3,512 days, zero air miles: Meet the Danish man who’s visited every country in the world (without flying) 

After leaving home in Denmark in October 2013, 44-year-old Torbjørn ‘Thor’ Pedersen arrived in the Maldives in May, making him the first person to visit all 195 sovereign states (and an additional eight disputed territories) without flying. 

Adventure.com columnist Sarah Reid caught up with Pedersen in the Maldives as he was preparing to make the final leg of his journey home to Copenhagen—without flying, of course.

Sarah Reid: What kind of emotions are you feeling after spending 3,512 days living out of a backpack?

Thor Pedersen: Not a lot, to be honest. This has been far more demanding than anything else I’ve tried to do. I don’t know how long it will be before it really lands that I won’t have to go to a new country again.

You began your adventure before the idea of returning to flight-free travel became a movement in the travel community. Did you have the planet front of mind when you were planning it?

Honestly, no. I’m happy looking back that I had a minimal footprint in terms of carbon emissions and I’m proud that has become a part of the project over time. But the main reason from the beginning was to do something that has not been done before. I’ve always been intrigued by adventures, and I saw this as a chance to put my own name on the map.

I found that a lot of countries were far more advanced, far more interesting, far more culturally rich than I thought they would be. And it made me wonder, why would I think less of countries that I’ve never been to before?

- Thor Pedersen

Is traveling gently more important to you now? 

I have seen a lot of plastic where it shouldn’t be. I’ll put it this way: I enjoy hiking, and the general rule—the hiker’s creed—is that you leave nothing behind but your footprints. I would love for this to be the travelers’ creed as well. Just bring your stuff back with you and don’t make a mess. I’ve tried to leave every place I visit spotless.

You got by on a budget of USD$20 a day, supported by sponsor Ross Energy. How has that changed your relationship with money? 

Before the trip, I worked in shipping and logistics, and that was well-paid. I didn’t look at prices at the supermarket—I just swiped my card. I’m now much more cautious about spending, and I’m willing to go to great lengths to repair things. It has really taught me to twist and turn every coin and ask myself: Do I need this? Or do I just want it? Often I land on: I want it but I don’t need it. So I’m not gonna get it.

You bunkered down in Hong Kong during the pandemic. Did you ever think of giving up?

I thought of giving up long before that. Back in 2015, when I was in Central Africa, everything was going against me. I was just miserable, not for hours or days, but for many months. I pretty much gave up at an immigration checkpoint, where they turned me down for the fifth or sixth time. But eventually, I got the paperwork I needed and got further into the project. And I just kept going.

What kept you going?

My wife was a part of it. She wasn’t yet my wife during the pandemic, and I found out that if we were married, then she could come and stay with me in Hong Kong. So I found a company that would marry us online. It wasn’t valid in Denmark, but Hong Kong accepted it. She was able to fly in and quarantine for three weeks, and then we were together for 100 days. Later, we had a proper wedding in Vanuatu.

You’ve blogged about your ‘country project’ becoming a ‘people project.’ Tell us about that.

I left home thinking, ‘this is a project to reach every country on an unbroken journey with no flights, here we go’. But as I was out there, I encountered so many wonderful people. And they were extraordinarily helpful and forthcoming and generous in ways that I never imagined. I quickly realized that it’s the people that make countries so special.

When people gain power, often there’s some corruption that goes on … If it’s the ones who run the country, and instead of improving health care or education or safety and security, they invest in villas and super yachts; people suffer. It’s heartbreaking to see.

- Thor Pedersen

Would you say the adventure challenged your worldview?  

I found that a lot of countries were far more advanced, far more interesting, far more culturally rich than I thought they would be. And it made me wonder, why would I think less of countries that I’ve never been to before?

People are surprised when I say that I have found great kindness in countries that are generally in the media for something negative. I traveled through Western Africa during the height of the Ebola outbreak, and when I went into Sierra Leone, within an hour, I had been invited to a wedding. So my visit didn’t become a story about Ebola—it became a story about love and passion and partying and good food and dancing.

Did the trip also expose you to the uglier side of humanity? 

When people gain power, often there’s some corruption that goes on. And the worst corruption is the further up you go. If it’s the ones who run the country, and instead of improving health care or education or safety and security, they invest in villas and super yachts; people suffer. It’s heartbreaking to see.

What’s next for you?

Right now, spending time with friends and family. Writing a book is something I want to start working on almost immediately, and I am really enjoying my speaking engagements. We’re also currently shooting a documentary film, which looks like it’s going to end up on a large streaming platform in 2024. A lot of people think that I’ve enjoyed most of the past 10 years, but this is going to tell the story of what it took to accomplish my goal.