A Year In Review 2024

The year of 2024 is a tale of two cities. The first half of the year was about Chasing 193 while the second half of the year was focused on producing the second Extraordinary Travel Festival in Bangkok.

I ended 2023 at 171 UN countries. This year I made further progress, ending the year at 181 UN member countries. So close I can almost taste it. Only 12 more countries remain, and my quest will be complete. My goal was to finish this journey in May of 2025, visiting my last country, Ireland. But, unfortunately there is a catch. I will explain that later in this post.

The New Ones.

I reported last year that I was near completing the most challenging continent, Africa, with 54 countries. I only had 2 countries left at the end of 2023, Libya and Sao Tome & Principe. Libya a sometime tough visa and security challenge and Sao Tome & Principe a bit of a logistical pickle.

I left Boston in early January to visit my penultimate African country, Libya. Libya had long been on my list to visit, a country that has endured so much recently from the multi-decade crushing reign of Colonel Gaddafi, to a violent revolution, and a continuing civil war that has bisected the country. The security and visa situation has waxed and waned over the recent years from better to worse and vice versa.

The trip started with the challenge of AirFrance cancelling my flight from Boston to Paris and being less than helpful in organizing an alternative flight. After hours of arguing, AF placed me on a flight to Paris so I could connect to Tunis. I then had two nights in Tunis and then an hour flight to Tripoli. As I enjoyed Tunis, a repeat visit, I learned my flight on Tunis Air had been canceled. My one-way ticket was less than $100, but Tunis Air, charged a $100 cancellation fee on a flight that they had cancelled. I then found an alternative airline to bring me to Tripoli which only could be purchased at the airport. With the change I made it to Libya and had an amazing time in this historic country. Unfortunately, my trip to the UNESCO Ghadames was canceled due to civil unrest and fighting. Otherwise, a fantastic visit and hopefully I will be back to explore more.

Mid-February saw me embark on a 45-day Oceania trip. My first new country on this swing was New Zealand, a two week visit of both the North and South Island. I had high expectations for NZ and I was not disappointed. The non-stop physical beauty was exhilarating as I explored the country via rental car.

I then began my exploration of my remaining Pacific Islands. I left NZ to visit Samoa, both the Savaii and Upolu islands. After six days in Samoa, I found myself in Tonga. I rented another car here to drive around the island with a highlight cutting open my head in a cave so I could learn more about the local medical infrastructure. Next up was the Lilliputian country of Tuvalu with a population of only 10,000 with the central focal point of the country being the international runway at the airport which served as the social meeting point for the nation. I zipped around the island on a rented motorbike.

At this point, my plan was to double back to Asia to visit my last remaining country on that continent but alas my application for the visa was rejected. Since this trip was cancelled, I opted to visit 3 more remaining nations in the Pacific; Marshall Islands, Kiribati, and Nauru.

The Pacific Islands are not an ally of simple flight logistics. To get to the Marshall Islands from Fiji (where I was) was no simple task. The best option required me flying back to the US, specifically Hawaii, where I waited 3 days for my flight to Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands. Here again, I rented the car to drive this tiny island nation. I was then off to Kiribati where I battled some torrential rains to learn a bit about local life.

This meant I only had one country left, Nauru. Nauru is the one nation in the Pacific that requires a visa. When I decided to visit these trio of countries, I contacted the Nauru Consulate immediately to begin the visa process. I was abruptly told not to bother since they required a minimum of 2 weeks to process the visa.

Hence when I departed Kiribati to fly home to Thailand, I ironically connected through … Nauru and spent an hour in the airport waiting for my connection. Frustration washed over me as I debated about hiding in the bathroom or feigning an illness. I decided to be a good global citizen and board my connecting flight to Brisbane. In retrospect, I should have opted for one of the more devious options.

Next up was my last country in Africa, Sao Tome & Principe, an island nation off the coast of Gabon. I had been in the region previously, but I was never able to get the flights to work. One time while visiting a neighboring country, I debated about taking 4 segments to visit Sao Tome. I opted not to which led me to this situation which entailed me flying from Boston to Lisbon and then a direct flight to Sao Tome. Sao Tome is a former Portuguese colony, and Lisbon is one of the few gateways. I opted to rent a car again to visit this pleasant nation of 250,000.

I was not done yet, as I headed back to the Pacific in June to attempt to visit my last three nations in Oceania; Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and of course Nauru. I touched down for an uninspiring visit to the Solomon Islands. I spent an amazing two weeks in Papua New Guinea exploring this raw and diverse nation, meeting dozens and dozens of different tribes. And then Nauru. Guess what. I didn’t go. This time I applied for a visa over a month in advance. But, the government did not approve my visa until 3 days before my planned flight. Upon receiving my visa I attempted to purchase my flights … but the airline was sold out. And this is not like the BOS LGA shuttle with flights leaving on the hour. There were only three flights a week, meaning I would have to wait an additional week to take my flight to Nauru. I decided to take my winnings and go home and plan Nauru for another day.

And yes, there was a third attempt in 2024 in August as I headed from Chicago to Bangkok. I thought I would “connect” through Nauru. I applied for another visa and purchased 6 flights on 4 different airlines. A week before my flight, Nauru Airlines emailed me saying they canceled my return flight from Fiji to Nauru and back and rebooked me on two different flights. My 3-day trip on Nauru had been extended to a week, making my other 4 flights unusable. Again, I attempted to unwind all of these flights and booked hotels. I licked my wounds and will now prepare for a 4^th attempt in 2025.

The Repeats.

As always, even though I am focusing on new countries, there are always repeats. I began the year in the US after coming home for the holidays and then left for Tunisia, my second visit, since Tunis would be my launching off point for Libya. I then returned home to Thailand for the month before my Oceania trip which saw 2 visits to Fiji (a required hub in the Pacific) and a revisit to Sydney after a 20-year hiatus and a pit stop in Brisbane as I made my way back to Thailand.

I returned to the US for a month to visit my father. And then headed off to Portugal for a repeat visit which included a mini-roadtrip. I then departed to Sao Tome & Principe for a visit to my last African country, and then returned to Portugal, but this time to the Azores for the Traveler’s Century Club (a travel club founded in the 1950s) get together. As you might imagine, there are no direct flights from the Azores to Bangkok, so I broke up the flight and spent the night in a new city in Spain, Bilbao, where I had the good fortune to spend the evening with two friends who were also there for one night of transit. (Hi Ian and Palle)

From early July, I found myself in Thailand, US, back to Thailand for the Extraordinary Travel Festival, and then back to the US for the holidays and NYE. And there was a one-night visa run to Kuala Lumpur while I was in Thailand.

A Chronological List.

Here are the countries I visited during 2024 in chronological order. Bolded names are new countries. Italics not real countries.

United States
Tunisia
Libya
Tunisia
Thailand
Australia
New Zealand
Samoa
Tonga
Fiji
Tuvalu
Fiji
US (Hawaii)
Marshall Islands
Kiribati
Australia
Thailand
US
Portugal
Sao Tome & Principe
Portugal (Azores)
Spain
Thailand
Solomon Islands
Papua New Guinea
Thailand
US
Thailand
Maylasia
Thailand
US

Here is a brief recap of travel 2024 highlights by country and of course some low points.

Tunisia. Spent a couple of days here enjoying the food, visiting UNESCO Carthage, and the temperate weather. Meeting some South Sudanese as you do in Tunisia.

Libya. It was a real highlight to visit Libya and checking out wonders like the Roman ruin of Leptis Magna, being part of Libyan culture, and learning about history. I found this scene to be comically ironic, here I am in Martyr’s Square in Tripoli with a gathering of stuffed animals. The square was witness to many demonstrations and unfortunately death of some of them.

Australia. I have to say it was great to be back in the cosmopolitan city of Sydney, visiting classics and walking around the city. (2 landmarks in 1)

New Zealand. I have heard for years that NZ was one of the best countries to visit. And it still punched above its weight. The sheer, not stop beauty of the country was incredible and perfect for renting a car.

Samoa. I went to visit the home Robert Louis Stevenson author of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Tonga. Cutting my head open was probably my most memorable memory.

Tuvalu. There is really nothing special about this tiny country, that should not be a country, but I really enjoyed myself here. I met a great crew of fellow travelers, spent time driving a motorbike around, and chilling out at the airport.

Hawaii. I went here once as a kid bit it was a treat to revisit, visiting Pearl Harbor and renting a car to take in some of the beauty of the island.

Marshall Islands. I visited nearby Ecko Island to chill out twice.

Kiribati. I got a taste of island life visiting a local family.

Solomon Islands. I witnessed a bit about WWII history on this fabled island, and I spent a day going to multiple stores to buy a new laptop charger.

Papua New Guinea. PNG was one of my travel highlights of the year. I spent time in the Highlands (central, mountainous area of the island) meeting dozens and dozens of different tribes. It was a unique experience.

Thailand. Attended the amazing Phuket Vegetarian Festival for a 2^nd time. And I cannot wait to visit for a third time. (pro-tip, wear goggles and ear plugs)

Flights.

I use App in the Air (actually, I now use Flighty, since App in the Air closed their business) to create this flight map of my travels in 2024. In conjunction with Tripit and a trusty Excel sheet, I was able to create this recap.

53 flight segments
105,480 miles flown
10 days and 4 hours in the air
23 different airlines
37 different airports
18 different aircraft
Flew on 5 different continents

As you can see by my post, I enjoy tracking and creating statistics about my journey. One other list I keep track of with the help of Nomad Mania is my list of airports, I have passed over 300 different airports during my travels. My favorite airport hands down was FUN also known as Funafuti International Airport in Tuvalu, the small Pacific nation of 10,000 people.

FUN is greatly loved in the extreme travel community. The runway is the largest open space in the entire country. And, there is no security. It is completely open to the public. Hence, it serves as a local meeting place in the country. People gather for picnics, walks & jogging, football games, and all-night drinking escapades. I rented a motorbike and cruised the runway at sunrise.

While I always enjoy compiling my annual statistics there is one stat not to be excited about: my carbon footprint. I donated $1000 to the Armenian Tree Project to offset some of my carbon. $1000 purchases about 35 trees, each tree captures approximately 46 pounds of carbon a year. That works out to 1,610 pounds of carbon each year. Over 25 years that works out to 40,250 pounds (20 tons of carbon).

Land Borders.

I love tracking the different airlines and airports I visit but I also love a great land crossing. This year was an anomaly with no land border crossings in a year of many islands. We will see what happens next year.

Driving.

There were a lot of car rentals during this year of travel. Arguably, one of the best ways to explore a country. I would have not enjoyed New Zealand as much as I did without the flexibility of a car.

And it made life so much easier in Samoa, Tonga, and the Marshall Islands as well as I was able to drive wherever I wanted when I wanted. In Tuvalu, the motorbike was the perfect solution for this tiny country which was basically one road. And I also rented a car in Hawaii.

For my mini-road trip to Portugal as well as my trip to Sao Tome, these trips would not be possible without renting a car.

Sleeping.

On any given year, my travel can be broken into 4 different categories – 90 days Bangkok – 60 days Boston – 30 days Chicago – 6 months general travel.

Well, 2024 was an exception to the rule. Other exceptions included Covid when I spent 12 months straight in Thailand and the organization of the Extraordinary Travel Festival in 2022. In 2024, I organized the Extraordinary Travel Festival in Bangkok, which resulted in nearly of a doubling of my time in Bangkok.

Here is the breakdown for 2024:

176 nights at my condo in Bangkok
78 nights at my father’s apartment outside of Boston
13 nights at my condo in Chicago
88 nights at hotels (38 different hotels)
4 nights at AIRBNBs (2 different)
2 nights at different friends’ houses
9 nights sleeping on an airplane

Best Hotel

I wish I had some good news to report here. There was a dearth of memorable stays. My one nice stay was in Kuala Lumpur for a visa run when I used my IHG credit card for my annual free stay at the Intercontinental. This was a proper 5-star hotel yet nothing special to share.

Worst Hotel

There were many middling to poor hotels in 2024. I will note The George Hotel Kiribati in the Pacific Island nation. This was an overpriced, dated hotel. But what really made it stand out was the incompetent and unprofessional service. Avoid!

I will give an honorable mention for an AIRBNB virtually across the street from the SUV airport in Fiji. The owner wins an award for knowingly having the incorrect location of her house on the map on her listing. When I pointed out the incorrect information to her, she responded that only three other people had complained. I then explained to her, only one person should have been necessary to correct this information. She did not take kindly to my advice and then offered to cancel my reservation.

Haircuts.

Another pet project is getting haircuts (or sometimes a shave) around the world. This is a simple mechanism to experience a slice of local life. This is usually a great way to meet some people and learn about the country, whether it is the barber or the other people getting a cut. This year I got cuts in Libya, Samoa, and of course Thailand. Take a look, Haircuts Around The World.

Podcast.

As usual, I get to speak to so many interesting and inspiring people throughout the year. I have published over 125 full length interviews and a number of bonus shows as well. Subscribe today!
And did you know Counting Countries is rated in the top 2.5% of all podcasts?

I spend a considerable amount of time producing this show. I have joined Patreon, where you can help partner and support future productions and get extra content.

Film.

Years past, I have had the great fortune of producing and being featured in two adventure travel documentaries.

Hit The Road: India was filmed in 2012 and released in 2013 cross iTunes, Amazon, Vimeo, etc. The film met some success as it was licensed by KLM and Virgin Airways, screened at eight film festivals, and was ranked #3 on iTunes UK in the documentary category.

And the hits keep on coming. Epic Channel in India licensed the film to play in India over a several week time period. That is pretty cool. Except the fee we earned was kept by our sales agent in India for his fee.

Our second film, Hit The Road: Cambodia, was released in 2016 across iTunes, Amazon, and Vimeo. The HTRC was filmed in 2015 but took some time to be birthed.

Books.

OK, this is not 2023 news, but I have published three books over the years. You can check them out on Amazon.

And besides travelling to every country in the world, I am creating a list of at least one book for every country. This is an ongoing project with more books being added in 2025.

Still a top stocking stuffer for top fans!

Partnerships.

I have continued my rewarding relationship with Travel Massive, the largest professional travel network with nearly 80,000 members. I am one of the Chapter Leaders in Bangkok and the Asia Coordinator. I have hosted and organized events in Bangkok and Chicago this year.

Extraordinary Travel Festival.

In early July, I had finished with “my travels”. The second half of the year I was either in Thailand or the USA. My main focus was on the production of the Extraordinary Travel Festival, the largest gathering of the world’s most avid, accomplished, and adventurous travelers. The second ETF in Bangkok was doubled in size compared to the inaugural festival in Yerevan. 250 travelers gathered in November for a multi-day event of amazing speakers, great social events, and trips.

Completing The Quest.

At the end of 2023, I ended the year with 171 countries, at the end of 2024, 181 countries.

A giant accomplishment this year was visiting my 54^th and final country in Africa.

A giant frustration was three attempts to visit Nauru with none of them being successful. That means I will have to make an entire and separate trip to visit this remote and difficult country to visit.

Here I am in Nauru, waiting for my connection. (but it doesn’t account)

I will attempt to visit Nauru again in 2024 to finally complete Oceania.

I was confident that I would visit Ireland, my final country, Ireland, in May of 2025, but that is no longer in the cards.

My White Whale.

My plan was to visit my final 12 countries in the first 5 months of 2025 with a celebration in Ireland.

But it is not meant to be, at least in 2025.

I have one final country to visit in Asia, and I do not want to even name it. Since 2017, I have applied 5 times for a visa. And I have been denied 5 times.

The theory from speaking with insiders is this country googles all prospective visitors, and when you google me a large number of posts about me will appear. This country considers me a “journalist” and on 5 different occasions the government has hastily placed me in the rejection bin.

I thought my 5^th attempt would be different since I literally had a contact within the presidential office. Despite this inside track, the result was still the same. Time to go back to the drawing board.

Any ideas?

So to everyone, Happy New Year and keep on counting countries.