World Travel Challenge Ideas – 50 New Countries

Ever feel the urge to shake things up and step outside your comfort zone? If you’re looking for world travel challenge ideas, here’s what inspired my desire to visit 50 new countries in my 50s.

I set this goal to explore parts of the world I’d never even imagined visiting, and it has exceeded my expectations in every possible way.

But here’s the big question: do you have a travel goal of your own? Maybe you dream of visiting the 7 Wonders of the World or traveling through all 50 states?

If you’re looking for inspiration to explore unique countries and embark on grand adventures, keep reading!

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How it Started – The 50 States Travel Challenge

When a friend casually mentioned wanting to visit all 50 states, it really struck a chord with me. I hadn’t thought about it much before.

Curious, I went home and counted up the states I’d been to—40! That sparked something in me, so I planned three trips to cover the last ten.

So I set up 3 trips to see the last 10 states. The first trip was a midwest loop – drop the kid off at college in Wisconsin then Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri.

The first was a Midwest loop. We dropped our kid off at college in Wisconsin, then hit Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri.

Highlights included Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que—in a gas station, with a line out the door because it’s just that good. We caught a Royals game during the season they went to the World Series, which made us feel like good luck charms. And I was genuinely charmed by downtown Omaha.

Next was a Southern road trip through Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Arkansas surprised us with its beautiful state parks, and the Oklahoma City National Memorial left a lasting impression. Plus, those Gulf Coast beaches were stunning.

The final trip was the most unforgettable – 10 days in Alaska. It ended up being the family trip of a lifetime and left me wondering why I hadn’t prioritized it sooner.

All of these experiences cemented the idea that if you push outside of the usual travel destinations, you can find some amazing experiences that you would have never found had you not done the challenge.

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World Travel Challenge – 50 Countries in My 50s

When I started the challenge, there were so many examples of people living as digital nomads, chasing big goals like visiting 100 countries before 30 or checking off all 195 countries.

My challenge serves more as a framework: visiting 50 new countries over 10 years feels both achievable and thrilling.

This pace lets us truly experience each destination, not just breeze through, while also pushing us to travel beyond the typical annual vacation. It’s the perfect blend of depth and adventure.

When choosing destinations, safety is my priority, so I skip countries rated “Level 4 – Do Not Travel.” However, I don’t shy away from places that only seem risky due to media misconceptions.

By making informed choices instead of relying on assumptions, I’ve found the perfect balance—exploring beyond typical tourist spots and discovering unique, uncharted places that most travelers overlook.

What Counts as a Country?

This may sounds like a silly question but there are many sources that vary on what is actually a country. The United Nations has 193 member countries and 2 observer countries, Holy See (the Vatican) and Palestine.

So, what doesn’t count as a country? Generally, territories like Puerto Rico, the Cayman Islands, or Aruba, which are governed by other nations, don’t make the list.

Similarly, while Scotland and Wales are distinct countries, they are part of the United Kingdom and not independent political entities.

For the challenge, I recognized Scotland and Wales as countries since they have their own unique identities, but I didn’t include them in the overall country total.

Countries Visited

I have now been to 72 countries. including the 43 countries listed below that I visited since the challenge started.

• Albania
• Andorra
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Belize
• Bosnia Herzokovina
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Cuba
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Estonia
• Egypt
• Finland
• Georgia
• Guatemala
• Indonesia
• Israel
• Jamaica
• Jordan
• Kosovo
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Malta
• Montenegro
• North Macedonia
• Norway
• Palestine
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• San Marino
• Scotland
• Serbia
• Singapore
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Sweden
• Turkey
• Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
• United Arab Emirates
• Uzbekistan
• Wales

I will travel to 7 more countries over the next 4 years, which will bring the world total to 79. Traveling as a flashpacker helped me catch up after the lost time in 2020-2021.

This countries visited map is where I’ve been so far.

Some Travel Challenge Ideas

• All 195 Countries or a certain amount of countries
• 7 Continents
• 7 Wonders of the World – Great Wall of China, Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, Machu Piccu in Peru, Chichen Itza in Mexico, The Colosseum in Rome, Taj Mahal in India, Petra in Jordan
• The Seven Summits – a climbing challenge around the world
• 50 states, 50 states by a certain age, 50 Marathons in 50 states
• Interesting hotel types – Finland Glass Igloos, the best Marrakech Riads, glamping at Morocco Desert Luxury Camps or Wadi Rum Bubble Hotels, cave hotels in Cappadocia or Matera, Italy or a historic Trulli Hotel or Masserie in Puglia.

Executing a Travel Challenge

Planning – A travel challenge that has you going all over the world is most rewarding if it is well planned. Some things to consider:

• Time – Depending on when and for how long you can take a vacation, time is a huge consideration. For some, taking a longer trip and visiting multiple countries in a region will work better. For others, it might be multiple trips around school vacations.
• Money – Some people can spend whatever they want and others are on a strict budget. Do you want to go places in the shoulder season for lower costs and less crowds? Are you open to capsule hotels or lower price accommodations?
• Festivals and Events – In addition to making a list of countries I want to visit, I also made a list of the time of year I might like to be there. For instance, the Lantern Festival in Chang Mai is in November. The lavender in Provence is at it’s peak in July. I’ve already been to Thailand and France but I will probably visit countries near there during those times.
• Carbon Footprint – For me it’s important to take into account the impact of my activities on the world. If possible I try plan long trips that allow me to visit an entire region and minimize the amount of flying.

Helpful Tools for World Travel Ideas

Books & Maps

• Where to go When tells you the best places in the world to travel by month.
• Destinations of a Lifetime is a beautiful book of world travel inspiration.
• 50 States 5,000 Ideas is perfect if you are doing a U.S. state challenge.
• Here’s a great list of books about travel and self discovery that will definitely give you some inspiration.
• World Travel Maps – to chart your progress Scratch Off Travel Map or Where I’ve Been App.

List Challenges

I love this addictive website with lots of lists is listchallenges.com. Use it to figure out where you have been around the world and where you want to travel to next.

Instagram

I have a love/hate thing with Instagram. I recently clicked on a before and after makeup reel and even though I couldn’t care makeup, I now have a whole feed of makeup tutorials.

So I had to control myself and only click on beautiful destinations (and dachshunds because I can’t help it). Now l get tons of ideas that leads me to pages with tons of ideas.

Be careful not to click on fake places generated by AI or you’ll have a hard time finding real destinations again.

I set up folders in my Instagram saved file and I categorize them by area. When I’m going somewhere like Spain, I open the Spain folder and voilà!

If I’m being super honest, I took a big old Instagram break and I looked at my Spain folder AFTER visiting Spain and I missed something I would have loved to see.

Pinterest

Pinterest is a great place to find images to pin into your own travel folders. It’s also one of the best places to find itineraries from people that have been there instead of travel companies when you google.

Search by location and click through the images to find helpful travel websites that reach every corner of the world.

I’m on Pinterest regularly and it’s a great place for travel tips and travel inspiration.

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FAQs About The 50 Countries World Travel Challenge

Why are you doing it?

First, I have a serious case of wanderlust. Second, who knows how long any of us will be on the planet or how long we’ll be healthy enough to travel. Read m storyy to know why.

How do you afford to travel so much?

In 2012, I mastered travel hacking, earning miles to travel from credit cards. It allowed me to start doing a lot of international travel since I was getting flights and hotels for almost free.

During the time living as a full-time digital nomad, I considered hotel expenses like most people think of their rent since I had no other housing expense.

I used to rotate between vacation rentals, boutique hotels and modest hotels when we can find a great one.

Lately, I’ve been staying in Marriott brand hotels because I get upgraded, late checkouts, and there’s a gym. I use this card to get free nights and 17x points on all my stays.

Have you had any problems traveling?

I would be lying if I said travel is all roses. Let’s face it, we’re talking about airplanes, airports, crowds, weather and all kinds of things that give everyone trouble.

I’ve gotten food poisoning in Cuba, missed a few flights, and was actually bitten by a panda in China. But…there’s almost nothing I’d rather do than travel so I take it in stride.

Do you solo travel ever?

I do a mix of solo travel and travel with a partner. My number one choice is traveling with someone else who is a seasoned traveler. But if no one is available to come with me, I’m getting much better at solo travel.

Do you miss home?

I miss home when I’m on the road but talking to my family at least every other day makes it better.

I use a Verizon unlimited international plan for about $30 extra per month. It’s easy and anyone from the US can call me normally. If you’re on a budget, get an E-SIM online to stay connected.

I catch up with the rest of my family and friends as much as possible but being on different time zones makes it much harder. It’s one of the major downsides to full time travel.

How far are you in the journey? Will you make your goal?

With the world shutting down in 2020-2021, I thought my goal might be at risk but did get a lot of time for slow travel in the USA in California, Oregon, Utah, and Arizona though.

Moving to Portugal put me physically closer to many countries on my list but we also spent a ton of time road tripping all over Spain, France, Italy and Portugal and not limiting travel only to the challenge.

Even though we’ve been to Nice and Barcelona, we went for Carnival and the Menton Lemon Festival. We revisited Seville for 3 Kings Day and had a blast.

But the icing on the cake of return visits was the Lyon Fête des Lumières. Put this early December event on your Europe Bucket List right now!

With my latest trip to Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and the UAE, I’m on track to finish the 50 countries in about 8 years.

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The goal of this post is to inspire YOU to go somewhere great. If you have any questions about how to set up a travel challenge, let me know in the comments below. I also love hearing great ideas. Happy travels!

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