We count countries. The number is mostly meaningless, but we keep the lists anyway, mostly to track where the girls have been and to have something to talk about on long flights.
Our country counts
| Traveler | Countries visited |
|---|---|
| Adam | 36 |
| Lindsay | 33 |
| Lily, Cora and Harper | 32 |
Adam's list
🇺🇸 United States, 🇧🇸 Bahamas, 🇨🇦 Canada, 🇲🇽 Mexico, 🇮🇹 Italy, 🇻🇦 Vatican City, 🇫🇷 France, 🇪🇸 Spain, 🇳🇱 Netherlands, 🇩🇪 Germany, 🇭🇺 Hungary, 🏴 England, 🇬🇷 Greece, 🇨🇿 Czech Republic, 🇦🇹 Austria, 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia, 🇹🇭 Thailand, 🇻🇳 Vietnam, 🇰🇭 Cambodia, 🇲🇾 Malaysia, 🇸🇬 Singapore, 🇯🇵 Japan, 🇰🇷 Korea, 🇵🇭 Philippines, 🇹🇼 Taiwan, 🇭🇰 Hong Kong, 🇨🇳 China, 🇵🇹 Portugal, 🇩🇰 Denmark, 🇸🇪 Sweden, 🇵🇱 Poland, 🇱🇹 Lithuania, 🇱🇻 Latvia, 🇪🇪 Estonia, 🇫🇮 Finland, 🇦🇱 Albania
Lindsay's list
🇺🇸 United States, 🇫🇷 France, 🇮🇹 Italy, 🇻🇦 Vatican City, 🇪🇸 Spain, 🇬🇷 Greece, 🏴 England, 🇩🇪 Germany, 🇨🇿 Czech Republic, 🇦🇹 Austria, 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia, 🇭🇺 Hungary, 🇹🇭 Thailand, 🇻🇳 Vietnam, 🇰🇭 Cambodia, 🇲🇾 Malaysia, 🇸🇬 Singapore, 🇯🇵 Japan, 🇰🇷 Korea, 🇵🇭 Philippines, 🇲🇽 Mexico, 🇹🇼 Taiwan, 🇭🇰 Hong Kong, 🇨🇳 China, 🇵🇹 Portugal, 🇩🇰 Denmark, 🇸🇪 Sweden, 🇵🇱 Poland, 🇱🇹 Lithuania, 🇱🇻 Latvia, 🇪🇪 Estonia, 🇫🇮 Finland, 🇦🇱 Albania
The girls' list
Lily, Cora, and Harper have been on most of the journey since we left in May 2022. Their list is shorter because some of Adam's trips predate them, and the Bahamas, Canada, and Netherlands haven't made it onto the family itinerary yet.
🇺🇸 United States, 🇮🇹 Italy, 🇪🇸 Spain, 🇫🇷 France, 🏴 England, 🇩🇪 Germany, 🇨🇿 Czech Republic, 🇦🇹 Austria, 🇭🇺 Hungary, 🇬🇷 Greece, 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia, 🇹🇭 Thailand, 🇻🇳 Vietnam, 🇰🇭 Cambodia, 🇲🇾 Malaysia, 🇸🇬 Singapore, 🇯🇵 Japan, 🇰🇷 South Korea, 🇵🇭 Philippines, 🇲🇽 Mexico, 🇹🇼 Taiwan, 🇭🇰 Hong Kong, 🇨🇳 China, 🇵🇹 Portugal, 🇩🇰 Denmark, 🇸🇪 Sweden, 🇵🇱 Poland, 🇱🇹 Lithuania, 🇱🇻 Latvia, 🇪🇪 Estonia, 🇫🇮 Finland, 🇦🇱 Albania
Why country counting doesn't really work
Apply any real scrutiny and the whole thing falls apart. Does standing at the DMZ count as visiting North Korea? What about Taiwan? If you visited the Golan Heights from Israel, did you just visit Syria? If you went to Sudan in 2005, do you retroactively count South Sudan? Do you need to go back?
Then there's Sint Maarten. You land on the Dutch side. Did you just visit the Netherlands? You walk across to Saint Martin. Did you just claim France? The answer to every one of these is "depends who you ask", which means the number is only meaningful if everyone agrees on the rules, and nobody does.
NomadMania has the most rigorous ruleset if you want a real framework. They define minimum visit criteria, track the UN's 193 countries, and maintain their own list of 1,301 regions, which is a much more honest metric than border crossings. Visiting New York doesn't mean you've seen America.
We use the lists loosely. The more useful number for us is time, days somewhere, not borders crossed. But the flags are fun, the kids like updating them, and it gives us something to argue about.
No affiliate links in this one. Just a list of countries and some unresolved arguments about whether they count.
