1. TRAVEL WITHOUT FLYING
a. Graham Hughes. In 2009, this 33-year-old British man was the first person to visit all 201 countries (193 UN members plus Taiwan, Vatican City, Palestine, Kosovo, Western Sahara, and the four home nations of The United Kingdom) without using a plane. He used buses, taxis, trains, and longer-haul voyages mostly by hitching lifts on cargo ships and his own two feet to travel 160,000 miles in exactly 1,426 days – all on a shoestring of just $100 a week. North Korea, Iraq, and Afghanistan were the easy ones – far tougher were getting to tiny island nations like Nauru, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the Maldives, and the Seychelles where there were sometimes pirate threats.
“I love to travel, and I guess my reason for doing it was I wanted to see if this could be done, by one person travelling on a shoestring. I think I also wanted to show that the world is not some big, scary place, but in fact, is full of people who want to help you even if you are a stranger.” He raised money for the charity WaterAid.
Unfortunately, Graham’s amazing journey has been denigrated by some as he flew home and returned to the departing country twice.
b. Torbjørn Pedersen (aka Thor) visited 203 countries in an unbroken journey without flying. It took 10 years, due to unforeseen challenges such as visa issues, political unrest, and the COVID-19 pandemic when he spent three years in Hong Kong.
How does it feel to reach your goal after 10 years? I wish I could say it feels amazing, but the reality is that I’ve become rather robotic over the years given the intense workload and stress. Furthermore, I’ve hardly had a moment to myself since reaching the Maldives so there has been no real reflection. I still feel like I’m “in it” and it might not change until I join the ship back to Europe or sometime after setting foot back home in Denmark. I’m proud that I’ve made it and grateful for all the attention I’m currently facing.
What was the biggest challenge you faced during your journey besides COVID-19? I would have to say entering Equatorial Guinea. I visited 5-6 EG embassies/consulates across several countries and was treated with much disrespect by authorities. All without flying and while navigating countless checkpoints. After three months I finally succeeded in getting the visa only to discover that the borders were now closed. A “no one in and no one out” policy from EG. I desperately looked for solutions during my 30-day window to enter EG before the hard-earned visa expired. On day 27, with 3 days left on my visa, I met a French expat who could help me across the border of EG. I stayed two nights in what became country no. 100 after four months of intense effort to enter.
2. YOUNGEST TO 193
a. Henrik Jeppersen, From Denmark, In 2016, at 27 years old, he became the youngest to see all 193 (Eritrea), and 30 when he finished all FIFA countries. He travels alone, very light and low-cost – staying with local people, getting hotels and flights sponsored, hitchhiking (done more than 1,000 times), avoiding restaurants and instead buying food at supermarkets, and using low-cost airlines or buses.
Most difficult travel – Africa with bad infrastructure, pollution, dusty roads, corruption and safety concerns. Founder of Everywhere in the World, a website about travellers with interviews and stats.
b. Anderson Diaz. #183 Brazil-born 1993. Finished age 26 in 2019 (Cabo Verde) but is listed in NM as Transited Only for Some Countries.
c. Cassie De Pecol. #181 US-born 1989. Finished age 27 in 2017 (Yemen) but is listed in NM as Transited Only for Some Countries.
Three years ago, this young woman traveller claimed to be the first woman to do all the countries in the world, disregarding Audrey Walsworth and other notable women who achieved the feat before her. She became well known in EPS with her claim to be the first woman in the world to travel to every country and was very good at self-promotion. She was very defensive and snarky and has been shown to have transited some countries (claimed Syria from the Golan Heights, and stepped over the line into North Korea in the negotiation building at the DMZ).
An advocacy group has just sued Cassie “According to a lawsuit recently filed by the consumer protection group Travelers United, De Pecol has amassed this audience by repeatedly making fraudulent claims.”
Travel influencer Cassie De Pocol subject of lawsuit – Airportoairport
Nina Sedano – 193 countries … and one of the few women to accomplish this goal – GlobalGaz
4. FASTEST TO 193 Both transited some countries
a. Anderson Diaz.26 years old from Brazil – 543 days
b. Cassandra De Pecol.28 years old from Connecticut – 558 days.
5. SEE EVERY COUNTRY TWICE
a. Gunnar Garfors. A 44-year-old Norwegian, he was the first person to visit every country in the world twice.
• In the second week of May 2024, I met two people who knew Gunnar. As soon as I mentioned travel, they immediately said they knew this famous traveller, Gunnar Garfors. One was a teacher I met in the Truro Hospital where I waited for 4 hours in the Emergency to see a Dr. The second was a young Polish woman at Starbucks at the Abu Dhabi Airport. I showed them Gunnars Nomad Mania profile and his map as of May 2024.
Master Ranking #352 NM 536/1301, DARE 4/1331, UN 193 UN+ 217/265 TCC 233/330 WHS 0, TBT not ranked. He is #4 in Norway. His NM Map is rather anemic. He is verified only for UN countries.
Here is my Nomad Mania profile: Master Ranking 41, NM 939/1301, DARE 190, UN 192 UN+ 219 TCC 261 WHS 885 TBT 11. I am #1 in Canada. I have been verified 6 times – UN countries, NM regions, Supreme Verification, WHS and TBT (verifies series items). I have been to almost 18,000 Series sites (2nd in the world). I couldn’t find any series ranking for Gunnar.
There is no doubt that Gunnar has travelled a lot and must get a lot of self-satisfaction from his accomplishments. He has written 7 books and appears to be very good at self-promotion, I beat him in almost every category but nobody knows anything about me. I rarely post trips on Facebook and am very poor at self-promotion.
b. Slawek Muturi. From Warsaw, Poland, he has also been to every country twice. He is half-Polish, half-Kenyan, 57, and works in residential real estate. He speaks 11 foreign languages. Likewise, his NM statistics (June 2024) are OK and certainly better than Gunnar’s. – 116 on the NM Master list and #4 in Poland, NM1301 – 720, DARE – 1, UN territories – 242, TCC – 267, MTP – 709, WHS none recorded. TBT – no ranking.
c. Harry Mitsidis. Born in 1972 in Greece and now living in London, Harry is the founder (and #1 traveller) of The Best Traveled in 2012. He had completed his 193 at age 36 in 2008 and his second in 2024.
As of June 2024, Harry’s stats were Region 1284/1301, DARE 362/1331, UN+ 264/265, WHS 736/1199, TCC 325/330, TBT #1. Harry’s stats are very impressive. He perpetually leads the Posted Trips category.