Yesterday, my husband, son and I were talking about our travel this year and how many countries we visited. Soon, we started disagreeing on what counts as having visited a country.
At first, my husband said you should have to at least leave the airport and have a meal. Maybe even spend the night in the country.
However, I argued that didn’t make sense. I spent an entire day in Belize during a cruise port stop, and I definitely feel like I’ve visited Belize.
My son has the most liberal definition of having visited a country. He argues that you just need to be physically in the country, regardless of if you’re there for just a flight layover. He maintains that we visited France this year because we had two layovers in Paris during our European trip. And, he says he’s visited Turkey even though he didn’t get off the ship at our port stop. If that’s the definition, then I guess I’ve visited Germany because I had a layover there before landing in Italy years ago?
Obviously, you can count it whichever way you like. But I’m curious what everyone thinks? Do you count visiting a country as:
A. Spending the night there
B. Spending 24 hours there
C. Leaving the airport/cruise port for any length of time
D. Just being physically in the country, even if you don’t leave the airport/cruise ship
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
One of the best blog i have ever read.
I completely agree with the idea that connecting with locals and immersing yourself in the culture is what truly counts as having visited a country. It’s those experiences that stay with you and shape your understanding of a place. Do you have any recommendations on how to connect with locals while traveling?
My wife and I both subscribe to C with one exception – In Qatar we had a 10 hour layover overnight and stayed at one of the hotels within the airport. We just missed the last free city tour and were exhausted from our flight from the States.
We never count layovers as visiting a country but make an exception because we had a hotel room, slept and showered.
@Matt I think that should count. I’ve stayed overnight in the Seoul airport a few times on a layover. Even though we never left the airport, I feel like we interacted with enough Koreans to count. 🙂
I have just two criteria for counting a “country” (UN, TCC, NM, or etc.): 1) was I physically and mentally there and 2) did i had a memorable experience. I will count being in territorial waters (rivers, lakes, etc.) whether floating on the water or under the water (diving, submarine with a port hole, etc.). A memorable experience can include anything: being robbed by a monkey, bitten by a triggerfish, victimized by a gypsy theft ring, seeing parts of a country only accessible by water, visiting the grave of a relative and the like. I don’t feel the need to sleep overnight in a place, sample the local food or spend 30 days on location. As for having to leave an airport, you cannot tell me that seeing an Emirates airport with those gold bar vending machines or a Singapore airport with its Shiseido Forest Valley or having a long conversation with the granddaughter of a country’s president while waiting in an airport doesn’t count as not being in Kansas anymore.
@AlohaDaveKennedy I love your last examples. Those should count.
Is there a size limit? My brother and I had this discussion some years ago involving the Vatican. Is that a separate country and a distinct capitol city? I’ll add another to this discussion, the Knights of Malta Keyhole in Rome which I understand carries sovereign status. https://theculturetrip.com/europe/italy/articles/the-story-behind-the-aventine-keyhole/
@jsm Great question! IMO size doesn’t matter. I forgot about The Vatican!
I have multiple definitions and categories.
A. All political entities allowed. That means Hong Kong is counted. So would East Jerusalem, which is separate from Israel. Stepping foot on land counts as well as docking in port and even territorial waters if I can see land. I rarely use this count.
B. Only major non-countries count, like Hong Kong and Greenland. Must step foot on land or airport floor. Commonly used figure by me.
C. Non-countries don’t count if the main affiliated country visited. For example, Greenland/Denmark counts as one country. Must visit at least 3 hours doing something.
D. Extensive exposure, meaning at least a combined total of 30 days or more in a country, at least 5 visits, as well as good understanding of living there and knowing some of the local language.
For me, only 5 countries qualify under category D.
At one time, I tried to inflate the count by walking across a border for a few minutes at a border town or connecting flights but now I prefer to return to favorite countries rather going to countries that I don’t have much interest.
@Derek Wow, your definition D is intense! I only have 2 countries that would qualify for me.
We talk about this with visiting states often as we do a lot of road trips. In our family, visiting a state means you have to get out of the car and do something – whether a meal or an activity. I think it would require leaving the airport when talking about flights.
So, C.
I’ll go somewhere between B & C: you have to at least leave the airport/airport hotel area. A 12 hour overnight layover doesn’t mean jack if someone goes directly to the airport Hilton, sleeps + showers, has the generic breakfast at the hotel restaurant, and goes right back to the airport, but an 8-12 hour layover away from the airport/hotel where the person goes into town, sees a museum, eats at a local restaurant, and visits a few sites would absolutely count in my book.
C