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Meet Lee Abbamonte who became the youngest U.S. citizen to visit every country back in 2011 by the age of 32. “Epic Travelers” is a Discovery Sessions interview series diving into the inspiring stories of some of the world’s most prolific and prominent adventurers who make a living from their travel experiences. This interview has been edited for clarity.

You’re one of the OGs of traveling to every country. Do you think you’ve created a monster?

 

Lee Abbamonte: I get asked that question a lot. I was kind of the OG travel blogger and surely the first guy who went to every country publicly. Now it’s gotten kind of out of control, but it’s good and bad. People who have no sort of background are getting paid to post stuff, and people are inventing all sorts of records to break. You hope people travel for the right reasons, but at the end of the day, it’s their time, their money, and their experience.

 

 

You finished visiting every country in 2011, and Instagram launched in 2010. How did social media play a role in your journey?

 

LA: I wasn’t really on social media when I was doing it. I didn’t join Instagram until years later. Back then, I just had a personal Facebook account. I wasn’t really trying to visit every country. I was trying to complete the Traveler’s Century Club list, which is even more extensive than the 193 UN countries. But along the way, I ended up completing all the UN nations, too. My last one was Libya, and I happened to be there the day Gaddafi was killed during the Arab Spring.

 

 

Here is the classic travel question — what’s your favorite and least favorite country?

 

LA: My least favorite is Nigeria. I had several negative experiences with police threatening to throw me in jail unless I paid bribes. It happened multiple times, which made the experience quite stressful. That said, I’d go back someday with local friends to see another side of it. My favorite is harder to choose but I often say Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and South Africa. I clearly favor the Southern Hemisphere.

 

 

When did your journey actually begin?

 

LA: I left the U.S. for the first time in 1998 (on September 7), but I didn’t seriously start until 2000. By then, I’d already been to over 100 countries, just kind of by happenstance because I like to go to new places each time I travel.

 

If I was going out to Uzbekistan, I thought I might as well go to Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan, and all these other places too. Why go to one if I’m flying all the way out there? So, then I started staying for a couple of weeks as opposed to a week, and kind of mixing and matching. I was just traveling just because I liked it, it wasn’t because I was looking for attention. And the only reason I got some popularity was just because I started my website, LeeAbbamonte.com. I was documenting my journey and it was like a diary, essentially, that my friends could read on the internet, and then other people started reading it as well.

 

 

What’s the country counting community like?

 

LA: It’s a mixed bag. Some are really supportive and collaborative—like I try to be—while others are secretive or competitive. I had a lot of haters early on, even though I wasn’t trying to break records or anything.

 

Nowadays, I see more people teaming up, dating while traveling, or joining forces to make it easier and less lonely. I traveled solo for over a year in Africa, and some places were really isolating. There are a lot of places where being alone sucks so if you have somebody who can split costs with you and keep you company, it makes a lot of sense.

 

Back then, it was a different world. You didn’t have Google Maps on your phone, and you didn’t have smartphones where you could just Google things like what there is to do in Bamako, Mali.

 

 

Did you use travel guidebooks?

 

LA: Absolutely. I still have probably 250 to 300 Lonely Planet guidebooks. I have new editions and old editions because I started doing it in the late 90s. I still have them in my storage unit.

 

 

How did you fund your travels?

 

LA: I worked on Wall Street for years and quit my job twice. The second time, in 2008, I went to business school to get an MBA to fill the resume gap while traveling. I used school breaks to travel extensively, especially to remote places that required more time and money.

 

 

And what do you do now?

 

LA: I work in travel media. TV appearances, brand sponsorships, and public speaking. I’m also a travel expert for several national networks.

 

 

Did you pick up any languages during your travels?

 

LA: I speak Spanish and can get by in French, Portuguese, and Italian. I can read Greek, Hebrew, and Russian, which has been helpful in navigating signs and directions.

 

 

What do you think about competitive travel today and people visiting places briefly just to get the stamp?

 

LA: I used to care about that more, but now I’m over it. People do it for different reasons—records, personal goals, or just curiosity. It’s their journey. Some want to be the fastest or achieve something unique. I personally prefer deeper travel experiences, especially since I’ve been to every country.

 

In their pursuit of every country’s stamp, there are accusations of people lying, like claiming a visit to North Korea by just going to the DMZ, which is not going to North Korea. Some even got Guinness-certified for questionable visits.

 

People ask me if I would do it again, and I probably would not. And the reason is that not everywhere is worth going to. Not every country is good. And sometimes you get to a place and you’re like, I gotta spend like three or four days here, are you kidding me?

 

In a lot of these places, you can’t just go for a day because the flight schedules are not daily. So you have to stay two, three, four days, or even a week. Sometimes, if it’s a once-a-week flight, it could be a real pain.

 

Some places are just not that great, and you end up spending a ton of money and time going to these places that you don’t even want to be to kind of check it off a list.

 

At the same time, I also wouldn’t have the career that I’ve had for the last 15 years or whatever it’s been without the novelty of having been to every country. While it was worth it for me, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend visiting every country to everyone unless you have something sort of riding on it.

 

 

Were you enjoying it for the most part?

 

LA: I was, because for me it was like a quest. I didn’t know what to expect in many places, and discovering them for myself was part of the fun. Some exceeded expectations, others didn’t, but it was all part of the journey.

 

 

Do you have any current travel goals and do you still desire travel in the same way?

 

LA: I’ve been to the North and South Poles. I’ve been to every state. I’ve been to every national park. I’ve been to every major stadium. I played the top 100 golf courses. I feel like I’ve exhausted my list, so now I just do what I really want to. The one common thing about the people who want to visit every country is that they are goal setters. They like to accomplish things, and they have a hard time sitting still.

 

 

How does this lifestyle impact your personal relationships?

 

LA: I never bring up my accomplishments unless someone asks. With friends and family, I keep things normal. I make a real effort to show up for important life events—weddings, birthdays, whatever it is. I don’t want anyone thinking I’m too busy or too important for them. Relationships matter, and I always make sure that all my friends know I love them and appreciate them.

 

 

And where’s next?

 

LA: I’m in and out of New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Mexico, and sometimes Southeast Asia and the Middle East. I kind of bounce around, just play a lot of golf with whoever wants to go with me.