c4countdown

7: UK (2), Ireland (x2), Spain (x4), Austria, Italy (x3), Netherlands, Belgium (x2).

I'd never been on a plane until the age of 21.

Going to Norway next month, Munich in June (stag do) and Barcelona in June (school visit) before summer holiday in Gran Canaria. So my total will go up to 9. Hopefully I can get to double figures by the end of this year!

UK, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Norway, Greece, Netherlands, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Cook Islands, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore

so, 20

Oh yeah, that reminds me, I've done Poland (Krakow, stag) as well Jen.

Perfect! Jen can just pluralise, and both of us can swear we'll never visit another country ever again.

EDIT: damn. I need to visit Scotland. Two entries it is then.

Matt Morrison wrote:
EDIT: damn. I need to visit Scotland. Two entries it is then.

It's crap, don't bother.

I've been having a look at the map, and as I passed through Dubrovnik on the way from Austria to Greece by road the route would have taken in Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia and FYRoMacedonia - which bums up my total significantly.

Updated. You and David both went around Yugoslavia back in the day - was this a rite of passage back then? I know Yugoslavia wasn't off limits to tourists, but I had no idea it was so popular for road trips. More stories! (Fucking love the Balkans.)

I think it was that if you wanted to spend a month or more in Greece it was the only way to do it. Package holidays were in their infancy, and you were only allowed to take £50 out of the country, so driving was the only option. We were heading for Greece, but money was running short and petrol was much cheaper in Bulgaria, so we decided to go there instead at the last minute.

Yugoslavia was very much a halfway house. I remember thinking I was Marco Polo crossing the border from Italy, but coming back from Romania after living on cornflakes and water it was re-entering civilisation. There were shops! With stuff to sell! Like milk!!

It also certainly didn't seem like one country even then. The coastal region in Croatia was just like Italy. Kosovo was unmade roads and men in funny hats on horseback.

I have a memory of driving over the border between France and Spain and not being allowed to go through until my dad had given the Spanish customs officials one of each British coin (so in those days, ½p, 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 50p). This is all over 30 years ago, so details may be confused but I'm convinced this happened. Can anyone confirm that this sort of thing went on?

My list in entirely restricted to Western Europe. In chronological order:

UK (4)
Ireland (1966)
Denmark (1979)
Belgium, Luxembourg, West Germany, Switzerland (1980)
France (1982)
Portugal (1992)
Italy, San Marino, Austria, Liechtenstein (2013)

The 2026 eclipse will probably rectify the surprising omission of Spain.

Can I suggest that you also show how many contributors have claimed each country?

Clive Brooker wrote:Can I suggest that you also show how many contributors have claimed each country?

OK, tallied 'em up.

France - 30
Spain - 29
Belgium - 26
Italy, USA - 25
Germany - 22
Ireland, Netherlands - 20
Portugal, Austria - 16
Switzerland - 15
Greece - 14
Czech Republic - 10
Sweden, Denmark, Canada, Hungary - 9
Poland, Vatican City, Norway, Luxembourg, Cyprus - 8
Malta, Singapore, Croatia - 6
Bulgaria, UAE, Turkey, Serbia, Estonia, Australia - 5
Montenegro,Finland, Russia - 4
Slovakia, Dominican Republic, China, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Slovenia - 3
Egypt, Latvia, Monaco, Malaysia, Thailand, Barbados, Bahrain - 2
Uganda, India, Albania, Lithuania, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, Tanzania, South Africa, Zambia, Morocco, Costa Rica, Bahamas, St Kitts and Nevis, Moldova, Nepal, Oman, New Zealand, San Marino, Tunisia, Iceland - 1

So I have two 'unique' countries, think T-Cap is leading the way on unique countries though with 4. Bit surprised that some of these tourist hotspots only have 1 (Thailand, India, Egypt, NZ). The only European countries no-one seems to have visited are Ukraine and Belarus.

Add Tunisia to my list. A forgettable holiday forty years ago.

Clive Brooker wrote:In chronological order:

UK (4)
Ireland (1966)
Denmark (1979)
Belgium, Luxembourg, West Germany, Switzerland (1980)
France (1982)
Portugal (1992)
Italy, San Marino, Austria, Liechtenstein (2013)

Cos he went to the UK in the year 4?

Jennifer Steadman wrote:Gev 12/197 (3 or 4/4)

I'm up to 13 now because I forgot Spain.

Also Northern Ireland now confirmed.

Gavin Chipper wrote:Cos he went to the UK in the year 4?

Yes.

Matt Morrison wrote:

Gavin Chipper wrote:Cos he went to the UK in the year 4?

Yes.

I hoped that was it.

In chronological order of first visit:

UK (England, Wales and Scotland)
France (1996, 1998)
Belgium (1998)
Spain - the Canary Islands, but I don't think it has to be the country's mainland to count (2001)
USA (2006, 2013)
Italy (2008)
Vatican City (2008)
Norway (2011, 2012)
Canada - I'm not sure if this really counts, I only changed aeroplanes there en route to the USA (2013)

Graeme Cole wrote:Spain - the Canary Islands, but I don't think it has to be the country's mainland to count (2001)
Canada - I'm not sure if this really counts, I only changed aeroplanes there en route to the USA (2013)

Yup, these both count.

Jennifer Steadman wrote:

James Laverty wrote:Vatican City (dubious if this is counted)

OF COURSE THIS COUNTS.

Wait what? That's a sovereign state that's a member of the UN in its own right?

I went there while I was in Rome. So 9.

Graeme Cole wrote:

Jennifer Steadman wrote:

James Laverty wrote:Vatican City (dubious if this is counted)

OF COURSE THIS COUNTS.

Wait what? That's a sovereign state that's a member of the UN in its own right?

I went there while I was in Rome. So 9.

No it's not, but it counts under the more important category of being a country on Sporcle.

Turns out when I went to Rome, I also went to the Vatican (I wasn't sure previously). So I'm at 14.

I went to Iceland this morning.

22 : Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Egypt, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Malta, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, UK(4), USA, Vatican City.
Now I'm regretting foolishly revisiting some of those on a number of occasions when I could have been upping my score.
I saw Norm (http://www.apterous.org/viewuser.php?user=2490) in the pub earlier and, when challenged, he came up with 46 that he had visited including some exciting exclusives (Lesotho, Swaziland, Costa Rica, Ethiopia ...)
Not sure if he counts as he's not as yet got round to signing up for c4c, but I can get you his full list if you want it.

I've been to the following:

1. Austria
2. Belgium
3. Bulgaria
4. Canada
5. Costa Rica
6. Cyprus
7. Denmark
8. France
9. Germany
10. Greece
11. Iceland
12. Ireland
13. Italy
14. Luxembourg
15. Malta
16. Netherlands
17. Portugal
18. Spain
19. Sweden
20. Switzerland
21. United Kingdom (England, Scotland, and Wales)
22. United States

which puts me in the surprisingly popular 22 Club. A lot of these I ticked off with a long drive from London to Milan, during which we stopped off in various places en route for an hour or two. I also travel a fair bit for work.

For reference (might be useful for others), here's the complete list according to Sporcle:
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Andorra
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cabo Verde
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cen. Afr. Rep.
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Comoros
Costa Rica
Cote d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Dem. Rep. of the Congo
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
North Korea
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Palestine
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Rep of the Congo
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
Samoa
San Marino
São Tomé and Príncipe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Korea
South Sudan
Spain
Sri Lanka
St. Kitts and Nevis
St. Lucia
St. Vincent-Grenadines
Sudan
Suriname
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
The Gambia
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
UAE
Uganda
Ukraine
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Vatican City
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

Matthew Tassier wrote:22 : Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Egypt, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Malta, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, UK(4), USA, Vatican City.
Now I'm regretting foolishly revisiting some of those on a number of occasions when I could have been upping my score.
I saw Norm (http://www.apterous.org/viewuser.php?user=2490) in the pub earlier and, when challenged, he came up with 46 that he had visited including some exciting exclusives (Lesotho, Swaziland, Costa Rica, Ethiopia ...)
Not sure if he counts as he's not as yet got round to signing up for c4c, but I can get you his full list if you want it.

Ooh yes please, 46 is very exciting. The only other people I can think of who may have been to more are Glen Webb and Ned Pendleton.

Belgium
Germany
Greece
Haiti (this was as a stop on a Caribbean cruise at a closed off resort so not really the "real" Haiti) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labadee
Ireland
Italy
Jamaica
Mexico
Netherlands
Spain
Tunisia
Turkey
United Kingdom (Scotland, England)
United States (Orlando, Miami, New York)
Vatican City

Going to Norway too in a few weeks with big ginge, also been to the Cayman Islands but it's not on the list so not sure what this falls under?

Michelle Nevitt wrote:also been to the Cayman Islands but it's not on the list so not sure what this falls under?

It's counted as part of the UK I think.

Michelle Nevitt wrote:Haiti (this was as a stop on a Caribbean cruise at a closed off resort so not really the "real" Haiti) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labadee

Even though it was at a resort, this is the coolest place listed in the thread thus far. Not somewhere that people ever seem to go to on holiday.

Charlie Reams wrote:

Michelle Nevitt wrote:also been to the Cayman Islands but it's not on the list so not sure what this falls under?

It's counted as part of the UK I think.

+1. Would be a good inclusion in Gev's thread though.

Jennifer Steadman wrote:

Matthew Tassier wrote:I saw Norm (http://www.apterous.org/viewuser.php?user=2490) in the pub earlier and, when challenged, he came up with 46 that he had visited including some exciting exclusives (Lesotho, Swaziland, Costa Rica, Ethiopia ...)
Not sure if he counts as he's not as yet got round to signing up for c4c, but I can get you his full list if you want it.

Ooh yes please, 46 is very exciting. The only other people I can think of who may have been to more are Glen Webb and Ned Pendleton.

Hello. Been meaning go join this forum for a while now, so after Matthew's prompting at the pub yesterday, here goes...

UK (Eng/Scot/Wales)
Ireland
France
Spain
Italy
Netherlands
Sweden
Norway
Finland
Estonia
Latvia
Russia
Cyprus
Turkey
UAE
Jordan
India
Pakistan
Sri Lanka
Myanmar
China
Cambodia
Vietnam
Malaysia
Singapore
Australia
Canada
USA
Bahamas
Barbados
Cuba
Costa Rica
Panama
Colombia
Peru
Bolivia
South Africa
Lesotho
Swaziland
Tanzania
Kenya
Morocco

Not really sure it counts if you don't go through immigration, but in airport transits only, I can add Qatar, Ethiopia, Thailand.

I think that comes to 45; I'm not sure what the 46th one was. Either there's one I've forgotten or we were not very good at counting after a few beers.

Charlie Reams wrote:

Michelle Nevitt wrote:also been to the Cayman Islands but it's not on the list so not sure what this falls under?

It's counted as part of the UK I think.

(3/5)

In ascending order of length when I typed them out then by descending alphabetical order:

UK (3)
USA
UAE
Eire
Spain
Turkey
France
Cyprus
Morocco
Switzerland
Netherlands
Czech Republic

= 12

in order visited
USA
OMAN
AUSTRALIA
SINGAPORE
SPAIN
MALTA
FRANCE
CYPRUS
ITALY
DENMARK

Thought I'd ask Heather as I knew she'd done more than me. 28.

UK (3/4), Rep. of Ireland, Albania, Italy, Vatican City, Czech Rep., Belgium, France, Denmark, USA, Japan, Switzerland, Greece, Mexico, South Korea, North Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand, India, UAE, Spain, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Qatar (airport), Philippines (airport).

Eire, UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Murica, Spain, Czech Republic, Monaco,
9
I may have briefly set foot in Germany...not sure

Ten: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom (4).

France, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Thailand, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Croatia, Poland, Turkey, Taiwan, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Russia, USA, Hungary, Czech Republic, Tunisia, Switzerland, Estonia

Some of the northern ones were on a Baltic cruise, so only brief visits, but we definitely touched the ground.

Forgot Belgium. Sadly, that wasn't a brief visit.

Just realised, no-one else has been to Taiwan. It doesn't count on Pointless because it's not a member of the UN. Thank Richard Nixon for that.

Finally got round to updating this. Norm takes the lead.

Currently weighing up whether to blow some of my savings on a mini-Euro trip to Romania/Moldova/non-war-zoney Ukraine (inc a trip to Chernobyl) in June, taking my laptop so I can do some work when I'm out there. Ideally I'd also have done Belarus and Russia on the same trip but visas to those two increase the cost massively (plus flight costs from Moscow to London have doubled since 2014).

23: Iceland, it's as wonderful, spectacular, quirky and eye-wateringly expensive as you'd expect

sean d wrote:23: Iceland, it's as wonderful, spectacular, quirky and eye-wateringly expensive as you'd expect

So jel

I'm up to 35 as well having visited Slovakia last month. Just 15 countries left to visit in Europe...

Jennifer Steadman wrote:

sean d wrote:23: Iceland, it's as wonderful, spectacular, quirky and eye-wateringly expensive as you'd expect

So jel

I'm up to 35 as well having visited Slovakia last month. Just 15 countries left to visit in Europe...

Are you including Kosovo? I think it's 51 if you do.

Ian Volante wrote:

Jennifer Steadman wrote:

sean d wrote:23: Iceland, it's as wonderful, spectacular, quirky and eye-wateringly expensive as you'd expect

So jel

I'm up to 35 as well having visited Slovakia last month. Just 15 countries left to visit in Europe...

Are you including Kosovo? I think it's 51 if you do.

Yeah, I am - where are you getting 51 from? There are 47 AFAIK. Georgia/Azerbaijan/Armenia are considered European by some (but not others, inc me), but even with them that would only make 50.

Sporcle quiz has 47.

8, and none very interesting: Scotland, England, Wales, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, USA.

Jennifer Steadman wrote:

Ian Volante wrote:

Jennifer Steadman wrote: So jel

I'm up to 35 as well having visited Slovakia last month. Just 15 countries left to visit in Europe...

Are you including Kosovo? I think it's 51 if you do.

Yeah, I am - where are you getting 51 from? There are 47 AFAIK. Georgia/Azerbaijan/Armenia are considered European by some (but not others, inc me), but even with them that would only make 50.

Wikipedia lists 50 without Kosovo:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_s ... _in_Europe

Ian Volante wrote:Wikipedia lists 50 without Kosovo:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_s ... _in_Europe

No fucking way is Kazakhstan in Europe. Not having that.

Innis Carson wrote:8, and none very interesting: Scotland, England, Wales, France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, USA.

I'm afraid that's gone down as 6 on the official list. Give it a few years and it will probably automatically rise to 7 though!

Jennifer Steadman wrote:

Ian Volante wrote:Wikipedia lists 50 without Kosovo:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_s ... _in_Europe

No fucking way is Kazakhstan in Europe. Not having that.

I'm sure it's lovely. Blame the Urals for being in the wrong place.

Add Sweden and Poland to my list please! One day I'll leave Europe #texit

Thomas Carey wrote:Add Sweden and Poland to my list please! One day I'll leave Europe #texit

Ooh! Whereabouts in Sweden/Poland?

SUBTHREAD: which countries do you most want to go to? Iceland, Russia, Cuba and Iran are my current travel yearnings, among others.

Jennifer Steadman wrote:

Thomas Carey wrote:Add Sweden and Poland to my list please! One day I'll leave Europe #texit

Ooh! Whereabouts in Sweden/Poland?

SUBTHREAD: which countries do you most want to go to? Iceland, Russia, Cuba and Iran are my current travel yearnings, among others.

Trelleborg and Szczecin. Guess which country I came from? Trelleborg was nice, our ferry got in at about 3:30 in the morning so we spent the first hour freezing our tits off in a bus shelter but there was enough to do for a whole day without boredom. Szczecin we only had two hours in and it looked like it might be decent in a few years but there was a lot of building/scaffolding stuff going on so it wasn't great.

I want to go to the USA mainly, but that's to meet some mates, not really for the country (though I'm sure it'd be interesting)

I fancy Germany at some point, and maybe Canada next year if I can scrape up some money.

UK (2), Ireland, France, Netherlands, Greece, Spain, Finland, Sweden, Norway

Gavin Chipper wrote:UK (all 4), France, Greece, Italy, Vatican City, Belgium, Ireland, Czech Republic, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, USA, Singapore. I make that 14.

Giles mentioned US states - I've been to Nevada, Arizona, Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, Connecticut (stopped there briefly), Illinois (connecting flight), Texas. That's 8.

I've just got back from America and can add a few states to my list:

New Jersey
Pennsylvania
West Virginia (sort of - drove through without stopping)
Ohio
Indiana (pretty sure we stopped)
Missouri
Colorado

Gavin Chipper wrote:New Jersey
Pennsylvania
West Virginia (sort of - drove through without stopping)
Ohio
Indiana (pretty sure we stopped)
Missouri
Colorado

Quite impressive to visit all the most boring states in one go. You'll be going to Utah next, I reckon.

Gavin Chipper wrote:West Virginia (sort of - drove through without stopping)

Of course this doesn't count. Fuck's sake, Gev.

Jennifer Steadman wrote:If you've left the vehicle in which you are travelling through a country and been outside it for more than 10 minutes, it counts.

Did you even spend 10+ minutes outside the vehicle in Indiana?

Jennifer Steadman wrote:

Gavin Chipper wrote:West Virginia (sort of - drove through without stopping)

Of course this doesn't count. Fuck's sake, Gev.

Jennifer Steadman wrote:If you've left the vehicle in which you are travelling through a country and been outside it for more than 10 minutes, it counts.

Did you even spend 10+ minutes outside the vehicle in Indiana?

I'm pretty sure we stopped for a meal. Also New Jersey is only there because of the change at Newark airport but I think you previously said that that counts.

JimBentley wrote:

Gavin Chipper wrote:New Jersey
Pennsylvania
West Virginia (sort of - drove through without stopping)
Ohio
Indiana (pretty sure we stopped)
Missouri
Colorado

Quite impressive to visit all the most boring states in one go. You'll be going to Utah next, I reckon.

That's a bit harsh on these states. Most of them we were just passing through but we stayed in Kansas City in Missouri and in Colorao. These were not boring!

Jennifer Steadman wrote:

Gavin Chipper wrote:West Virginia (sort of - drove through without stopping)

Of course this doesn't count. Fuck's sake, Gev.

Jennifer Steadman wrote:If you've left the vehicle in which you are travelling through a country and been outside it for more than 10 minutes, it counts.

Did you even spend 10+ minutes outside the vehicle in Indiana?

To further confuse this issue with a densely-worded and ridiculously over-punctuated post that is sort of something vaguely related to the matter, I've driven through loads of towns and cities and villages and shit (inevitable when driving through some of them (not that I'd say which)) and I consider that I've "been" to them. Getting out of the car for ten minutes wouldn't make any difference, because what are you going to do in ten minutes that you can't already do while driving the (possibly more than) ten minutes of driving through them? I've never been to Wells Cathedral, for instance, but I've driven through Wells a few times. So have I "been to" Wells? Yes.

Or no.