Looking towards 25 - traveling indefinitely

looking towards 25. 2025 that is. I’ve longed since passed that milestone in my life let me tell you!

As I write this i’m a healthy 34. Yup, thats it, and lying awake at 2am wondering what the hell i’m doing with my life. You see I recently made a commitment to myself that before I turn 40 I am going to head off to travel the world only to return once i have visited every country in the world.

I think goal setting is important, what other heady goal could be set but to visit every country in the world?

so how does one set a goal like this? where to start, where to end? how does one organise something like this and more importantly how can someone afford to do this?

First questions first - How do I intend to pay for this fantastic trip?

Well without sounding bloody obvious, travel on a budget and save as much money as possible beforehand.

Four years seems like a long time to save, and I dont think I have set myself such a high task before. But this one is worth it. Besides with everything that’s happened in 2020 and international travel off the agenda until at least 2022 (as far as i’m concerned) why not wait until 2025 and save up and potentially shift into a nomadic life, or become a mid-life backpacker.

This is not to say there wont be any international trips between now and then, i mean i wont be able to help myself, but they will mostly to visit family in Canada and possibly a couple of short trips to the pacific….. gotta start ticking those pesky countries some-how.

What countries have i visited so far?

Canada, USA, China, China (Hong Kong), United Kingdom (England, Scotland), Brunei, Netherlands, France, Italy, UAE (Dubai), Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Mauritius, Japan, France (New Caledonia) and of course Australia.

Whats the current itinerary for 2025?

well…. theres only so many countries to be visited in one year, but i have planned a rough itinerary to take me through all UN recognised countries. I’ve broken it into legs to allow gaps and downtime

Leg 1

Australia - New Zealand - Tonga - Fiji - Samoa - Tuvalu - Kiribati - Nauru - Marshall Islands - Micronesia - Guam - Palau - Phillipines - Papua New Guinea - Bougainville - Solomon Islands - Vanuatu - Tahiti - Hawaii - Canada (Calgary)

  • there will obviously be some back and forward through a few countries and closer to the departure date will be firmed up, but aiming to tick off all the pacific countries and finishing off the leg in Canada with Dans family for his 40th.

  • adds 14 new countries. (29)

Leg 2

Canada - USA - Azores (Portugal) - Portugal - Spain - Gibralter - Morocco - Western Sahara - Mauritania - Mali - Burkina Faso - Niger - Tunisia - Algeria - Palma (Spain) - Canary Islands (Spain) - Senegal

  • the plan is to take extra time in the Spanish islands before heading to Dakar to begin a camping/overland tour(s) through West Africa

  • adds 11 new countries (40)

Leg 3

Senegal - The Gambia - Guinea Bissau - Guinea - Sierra Leone - Cote D’Ivoire - Ghana - Togo - Benin - Nigeria - Cameroon - Republic of the Congo - Democratic republic of the Congo - Angola - Namibia - South Africa - Equatorial Guinea - Gabon - Sao tome & Principe - South Africa

  • determined to tick off all of the west coast, fully expecting a few itinerary changes here!

  • adds 19 new countries (59)

Leg 4

South Africa - Lesotho - Eswatini - Mozambique - Madagascar - Comoros - Mayotte - Seychelles - UAE - Kuwait - Bahrain - Qatar - Oman - Pakistan - India

  • will need to make a decision at this point as likely to have my 40th and decide where i would like to have it.

  • adds 12 new countries (71)

Leg 5

India - Sri Lanka - Maldives - Nicobar & Andaman islands - Nepal - Bhutan - Bangladesh - Myanmar - Thailand - Cambodia - Laos - Vietnam - Taiwan - South Korea - Australia

  • at this point will be around the two year mark - decisions, decisions…. will we still be keen to continue or need a break. time will tell.

  • adds 11 new countries (82)

So now passing into year three am completely aware that plans change but fun to think about the order of getting past 100 countries. so now this is more of a fantasy travel list. i would have also expected funds to be dwindling down a little bit now. but like i said earlier, setting goals are important regardless of how I get there.

Leg 6

Australia -

Andrew Lees