of about $39,000 in the U.S. Less than one year’s income to visit 100 countries? To a person who values international travel, that seems almost too good to be true.

$30k for 100 countries … not bad at all. But what about after that?

As far as I could guess, the rest of the journey cost a lot more than $30k, but not a  tremendous  amount more. I’d put the estimate of the second half at somewhere around $80,000-$120,000, depending on which expenses you’d assign to the quest and which you’d assign to other things.

Even if we consider the highest possible cost ($150,000 to go to all 193 countries), I think it’s still a fantastic value. Consider a few points:

• I didn’t pay all of it at once.  It’s not as though I had to have a ton of cash in the bank right at the beginning. Instead, I paid it out as I went along, year by year and country by country. Toward the end of the journey, costs were higher, but I had effectively already “pre-paid” much of the total cost through going everywhere else.
• There’s no doubt that $150,000—or whatever the number is—is a lot of money.  But again, it wasn’t all due at once, and when I consider the tremendous range of experiences I had and the knowledge I gained, it seems modest. It’s not impossible to spend $150k on higher education. The average home cost in the U.S. is currently around $180k. Raising a child to age 18 costs somewhere around $250-300k. All of these are things that most people have no objection to spending on.
• Travel hacking made the whole project much more feasible.  As longtime readers know, I got creative in paying for costs with nearly-free flights (hundreds of them) and completely free hotel stays (hundreds of those too). My adventures in travel hacking led to a lot of creative adventures, from receiving a  hair-loss consultation  in exchange for 20,000 Delta SkyMiles to getting a  free First Class trip in Thailand  (and many more!). It’s safe to say that I went to least 60-75 countries as a direct benefit of travel hacking.  It pays to study this for yourself—learn and apply !
• I changed the way I traveled for the final batch of countries.  Maybe I was getting soft (I probably was) but I was also getting older and feeling more tired. I no longer had the energy to endure the same kind of epic bus rides through Africa that I once did. Instead of flying four or more connections around the world, I started breaking up the trip with more layovers. Instead of seeking the cheapest possible guesthouse or hostel, I started staying in more hotels. The point is that if someone  needed  to do it even more frugally than me, it wouldn’t be impossible.
• I also started valuing my time and well-being a lot more toward the end of the trip.  As a young traveler I did a lot of things that made sense at the time but probably weren’t that smart in the long-term. If the food at the airport was expensive, I just wouldn’t eat. (Then, of course, I’d be tired and unproductive for the rest of the day.) I started  spending more money on things that would make my life easier . This contributed to increased financial costs, but greatly improved my lifestyle and gave me more stamina to continue.
• “It costs what life costs.”  This was one of my favorite quotes in  The Happiness of Pursuit . It came from Megan Hicks, who responded with this answer when I asked her how much it cost to train and run the  Marathon des Sables  in Morocco. “I don’t think I can put a price tag on it,” she continued. “My boyfriend and I choose to live a simple, frugal life so that we can do things we are passionate about.” That’s how I felt about my quest too: I structured my life around it, sometimes making hard choices in support of the goal, but always being willing to do whatever I could to see it through.

The money wasn’t the greatest challenge. By far, the greater challenge was taking on the quest itself—mustering the confidence I needed to begin, and gaining the momentum I needed to keep going, country by country.

But as I like to say, once you go down the road of adventure, you don’t always know where you’ll end up. For me I was very happy to hand over this money in return for experiencing the world. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Image:  Denise

How To Visit Every Country in The World

Up for a challenge this week we’re deep diving into the concept of visiting every country in the world – including spotlighting the courageous few that have actually done it and strategizing how it might possibly be completed. buckle up – this is going to be a big one, how many countries are there.

This looks like a simple question, but it’s deceptively tricky to answer. Previous people that have completed the “globetrotter challenge” have had different answers to this question and, as ever, it generally depends on your political worldview.  

A country, loosely defined, is an area of land that is autonomously controlled by its own government. It’s also generally a place that self-defines as a “country”. Unfortunately, international parties often disagree or choose not to honour a region’s claims to sovereignty, making their “country status” invalidated in the international sphere. This is why regions such as Kosovo, Scotland and Catalonia are sometimes referred to as “countries” but often left off international lists of countries in the world.

Let’s take the most widely accepted number of countries in 2021, which is 195 . This includes:

54 in Africa

33 in South and Central America

14 in Oceania

2 in North America

44 in Europe.

Which are the Hardest Countries to Enter?

If you’re seriously up for the challenge, you’re going to have to consider the hardest points of your journey before you even begin. Sure, you can just hop over to New York, grab a “I heart NY” top and tick off America, but how will you fare when it comes to ticking off North Korea? Below, we’ve listed a few of the hardest countries to enter:

1. Equatorial Guinea – did you know that only foreigners with a US passport are allowed to enter Equatorial Guinea without a visa? It’s true, and fiendishly difficult for anyone outside of the US.

2. Afghanistan – like many places, entering an active war zone is difficult both in terms of personal safety and accessing visas. Your best bet is avoiding the big cities and entering for a few hours with a dedicated guide to a safer and more secluded part of the country

3. Libya – this is another country that does not offer tourist visas. Entering therefore will have to be through a business visa, which can be very expensive

4. Russia – Most people can get a tourist visa to Russia but be prepared for an insanely bureaucratic process. From biometric fingerprint scans to submitting millimetre for millimetre perfect passport photos – getting your visa for Russia is time consuming and very expensive

5. South Sudan – to enter this country, you need a formal invitation from a company (for a business visa – there are no tourist visas). Unless you happen to have contacts in Sudanese industry, this may prove difficult.

6. North Korea – you’ll be surprised, but getting into North Korea might actually prove to be one of the easier options. This is because the nation runs a pretty lucrative tourist industry taking fascinated visitors on day tours across the border (make of that what you will).

Which are the cheapest countries to enter?

Trying to budget a journey like this might be a difficult task. However, here are the countries where you’re least likely to run into problems financially.

1. Cambodia – legend tells that Cambodian beer is cheaper than water. Hostels cost an average of $3-5 a night and street food often costs less than a dollar. Sign me up!

2. Morocco – another country where hostels costs less than $5 (even in Marrakech) is Morocco. What’s more, transport between cities is equally affordable, allowing you to traverse the country without stretching the pursestrings.

3. El Salvador – with stunning landscapes, beaches and Mayan ruins, El Salvadore is both beautiful and budget-friendly.

4. Bolivia – if you hate cooking, why not move to a country like Bolivia, where eating out three meals a day can easily fit into your daily budget.

5. Poland – One of the cheapest countries in Europe, Poland is a fascinating place to visit. Stay in a hostel for less than $10 a night and enjoy eating out Polish-style in fabulously affordable restaurants.

Which are the most expensive countries to enter?

Let’s hope you enjoyed plenty of savings in the five cheap countries mentioned above, because here are the five most expensive countries in the world…

1. Japan – Seen those pictures of businessmen sleeping in cages in Tokyo? Well it’s no wonder, since renting a flat will cost you roughly $1400 a month.

2. Norway – Norwegians get paid high salaries, so the high cost of living tends to even out. For visitor’s however, there’s no escaping the eye-watering $9 for a beer…

3. Bermuda – It’s paradise on earth, so no wonder this tropical island comes with a hefty price tag. Beer costs a staggering $10 and rent averages at $2675 a month in the city.

4. Iceland – When you’ve got a place so remote, shipping is going to be an issue, and that cost is reflected in the price of practically anything you can buy. A flat in Reykjavik will cost you $1240 a month and $8 is common for a beer.

5. Denmark – Like Norway, high salaries cancel out the high cost of living in cities like Copenhagen. Not so for visitors!

Who has successfully completed every country in the world?

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jessica Nabongo 🇺🇬🇺🇸 (@jessicanabongo)

There are currently around 150 known people that have visited every country in the world, but there are sure to be many more. Some notable individuals include:

James Asquith – James Asquith holds the Guinness World Record for youngest person ever to visit every country in the world. At just 24 when he reached his final country, James took 5 years to travel the world, working as he went to sustain his adventures. Since then, he has gone on to write books and found HolidaySwap – a home swapping holiday service.

Jessica Nabongo – Ugandan-American travel blogger Jessica Nabongo is the first black woman to have travelled to every country in the world. Thanks to her work with the United Nations and her career as a travel influencer, Nabongo had already travelled to 60 countries by the age of 32. In 2016, she decided to go for the full list of 195, achieving it on October 6th 2019 by visiting her final destination – the Seychelles.

Things to Bear in Mind

With so many countries to visit, you’ll need to stay pretty organised in order to keep track of visas, Covid requirements, currency, time-zones, tipping and more. Download the Skratch app for easy access to key information about every country in the world – personalised to your passport and vaccination status!

Starting from Skratch? Here are a few tips to get you started: 

https://www.skratch.world

https://onestep4ward.com/my-journey-to-every-country-in-the-world-country-list-and-faq/

https://thecatchmeifyoucan.com/

Visiting Every Country – at a Glance

❌ the hardest countries to enter.

Equatorial Guinea

Afghanistan

South Sudan

North Korea

💸 The cheapest countries to enter

El Salvador

💰The most expensive countries to enter

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My Journey to Every Country in the World – Country List and FAQs

• 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!

Table of contents

Faqs about visiting every country in the world.

• How Many Countries Are There in the World?

South East Asia

Move to thailand, in which order did you visit every country in the world , = 197 countries in the world:.

• 193 UN member states, + Palestine, Kosovo, Taiwan and the Vatican City.

How many countries are there in the world?

How many people have visited every country in the world, how long have you been doing this, doing it my way, how much does it cost to travel to every country in the world, how do you fund this do you have a sponsor you come from a rich family etc etc etc., what was the most dangerous thing that happened to you, what was your favourite country, what was the hardest country in the world to visit, after visiting every country in the world, what’s next.

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 .

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 traveled cheaply. I was finally free.

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. 

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
• The Netherlands
• South Korea
• The Philippines
• South Africa
• North Korea

*Transniistria

• Bosnia & Herzegovina
• Vatican City
• Switzerland
• Liechtenstein
• Czech Republic
• Papua New Guinea
• New Zealand
• Solomon Islands

*American Samoa

*Nagorno Karabahk

• El Salvador

*Antarctica

• Trinidad and Tobago
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Saint Lucia
• Antigua and Barbuda
• St Kitts and Nevis
• Dominican Republic
• South Sudan
• Democratic Republic of Congo
• Republic of Congo
• Sao Tome and Principe
• Equatorial Guinea
• Central African Republic
• Ivory Coast
• Burkina Faso
• Sierra Leone
• Guinea-Bissau
• Afghanistan
• Turkmenistan
• Federated States of Micronesia
• Marshall islands
• Saudi Arabia

193 UN member states , + Palestine, Kosovo, Taiwan and the Vatican City.

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 . 

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 Guillebeau, 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. 

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 (good guy), 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 flying in for a few hours, maybe a night, a nice hotel and fly out again. Cassie De Pecol spent less than 24 hours in over 100 countries, for example, eeek.

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.

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. 

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 realized 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. Combining 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

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. 

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! 

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. 

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 $250k in the last 5 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 Mauritania or Socotra, Yemen. Let’s see!

Remember, never travel without travel insurance! And never overpay for travel insurance!

I use HeyMondo . You get INSTANT quotes. Super cheap, they actually pay out, AND they cover almost everywhere, where most insurance companies don't (even places like Central African Republic etc!). You can sign-up here . PS You even get 5% off if you use MY LINK ! You can even sign up if you're already overseas and traveling, pretty cool.

Also, if you want to start a blog...I CAN HELP YOU!

Also, if you want to start a blog, and start to change your life, I'd love to help you! Email me on [email protected]. In the meantime, check out my super easy blog post on how to start a travel blog in under 30 minutes, here! And if you just want to get cracking, use BlueHost at a discount, through me.

Also, (if you're like me, and awful with tech-stuff) email me and my team can get a blog up and running for you, designed and everything, for $699 - email [email protected] to get started.

Do you work remotely? Are you a digital nomad/blogger etc? You need to be insured too.

I use SafetyWing for my digital nomad insurance. It covers me while I live overseas. It's just $10 a week, and it's amazing! No upfront fees, you just pay week by week, and you can sign up just for a week if you want, then switch it off and on whenever. You can read my review here , and you can sign-up here !

So if you’re ready to…..

1) change your life 2) travel the world 3) get paid to travel 4) create a positive influence on others 5) be free of offices and ‘real world’ rubbish, then sign up below and let’s get started, previous post 5 ways to communicate better with locals when you travel, next post 10 things to do in azerbaijan & my 5 day azerbaijan itinerary, follow me on instagram @onestep4ward.

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Full-Time Travel: How Much Does It Actually Cost to Travel the World?

This post may contain affiliate links. This just means I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you for helping them promote their product or service. I don’t endorse any services I don’t personally use or recommend.

Due to our least favorite world traveler, COVID-19, no one is going anywhere at the moment. HOWEVER, this is a great time to plan for future trips, and depending on your financial situation start saving for your dream trip. So, how much does it actually cost to travel the world?

Less than it costs to pay rent in America. Seriously.

We do A LOT of advocating for budget travel and have often proclaimed that it’s possible to travel the world for $50 a day or less. And we aren’t the only backpackers/bloggers making this claim. We decided to put our money where our mouth is on our most recent adventure.

A one-way ticket to Asia. Our plan was for a year–maybe two– depending on how our daily budget faired. Unfortunately, the microbial world had other plans.

Although our long-term trip came to a screeching halt with the onslaught of this global pandemic, we still managed to travel for 6-months throughout Asia. And we plan to return abroad the day travel bans are lifted.

But after 6 months of logging our every expense, we have the hard numbers to help you determine just how much it costs to travel long-term.

This post will be continuously updated once we continue our trip abroad. So stay tuned.

How Much Does it Cost Two People to Travel the World for 6 Months?

We lumped our funds together and set off with the goal of spending $55 per day- everything included . Flights, accommodation, food, and all the fun stuff in between. 182 days abroad &…

Our Grand Total was $9,277.37

This means we spent less than $5,000 per person. And as for our daily budget…we crushed it. Our average daily budget was just $50.97 as a couple.

You may be wondering ‘ Why is Malaysia so expensive ?’. And due to a small hiccup on our end, we had to buy another round-trip flight back to Sumatra to retrieve Evan’s laptop. Whoopsies. In actuality, our Malaysia costs would have been $61 a day had it not been for those multiple flights. Mistakes happen.

Budget Breakdown

$50 a day seems like a teensy-tiny budget. But we could have spent less. Thanks to my handy-dandy TripCoin app it’s really easy to see exactly where that money went.

Financial-Friendly Tip : If you’re planning a trip, I cannot recommend TripCoin enough. Even if you’re not sticking to a strict budget, it’s proven you’ll spend less just by recording exactly where your money goes.

Our Average Accommodation Cost: $11.66

Our Average Meal Cost: $3.92

That average meal cost is also taking into account the random times we decided to eat at nicer restaurants and treat ourselves. ( It does not, however , include alcohol) . & about 80% of our lodgings provided breakfast.

That adds up to an average of $19.50 spent on food & a place to sleep every day. The other $30 per day was spent on alcohol, activities, trains, flights, souvenirs, and replacement clothes.

Day to day we were probably spending around $30-35. But a few bigger ticket items in each country add up. ( & of course the few mishaps like getting $150 stolen from our bungalow in Pai, Thailand & forgetting our laptop at airport security. )

Our Travel Hacks

So, how much does it cost to travel the world? That’s kinda up to you. These are the travel tips and hacks we used to travel cheaply and save money every step of the way.

Stay in Guesthouses . Or CouchSurf.

Cheap accommodation is key. You’ll likely spend very little time in your room so don’t waste your daily budget on a place to sleep. We tried Couchsurfing in Sumatra & loved it. You sleep for free in a local’s spare room ( or couch depending on the place ) & often you get an additional insight into the city. Our host took us to an amazing dinner spot we never would have found otherwise and gave us a little tour around the city.

Booking.com is where we find our cheapest guesthouses & accommodation.

Prioritize your needs..

After about a week, we decided we didn’t need to pay extra for A/C anymore. A fan in most countries is more than sufficient. That saves you a bundle when booking rooms. The same goes for transport–we opted for the cheaper 3rd class seats on trains if the ride was 12-hours or less.

Travel Slowly .

Take a ferry, bus, or train instead of a flight. When your traveling long-term time isn’t as much of a concern. You’ll save loads and get to watch the scenery pass by from the window seat. Just be sure to download some good podcasts first.

Eat the Street Food. Or at the very least at local restaurants.

Don’t be afraid. I’ve never gotten food poisoning from street food. It’s cheap, authentic, and so damn delicious. Also, eat local cuisine, avoid any foreign or westernized restaurants.

Clarification: I have gotten food poisoning a number of times. Just never from street food. You can read all about our travel mistakes and mishaps here .

Learn Local Transportation. As frustrating as it may be.

Buses & trains should become your best friend. Take the subway. Ride the Skyrail. Don’t just jump into the nearest Tuk-Tuk or Taxi because they are often 10x the price.

Arrange Your Own Transport.

Buy your bus or train tickets at the station. Rent yourself a motorbike. Hostels and guesthouses will offer to arrange these kinds of things for you but convenience comes with a higher price tag.

Take the Long Route.

Certain activities (especially hikes) can be DIY. Don’t always gravitate toward the planned excursions. We saved nearly $40 by taking the long route to Mount Bromo in Indonesia instead of opting for the jeep trek.

Find Freebies where you can.

Many guesthouses offer free breakfast and many cities have free walking tours. Some guesthouses even offer free train station pick-up. Do a little research and you’ll save loads.

Make Friends.

Splitting the cost of a private room or transport to your next activity definitely lightens your financial burden. Safari jeeps, Angkor Wat tuk-tuk tours, basically anything charging by the vehicle–it pays to have friends.

Travel Light.

Carry-on only . This lets you opt for the super-saver fares on flights. Outside of the US and Europe airlines are a lot more lenient on the weight/size of your carry-on. But the lighter you travel the less likely you’ll ever need to pay for that checked baggage.

Buy a LifeStraw Water Bottle .

Water adds up. & bottled water is horrendous for the planet. You’ll have to purchase bottles of water almost everywhere you go in the world & just having a LifeStraw filter bottle saved us $500 on this trip alone.

Where We Traveled

We traveled to 9 different South Asian countries. But utilizing the tips outlined above this travel budget can be applied almost everywhere in the world. From South & Central America to the tropical islands of the Pacific to the crisp fall colors of Eastern Europe–the vast majority of the world can be seen for $55 a day.

Big Ticket Items

Flights. Obviously, getting to the other side of the world is a huge expense. We managed to find tickets for $360 apiece to Bali with a 3-day layover in Singapore. Check out my tips for scoring cheap flights .

Excursions. Trekking to find wild Orangutans in the jungles of Sumatra. Visiting an ethical elephant sanctuary in Thailand. Embarking on a 12-hour safari in Wilpattu National Park in search of elusive wild leopards. (Spoiler: we found them.) Visiting Angkor Wat & Borobudur temple complexes. Whale watching in Mirissa, Sri Lanka.

Pre-Trip Expenses

I did not include our travel insurance and the cost of tossing all of our belongings into a storage unit in the overall trip budget. I wrote a huge guide on how to save money for long term-travel that includes all my pre-trip recommendations.

We found the cheapest storage unit we could find. $30 a month for a year sitting right on the border of the United States and Tijuana, Mexico.

As for travel insurance, this was the first trip I decided to bite the bullet and get it. Thankfully, we did. Because a nasty bout of food poisoning near killed me in India. All drama aside, I did have to be hospitalized 3 times for the one stubborn food-borne illness and thankfully I was fully reimbursed.

WorldNomads is the top of the line adventure travel insurance that will cover you even if you maim yourself base-jumping into a tank of great white sharks. ( Maybe not quite that literally. ) We went with the cheaper and more conservative coverage of SevenCorners . It cost us $650 for coverage for the two of us.

I highly recommend checking out Travel Insurance Master to browse insurance companies to find the best deal. Their website is super easy to use and has cheaper companies like SevenCorners. Check them out here .

For more info on trip planning and budget hacks on how to save money to travel the world, I wrote a big beautiful guide on all things travel hacking.

How You Can Do Better

A large expense of ours was alcohol. We enjoy a beer or 10 on beach days and craft cocktails with dinner. As bartenders, trying cocktails from around the world is important to us. I’m not going to do the math on how much we spent on alcohol…just for my own sanity.

That’s honestly the only expense from our trip that seems a bit lavish. I would never recommend you cut spending on activities because that’s the whole reason you’re traveling in the first place.

Cost of Living in the US

I probably don’t need to outline how much it costs you to live in your home country BUT, for the sake of comparison, I’m going to anyway.

My monthly Los Angeles Expenses:

• Electricity/Internet: $35
• Car Insurance: $112
• Phone Bill: $40
• MONTHLY TOTAL: $1,012

This doesn’t even begin to cover expenses like groceries, gas, and having any kind of social life.

While traveling my TOTAL monthly expenses were $773.11 vs. $1,012 in basic living expenses back home.

Travel isn’t as expensive as we are made to think. If you have a burning curiosity to see the world and the drive to make it happen—money isn’t what is standing in your way.

If you need help planning your next trip abroad feel free to reach out ( I’m more than happy to help ) or check out my guide on how to plan a long term adventure abroad ( coming soon ).

Looking for other Trip Planning Resources?

• How to Finance Long-Term Travel & Make Your Dream Trip Cheaper.
• Your Guide to Scoring a Cheap Flight For Any Destination.
• How to Avoid Getting Scammed in South-East Asia.

Further Reading...

What It’s Really Like Staying in Hostels (For Travelers 25 & Older)

Skip The Tour: 10 Reasons to Travel Egypt & Jordan Independently

Over-Tourism: How it’s Affecting Our Planet

This is a great article, so helpful! What one can also do is save up on ATM and bank fees. Save up on ATM side of the fees with apps like ATM Fee Saver – it gives a list of atms in many countries that do not charge any fees to foreign card holders or have much lower fees than others along with withdrawal limits. quite a life saviour. worth adding to your list of tricks! And also a get fee free cards while travelling.

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Your Complete Guide to Climbing Adam's Peak: The 12,000 Step Stairway to Heaven in Sri Lanka

Sri lanka's best beaches: which one is right for you, beyond_the_bucketlist.

By Bastian Herre, Veronika Samborska and Max Roser

Tourism has massively increased in recent decades. Aviation has opened up travel from domestic to international. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of international visits had more than doubled since 2000.

Tourism can be important for both the travelers and the people in the countries they visit.

For visitors, traveling can increase their understanding of and appreciation for people in other countries and their cultures.

And in many countries, many people rely on tourism for their income. In some, it is one of the largest industries.

But tourism also has externalities: it contributes to global carbon emissions and can encroach on local environments and cultures.

On this page, you can find data and visualizations on the history and current state of tourism across the world.

Interactive Charts on Tourism

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I’ve Been to Every Country in the World – Here Are My 10 Favorites

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Countries Visited: 197 U.S. States Visited: 50

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I’ve traveled to … a lot of places. That seems like a good way to put it.

I recently completed my goal of visiting every country in the world. As I got close to this goal, I was repeatedly asked about my favorite country or which countries I wanted to visit again after I finished.

While it’s impossible to choose 1 favorite country from my trips, here are 10 countries I have truly enjoyed and think you should consider for your next vacation. The reasons each made this list are not the same, which is part of the beauty of travel. Every location, people, food, and culture is unique.

Here’s a look at why each of these countries is among my favorites, even after visiting so many places around the world.

There’s something to be said about a country that calculates its value based on Gross National Happiness rather than gross national product or other economic factors. I remember being shocked by the amount of nature I saw in Bhutan, and there’s a reason for it: The constitution requires at least 60% of the country to be covered in forest. That’s made Bhutan the first country to be carbon-negative, and they’re proud of the clean air, clean water, and clean sidewalks you’ll encounter.

Bhutan’s king looked at Southeast Asia’s overcrowded tourist hotspots and decided to pursue a different path. Yes, that means visiting isn’t cheap . You’ll pay at least $200 per day as a visitor’s fee (not including your hotel or meals — just to be in the country), which funds local education and healthcare systems. In return, you won’t be tripping over other tourists or finding American fast food on every corner. Experiencing something so unlike anywhere else I’ve been was memorable — as were the sites. The food, friendliness, culture, and temples all deserved a longer return visit . If you’re looking for a place where you take a deep breath and think, “This is what clean air feels like,” Bhutan should be on your radar.

The Bhutan Spirit Sanctuary near Paro, which you can book with World of Hyatt points, takes “all-inclusive” to another level. It includes meals, fitness regimens, massages, consultations with on-site traditional medicine practitioners, guided meditation, and more as part of your stay. I highly recommend a visit here.

If you’ve ever dreamed of seeing stars like those National Geographic photos you’ve drooled over, the Atacama Desert in northern Chile did that for me. I’ll never forget looking up at the vast sky and seeing that picture-perfect starry night . Rather than paying for an expensive guided tour out of San Pedro de Atacama at night, my wife and I traveled with another couple and rented a 4-wheel-drive vehicle for a few days. With the SkyView app ( iOS , Android ) in hand, we simply drove out to the desert, found a dark spot, and looked up. Our minds were blown.

Renting a car and making your own excursions from San Pedro de Atacama can save you hundreds of dollars in just a few days. Tours in this area are expensive, but you can reach any tourist site with a vehicle — especially if it’s 4-wheel drive.

But Chile had even more to offer. I loved the reliability of the metro system in Santiago , and the city’s long (read: loooooooong) underground tunnels to manage traffic flow were incredible. I also made my first-ever points redemption for a hotel in Santiago, which will always be memorable. Another highlight: Chiloé Island in the south of the country was incredible for whale watching , one of my wife’s favorite activities, and the nature there was rugged and beautiful.

Another country that I enjoyed for how different it is from anywhere I’ve lived was Cuba, and I loved its lack of familiar comforts . Rather than finding Walmart and Starbucks at every turn, I found independent shops and local restaurants to check out. Of course, the classic cars painted in bright colors stuck out, but my favorite memories of Cuba happened by accident . I turned down a small side street to find a stereotypical scene of men smoking cigars while playing dominos. In a courtyard not found on any tourist map, I found a band of musicians playing local music.

While reaching Havana is quite simple these days, my favorite location in Cuba was Trinidad . Much of the colonial architecture remains, with many of the original cobblestone streets. Looking for the upside-down anchor symbol to find guesthouses that rent to foreigners made the experience unique. The food was incredibly delicious and cheap. Just make sure to bring enough cash to cover your stay because you won’t be able to use the ATMs while in Cuba.

Indonesia has over 18,000 islands, and I’ve been to just a handful. While I’ve stayed at luxury properties in Bali and Jakarta, my favorite visit to Indonesia involved dilapidated buses on a patchy road on the island of Sumatra, spending several hours before reaching the town of Bukit Lawang. You can take guided nature hikes from here to find orangutans in the wild . A group tour will cost around $70 to $75 for 2 nights in the jungle with guides who even pack in your meals. All you have to do is walk. And it was no brown bag lunch, either. The massive spreads cooked over a campfire were impressive.

Of course, the highlight was the half-dozen times we saw orangutans in the wild, mostly in the trees above, but also an encounter with a mother and child who surprised us after coming around a curve. The trek to get here and the effort to reach Bukit Lawang were both worth it for this incredible experience. And you can find guesthouses in Bukit Lawang renting rooms for just a few dollars a night with a fan or with A/C for around $10 nightly. Not bad at all.

Part of travel is experiencing a location, people, and culture for yourself. I loved visiting Iran and having all of my preconceived notions shattered. Yes, there are some frustrations with not being able to use debit or credit cards, complications with booking hotels in advance, and the visa requirements for U.S. citizens aren’t simple. However, all of this effort is worth it to visit such a beautiful country with some of the friendliest people I’ve ever met.

The moment people realized I was a foreigner, they made it their mission to ensure I enjoyed their country. Hospitality was endemic ; it felt like they would’ve taken it as a personal insult if I didn’t enjoy a visit to their homeland. Beyond the tourist highlights and incredible food (eating Tahdig crispy rice for the first time was life-altering), the real highlight of the trip was the Iranians themselves. I visited Iran alone last year, and my wife and I are seriously looking at the calendar to figure out when we can visit together for a longer trip. Iran is calling if you’re looking to go somewhere with friendly locals who don’t hassle you to buy things you don’t want.

I remember learning about other countries in elementary school and having my mind blown by the pictures and stories about Japan. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to visit this place that seemed entirely different from my hometown in Ohio. The third time was the charm, after our visit to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo was upended, and foreign spectators were barred from the make-up games in 2021.

Even though we spent 10 days in Japan, it felt like we only scratched the surface. The temples were fascinating, the food was incredible, and the bullet trains were better than expected . While I want to say the highlight was climbing Mt. Fuji, I think the real highlight was eating my weight in Japanese food during our stay. This is another country where my wife and I agreed that 1 visit was not remotely enough.

If you forced me to choose just 1 favorite country, this might be it. There’s so much to love about Mexico, and the variety of cultural experiences across different regions and states is one of the highlights. I simply find so many elements of Mexico’s multiple cultures beautiful. Whether it’s women’s traditional dresses in Oaxaca, the fantastic stories told in traditional music, or the Day of the Dead celebrations that vary by region, the more I visit Mexico, the more I love it.

If you haven’t been beyond the tourist zones of Cancún and Tijuana or the all-inclusive beach resorts, here are a few highlights I recommend. First, visit Mexico City and explore the countless museums. Many can be done independently, but I recommend a guide for the National History Museum in the Chapultepec Castle. I speak decent Spanish, but the lack of context for the placards next to exhibits left me a bit lost. A guide would provide the context for what you’re looking at.

Another recommendation: Visit for the final days of October and the first days of November for the Day of the Dead . Rather than a sad mourning of lost loved ones when we think about death, it’s a celebration of the life of those who are no longer physically with us. It’s one of the most beautiful festivals I’ve ever encountered, and my wife and I hope to make visits an annual tradition, though visiting different regions to see how their Day of the Dead festivities vary.

Poland has so much to offer, regardless of what activities you enjoy on a vacation. Want to see Christmas markets ? Traditional, walled-in cities? History? Museums? Nature? Street art? Culinary experiences? Check, check, check.

The Market Square in Krakow, inside the old city walls, is one of the best places in the world for people-watching. Grab a seat at a café and just watch. Something interesting will happen. It’s also a great place for shopping. And if you’re into museums, the Warsaw Uprising Museum is one of the best museums I’ve ever visited . There are also obvious sites, such as Auschwitz-Birkenau (getting a guide is worth the extra cost over the audio guide) and Wieliczka Salt Mine near Krakow. After multiple visits, I haven’t found a spot I didn’t like in Poland.

How does a country move forward after a horrendous genocide in 1994? For Rwanda, it was by looking inward and then moving forward. The country now has one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa , some of the fastest internet on the continent, and a booming tourism sector in the capital (Kigali) and in the abundant nature to look for gorillas and chimpanzees.

Kigali is easy to navigate as a first-time visitor, whether on foot or by flagging down someone with a motorcycle and jumping on the back. Another candidate for “one of the best museums in the world” is the Kigali Genocide Memorial , which tells the story of the Rwandan Genocide, the lives lost, the lives affected, and how the country made reconciliation a key focus for moving forward in the wake of everything that happened.

And I can’t fail to mention the country’s incredible coffee. If you’re a coffee drinker, you’re in for a treat.

Most nights of the year, the Four Points by Sheraton Kigali can be booked for around 30,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. Next door, the 5-star Kigali Marriott Hotel costs 40,000 to 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points most nights, but a fantastic stay is worth the extra points.

Türkiye has so much to offer. Istanbul has everything from super luxurious hotels to budget hostels, top-notch museums, incredible history, and food that is something to write home about. If you only have a few days to visit Türkiye, that’s where you should go. Istanbul was also the first place I ever encountered tourist police — a special police force dedicated to keeping tourists safe around the most visited sites.

But the best parts of Türkiye, if you’ve got extra time, are in the interior. Head to Cappadocia and take that hot air balloon ride on your bucket list. Rather than using your points for a stay at a chain hotel in the region, book one of the unique cave hotels you won’t find elsewhere in the world. Which one? You’ll be surprised how many there are, so choose any that strikes your fancy. And on mornings when you aren’t floating in your balloon, there’s a good chance you can simply step outside and see them passing over your hotel.

My wife is afraid of heights and thought the balloon experience would be scary. The slow, gentle takeoff surprised her, and she’s convinced others with a fear of heights to take a balloon ride after our flight was so enjoyable.

I’ve been extremely privileged to travel as much as I have. Not many people have visited every country in their lifetime (around 300, according to Nomad Mania ), which naturally leads to the question “What’s your favorite country?” when the topic comes up.

Every country is unique and has something interesting to share. However, I enjoyed some more than others. These 10 countries are the most memorable, incredible places I’ve visited. As you can see, the reasons each made the list aren’t the same. Whatever you’re looking for in your next holiday, there’s probably a place on this list that can offer it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you visit every country in the world.

Yes, it is possible. Some are easier to access than others. While you may need a visa and mandatory tour guide for many visitors in places like Somalia and North Korea, others are visa-free and can be done independently. Safety concerns are an issue at some destinations, so always read up on the latest information.

How many countries are in the world?

The United Nations has 193 full member states. There are additional nations that are members of multiple U.N. committees but aren’t fully recognized member nations. Three are due to territorial disputes (Taiwan, Kosovo, and Palestine), and one is the Vatican (or Holy See), which hasn’t requested to join despite having diplomatic relations with most of the member nations in the U.N.

How long would it take to travel to every country in the world?

It depends on how much time you spend in every country and whether you can do it all in a single trip. The world record for the fastest time to visit all countries is 1 year 178 days. However, there are criticisms that people attempting to break this record simply step out of the airport, take a selfie, and get back on the next flight (in some destinations), which is debatable whether you’ve indeed visited that country. For most people, trying to visit every country is a years-long process of seeing a few nations every year.

How many years would it take to visit every place in the world?

It depends on how much or little time you want to spend at each destination. Barring world record attempts for “the fastest time to visit every country,” most people who complete their goal of visiting every country spend years on the task. Whether that’s a handful of years or decades depends on their available vacation time, family situation, finances, strength of passport, and other factors.

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About Ryan Smith

Ryan completed his goal of visiting every country in the world in December of 2023 and now plans to let his wife choose their destinations. Over the years, he’s written about award travel for publications including AwardWallet, The Points Guy, USA Today Blueprint, CNBC Select, Tripadvisor, and Forbes Advisor.

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Inside the Exclusive Club of Travelers Racing to Visit Every Country in the World

By Katherine LaGrave

Stamps. Coins. Countries. One of these things is not like the others, yet in 2019, all are collectibles, things taken out in the light, compared, and assigned some value.

In the past decade, the business of country-counting has boomed thanks to the internet, which made it easier to get visas and notoriety. Suddenly, ticking off countries was no longer limited to hard-core travelers or those with money to burn: people realized that publicity and social media prowess could help finance their trip. The field became more crowded.

As this subset of ultra-traveler has grown, so, too have the online communities: there are professional organizations and private Facebook groups dedicated to competitive travel, each with varying degrees of popularity, purpose, and adherents. But in large part, these communities are self-policed because there are so few common shared guidelines; no one group is the holder of universal standards for what "visiting" a country looks like. The different rules for different people belonging to different groups mean different qualifications when it comes to ticking countries off a list. What counts for one group may not count for another.

The Travelers' Century Club (TCC) , which started in 1954 as an organization for people who had visited 100 or more of the world's countries and territories, today has 327 countries and territories on its list, says TCC President JoAnn Schwartz. Most of the group’s nearly 1,500 members are “full” members, meaning they’ve visited between 100-149 countries. “For the most part, we operate on an honor system,” says Schwartz, noting that the group's range in travel interests and styles is huge. “However, every list submitted is reviewed, and sometimes we might ask a few questions,” she says.

Country-counter Gunnar Garfors traveling in Yemen.

Most Traveled People (MTP) , which was founded in 2005, breaks the world down into 891 “places,” including countries, states, provinces, and island groups. Airport transfers do not count, nor does time in an airport lounge or “furtively dashing across a remote border area and back again,” but MTP has no minimum time requirement for a visit.

Nomad Mania , similarly, divides the world into 1,281 “regions,” including Russia’s New Siberian Islands and Spain’s Catalonia. “Nomad Mania is also the only platform that verifies advanced travelers’ claims meticulously so that their authenticity cannot be doubted,” says its founder, Harry Mitsidis. “While this takes time, I believe this has elevated our reputation as the true ‘quality’ site of its type; we are not aiming at a high number of members, but at an active, vibrant, involved, and quality-conscious community.” (Nomad Mania tests travelers' claims by choosing countries randomly, and then asking travelers to provide documentation for visits to those countries.) "We also insist on people really seeing something—just touching an airport, putting a foot across a line, or transiting by train doesn’t do it," he says.

Though Guinness is the official source for would-be travel record-holders, who have to submit documentation including passport stamps, GPS coordinates, and cell phone logs, they also allow airport transfers to count as “seeing” a country. Plus, the record book includes a number of uninhabited islands in its requirements, a move some in the community question: What do you really see and do there? How does going to an uninhabited island help you grow as a person?

Many travelers tell me that this question of what kind of visits “count” is one of the core issues in the country-counting community, whose closed-door forums and approved-access-only Facebook groups hide much of the member collaboration, but also the criticism and cattiness. Though the primary purpose of many of these groups is to function as forums for advice and general discussion around world travel, like many things online, the conversations can turn into a debate—and quickly.

“Some people can go to a country for two weeks and never sit and chat with a local person, and someone can go to a country for 48 hours and spend the entire time with a local family. Who learned more about the country? I don’t know, and I honestly don’t care. Because this idea of, ‘ You need to spend more time. ’ Well, how much time is enough?” says Jessica Nabongo, who is on her way to becoming the first black woman to visit every country in the world .

Norwegian traveler Gunnar Garfors —who is the first person to have visited every country in the world at least twice and has 10 travel-related world records—points out that most “regular” travelers have to account for time limits with their trips, too, be it exploring Paris for three days because that’s all the vacation they have remaining, or seeing Slovenia in 24 hours because a family member is getting married nearby. “I always prefer to have more time in a place than what I actually have, but we only live once,” he says. “There will always be a timeframe.”

But inside the country-counting community, where travel stardom is just a passport stamp (or 193) away, insiders say the line between competition and collaboration is, well, complicated.

Jessica Puckett

Hannah Towey

Karthika Gupta

“It’s not competitive, but it’s not kumbaya,” says Sal Lavallo, who is one of the youngest people to have visited every country in the world . Put another way? “Some people are helpful. But some people are assholes,” says Nabongo.

Several travelers in the community say the percentage breakdown between helping out and declining to do so often depends on bigger questions about where you're going and what you're attempting: though there are some elements that will always require an olive branch, like figuring out how to safely get into Syria and Yemen, the every-country-in-the-world record-breakers and check-listers working off of bigger lists tend to be more competitive, while those traveling for their own interest with a quantifiable goal are more likely to be collaborative. Schwartz says she sees it as 100 percent collaboration and 15 percent competition as a subset of that same group—an overlap, not a split. Mitsidis says he is "optimistic," and puts it at an 80-20 split for collaboration.

Another main point of tension in the community centers on the honor system it has operated on for so long. As a result, there can be confusion—and controversy—over who set a record first, especially if there’s no documentation, or there was no publicity. Much of this came to a head with traveler Cassie de Pecol, who holds two Guinness World Records for the fastest time to visit all sovereign countries and was the subject of much debate after being called the first woman to visit every country in the world in 2017 . (She's now widely referred to as the “first woman on record" to have visited every country in the world.)

De Pecol says that while she understands the backlash, for her, it comes down to one thing.

“For anyone to say they've traveled to every country in the world, that's all well and good, but if they're driven to be in history books and break world records, then they simply need the evidence,” she says. De Pecol points out that while this may have been more challenging to do so decades—even centuries—ago, there’s a reason we celebrate Amelia Earhart for being the first woman to fly across the Atlantic solo, and Nellie Bly for her 72-day trip around the world: they proved that they did it.

Still, de Pecol acknowledges that because the competitive travel landscape has changed so much in the past few decades, it's not just about recognition. Setting records can mean a windfall of media coverage, book deals, hundreds of thousands of social media followers, and the bestowal of a coveted "travel expert" label. Viewed this way, then, a little competition makes a lot of sense.

“In today’s day and age—where the more followers you have, the more branding deals and thus, the more financial security—there’s a real fight for survival within the travel community to be the most interesting traveler,” says de Pecol. “I always say, the world is very kind, but the internet can be a living hellhole.”

It’s a wariness of the backlash, controversy, and complications that pushes some travelers to choose more ambiguous language around their achievements. Lavallo, for example, who finished visiting every country right after his 27th birthday, says that though some people have told him he’s the youngest traveler to visit every country in the world, he prefers to say “one of the youngest” as he’s “not interested in stepping on toes.” Nabongo, for her part, instead went hyper-specific, styling her journey as the first black woman after hearing through the grapevine that a half-Kenyan man may have already beaten her to the "first black person to visit every country in the world" distinction.

Gender and racial parity—perhaps unsurprisingly—also play out in the comments of these closed-door communities.

One of the youngest travelers to visit every country in the world, Sal Lavallo.

"People can be cruel, because they’re normal people,” says Lavallo, speaking about a subset of competitive travelers who criticize others for social media promotion and media coverage. “You have a group of people who had to pay a couple hundred thousand dollars to do something, and [the community] is going to be full of elitist, patriarchal misogynists," he says. Nabongo says she’s seen this manifest itself in responses to stories about her. “There’s a lot of, Who cares that you’re black? Who cares that you’re a woman? And I’m like, 'Yeah, you don’t get this, do you?' So I find myself pulling back a lot [in these communities]."

But just how many people in these communities have actually visited every country in the world? Depends on whom you ask. Mitsidis, widely considered one of the subset's most comprehensive record-keepers, says that based on research, word of mouth, and meetings, there is a record of 199 people who have visited every country in the world. He doubles the number to include those that don’t want attention, don't want to participate in the communities, or can’t be traced. That’s 400 people, then, throughout history—from the beginning of time.

“It’s not a very big number, is it?” says Mitsidis. “But it is growing by the week. When I completed every country in 2008, I think there were only about 20 of us or so.”

More, to be sure, are on the way: Lexie Alford has currently traveled to 191 countries, and has a goal of reaching 196 before her 21st birthday this year, which would make her the youngest person to travel to every sovereign nation.

At the end of the day, competitive travelers tell me, though there’s pride in having visited more places than your average bear, people are doing it for different reasons—and being in the public eye has taught them that outside of being respectful and recognizing privilege, there’s no wrong way to get around the globe. Got a goal to see every country before you’re 21? Go for it. Want to be the oldest woman to visit every country twice? More power to you. Looking to break one of Garfors's records? He'll happily congratulate you.

“We all have different ideas about what kind of travel is best, and everyone should just do what they personally enjoy and not worry about what others are doing,” says Schwartz of TCC. “If you are having amazing experiences exploring the world, you're doing it right.”

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My husband and I are trying to visit every country in the world. Spending so much time together has made us work on our relationship.

• Emily and Hudson Crider have been traveling the world for seven years. 
• Their goal is to visit all 195 countries, of which they've done 167 so far. 
• Spending 24/7 together, they have had to learn to communicate well and apologize quickly. 

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Emily Crider . It has been edited for length and clarity.

When Hudson and I started dating when we were both 16 years old, I never would have guessed that we would one day travel to every single country in the world together.

In college, we heard a quote that we both liked: "Think of the stories you want to tell someday, then go out and live them."

We wanted to tell stories of travel, so started dreaming up an idea of spending a year traveling the 50 states in an RV.

The dream kept bubbling once we were married in June 2012, when we were both 21. We lived frugally so we could save while working full time jobs , and planned for how we could make our American trip a reality.

But when Hudson's dad died in 2015, it was a reminder that we literally aren't even guaranteed tomorrow. So we bought an old RV from Craigslist, not wanting to wait any longer to start our dream. From 2017 to 2018, we managed to visit every American state, during which time we fell more in love with each other and with travel.

Related stories

We decided to travel internationally , which eventually turned into wanting to visit every country in the world.

We eliminated big expenses to afford our travels

We planned for how we would afford it. In addition to using our savings, we would work remotely teaching English , sell products online, and create content online. We eliminated all big expenses — we don't pay for rent, don't own a car, and don't have kids. Most of what we own can be packed into our backpacks.

And then we just went for it.

For the last seven years, Hudson and I have spent most of our waking moments together. To date, we have visited 167 countries and have 28 to go.

Living with someone in such close proximity for so much time has at times, had its challenges.

We have noticed that when we are tired, stressed, rushed, or hungry, we tend to get into arguments, so make every effort to avoid feeling that way whenever possible. But we definitely do still argue, just like any other couple.

We had to learn to be good communicators

There was one time we rented a car to do a self-safari through the Serengeti when we nearly ran out of gas while lions were lying in front of us in the middle of the road. Times like these can be a little stressful, but we've learned to work together, and fortunately, we managed to make it home.

Another time, we were on a chocolate tour in Switzerland. I can't even remember what the argument was about, but I do recall stuffing our faces with chocolate while arguing, eventually laughing about the whole scenario.

Through all of it, we've had to learn the art of good communication — there isn't space to do otherwise. If one of us is feeling tired and irritable, we talk about it rather than holding it in. If we disagree with each other, we deal with it immediately. Instead of holding grudges, we are quick to apologize and move on.

We sometimes need time alone

I have loved getting to watch and know Hudson in constantly changing circumstances and cultures over the last seven years. The way he is able to connect with every person we meet is incredible.

Despite our love for spending endless hours together, like every couple, we sometimes need space to be alone. So we encourage each other to do things we individually enjoy.

One thing I really miss when traveling is the community you get from living in one place for a prolonged period of time. We miss our families and solid friendships. But we both feel we are experiencing a different type of community by traveling. We constantly speak with new people, learning about their cultures, their beliefs, and their lives. We've both been so inspired to be better people after receiving such kindness and hospitality from those we have met.

As much as we love travel, we plan to finish our goal of visiting every country within the next year. We're looking forward to starting a family and putting down roots. But I would never trade these years of travel. It has been so good for our personal growth and our relationship.

Watch: A couple who spent years traveling the world explains how living the dream almost ruined their relationship

• Main content

Anderson Dias Visited all 195 Countries in Record-Breaking Time

This Record-Breaking Traveler visited all 195 Countries in the Fastest Ever Time

Anderson dias overcame economic disadvantages to see the world. in 2019, he became a record-breaking traveler....

At the end of November 2019, a month before the first cases of coronavirus emerged, a 26-year-old Brazilian man named Anderson Dias broke the world record for visiting every country on Earth in the fastest documented time. He completed his trip in 543 days, shaving 11 days off the previous record, held by an American woman named Taylor Demonbreu.  

FTT spoke with Anderson from his current base of Recife, northeastern Brazil, where he’s overseeing the build of a new house for his parents, to discuss the highs and lows of such an ambitious trip, and his next big travel mission.

Esme Benjamin: When did you first decide you wanted to be the fastest person to visit every country? 

Anderson Dias: I come from a poor family and grew up in a poor neighborhood in Salvador, Brazil. When I was 17, I left home to work and study. I was selling cell phone cases on the streets to keep me going, and I was good at it. I managed to earn about $10,000 – enough to do an English language school program in Ireland. That’s where I fell in love with traveling. I spent six months there and came home with a completely different mindset. 

Back in Brazil, I eventually opened my own store, selling cases and fixing phones – when you grow up poor, you have to teach yourself new things and figure out ways to make money. I had improved my situation, but I wasn’t satisfied because life isn’t just about money, it’s about dreams. That’s when I had the idea to do something big. Something that could go down in history and get me out of my comfort zone. I decided to sell my business, my car, and all my possessions and start traveling the world as fast as possible. 

EB: I have no idea how you would begin to plan or budget for a trip of that magnitude. How did you go about it?

AD: You won’t believe this, but I didn't plan anything! I would buy flights on the spot, arrive in one country, spend some time there, then buy a ticket to the next country. It sounds crazy, but I always say done is better than perfect. There are people who plan a lot and do nothing, I'm the type who does it without even knowing if it will work. I didn’t even have enough money to complete the trip when I left Brazil. 

EB: So did you have to work while you were traveling? 

AD: I estimated I’d need $100,000 to visit all the countries and get back home, but I only had $30,000 after selling my things, so I used the internet to get the money. I focused on creating content and growing my Instagram following so I could partner with brands. In the beginning, it was hard because I had less than 10,000 followers and brands look for high numbers. But when I got my first 100,000, they were interested. 

EB: What was the biggest challenge of your trip? 

AD: The biggest challenge of my trip was to keep myself motivated. Traveling for a year and a half without stopping, going through various difficulties – it took a lot of emotional fortitude. I almost died a few times. When I was in Guyana, I met a girl at a bar who tried to convince me to come back to her hotel. When I went with her to get a taxi, three guys beat me unconscious and robbed me. It was scary, but you have to prepare your mind. This was only country number 11, and if I let the fear consume me, I’d never finish the trip. 

EB: That’s a scary thing to go through. What were some of the other difficulties you faced while traveling? 

AD: Some countries have really complicated visa rules and restrictions. At that time Saudi Arabia was virtually impossible to visit as a tourist, but I relied on my Brazilian Instagram community a lot to get me connections at embassies etc. It was also very hard getting into countries coping with war or unrest, like Yemen. 

EB: How long did you spend in each place

AD: In safe places that I really liked, around 7 - 10 days. In unstable countries, only one. 

EB: What was the absolute highlight of the trip? 

AD: The highlight of my trip was undoubtedly seeing gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Knowing that those animals are endangered and being able to get within three meters of them in the wild is something unique. I was privileged, and I’m so thankful for that experience.   

EB: You shared all your adventures on social media. How important is it to you to inspire others to travel far and wide? 

AD:  In Brazil, we have 209.5 million people, and only a tiny number of them travel. My mission is to show people that traveling is not something that’s exclusively for rich people. Anyone can travel if they make it a priority, and they should because when we travel, we widen our minds, we start to understand other perspectives and ways of living. We learn to judge less and to have more compassion. So on Instagram, I teach people how to make money on the internet and show them how they can travel cheaply. 

EB: Which country would you most like to return to one day and why?  

AD: There are so many places I fell in love with: Thailand, the Maldives, the Seychelles, Russia, Iran. But I think Afghanistan would be my top country. That part of the planet is amazing. It’s more beautiful than Switzerland because you see mountains and rivers but no humans. Also, the locals are lovely and friendly. I had a great time in Afghanistan. 

Follow Anderson on Instagram here

full_time_travel

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As any seasoned traveler will attest, having insider intel on your destination is the key to a memorable trip. Once you’ve arrived in Curaçao, chatting up small business owners (instead of your hotel’s concierge) is the best way to find the hidden gems. Link in bio for a hotlist of locals-approved beaches and non-touristy to-do’s you’re sure to enjoy. ...

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The best way to tap into any culture is through its culinary scene. The cuisine in Curaçao is a vibrant mix of Dutch, Caribbean, Latin American and North American fare, and part of the fun is enjoying the melting pot of flavors. Whether you’re craving the catch of the day, savory arepitas or a few bites of bitterballen, tap link in bio for a list of not-to-miss cafes and eateries to sip and savor every moment. ...

inspired by Space exploration’s seminal era, as it sits in quiet solitude surrounded by pitted rock format, Echo Camp in Antarctica gives you as close as you can get to feeling off the planet without leaving Earth. It`s the newest luxury adventure experience from White Desert where you can enjoy fine dining, ice climbing, cross-country skiing and for the adventurers learn life saving techniques. Reel: @jeremyaustiin ...

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The 10 Cheapest Countries to Visit

Posted: April 28, 2023 | Last updated: April 7, 2024

If you're planning your next vacation, we've found the cheapest countries to visit around the world. Despite the effects of inflation on everything from eggs to electric cars, there are some places where your dollar will work in your favor, getting you an exotic trip for less than you might expect.

Our ranking is based on the average total daily cost you might pay once you reach your destination — including accommodation, food, and the daily cost of living. Obviously, the missing element is the cost of airfare, but flight costs vary so much depending on the time of year you're traveling, and where you're flying from, and to, that it's not helpful to factor those into our selection. If you want to know how to find and save money on flights to Europe, we've got some strategies for doing just that.

To give you some inspiration for your flight hunting, check out the top 10 cheapest countries to travel to in 2023.

Data sources include TheGlobalEconomy.com, Numbeo's cost of living database, and Budget Your Trip.

BY QUINCY WILLIAMSON

Average daily cost: $131 Average accommodation cost: $93 Average daily meals cost: $34

From idyllic beaches to world-renowned historical sites, Greece is one of Europe’s top summer destinations for travelers. After the debt crisis in 2010, prices have been relatively low for years, but prices can vary widely depending on location — if you're heading for a holiday hotspot (like Mykonos or Santorini) expect to pay far more than for a lesser-known part of the country. Timing is also crucial when visiting this Mediterranean country. Try to avoid the high-season summer months to take advantage of the great prices.

9. Portugal

Average daily cost: $116 Average accommodation cost: $75 Average daily meals cost: $34

Portugal is one of the best-value destinations in Europe. It's known for its seafood, wine, views, delicious custard tarts (pastéis de nata), and 300+ days of sunshine. Whether you head for vibrant Lisbon, to the sandy beaches of the south or for a wine and port tour in Porto, you’ll get a reasonably-priced vacation while enjoying the sights and sounds that this friendly southern European country has to offer.

8. Dominican Republic

Average daily cost: $110 Average accommodation cost: $70 Average daily meals cost: $30

Only a two-hour flight from Miami and less than four hours from New York City, Americans are frequent visitors to this sunny, year-round Caribbean destination. Spanish-speaking Dominican Republic makes up half of the second-largest island in the Caribbean (Hispaniola), French-speaking Haiti makes up the western half. With white sand beaches, lagoons, and rainforests, there’s plenty to explore while enjoying the natural beauty of the country.

Average daily cost: $93 Average accommodation cost: $53 Average daily meals cost: $20

America’s neighbor Mexico is home to the fifth largest city in the world. Not only does Mexico have several urban oases, but the North American country is also known for its beautiful beaches that are regularly listed as some of the best in the world. From ancient jungle ruins to iconic modernist buildings, you’ll find pretty much everything you could want in a vacation here and for a good price. 

6. Costa Rica

Average daily cost: $81 Average accommodation cost: $41 Average daily meals cost: $17

Despite being the size of West Virginia, Costa Rica is a land of abundance and adventure. The quiet central American country has miles of coastline of both the Pacific and Caribbean oceans, it's got jungle lodges, rainforest treks, volcanoes, and cloud forests. It boasts some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. With fresh food and fruit in abundance, you can truly enjoy the “pura vida.” 

Average daily cost: $70  Average accommodation cost: $33  Average daily meals cost: $17

At the crossroads of Europe, Hungary has managed to keep its quaint villages, while Budapest — the “city of lights” — still reigns as a metropolitan center. You’ve most likely seen the spectacular Hungarian Parliament building sitting on the Danube River. Hungary’s countryside includes beautiful scenery with mountains, rivers, and lush valleys.

4. Thailand

Average daily cost: $52 Average accommodation cost: $21 Average daily meals cost: $14

Flights to this south Asian country can be expensive, but other costs make up for it. Known for its tropical beaches, jungle temples, Buddha statues, and the delicious restaurants and street markets in the bustling city of Bangkok, it's no wonder Thailand is the most visited country in Southeast Asia.

3. Indonesia

Average daily cost: $47 Average accommodation cost: $36  Average daily meals cost: $12

Indonesia is home to Bali — often at the top of rankings when it comes to the best place to visit in the world. But there’s more to this paradise of a country than Instagram-worthy views. With over 17,000 islands, Indonesia is the world’s largest island country boasting stunning beaches, volcanoes, jungles, orangutan colonies, giant Komodo dragons, and vast mountain ranges. And the best of all — your money goes very far here.

Average daily cost: $23  Average accommodation cost: $13  Average daily meals cost: $7

Turkey is one of the most visited countries in the world but remains an underrated tourist destination. Straddling Europe and Asia, Turkey is a fabulous melting pot of cultures that can be seen in everything from architecture to cuisine. There's an assortment of choices for visitors, from mountain ranges to beach-littered coasts, to the sprawling colorful metropolis of Istanbul — Turkey has everything. Despite the devasting earthquakes that hit the country, many tourist destinations in the west of the country (hundreds of miles from the affected areas) are open and actively welcoming visitors. Tourist dollars will be all too vital for the rebuilding effort.

Average daily cost: $15 Average accommodation cost: $8 Average daily meals cost: $5

Laos is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia but it still manages to have over 4,000 islands. From the islands of the Mekong Delta to the stunning waterfalls of the interior, Laos is one of the few countries in the world that hasn’t lost its natural beauty to sprawling development. And yet, there's more than enough to tempt the most jaded traveler — from cookery schools for food lovers to climbing, caving, and jungle treks for thrill-seekers and temples galore for those more culturally inclined.

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Global Greenhouse Gas Overview

On This Page:

Global Emissions and Removals by Gas

Global emissions by economic sector, trends in global emissions, emissions by country.

At the global scale, the key greenhouse gases emitted by human activities are:

• Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) : Fossil fuel use is the primary source of CO 2 . CO 2 can also be emitted from the landscape through deforestation, land clearance for agriculture or development, and degradation of soils. Likewise, land management can also remove additional CO 2 from the atmosphere through reforestation, improvement of soil health, and other activities.
• Methane (CH 4 ) : Agricultural activities, waste management, energy production and use, and biomass burning all contribute to CH 4 emissions.
• Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) : Agricultural activities, such as fertilizer use, are the primary source of N 2 O emissions. Chemical production and fossil fuel combustion also generates N 2 O.
• Fluorinated gases (F-gases) : Industrial processes, refrigeration, and the use of a variety of consumer products contribute to emissions of F-gases, which include hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF 6 ).

Additional compounds in the atmosphere including solid and liquid aerosol and other greenhouse gases, such as water vapor and ground-level ozone can also impact the climate. Learn more about these compounds and climate change on our Basics of Climate Change page .

Global greenhouse gas emissions can also be broken down by the economic activities that lead to their atmospheric release. [1]

• Electricity and Heat Production (34% of 2019 global greenhouse gas emissions): The burning of coal, natural gas, and oil for electricity and heat is the largest single source of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• Industry (24% of 2019 global greenhouse gas emissions): Greenhouse gas emissions from industry primarily involve fossil fuels burned on site at facilities for energy. This sector also includes emissions from chemical, metallurgical, and mineral transformation processes not associated with energy consumption and emissions from waste management activities. (Note: Emissions from industrial electricity use are excluded and are instead covered in the Electricity and Heat Production sector.)
• Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (22% of 2019 global greenhouse gas emissions): Greenhouse gas emissions from this sector come mostly from agriculture (cultivation of crops and livestock) and deforestation. This estimate does not include the CO 2 that ecosystems remove from the atmosphere by sequestering carbon (e.g. in biomass, soils). [2]
• Transportation (15% of 2019 global greenhouse gas emissions): Greenhouse gas emissions from this sector primarily involve fossil fuels burned for road, rail, air, and marine transportation. Almost all (95%) of the world's transportation energy comes from petroleum-based fuels, largely gasoline and diesel. [3]
• Buildings (6% of 2019 global greenhouse gas emissions): Greenhouse gas emissions from this sector arise from onsite energy generation and burning fuels for heat in buildings or cooking in homes. Note: Emissions from this sector are 16% when electricity use in buildings is included in this sector instead of the Energy sector.

Note on emissions sector categories.

Emissions of non-CO 2 greenhouse gases (CH 4 , N 2 O, and F-gases) have also increased significantly since 1850.

• Globally, greenhouse gas emissions continued to rise across all sectors and subsectors, most rapidly in the transport and industry sectors.
• While the trend in emissions continues to rise, annual greenhouse gas growth by sector slowed in 2010 to 2019, compared to 2000 to 2009, for energy and industry, however remained roughly stable for transport.
• The trend for for AFOLU remains more uncertain, due to the multitude of drivers that affect emissions and removals for land use, land-use change and forestry.
• rising demand for construction materials and manufactured products,
• increasing floor space per capita,
• increasing building energy use,
• travel distances, and vehicle size and weight.

To learn more about past and projected global emissions of non-CO 2 gases, please see the EPA report, Global Non-CO 2 Greenhouse Gas Emission Projections & Mitigation Potential: 2015-2050 . For further insights into mitigation strategies specifically within the U.S. forestry and agriculture sectors, refer to the latest Climate Economic Analysis report on Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Potential in U.S. Forestry and Agriculture .

In 2020, the top ten greenhouse gas emitters were China, the United States, India, the European Union, Russia, Indonesia, Brazil, Japan, Iran, and Canada. These data include CO 2 , CH 4 , N 2 O, and fluorinated gas emissions from energy, agriculture, forestry and land use change, industry, and waste. Together, these top ten countries represent approximately 67% of total greenhouse gas emissions in 2020.

Emissions and sinks related to changes in land use are not included in these estimates. However, changes in land use can be important: estimates indicate that net global greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land use were approximately 12 billion metric tons of CO 2 equivalent, [2] or about 21% of total global greenhouse gas emissions. [3] In areas such as the United States and Europe, changes in land use associated with human activities have the net effect of absorbing CO 2 , partially offsetting the emissions from deforestation in other regions.

EPA resources

• Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (in the United States)
• Non-CO 2 Greenhouse Gases: Emissions and Trends
• Capacity Building for National GHG Inventories

Other resources

• UNFCCC GHG Data Interface
• European Commission Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research
• World Development Indicators
• Climate Watch
• Carbon Dioxide and Information Analysis Center (CDIAC)
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Energy Data Explorer (IEA)

1. IPCC (2022), Emissions Trends and Drivers. In IPCC, 2022: Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA. doi: 10.1017/9781009157926.004

2. Jia, G., E. Shevliakova, P. Artaxo, N. De Noblet-Ducoudré, R. Houghton, J. House, K. Kitajima, C. Lennard, A. Popp, A. Sirin, R. Sukumar, L. Verchot, 2019: Land–climate interactions . In: Climate Change and Land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems [P.R. Shukla, J. Skea, E. Calvo Buendia, V. Masson-Delmotte, H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, P. Zhai, R. Slade, S. Connors, R. van Diemen, M. Ferrat, E. Haughey, S. Luz, S. Neogi, M. Pathak, J. Petzold, J. Portugal Pereira, P. Vyas, E. Huntley, K. Kissick, M, Belkacemi, J. Malley, (eds.)]. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009157988.004

3. U.S. Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Outlook 2021 , (February 2021), www.eia.gov/aeo

Note on emissions sector categories:

The global emission estimates described on this page are from the Intergovernmental Panel (IPCC) on Climate Change's Fifth Assessment Report. In this report, some of the sector categories are defined differently from how they are defined in the Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions page on this website. Transportation, Industry, Agriculture, and Land Use and Forestry are four global emission sectors that roughly correspond to the U.S. sectors. Energy Supply, Commercial and Residential Buildings, and Waste and Wastewater are categorized slightly differently. For example, the IPCC's Energy Supply sector for global emissions encompasses the burning of fossil fuel for heat and energy across all sectors. In contrast, the U.S. Sources discussion tracks emissions from the electric power separately and attributes on-site emissions for heat and power to their respective sectors (i.e., emissions from gas or oil burned in furnaces for heating buildings are assigned to the residential and commercial sector). The IPCC has defined Waste and Wastewater as a separate sector, while in the Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions page, waste and wastewater emissions are attributed to the Commercial and Residential sector.

• GHG Emissions and Removals Home
• Overview of Greenhouse Gases
• Sources of GHG Emissions and Removals
• Global Emissions and Removals
• National Emissions and Removals
• State and Tribal GHG Data and Resources
• Facility-Level Emissions
• Gridded Methane Emissions
• Carbon Footprint Calculator
• GHG Equivalencies Calculator
• Capacity Building for GHG Inventories

Most expensive food items in the world 2024 list: Check how much these rare eatables cost

Travel blogger and self proclaimed food connoisseur Drew Binsky, in a recent social media post listed out the 10 most-expensive foods in the world. The 32-year-old has travelled to every country and has savoured some of the most exquisite dishes in the world. Let's take a look at the top-10 most expensive foods according to Binsky.

American travel blogger and vlogger, Drew Binsky, who has visited every country in the world is a well-versed epicurean and enthusiastic explorer of culinary wonders. Not only has he carved a niche for himself in the domain of lavish dining escapades, buthas developed a discerning palate for culinary excellence. The 32-year-old, who holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest time to pack a suitcase, lists out the 10 most-expensive foods in the world. Let’s take a look at what these foods are, their origin and how much they cost. (Image: Shutterstock)

No 8. Wagyu beef | Origin: Japan | Although available only in a few select states and hotels in India, the most basic Wagyu beef can cost up to Rs 40,000 per kg. The cattle that the meat comes from are fed beer and are often given massages. (Image: Reuters)

No 7. Almas Caviar | Origin: Caspian Sea | The eggs of the albino Beluga Sturgeon fish are literally called diamonds. They are mostly sold in a 24-carat gold tin, resembling the eggs' exclusivity and luxury. (Image: Shutterstock)

No 6. Blue Fin Tuna | Origin: Japan | This fish is mostly used in sushi and sashimi dishes. In 2019, a single Blue Fin Tuna was sold at an auction in Tokyo for $3 million setting a new world record. (Image: Reuters)

No 5. Edible gold | Available in all countries | Mostly used to garnish exquisite dishes, edible gold does not have any taste put is used on dishes for its aesthetic appeal and considered a symbol of wealth. A 25-sheet booklet of edible gold that weighs approximately 22.7 grams is available for around Rs 1,000 in India. (Image: Reuters)

No 4. Birds nest soup | Origin: China | This Chinese delicacy is -- as its name suggests -- the nest built by swiftlets who use their saliva to build their homes. This is so rare, that it is not available in India and is consumed by the wealthiest people in China and around the world for its claimed health benefits. A bowl of bird's nest soup costs as much as Rs 9,000 in China. (Image: Shutterstock)

No 3. Yubari King Melon | Origin: Japan |   The world's most expensive melon is not sold but auctioned. The best Yubari melons are known for their perfect spherical shape, sweet and vibrant orange flesh. (Image: Shutterstock)

No 2. Black Ivory coffee | Origin: Thailand | This brew is made with Thai Arabica coffee beans that undergo a unique fermentation process. Basically, the coffee beans are fed to elephants and fermentation begins in the stomach of elephants. The enzymes in the elephant's digestive system give the coffee a less acidic flavour. As the production of this coffee is low, it costs an exorbitant Rs 2,55,700 per kg. (Image: Shutterstock)

No 1. Matsuba crab | Origin: Japan | These crustaceans are known for their sweet and succulent meat are found around the waters of Japan. In November 2023, a 1.2 kg snow crab of the Matsuba variety was sold for over Rs 55 lakh. (Image: Shutterstock)

When is the next total solar eclipse in the US after 2024 and what is its path? What to know

The highly anticipated 2024 total solar eclipse will cross North America on Monday , giving millions of sky-gazers the chance to see a rare cosmic event that won't be viewable again for 20 years.

The eclipse's  path of totality  will travel over a portion of northern Mexico before entering the U.S. It then it will cross 13 states  from Texas to Maine, where the spectacle is expected to attract huge crowds.

If you aren't lucky enough to be in the path of totality this time around, you will have another chance - you'll just have to wait until the 2040s.

Here's what we know about the next total solar eclipse to cross over the U.S.

Eclipse playlist: Fans return to Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' ahead of total solar eclipse

When is the next total solar eclipse visible from the U.S.?

It will be 20 years before there's a chance to  witness a total solar eclipse  in the United States again.

According to NASA, after Monday's total solar  eclipse , the next one viewable from the contiguous U.S. will be on Aug. 23, 2044.

2044 total solar eclipse path of totality

Unfortunately, the 2044 total  solar eclipse  won't have the broad reach across the U.S. as the 2024 eclipse.

The path of totality during the 2044 eclipse will only touch three states, according to the Planetary Society, a nonprofit involved in research, public outreach, and political space advocacy.

The eclipse will begin in Greenland, sweep through Canada and end around sunset in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Pets and the eclipse: Will my pets be safe during the April 2024 solar eclipse? What experts say.

2045 solar eclipse

While the 2044 total eclipse will only touch three states, a 2045 eclipse will have a more robust path across the U.S.

Expected to occur on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2045, this solar eclipse will trace a path of totality over California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.

A partial solar eclipse will also be viewable in 35 other states, according to National Eclipse.com

What is a total solar eclipse?

Any celestial object like a moon or a planet that passes between two other bodies can create  an eclipse  by obscuring the view of objects like the sun.

In the event of a solar eclipse, the moon comes in between the Earth and the sun, blocking its light from reaching a small part of our planet. Partial eclipses, when some part of the sun remains visible, are the most common, making total eclipses a rare sight to behold.

Total eclipses can lead to a period of darkness lasting for several minutes, during which time nocturnal animals stir while confused birds and insects may fall silent, NASA says.

When a solar eclipse reaches totality, people are able to see the sun’s outer atmosphere called the corona, which is usually obscured by the sun's bright surface. This offers scientists an uncommon opportunity  to study the corona .

Totality also offers spectators a chance to gaze upon the spectacular sight with the naked eye, though  proper  safety  glasses  are still required for the rest of the time.

What states are on the 2024 eclipse path of totality?

Mexico's Pacific coast will be the first location in continental North America to experience totality, which is expected to occur at about 11:07 a.m. PDT,  according to NASA .

As the moon's shadow will northeast, totality in the U.S. will begin in Texas at 1:27 p.m. CDT. The path will then cut diagonally across the country, traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire.

The eclipse's path is expected to end in Maine at 3:35 p.m. EDT before visiting the maritime provinces of Canada, according to estimates.

See  interactive maps of the 2024 path .

Contributing: Doyle Rice, Ramon Padilla & Janet Loehrke, USA TODAY

Watch CBS News

Solar eclipse maps show 2024 totality path, peak times and how much of the eclipse people could see across the U.S.

By Aliza Chasan

Updated on: April 9, 2024 / 5:00 AM EDT / CBS News

A total solar eclipse  crossed North America Monday with parts of 15 U.S. states within the path of totality. Maps show  where and when astronomy fans could see the big event  as skies darkened in the middle of the day Monday, April 8.

The total eclipse first appeared along Mexico's Pacific Coast at around 11:07 a.m. PDT, then traveled across a swath of the U.S., from Texas to Maine, and into Canada.

About 31.6 million people live in the path of totality , the area where the moon fully blocked out the sun , according to NASA. The path ranged between 108 and 122 miles wide. An additional 150 million people live within 200 miles of the path of totality.

Solar eclipse path of totality map for 2024

The total solar eclipse started over the Pacific Ocean, and the first location in continental North America that experienced totality was Mexico's Pacific Coast, around 11:07 a.m. PDT, according to NASA. From there, the path continued into Texas, crossing more than a dozen states before the eclipse enters Canada in southern Ontario. The eclipse exited continental North America at around 5:16 p.m. NDT from Newfoundland, Canada.

The path of totality included portions of the following states:

• Pennsylvania
• New Hampshire

Small parts of Tennessee and Michigan also experienced the total solar eclipse.

Several major cities across the U.S. were included in the eclipse's path of totality, while many others saw a partial eclipse. These were some of the best major cities for eclipse viewing — though the weather was a factor :

• San Antonio, Texas (partially under the path)
• Austin, Texas
• Waco, Texas
• Dallas, Texas
• Little Rock, Arkansas
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Dayton, Ohio
• Cleveland, Ohio
• Buffalo, New York
• Rochester, New York
• Syracuse, New York
• Burlington, Vermont

Map of when the solar eclipse reached totality across its path

The eclipse began in the U.S. as a partial eclipse beginning at 12:06 p.m. CDT near Eagle Pass, Texas, before progressing to totality by about 1:27 p.m. CDT and then moving along its path to the northeast over the following few hours.

NASA shared times for several cities in the path of totality across the U.S. People could have also  checked their ZIP code on NASA's map  to see when the eclipse was to reach them if they were on, or near, the path of totality — or if they saw a partial eclipse instead.

How much of the eclipse did people see if they live outside the totality path?

While the April 8 eclipse covered a wide swath of the U.S., outside the path of totality observers may have spotted a partial eclipse, where the moon covers some, but not all, of the sun, according to NASA. The closer they were to the path of totality, the larger the portion of the sun that was hidden.

NASA allowed viewers to input a ZIP code and see how much of the sun was to be covered in their locations.

Could there be cloud cover be during the solar eclipse?

Some areas along the path of totality had a higher likelihood of cloud cover that could interfere with viewing the eclipse. Here is a map showing the historical trends in cloud cover this time of year. 

You could have checked the latest forecast for your location with our partners at The Weather Channel .

Where did the solar eclipse reach totality for the longest?

Eclipse viewers near Torreón, Mexico, got to experience totality for the longest. Totality there lasted 4 minutes, 28 seconds, according to NASA. 

Most places along the centerline of the path of totality saw a totality duration of between 3.5 and 4 minutes, according to NASA. Some places in the U.S. came close to the maximum; Kerrville, Texas, had a totality duration of 4 minutes, 24 seconds.

What is the path of totality for the 2044 solar eclipse?

The next total solar eclipse that will be visible from the contiguous U.S. will be on Aug. 23, 2044.

Astronomy fans in the U.S. will have far fewer opportunities to see the 2044 eclipse they had on April 8. NASA has not yet made maps available for the 2044 eclipse but, according to The Planetary Society , the path of totality will only touch three states.

The 2024 eclipse will start in Greenland, pass over Canada and end as the sun sets in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota, according to the Planetary Society.

Aliza Chasan is a digital producer at 60 Minutes and CBSNews.com. She has previously written for outlets including PIX11 News, The New York Daily News, Inside Edition and DNAinfo. Aliza covers trending news, often focusing on crime and politics.

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Why did Iran attack Israel? What to know about the strikes, U.S. response.

Iran launched a wave of missiles and drones toward Israel late Saturday as regional tensions continued to mount over the war in Gaza . President Biden condemned the attack and spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reiterate the United States’ “ironclad” commitment to Israeli security, the White House said. Other allies including Germany, Canada, France and Britain reaffirmed their support for Israel in the wake of the attack while expressing fears that Tehran’s assault could further destabilize the Middle East.

Iranian state media said the missile and drone assault was in retaliation for a deadly Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria on April 1.

What happened

• More than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles were launched by Iran in the first full-scale military attack on Israel by Tehran. Around 99 percent of the projectiles were intercepted, according to Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israel Defense Forces spokesman.
• Some of the projectiles fell inside Israeli territory, and one damaged a military base in the country’s south, Hagari said. A young girl who was seriously injured in the attack underwent surgery and was moved to the pediatric intensive care unit, according to Israel’s Soroka Hospital.
• Hagari said “a coalition” of countries helped Israel with intercepting the projectiles. The U.S. military helped Israel take down “nearly all” of the drones and missiles, Biden said. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Britain’s Royal Air Force shot down “a number of Iranian attack drones,” while Jordan’s cabinet said it “dealt with” objects that flew through its airspace overnight. France also contributed technological support, Hagari said.
• Tehran’s attack on Saturday was “four-pronged,” according to a report by the state-run Tasnim News Agency, originating from sites in Iran, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen. The commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, called Tehran’s attack “more successful than we had expected” and warned that any retaliation by Israel would draw a more forceful response.
• At a United Nations Security Council meeting Sunday, Iran and Israel traded blame over the recent escalation. Iran’s ambassador said the Iranian attack was a “necessary and proportionate” response to an earlier Israeli strike on an Iranian consular building in Syria, while his Israeli counterpart said Iran’s actions “crossed every red line.”

Why did Iran attack Israel?

Iranian media said the attack was in retaliation for an Israeli strike this month on an Iranian consular building in Damascus, Syria, which killed members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps , including senior commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Brig. Gen. Mohammad Hadi Haj Rahimi.

Hamas expressed support for Iran’s attack on Israel this weekend, calling it a deserved response to the attack in Syria. Officials from the rebel Houthi group in Yemen congratulated Iran while downplaying their own involvement; Hagari said some UAVs and cruise missiles were launched from Yemen.

Israel has carried out strikes in Syria against Iran and its allies for years and throughout its six-month military campaign against Hamas in Gaza. But the April 1 attack stood out both because of its location — in a diplomatic compound, traditionally exempt from hostilities — and because of the seniority of the apparent targets.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, promised that his country would avenge the Damascus attack. U.N. Secretary General António Guterres condemned the strike, citing “the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises.”

The Israeli strike also frustrated Washington.

Three U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss security matters said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other senior defense officials believed Israel should have informed them ahead of time because of the strike’s implications for U.S. interests in the region, The Washington Post reported.

U.S. officials worry about a multifront war breaking out and feared the Damascus strike could lead to attacks on U.S. military personnel based in Iraq, Syria or other parts of the Middle East.

Middle East conflict

How is the United States involved?

U.S. military forces in the Middle East intercepted “dozens” of Iranian drones and missiles, Austin said in a statement, adding that American military forces remain “postured” to protect U.S. troops and support Israel’s defense. He called on Iran to de-escalate tensions and halt attacks on Israel.

“We do not seek conflict with Iran, but we will not hesitate to act to protect our forces and support the defense of Israel,” the statement said.

Biden, who had directed aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to be sent to the region over the past week in anticipation of an attack, said no U.S. troops or facilities were targeted in the barrage.

“We will remain vigilant to all threats and will not hesitate to take all necessary action to protect our people,” he said.

On Monday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Biden communicated to Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu that the weekend’s defensive actions had been an “extraordinary success,” and urged Netanyahu “to think about what that success says all by itself to the rest of the region” when considering next steps.

What is the recent history between Iran and Israel?

Iran has funded attacks on Israel in the decades before Israel’s war in Gaza that began Oct. 7, and its proxies have stepped up strikes in the months since.

Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Lebanon-based armed group, has been firing rockets into Israel since the start of the war. Iran also supports Houthi rebels by smuggling weapons to Yemen, allowing the Houthis to prolong a deadly campaign of violence against commercial shipping.

Israel and Iran have been waging a covert war of assassinations and sabotage for years, The Post has reported .

More recently, Iran accused Israel of killing Brig. Gen. Sayyed Razi Mousavi, a senior adviser to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in a missile strike in Syria in December. Israel declined to comment on this accusation.

Israel’s main focus for attacks in Iran has been the country’s nuclear program, which Israel has tried to undermine for years, The Post reported .

In 2021 Iran blamed Israel for an electrical blackout at Iran’s nuclear facilities, and more than a decade ago when a computer virus targeted Iranian nuclear infrastructure, the malware was suspected to be developed by Israel and the United States.

Kareem Fahim and Suzan Haidamous contributed to this report.

Israel-Gaza war

The Israel-Gaza war has gone on for six months, and tensions have spilled into the surrounding region .

The war: On Oct. 7, Hamas militants launched an unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel that included the taking of civilian hostages at a music festival . (See photos and videos of how the deadly assault unfolded ). Israel declared war on Hamas in response, launching a ground invasion that fueled the biggest displacement in the region since Israel’s creation in 1948 .

Gaza crisis: In the Gaza Strip, Israel has waged one of this century’s most destructive wars , killing tens of thousands and plunging at least half of the population into “ famine-like conditions. ” For months, Israel has resisted pressure from Western allies to allow more humanitarian aid into the enclave .

U.S. involvement: Despite tensions between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some U.S. politicians , including President Biden, the United States supports Israel with weapons , funds aid packages , and has vetoed or abstained from the United Nations’ cease-fire resolutions.

History: The roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mistrust are deep and complex, predating the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 . Read more on the history of the Gaza Strip .

• Israel’s military chief warns Iran will ‘face consequences’ for attack Earlier today Israel’s military chief warns Iran will ‘face consequences’ for attack Earlier today
• What to know about Shahed-136 drones, which Iran used to attack Israel April 16, 2024 What to know about Shahed-136 drones, which Iran used to attack Israel April 16, 2024
• Why did Iran attack Israel? What to know about the strikes, U.S. response. April 15, 2024 Why did Iran attack Israel? What to know about the strikes, U.S. response. April 15, 2024

Top total solar eclipses to look out for over the next decade

Want to experience totality again? Here are the next seven total solar eclipses across the world, from Alaska to Australia.

1. Total solar eclipse of 2026

2. total solar eclipse of 2027, 3. total solar eclipse of 2028, 4. total solar eclipse of 2030, 5. hybrid total-annular solar eclipse of 2031, 6. total solar eclipse of 2033, 7. total solar eclipse of 2034, additional resources.

With the April 8 total solar eclipse over, North America has exactly eight years, 11 months and 22 days to wait until its next one. Although total solar eclipses occur in the same location only every 375 years or so, they are not rare. In fact, they happen on our planet about once every 18 months, on average. 

In the next decade, seven total solar eclipses will occur on Earth , plunging countries as diverse as Australia, Egypt, Spain and Sudan under the central shadow of the moon . The first of these will be on Aug. 12, 2026, and the last will be on March 20, 2034, with maximum durations of totality ranging from 1 minute, 8 seconds to 6 minutes, 23 seconds.

Here are the important details about where, when and how to experience a total solar eclipse in the next decade.

When: Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026

Where: Russia, Greenland, Iceland and Spain

Maximum duration of totality: 2 minutes, 18 seconds 

Europe's first total solar eclipse for 27 years will coincide with the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower . The path of totality will pass over Greenland, western Iceland and northern Spain. The place to experience maximum totality will be on a cruise ship off the coast of Reykjavik, Iceland. The chances of a clear sky are much higher in northern Spain, but the eclipse will be much lower, so sight lines will be key. From the Spanish island of Mallorca, it will even be possible to see a "sunset totality" featuring a golden corona (as long as there are clear skies). 

  When: Monday, Aug. 2, 2027

Where: Spain, Gibraltar, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia and British Indian Ocean Territory

Maximum duration of totality: 6 minutes, 23 seconds 

Saros 136 is our era's preeminent family of total solar eclipses. It repeats every 18 years, 11 days and eight hours. The next one is on Aug. 2, 2027, with Luxor, Egypt, destined for a clear view of 6 minutes, 23 seconds of totality. Other options include southern Spain; Gibraltar; Tangier, Morocco; Tunisia's Kerkennah Islands; and Jeddah and Mecca, Saudi Arabia. 

However, all eyes will be on Luxor, where an eclipsed sun will be visible from the Valley of the Kings, Karnak, Luxor Temple, the Colossi of Memnon and the Temple of Hatshepsut.  A whopping 89 million people will experience totality in 2027 — far more than witnessed the 2024 total solar eclipse in North America .  

When: Saturday, July 22, 2028

Where: Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, Australia and New Zealand

Maximum duration of totality: 5 minutes, 10 seconds

This solar eclipse — the second of five in 15 years for Australia — will be visible from remote locations such as the Bungle Bungles and Karlu Karlu (Devils Marbles) in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, respectively, as well as Dubbo, the Blue Mountains and Sydney, where observers will get to witness 3 minutes, 48 seconds of totality. The South Island of New Zealand — including Milford Sound, Queenstown and Dunedin — will also experience totality close to sunset.  

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When: Monday, Nov. 25, 2030

Where: Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho and Australia

Maximum duration of totality: 3 minutes, 44 seconds

This eclipse will occur mostly at sea, but it will cross almost 11 million people on two continents. Totality will occur shortly after sunrise from Namibia's Skeleton Coast before moving across Botswana to Durban on the east coast of South Africa. The path of totality will then stretch across a remote part of the Indian Ocean before a low-setting eclipsed sunset is seen from South Australia and the outback of New South Wales and Queensland. It's the perfect opportunity to explore Namibia or take part in a remote safari adventure in Botswana.

When: Friday, Nov. 14, 2031

Where: Cruise ship from Hawaii

Maximum duration of totality: 1 minute, 8 seconds 

For many people, this remote and short eclipse might not be worth the effort. After all, a brief totality during this very remote eclipse will be visible only from inside a narrow path in the North Pacific Ocean, making a cruise ship from Hawaii the most likely way to experience it. 

But this is the most dramatic type of eclipse — a hybrid. A hybrid eclipse, which occurs only seven times in the 21st century, combines an annular (or "ring of fire") solar eclipse and a total solar eclipse. However, the short duration and small shadow are crucial, with informed eclipse chasers destined to enjoy an extended display of Baily's beads and a lingering diamond ring before and after totality. A "ring of fire" will be visible from the coast of Panama for 25 seconds. 

When: Wednesday, March 30, 2033

Where: Russia and the U.S. (Alaska)

Maximum duration of totality: 2 minutes, 37 seconds

This is the next total solar eclipse for North America. Because it occurs close to the spring equinox, it will be a great opportunity to explore Alaska during peak northern lights viewing season. An eclipsed sun as low as 8 degrees above the eastern horizon will be seen from locations such as Utqiagvik (Barrow), Sagavanirktok (Prudhoe Bay), Kotzebue and Nome.

When: Monday, March 20, 2034 

Where: Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and China

Maximum duration of totality: 4 minutes, 9 seconds

If you want a total solar eclipse to take you off the beaten path, this eclipse will suit you. The path of totality will envelope 109 million people in 13 countries in Central Africa and South Asia. Chief viewing locations will include the Red Sea Coast, in Egypt; the UNESCO World Heritage site of Persepolis, in Iran; and Leh, in the Indian Himalayas.  

You can read all about these eclipses in the book " When Is the Next Eclipse? A traveler's guide to total solar eclipses 2024-2034 ," by Jamie Carter, and on his website, WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com . Other useful resources for eclipse chasers include Eclipse Wise , a website dedicated to predictions of eclipses; cartographer Michael Zeiler's GreatAmericanEclipse.com and Atlas of Solar Eclipses 2020-2045 ; climate and weather predictions by meteorologist Jay Anderson on Eclipsophile.com ; and Xavier Jubier's Interactive Google Maps. 

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Jamie is an experienced science, technology and travel journalist and stargazer who writes about exploring the night sky, solar and lunar eclipses, moon-gazing, astro-travel, astronomy and space exploration. He is the editor of  WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com  and author of  A Stargazing Program For Beginners , and is a senior contributor at Forbes. His special skill is turning tech-babble into plain English.

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