The Travelers’ Century Club

I just found out about The Travelers' Century Club. It’s is an “international nonprofit social organization founded in 1954 for travelers who have visited one hundred or more of the world's countries and territories.” I want to join!

I was surprised to learn they count an official list of 330 places. This is quite a bit higher than the standard 195 countries which counts all the member countries of the United Nations (UN) plus 2 observer states: the Holy See (Vatican City) and Palestine. Here’s an interactive Google Map if you’re interested to see all 330 TCC territories.

I was even more surprised to learn the TCC considers a short layover as a visit to the country or territory (provided you disembark from your aircraft/ship/vehicle). It makes sense because some on their list would be dangerous or even impossible to spend more than a few minutes.

This opened my eyes to the fact that many people do, in fact, count these type of layovers in their “country counts” in my many of my travel groups. My number started to look a whole lot better all the sudden! A good reminder to never judge yourself against others, you never know where the differences lie. ♥️

Twenty-eight seems to be both a huge number and a small one. Grateful for all 29 experiences and trying hard not to compare myself to any of the other numbers. Even if your number is just 1, remember some people never even leave the county (COUNTY not country) where they are born and you are lucky to be alive in such a time as this. ✈️