Interview with Henrik from henriktravel.com: The youngest person to have been to every country in the world

Photos by Henrik and interviewed by Bo, May 2016

Henrik the youngest person who have been to every country in the world

Henrik in Socotra, Yemen

In April 2016, 27 years old Dane Henrik Jeppesen became the youngest person to have travelled to every country in the world - 193 countries to be more precise. On top of that he has visited 96 of the world’s 132 territories. It took him ten years to complete this task, the last six as a full time travel blogger. We talked to Henrik about how he managed to pull that one off.

Tell us about the project

Henrik crossing into Sierra Leone

I have many travel projects, but visiting all the countries was the first big one. It was not easy. Especially when you are young and don't have a lot of money. I had to do things differently, like hitchhiking (with more than 1,000 cars), eating cheap meals at supermarkets, and staying with local people. But I'm glad that I made it. I wrote an article about it on my blog: How I visited every country in the world on a budget.

When did you decide to go after the record and are you going for more records?

Henrik in Kyrgyzstan

I don't travel to set world records, but it's a nice bonus. I applied for the world record as "the youngest person to have been to every country in the world" and I think 3-4 other ones might be possible too (hitchhiked with most different cars, flying with most different airlines), but it takes tons of time to get them approved by the Guinness Book of Records.

How did you finance your trip?

To finance my trip, I had to follow my own set of rules for saving. Mostly it's just about cutting cost, which every traveller can do. I have written in more details about it in my new book Chasing 193 Vol. II, The Quest to Visit Every Country in the World. In the beginning, I had to take out a bank loan and save wherever I could, by using promotions and collecting frequent flyer miles. When my travel blog got more popular, it became possible to get sponsors.

Was it a hard to convince airlines and luxury hotels to let you fly and stay for free?

Henrik in Togo

Yes, of course. You must have a great project and a lot of followers. If you have more than 100,000 followers maybe you don't need a project at all. In the beginning I had to pay for every flight and hotel, though I sometimes got their media rate. But as my audience grew, the more free rooms, meals and flights I got offered. Today I have 45,000+ followers in total combined on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. I think my first sponsor was a small air charter company in Mozambique called CFA Transfers, as I needed to reach a couple of remote hotels. One of the hotels gave me CFA's contact details and I asked them for their help, which they provided.

Which 3 countries would you recommend?

The Maldives, one of Henrik's favourite countries

New Zealand, Denmark and the Maldives are probably the three countries I am most excited about at the moment, but it can be three new ones next month. The Maldives is a unique country of around 1200 beautiful islands. I love it for its beauty and unique concept of private island resorts that remains some of my best experiences in the world.

Which 3 countries would you NOT recommend?

Henrik shaking hands with the Prime Minister of Libya

Central African Republic, Libya and Syria as they are dangerous at the moment. Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic, is very dangerous, dusty and dirty. I was advised not to walk the streets, but did anyway as I wanted to see things. Many soldiers tried to stop me, before some actually did and it was a nightmare getting out of the situation. They make stupid claims that you have to pay to walk the streets or that your documents are not in order. They will do whatever they can to make money. Having visited every country in Africa, I have learned a few tricks and always been able to get out of the situations.

Which country was the hardest one to get to?

Henrik with a cake(!) in Equatorial Guinea

Syria and Libya because of the current situation. Saudi Arabia and Equatorial Guinea are very difficult as well. In Saudi Arabia there is no tourist visa as such and you need to do business to get in, unless you are lucky to get a transit visa that allow you some hours. I managed to get Radisson Blu to host my visit and had a very nice experience in one of the most difficult countries to visit. Equatorial Guinea is a fantastic travel destination, but it's a nightmare to get a visa. I wasted a lot of time at their embassies in Pretoria (South Africa) and Libreville (Gabon) before I finally got it the visa in Lagos (Nigeria) by explaining my project in greater details.

What was the most frightening situation you’ve experienced?

There are many, but my driver went to prison in South Sudan for taking a photo of me in front of a building. They wanted to throw me into prison as well, but after they checked my camera, they let me go. My driver go out shortly afterwards. It's definitely up there among the most dangerous situations.

What surprised you the most about travelling?

That people are actually very nice and helpful almost everywhere. In Azerbaijan I arrived very late to the border from Georgia. Across the border there was absolutely nothing. I was standing there alone with no cars and no people in complete darkness. It was quite a scary feeling. I waited and didn't know what to do. After 10 minutes a car came, which I managed to hitch a ride with. It was a couple, who didn’t speak a word of English. The man made a quick call and gave me the phone. "Hello I'm an English teacher, my friends are worried about you, can they take you to their house?". That was a really nice surprise.

What has been your biggest mistake on the road?

Henrik in Sudan

Trying local cuisines. I've been sick from food many times. Food poisoning several times. The worst was in the Andaman Islands (India). Six months with constant problems. If there is no food around I feel comfortable eating, I rather just eat fruit or nothing at all. It's been very hard having these problems on the road and I'm terrified of getting food poisoning again.

Which piece of advice do you want to give to other travellers?

There are many, but try to be smart about how you spend your money, so that you can travel more. Don't spend money on taxis: hitchhike or take the bus. Fly low-cost airlines when they have promotions. Get and use fly miles. Eat cheaply at supermarkets. Stay with local people.

When travelling that much, is it possible to have a private life?

It's sadly been one of the things I have had to delay. I must soon travel a lot less and make this a priority.

Where are you now and where are you going next?

I'm writing this on a plane from Durban to Johannesburg (South Africa). Next destination is Kaliningrad (Russia).

Do you have a next project?

Bora Bora (French Polynesia), one of the territories Henrik has already been to

Yes. Hoping to complete my project of staying at 50 private island resorts in the Maldives this summer. Then finishing every American state and then hopefully every territory in the world. Then I hope to be satisfied.

Thank you Henrik for taking your time to talk to Globe Spots. We wish you good luck with your ongoing travel projects, and will get back to you when you have completed all the territories.