Travel Statistics

Country Statistics

So far, I have visited 65 countries(*) (at least for a few hours):

# Country Nights Multi-day trips Day trips Trips thru Transit First visit Last visit
1 Austria 14011         08/1981 11/2024
2 Greece 318 17       07/1984 10/2017
3 United States of America 246 8     1 08/2003 10/2023
4 New Zealand 197 3       11/2008 01/2024
5 Italy 78 11 2     07/1982 06/2022
6 United Kingdom 76 7   1 3 08/1994 06/2023
  … of which England 38 7   1 3 08/1994 05/2023
  … of which Scotland 34 2       08/1998 06/2023
  … of which Northern Ireland 4 1       06/2023 06/2023
7 Spain 57 3     2 04/2012 09/2024
  … of which Canary Islands 42 1       10/2022 11/2022
  … of which Peninsular Spain 15 2     2 04/2012 09/2024
8 Costa Rica 44 1       03/2009 04/2009
9 France 41 5     1 08/1996 10/2024
  … of which Metropolitan France 22 4     1 08/1996 10/2024
  … of which French Polynesia 19 1       10/2023 10/2023
10 Canada 41 3       08/2005 05/2009
11 Australia 38 2     2 06/2004 10/2008
12 South Africa 38 2       10/2018 11/2019
13 Nicaragua 37 1       02/2009 03/2009
  International Airspace 32 32       12/2003 02/2024
14 Georgia 29 2       09/2014 09/2015
15 Croatia 24 3       09/2010 09/2013
16 Norway 24 2       05/2005 07/2011
17 Guatemala 22 1       02/2016 03/2016
  Ground Travel with Border Crossing 21 21       05/1996 06/2024
18 Ecuador 20 1       04/2018 05/2018
  Vietnam 20 1       03/2019 03/2019
20 Poland 19 3       06/1998 06/2012
21 Thailand 19 1     2 01/2024 02/2024
22 Iceland 19 1       07/2014 08/2014
  Nepal 19 1       03/2015 04/2015
  China 19 1       10/2016 10/2016
  … of which Mainland China 15 1       10/2016 10/2016
  … of which Hong Kong 4 1       10/2016 10/2016
25 Argentina 18 1       12/2007 01/2008
  Taiwan 18 1       09/2008 10/2008
27 Germany 17 6 1 5 14 08/1993 10/2024
28 Mexico 17 1       01/2016 02/2016
29 Switzerland 16 3   1   05/2006 06/2024
30 Montenegro 16 2       09/2010 06/2011
31 Cook Islands 16 1       01/2009 01/2009
32 Ireland 14 1   1   06/2007 06/2007
33 Fiji 12 1       10/2008 11/2008
  Laos 12 1       01/2024 01/2024
35 Belize 11 1       02/2016 02/2016
36 Slovenia 10 1 2 3   08/1995 06/2022
37 Chile 10 1       01/2008 01/2008
38 Romania 9 1       07/1999 07/1999
39 Lithuania 8 1       06/2012 06/2012
40 Egypt 7 1       12/1999 12/1999
  Latvia 7 1       06/2012 06/2012
  Sweden 7 1       02/2014 03/2014
43 El Salvador 6 1       03/2016 03/2016
44 Singapore 5 2     3 10/2008 01/2024
45 Estonia 5 1       06/2012 07/2012
  Cambodia 5 1       01/2024 01/2024
47 Panama 4 1     2 04/2009 04/2009
48 Luxembourg 4 1       09/2018 09/2018
  Lesotho 4 1       10/2018 10/2018
50 Netherlands 3 1     1 05/2019 06/2019
51 Belgium 3 1       06/2017 06/2017
  Andorra 3 1       09/2024 10/2024
53 Czech Republic 2 1 2 2   09/1993 06/2015
54 Turkey 2 1     7 04/2015 04/2015
55 Denmark 2 1     1 08/1993 09/1993
56 Armenia 2 1       10/2014 10/2014
  Honduras 2 1       03/2016 03/2016
58 Slovakia 1 1 7     05/1993 05/2015
59 Hungary 1 1 2 1   06/1994 07/2007
  International Date Line 0 2       01/2009 10/2023
60 Liechtenstein 0   1   3 09/2021 09/2021
61 Serbia 0   1   1 06/2011 06/2011
62 Vatican City 0   1     03/1997 03/1997
  Uruguay 0   1     12/2007 12/2007
  Brazil 0   1     01/2008 01/2008
  San Marino 0   1     10/2017 10/2017
66 United Arab Emirates 0       2 01/2013 03/2013
67 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0       1 06/2011 06/2011
  Total 15788            
  of that outside of Austria 1777 85 22 14 46    
Data as at November 3, 2024

Grouping by world regions results in the following statistics:

# Region Nights Multi-day trips Day trips Trips thru Transit First visit Last visit
1 Europe (excluding Austria) 726 63 14 4 21 07/1982 10/2024
2 North America 287 8     1 08/2003 10/2023
3 Oceania 283 4       06/2004 01/2024
4 Central America 143 2     2 02/2009 03/2016
5 Southeast Asia 61 3     3 10/2008 02/2024
6 Africa 49 3       12/1999 11/2019
7 South America 48 2       12/2007 05/2018
8 Atlantic Islands 42 1       10/2022 11/2022
9 East Asia 37 2       09/2008 10/2016
10 Caucasus 32 2       09/2014 09/2015
  Interregional Airspace 20 20       06/2004 11/2018
11 South Asia 19 1       03/2015 04/2015
  Ground Travel with Border Crossing from/to Austria 17 17       05/1996 06/2024
  European Airspace from/to Austria 11 11       12/2003 02/2024
12 Western Asia 2 1     9 04/2015 04/2015
  International Date Line 0 2       01/2009 10/2023
  Total 1777            
Data as at November 3, 2024

The time period I needed for visiting ten new countries is shown in the table below:

Time period Duration Countries visited for the first time
August 13, 1981 – August 17, 1995 14 years 4 days
August 17, 1995 – May 25, 2006 10 years 281 days
May 25, 2006 – January 8, 2009 2 years 228 days
January 8, 2009 – June 26, 2012 3 years 170 days
June 26, 2012 – March 3, 2016 3 years 251 days
March 3, 2016 – May 30, 2019 3 years 88 days
May 30, 2019 – today 5 years 157 days

Trip Statistics

My longest stays abroad (i.e. outside of Austria) were the following:

Trip Duration Start End
RTW Trip 2008/09 235 days September 25, 2008 May 18, 2009
Auslandssemester in New York 144 days August 5, 2003 December 27, 2003
RTW Trip 2023/24 142 days October 1, 2023 February 20, 2024
Central America 2016 60 days January 28, 2016 March 28, 2016
New Zealand 2013 59 days January 28, 2013 March 28, 2013
Canary Islands 2022 42 days October 13, 2022 November 24, 2022

Yearly Travel Statistics

As can be seen below, I tend to spend quite a few days abroad every year:

Year Countries Nights Multi-day trips Day trips Trips thru Transit
2003 144 1      
2009 137 1   1  
2008 124 3     4
2023 124 2   1  
2024 85 3     2
2016 81 2     3
2013 78 2   2 4
2005 70 7   1  
2022 64 2      
2004 58 3 1   6
2019 55 4   2 2
2017 51 5   1 1
2018 51 4   1 6
2014 46 4     2
1997 41 3      
Data as at November 3, 2024

Geographic Records

I would also like to mentioned my "geographic records": What are the most northerly, southerly, easterly and westerly points on Earth I have ever been to (while not flying in an airplane)?

Type Date Location Latitude Longitude
North Feb 27, 2014 Going ice climbing in Abisko, Sweden  68° 23' 11,52'' North 18° 43' 38,82'' East
South Jan 20, 2008 Beagle Channel, Argentina  54° 52' 22,08'' South 68° 5' 38,23'' West
East Nov 09, 2023 East Cape, New Zealand  37° 41' 32'' South 178° 32' 40'' East
West Jan 11, 2009 Aitutaki, Cook Islands  18° 54' 45'' South 159° 49' 40'' West

And what about my altitude records?

Type Date Location Altitude
Highest Elevation Mar 29, 2015 Above Annapurna Base Camp, Nepal  13,615 Feet
Lowest Elevation Aug 16, 2003 Badwater Basin, Death Valley, CA, United States of America  -282 Feet
Highest Overnight Stay Mar  29/30, 2015 Annapurna Base Camp, Nepal  13,550 Feet
Deepest Dive Nov 01, 2008 Coral reef at Wayalailai, Fiji  -69 Feet

Finally, I would like to show my longest (non-stop) trips on land, on water, and in the air (measured as the crow flies).

Farthest
Distance ...		 Date Start End Distance
By Train May 9 – 10, 2017 Chicago, IL, United States of America  Grand Junction, CO, United States of America  1,113 mi
By Sea January 7 – 10, 2008 Puerto Montt, Chile  Puerto Natales, Chile  710 mi
By Air January 29 – 30, 2013 DXB, United Arab Emirates  SYD, Australia  7,493 mi

(*) In this context, the following definition of independent countries shall apply:

  1. all 193 member states of the United Nations
  2. all non-member states of the United Nations that are recognized by Austria (Kosovo, Vatican City)
  3. those non-member states of the United Nations that are not recognized by Austria, but where actually no sovereignty dispute exists (Cook Islands, Niue)
  4. as a special case: Taiwan