How well traveled are you?

[daverobev]

Not sure I accept the underlying premise of the poll that being "well traveled" equates to how many foreign countries you have been to. I consider myself extremely well traveled even though I have only been to 9 or 10 foreign countries.

It's just that in 50 years of travel, the places I have enjoyed the most have primarily been in the US.

+1  I listed some Caribbean island nations we visited on a few cruises we have been on.  I'm a little ashamed that I can't remember them all.  Stopping by a foreign port for a few hours doesn't make me well traveled by itself.

Well, I'd disagree, to a degree. The first time I went to Ireland, I realised... wow. Very different to the UK. Different government, different culture, different history.

However - I don't consider myself *that* well travelled. Though I have definitely experienced culture shock - India, Nepal, Bangladesh were amazing for that. Compared to someone 50 years ago? I'd say I'm pretty well travelled, though. As others in the thread have said - there are plenty of people who haven't made it more than a couple of hundred miles from home - and that's no bad thing in itself.

And, while 'the USA' is a big country, with a lot of different geological features and, yes, different cultures, I'd suggest there are more similarities between New York and Iowa and Louisiana than the South East of the UK and Belgium.

Also, the kind of travelling you do really influences your experience - as a backpacker, working for a company where you live just on a business trip, resort holiday - whatever. That doesn't make the initial question 'how many countries have you visited' any less fun - if you're into that kind of thing!

[Exflyboy]

Japan
USA.. (I'm a UK expat)
France
Italy
Germany
spain (Numerous skydiving holidays there)
Malta
Australia
Canada
Mexico
Belgium
Singapore
Cypres.

I had a travelling job for 2 years.. My Wife just flew all the way round the world (visiting friends in India) flying business class using MY airmiles.. I had to work..:(

Frank

[pachnik]

I live in Canada.

I have visited:

USA
Cuba
Mexico
Australia
England
France
Austria
Serbia
Romania

*Would love to go to Hong Kong!

[kiwibeach]

New Zealand - home
Australia
New Caledonia
USA
Canada
Uk
France
Czech Republic
South Africa
Namibia
Botswana
Zimbabwe
Zambia
Malawi
Tanzania
Kenya
Hong Kong

17, not bad, considering kids are 11 and 8, and considerably less travel since they arrived.
Next trip for us - cairns to go to the Great Barrier Reef , next year or so.

[mensa]

We are total travel bugs! My partner's list is WAY more impressive, but here's mine: Not counting Canada:

US
Mexico
Dominican Republic
St. Maarten
St. Lucia
Aruba...ok, most of the Caribbean Islands, so won't list any more of these
S. Korea (lived here for a year)
Australia (lived here for a year)
Singapore
Philippines (spent a month)
Indonesia (spent 6 weeks - BEST trip by far!)
Japan
Hong Kong
Thailand
Ireland

Definitely "light" on the Europe side. Planning to rectify this in the spring of '14. We're hoping to spend a year traveling in South America eventually, but haven't had the opportunity (yet) to make this happen.

[CU Tiger]

Bermuda
Canada
Mexico* (technically I've been there, but it was only a day trip to Tijuana, so I don't really count it)
England
France
The Netherlands
New Zealand
Australia
Germany
Russia
Estonia

[avonlea]

My opinion is if you don't have a lot of money, and you can't travel on somebody else's expense, save your traveling for later.  It is expensive and will get in the way of becoming financially independent.  A lot of traveling is very touristy.  Might as well just find a couple nice restaurants nearby and go to them.

I kind of agree with you on this.  I visited the first 3 countries while working for a nonprofit.  No hotel stays (boarded with native families for a couple of weeks in each country) and not many restaurant visits, either, but I sure loved experiencing the mundane! So fun to see how everyday life is both the same and different in other places.

[Nudelkopf]

6 countries:

- Czech Republic (3 months)
- England (3 weeks)
- France (2 weeks)
- Italy (3 weeks)
- Spain (3 weeks)
- New Zealand  (2 weeks)

[Ian]

I'm not a fan of traveling itself, but I am trying to structure my life so that I can live and work in various countries. I'll divide mine into mid-term (3+ years), short-term (1-3 years), and visit categories. Long-term is theoretically where I spend the rest of my life after FI.

Mid-term: Tanzania, USA
Short-term: Kenya, Uganda, South Korea
Visit: Ethiopia, Canada, UK, Netherlands

So... nine.

[Tyler]

I've traveled quite a bit through Europe & Asia, mostly for work.  It's provided some interesting memories.  However, after the first few trips, I became sensitive to this:

http://tinyurl.com/travel-arrogance

One should not confuse passport stamps with wisdom or experience.  I once knew a guy who bicycled from the east to west coast of the US but (to my knowledge) hasn't left the country -- I consider him far more well-traveled than me. 

[davisgang90]

Courtesy of the US Navy (as a dependent son and now as active duty)

USA
Canada
Mexico
Bahamas
Bermuda
St. Maarten
Cuba
Panama
Columbia
Curacao
St. Lucia
Great Britain
France
Spain
Portugal
Italy (lived in Naples for 2 years)
Switzerland
Austria
Germany
Croatia
Greece
Saudi Arabia
Bahrain
Qatar
Kuwait
Turkey
UAE
Kenya
South Africa
Djibouti
Thailand
Australia

I'm sure I'm forgetting some...
Vatican City
Andorra
Belgium

Update:
China
Japan
South Korea
Taiwan
Monacco
Russia
Romania

[grantmeaname]

USA (21 years)
Germany (3 weeks)
The UK (1 week, but soon to be home)
Netherlands (a day?)
Belgium (45 minutes)

Still on the list: everywhere else. Of special interest: Mexico, Argentina, South Africa, and (can you tell I'm in the financial sector?) Hong Kong and Dubai.

[kkbmustang]

I lived overseas growing up, so my tally is at more than 30. Not sure how to count islands that are in the Caribbean but under the rule of another country. Or Hong Kong - I went there when it was under British rule. Does that count as it's own 'country,' Great Brittain," or China?

[wepner]

Lets see

Mexico
Canada
Italy
Vatican City
Greece
Czech Republic
France
Monaco
Spain
Japan (I live here now)
South Korea
Saipan (technically a part of the US)

[Freckles]

I moved to Saipan once.  And then came home because it sucked.  Other than that, I've been to México, Canada and Indonesia.  I think we should be able to count Hawaii.  You gotta across the ocean and all... 

The lists in this thread are impressive.  Being a teacher does not lead to international work trips.  :(

[SnackDog]

599 cities and counting...  Traveled a lot during my "early retirement" - ages 21-29 as a graduate student, then quite a bit for work.

[NinetyFour]

I live in the US.  Have been to one other country: Canada.  Not sure if other continents even exist.

[daverobev]

I lived overseas growing up, so my tally is at more than 30. Not sure how to count islands that are in the Caribbean but under the rule of another country. Or Hong Kong - I went there when it was under British rule. Does that count as it's own 'country,' Great Brittain," or China?

I guess overseas territories should be listed. Hong Kong is certainly not Great Britain (which is the *island* on which England, Scotland and Wales are), technically it's China now of course but has so much different that.. yes.. it's just separate. Oh, Colonialism. You did a good job on Railways, but a really bad job on Africa.

[Bigote]

After some deliberation I listed Macau and HK as well as China.  I mean, they have different currencies and you need a passport to travel between them.

I listed British VI separate from UK.  That's less defensible, but as a travel experience they are quite different.

[netskyblue]

1) Mexico
2) England
3) Netherlands
4) Germany
5) France
6) Spain
7) Greece

[kkbmustang]

I lived overseas growing up, so my tally is at more than 30. Not sure how to count islands that are in the Caribbean but under the rule of another country. Or Hong Kong - I went there when it was under British rule. Does that count as it's own 'country,' Great Brittain," or China?

I've got some time, so here we go:

1. United States (Have lived in Kansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas)
2. Canada (Lived there)
3. Saudi Arabia (Lived there)
4. Hong Kong
5. Singapore
6. Thailand
7. Mexico
8. Great Britain
9. Ireland
10. Scotland
11. Germany
12. Belgium
13. Amsterdam
14. Italy
15. Austria
16. Switzerland
17. France
18. Spain
19. Denmark
20. Australia
21. Kenya
22. Cameroon
23. The Bahamas
24. Puerto Rico
25. Haiti
26. Turks & Caicos
27. St. Maarten
28. Barbados
29. British Virgin Islands
30. US Virgin Islands
31. Jamaica
32. Antigua
33. Martinique

I feel like I'm missing some in Europe. My business travel was all domestic.

[kkbmustang]

I lived overseas growing up, so my tally is at more than 30. Not sure how to count islands that are in the Caribbean but under the rule of another country. Or Hong Kong - I went there when it was under British rule. Does that count as it's own 'country,' Great Brittain," or China?

Hong Kong is certainly not Great Britain (which is the *island* on which England, Scotland and Wales are)

Yeah, I had it originally as United Kingdom because, admittedly, I couldn't remember which was the country and which was the island. And I was too lazy to look it up before I posted. :)

[Albert]

I think it's clear now that people in this community are not only much better educated than the average population, but also much better traveled. Makes sense for mostly middle and upper middle class people...


The next question might be - how many languages do you speak? I'm fluent in three and can have a simple conversations (not just ordering food in the restaurant) in another one. Still a far cry from one of my cold classmates who was fully fluent in six.

[Villanelle]

I'm fluent in one, barely livable (though rusty) in another, and I know basic manners and a few assorted words in 2 others, plus please, thank you a few others greetings in a handful of others.  I feel like the more German I learn, the more Japanese I lose, exacerbated by the fact that I have no use for my Japanese.  But at least I've stopped saying "ohio" to my German neighbors, and "arigato" to my German waiters. 

[El Gringo]

The next question might be - how many languages do you speak? I'm fluent in three and can have a simple conversations (not just ordering food in the restaurant) in another one. Still a far cry from one of my cold classmates who was fully fluent in six.

-Conversational in Spanish
-Learning French
-Can have very basic conversations in languages from a few other places I have traveled.

[Carl]

Canada.
Japan.
Hong Kong.
Australia.
Iraq.
Kuwait.
Qatar.
Singapore.
South Korea.
Dominican Republic.
And Mexico, coming this winter! 

[kkbmustang]

I lived overseas growing up, so my tally is at more than 30. Not sure how to count islands that are in the Caribbean but under the rule of another country. Or Hong Kong - I went there when it was under British rule. Does that count as it's own 'country,' Great Brittain," or China?

I've got some time, so here we go:

1. United States (Have lived in Kansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas)
2. Canada (Lived there)
3. Saudi Arabia (Lived there)
4. Hong Kong
5. Singapore
6. Thailand
7. Mexico
8. Great Britain
9. Ireland
10. Scotland
11. Germany
12. Belgium
13. Amsterdam
14. Italy
15. Austria
16. Switzerland
17. France
18. Spain
19. Denmark
20. Australia
21. Kenya
22. Cameroon
23. The Bahamas
24. Puerto Rico
25. Haiti
26. Turks & Caicos
27. St. Maarten
28. Barbados
29. British Virgin Islands
30. US Virgin Islands
31. Jamaica
32. Antigua
33. Martinique

I feel like I'm missing some in Europe. My business travel was all domestic.

34. United Arab Emirates
35. Bahrain

[mcjr]

This is fun, actually typing this in the airport lounge.

Not counting stopovers this is my list, surely forgot something:

• Australia
• Austria
• Cambodia
• China
• Czech Republic
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hong Kong (not sure if I can count it as a country)
• Hungary
• Iceland
• India
• Indonesia
• Italy
• Japan
• Korea
• Laos
• Malaysia
• Nepal
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Singapore
• Spain
• Sweden
• Thailand
• Tunisia
• United Kingdom
• Vatican City
• Vietnam

[Businessgypsy]

Travel is not just about where - it's also about when. I'm living a semi-nomadic life by preference. An enormous waste to some, an end that I've been frugal in order to achieve for me. Follow your bliss!

[xtrfuel]

USA
Canada
Iceland
Greece
Japan
Korea
Costa Rica
Argentina
Spain
France

[pka222]

I'll try it geographically- I come up with 33 but I'm sure there are more- will have get the old passport out and have a look

 North America
Canada US and Mexico

Central America
Guatemala, Belize, Costa Rica,

South America
Peru, Ecuador

Europe-
 UK, Holland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Vatican city,

Asia
Japan, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia,  Sri Lanka

Pacific
CNMI, Guam, PNG, Solomons, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, FSM, Tonga, Samoa, American Samoa, Cook Islands, French Poly, Australia, New Zealand

[Ian]

The next question might be - how many languages do you speak? I'm fluent in three and can have a simple conversations (not just ordering food in the restaurant) in another one. Still a far cry from one of my cold classmates who was fully fluent in six.

Fluent: Swahili, English
Basic: Spanish
Learning: Korean

I don't enjoy learning languages very much, but my life has made me learn learn a few.

[Reepekg]

An even 20:

USA- home
Canada
Bahamas
Ecuador
Peru
Iceland
Norway
Sweden
Finland
Denmark
Ireland
England
Netherlands
Germany
Austria
Czech Republic
Switzerland
Italy
Vatican City
France

Fluent: English, Danish
Basic: German, Italian

[expatartist]

The lists in this thread are impressive.  Being a teacher does not lead to international work trips.  :(

Actually being a teacher - with a US/UK/Canadian/AU/NZ teaching certification - can lead quite easily to an international life! Plenty of time to travel during weekends and holidays...

[expatartist]

The next question might be - how many languages do you speak? I'm fluent in three and can have a simple conversations (not just ordering food in the restaurant) in another one. Still a far cry from one of my cold classmates who was fully fluent in six.

I'm only fluent in one other language: French
Can have simple conversations in Italian
Can travel/get things done in Mandarin, but it's very much a work in progress...

ETA: Can read Korean but can't really speak it!

[Strawberrykiwi75]

I've travelled extensively through Europe when I was younger, the last few years I've mainly focused on Asia, seen most of it now. Outside of those areas, Australia, Morocco, UAE and the US.

I've got a trip booked for Bali (second time) in March, and will probably head to the USA late 2014/ early 2015 for a slightly more extended trip. Egypt is also pretty high on the list.

I would consider myself well travelled, but it's never enough really is it?

[Boz86]

46 or 47. I lost count right there and don't remember which.

[Villanelle]

As an update, I can now add Hungary to my list and December now looks like it will take me to Israel, Belgium, Spain, and maybe Portugal. 

[zhelud]

USA
Russia
Ukraine
Kazakhstan
Azerbaijan
Turkmenistan
Japan
UK
Ireland
Germany
France
Netherlands
Spain
Norway
Brazil
Canada
Mexico

I would like to visit many more, which probably hurts my FI chances...

[sunshine]

I've been to several and all over the USA. This is our one big splurge area. We have one  Last family trip coming up soon. I'm not even going to admit the cost yet. I figure this will likely be the last since both our kids go to college next fall. As much as I hate to admit it travel is in serious peril after this trip. We need to stop to hit our goals our income is not big enough for both.

[Mayan]

Currently at 10 (9 if you exclude territories):

Mexico
Canada
Bermuda
Italy
Switzerland
England
Peru
Uruguay
South Africa
Uganda

Living abroad for a period of time is on my future goal list, hopefully to be fulfilled starting next fall. 

[Capsu78]

Mexico
Canada
St Martin
St Thomas
Switzerland
Italy
Vatican City
Norway
GB
Croatia
Spain
France
Monoco
Neatherlands
Belgium
China
Hong Kong
Germany
Quebec
Japan
Australia

Next up: Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Russia

[Watchmaker]

I really want to travel more, that's a big part of my reason for FI.

US (home)
UK (a lot, dual citizen)
Canada
France
Italy (+Vatican city)
India

Sorry to boost an old post, but I came across this and was happy that in the 6 years since this post I've manged to add:

Finland
Norway
Germany
The Netherlands
Taiwan
Japan

Adding one country a year feels pretty good.

[jojoguy]

We go to Indonesia every couple of years. So, outside of that and one overnight stay in Japan, that is it.

Edit: We do travel/fly to different places in Indonesia when we go though. I`ve been to different parts of Java, Sumatra, and Bali. Awesome looking volcanoes. I love the country. Especially Malang, Yogyakarta, Bandung, and Bali. I haven`t been to many places in Sumatra, but it really is a beautiful looking place from where I have been. I`ve been wanting to check out Lake Toba in the northern part.

[HipGnosis]

I was US Air Force enlisted flight crew for about 15 yrs.
I've been around the world over a dozen times.
My list is over 30 countries - I can't remember them all at the same time.
I LUV the mediteranian region; weather, food, culture, history, architecture, people...
But I never made it to Greece...

I want to see more of the USA before I leave it again.
I've been to the states around me on motorcycle.  I'm now retired-retired (from Air Force and civilian work) and last year bought a motorcycle that is better for going further out.   I was out over 8 hours last Monday when it finally got to 70, and I'm quite happy with my purchase.  Though I do have some accessorizing to do for longer trips.

[I'm a red panda]

I've been to 8 countries, but so I would say not very well traveled because most are in the same region.

Canada
Mexico
Ecuador
Antigua
Belize
Honduras
Bahamas
Germany
British Virgin Islands

Technically still the US:
Puerto Rico
US Virgin Islands

[sui generis]

I've been to 37 countries, but I won't bother typing them out.  I think that *is* counting England and Scotland separately (they are all countries in the United *Kingdom* from what I've read, so.....{shrug}) and I haven't been to mainland China, but when I go I will have a similar heartache over whether or not to count Hong Kong separately.

I never traveled when I was little, out of state (I'm American) or out of country (except Mexico, but barely counts, since I lived on the border), so I did most of those 37 countries in the last 20 years.  They are also pretty evenly spread amongst the continents.  I've also been to 43 of the 50 US states.  Here again, I have a little heartache, because I just got back from Puerto Rico and it can't go on my US states list, but also can't go on my "other countries" list....so I guess I need a third list for "Other" for Puerto Rico and whenever I go to, like, American Samoa or something. 

I don't have a hard and fast rule about what counts (except layovers in airports, which definitely don't), but have to satisfy my own moral conscience that it is legit to count.

I also keep track of the US National Parks I've been to, as I'm as much into outdoors travel as "regular".  I've been to 20 of those, I believe.

[aspiringnomad]

More than 40, and I will bother listing them out mainly because it's good for a trip down memory lane. Here's my list, in chronological order of first visit:

1) Venezuela (born and revisited several times, though sadly not an option lately)
2) USA (lived here nearly all my life, have been to 45 states plus PR and DC)
3) Canada (many, many visits)
4) Mexico (five times)
5) Ecuador (four times)
6) Hong Kong
8) Macau
9) China
10) Spain (study abroad)
11) Portugal (several visits, second favorite country)
12) France (several visits)
13) Belgium (twice)
14) Holland
15) Morocco
16) The UK (several visits)
17) Costa Rica
18) Argentina
19) Uruguay
20) Paraguay
21) Germany (twice)
22) Australia
23) Panama
24) New Zealand (four visits, favorite country, married a Kiwi and now a permanent resident)
25) The Dominican Republic
26) Guatemala
27) Bolivia
28) Chile
29) Iceland
30) Slovakia
31) Poland
32) Czech Republic
33) Denmark
34) Finland
35) Russia
36) Latvia
37) Estonia
38) Thailand
39) Cambodia
40) Qatar
41) Switzerland
42) Ireland (the friendliest people on Earth)
43) Nicaragua
44) Aruba

Strange, but nothing new since 2016. I guess we know what we like and just revisit our favorites.
 
Edited to add a memorable trip to Switzerland that I somehow forgot to include and a mostly forgettable trip to Aruba.
 
 

[exterous]

Depends a bit on what is meant by 'visited'. There are a few countries where we really didn't do much of anything worthwhile there so we don't count countries like Poland (layover) or Tanzania (2 track path crossed the boarder for a few miles + layover). Much like aspiringnomad I enjoy the nostalgia of our country list and actually keep it in a onedrive file. FWIW this was exceedingly useful when it was time to renew my Global Entry because they ask you to list all the countries you've been to in the last 5 years. With the exception of our first trip to Ireland and the Bahamas all the rest were done in the last 5 years so I would have forgotten some otherwise

England
Bahamas
Ireland
Dominican Republic
Barbados
St Kitts
St Lucia
Mexico
Belgium
Iceland
France
Australia
Spain
Austria
Hungary
Slovakia
Netherlands
Germany
Switzerland
Russia
Finland
Estonia
Latvia
Sweden
New Zealand
Italy
Vatican
Ethiopia
Seychelles
Kenya
Canada
Luxembourg

[exterous]

41) Ireland (the friendliest people on Earth)

This has been true in our experience too. We've been there 4 times now and every trip we left with at least one exceptional story. The B&B owner who opened up 4 weeks early for our trip. We only found out when he apologized that he only had 1 room selection available. We asked if it was renno\damage. "Oh no. I usually open next month but when you emailed I decided to open early for you."

We found a restaurant in Dublin we loved so we made a second reservation for the following day. The maitre d had given us recommendations on places to visit. When he saw our names on the list again for the following day - he came in on his day off to see if we liked his recommendations. We spent quite a bit of time just talking

Heading to the airport from a hotel the shuttle driver was excited to see we were Americans. "Give me the name of any state in the US and I'll tell you the state capitol!" And he did too, although I had to take his word for a few as his knowledge of US State capitols exceeded my own...

When we took a cab to the airport the fare was 23Euro. I gave him 25. He handed the 5 back. Me: But it says 23? "Well I just had such a nice time driving you two I can't accept the full fare." Where else would a cab driver not only refuse a tip but not charge the full rate?