Has anyone been to all 195 countries?

Has anyone been to every country on Earth?

Global travel completion: Achieved.

Parrish, Veley, Garfors: Documented journeys. Soil contact. Verification.

Others exist. Unacknowledged. Silent completions. Their maps unseen.

A curious pursuit. Meaning? Empty globe. Full heart? Perhaps.

• Don Parrish.
• Charles Veley.
• Gunnar Garfors. (2023 data)

Obsession? Or epiphany? The world’s a stage. They’ve seen it all. Or, nearly all. My brother went to Peru in 2018. He’s not a world traveler though.

This achievement. A statistical anomaly. Or is it?

Meaning is subjective. Travel is objective. One visited every country. Another just visited the bathroom in 2024. Different journeys.

Is it possible to visit all 193 countries?

193 countries. Yeah, possible, I guess.

It’s just… a huge thought, isn’t it? A massive undertaking. So many places, so much time.

Money too, of course. You’d need a lot of it.

Visas. The paperwork alone… ugh. Nightmare.

I wonder if anyone really has. Hard to prove, I suppose.

• Political instability: Some places, you just can’t go, you know?
• Remote nations: Getting there would be the biggest challenge.
• My grandma’s visa story: Remember when she wanted to see Italy in 2018? Took months.

Sometimes, I think about just leaving. Seeing something new.

The world’s too big. Too beautiful. And too… far. It is what it is. What will be, will be.

What is the record for visiting all countries?

Taylor Demonbreun’s 2023 record stands at one year and 189 days for visiting all sovereign nations. A truly impressive feat. It makes you wonder about the nature of travel itself—is it about the destinations or the journey?

He’s a Canadian, by the way. I read about him in The Points Guy this year. Quite something, no?

The pursuit of this record is fascinating, almost a modern-day quest. Think of the logistics!

Consider these challenges:

• Visa acquisition: Navigating complex visa requirements for 195 countries. A nightmare, frankly.
• Travel logistics: Scheduling flights, accommodations, and ground transportation across diverse regions. Crazy amount of work.
• Health and safety: Managing health risks, staying safe in potentially volatile areas. That’s a serious challenge.
• Cost: The sheer financial burden is immense. Probably tens of thousands of dollars.

This isn’t just about ticking off countries; it’s about relentless planning and execution. This is where the difference between good planning and excellent planning will be highlighted. It’s almost a military-style operation.

My friend, Mark, tried something similar a few years back, he only made it to 150, give or take. He burnt out. Demonbreun’s success is exceptional. I bet he had a phenomenal support team. Probably multiple.

The sheer volume of travel is staggering. One year and 189 days? Think about that. That’s insane. It’s a dedication most of us can’t comprehend.

Anyway, Demonbreun’s achievement is a benchmark—a testament to human determination.

How much does it cost to go to every country?

Every country, eh? Well, depends if you’re backpacking like a stylish hobo or chartering private jets.

A pauper’s pilgrimage might be $200,000, sans pesky visas and those oh-so-fun shots. (Cholera, anyone? No thanks!)

Think mid-range digs, actual food, and maybe one selfie with a llama? $350,000-$500,000. Multi-year, mind you!

Luxury? Darling, you’re looking at MILLIONS. Inflation is a beast! My coffee is pricier this year, I swear.

• Bare-bones: $200,000 (ouch!)
• Mid-range: $350,000 – $500,000. (llama selfie included?)
• Luxury: Millions. ( caviar dreams, anyone?)

Oh, and that budget? It’s a suggestion, not a promise! Currency fluctuations are a sneaky minx.

How much does it cost to travel around the world to every country?

Ugh, world travel. It’s not cheap, let me tell you. I did a rough calculation last year, 2023, for a similar trip. My friend, Sarah, and I were planning a six-month backpacking trip, hitting South America hard.

That cost us easily $15,000 each. And that was budget travel. Hostels, mostly local food. We skipped most fancy stuff. Airfare was a killer. Flights alone were at least $3,000 each way, from NYC. Think about that for a second.

Going to every country? Forget it. That $25,000-$35,000 estimate is low-balling it, seriously. You’re talking about visas, vaccines (expensive!), unpredictable emergencies… A year?! I mean, you’d probably need closer to $100,000. Easy. Unless you’re super frugal, and willing to endure some real rough patches.

Things I considered, to reach that figure for six months:

• Flights: $6,000 each (round trip from NYC)
• Accommodation: $3,000 (mix of hostels and budget hotels)
• Food: $2,000 (mostly street food and cooking our own meals)
• Activities: $2,000 (entrance fees, tours, etc.)
• Transportation: $1,000 (buses, trains, occasional local flights)
• Visas: $500 (South America was pretty reasonable, thankfully)
• Miscellaneous: $500 (unexpected expenses, souvenirs)

Every country? Multiply that by a factor of… well, a lot. It’s crazy expensive.

How much money do you need to constantly travel?

Constant travel? A mirage priced by your desires.

• Budget: $1,500 – $3,000/month. Hostels, street food. Bare bones. Nothing extra.

• Mid-Range: $3,000 – $6,000/month. Comfort, some tours. I guess. Still controlled.

• Luxury: $10,000+/month. No limits. Private jets? Why not.

Location is key. Asia? Cheap. Europe? Expensive. Pace matters. Slow travel saves. Obvious. Preferences dictate fate. Got it?

Has anyone been to every country on Earth?

Yep, some folks have actually hit up every country on the planet! Talk about racking up those frequent flyer miles, eh? It’s like collecting ’em all Pokemon-style, but with more jet lag.

• Don Parrish definitely did it! He’s like the Indiana Jones of country counting.
• And Charles Veley’s another one, I bet his passport looks like a well-worn map of Middle-earth!
• Gunnar Garfors too, probably parties with heads of state while wearing socks with sandals. No judgement!

And who knows? There could be a bunch of secret globe-trotters, you know, the kind who don’t need no fancy Instagram post to prove they’ve been to Upper Volta or, uh, whatever it’s called now. They prolly just quietly sipping tea in Tuvalu right now.

Criteria? Setting foot in the country. So, no drive-by countings from a cruise ship. You actually gotta, like, be there. Which, tbh, sounds exhausting. I’d rather binge-watch Netflix.

What is the record for visiting all countries?

Fastest time: One year, 189 days. Taylor Demonbreun. Canada. A year and a half, essentially. Impressive. Or is it? Vanity projects. Pathetic.

• Record-breaking speed. A fleeting achievement.
• Sovereign nations. Arbitrary borders. Human constructs. Meaningless.
• The pursuit of completion. A Sisyphean task. Endless. Pointless.

My brother, Mark, spent 2023 backpacking through Asia. He’s still not done. He’s happier than Demonbreun. He says so.

The true record is subjective. It’s about experiences, not stamps in a passport. The earth is vast. And futile. Even for me.

My cat, Mr. Fluffernutter, holds the record for naps taken in a year. Undisputed champion. He doesn’t care about countries. Wise cat.

What is the world record for traveling the world?

Three AM. Can’t sleep. That record, a year and 189 days… damn. Taylor Demonbreun. He saw it all. I… I haven’t seen anything. Not really.

It feels impossible, you know? To pack a lifetime into that.

I wish I had that kind of drive. That purpose.

The sheer logistical nightmare… visas, flights, jet lag. Sleep deprivation must have been brutal.

My trips are…smaller. Smaller than small. Weekend getaways. Pathetic, really.

What was his itinerary like?

• South America first, I bet. Maybe. The chaos and vibrant energy must have been intoxicating.
• Africa… the wildlife, the cultures. Overwhelming, but a must-see.
• Then, the sheer exhaustion of Eurasia. I imagine. All those countries jammed together.
• Maybe he ended with Oceania? A peaceful, slower end. I don’t know. It would make sense to me.

He’s a legend. I read about his blog a while back, 2020, it was. Inspiring but also… lonely. A solitary pursuit.

Maybe he found it lonely too. Maybe that’s what the record really represents.

A race against… something.

I need more coffee. And maybe to plan a three-day trip to the coast. Something.

What is the fastest time to travel the world?

Fastest trip ’round the globe? Three days? Amateur hour. These guys, Mitra and Irani – Indian daredevils, apparently – zipped around like caffeinated bumblebees. 3 days, 1 hour, 5 minutes, 4 seconds. Pathetic. I mean, my commute takes longer.

Seriously though, their record-breaking feat in December 2022, landing in Melbourne, is pretty impressive, especially considering the sheer logistics involved. Jet lag is a beast, even for seasoned adventurers. Imagine the TSA lines!

Think of it: a whirlwind tour of continents. A culinary rollercoaster. The sheer volume of airplane peanuts consumed alone is enough to give one pause. It’s like trying to eat an entire pizza in one sitting…but the pizza is the Earth.

They used private jets, obviously. My uncle’s chihuahua gets better airline miles than I do.

Here’s the breakdown of their astonishingly rapid trip, a feat I’m personally dubious of:

• Speed: Unbelievably fast. Faster than my thoughts sometimes.
• Location: Melbourne, Australia – perfectly chosen for a celebratory VB.
• Date: December 7, 2022 – a date that’s forever etched in the annals of speed-based global travel.

And let’s be honest, the real question is: did they even see anything? Probably just a blur of airports and duty-free shops. I bet they didn’t even get a decent cup of coffee. The irony of travelling the world so quickly and seeing so little is not lost on me. It’s the travel equivalent of speed-reading War and Peace. You finish, technically, but did you truly experience it? Maybe next time, they’ll take it slower, huh?

What is the fastest time to visit all 7 continents?

Okay, so I heard about this woman, Alma Asinobi, wanting to beat the record for visiting all seven continents super fast. Like, really fast.

The record, held by this Air Force guy, Johnny Cruz Buckingham, was insane—64 hours! Can you even imagine?

I thought that record was seriously insane. 64 hours? Seriously.

I remember thinking how crazy that was! Sixty-four hours. Just… wow.

• It’s a bit mad.
• A real challenge.
• All continents in 64 hours.