A British adventurer has shared the extraordinary story of how he became the first person to travel to every country in the world without taking a single flight.
Instead of hopping on planes, Graham Hughes, from Liverpool, used buses, trains, ferries, shared taxis, and even fishing boats to visit all 193 UN member states – plus several other territories, making it a total of 201 places.
The 46-year-old managed to secure the Guinness World Record on a shoestring budget, spending just £28,000 over four years and 31 days.
Graham named his record-breaking journey The Odyssey Expedition, reflecting a perilous adventure that started on 1 January, 2009.
It saw him hitch rides on cargo ships, get thrown into jail in Cape Verde and The Democratic Republic of the Congo, and he even got stuck at sea without an engine.
But the keen traveller kept going – even returning to new nations that had since gained independence following his initial visit – and eventually made it to every country on Earth without purchasing a plane ticket.
In one year alone, Graham visited 133 countries by public ground transport, earning him a second Guinness World Record.
As Guinness World Record celebrates its 70th anniversary today, Graham sat down with the Daily Mail to discuss his incredible feat – and what sparked the idea to set himself the remarkable challenge.
Graham in South Sudan in 2011. He secured the Guinness World Record of being the first person to visit every country in the world using only public transport and no planes
It all started with Michael Palin’s 1980s TV show, Around the World in 80 days, which showed the former Monty Python star touring the globe without flying.
He said: ‘That was really a formative part of my youth. Also, we used to go on camping trips around Europe with me, mum and dad when I was a kid.
‘We went to Hungary and Czechoslovakia, and in East Germany just after the Berlin Wall had come down. And it just seemed a bit magical.’
But it wasn’t just the sense of nostalgia or adventure that spurred him to take on the task himself – it was about doing something no one else had done before.
Graham explained: ‘A few people have already been to every country in the world, but yeah, flying.
‘I want to do something that no one had done before and prove that it was possible. And I did the whole thing on a shoestring budget. So I wanted to prove that you didn’t have to be a nepo baby. You didn’t have to come for money to do this kind of thing.’
Graham kept costs low by couch-surfing, taking public transport, eating street food, and looking, as he puts it, ‘a bit scuffed.’
He said: ‘I was staying with locals everywhere I went. I was taking public transport, which is really cheap in most countries. In those countries, it’s like $1 to go 100 miles. I was eating street food. I was keeping it really simple.’
Graham in Micronesia in the western Pacific Ocean
Graham during his travels through Russia
Graham in Equatorial Guinea in Central Africa
To plan his journey, he visited Liverpool’s central library and borrowed every Lonely Planet guide he could find.
The first year of the expedition was actually turned into a TV series for Lonely Planet and shown in various countries around the world – but never in the UK, which still frustrates him to this day.
During his journey, Graham visited UN-recognised states across various regions, from Latin America to Africa to The Pacific, but he also ticked off partially recognised non-member states, such as Palestine, Kosovo, Taiwan and Western Sahara.
Though he had a generally positive and fulfilling experience, meeting the most ‘kind and hospitable’ people along the way, Graham’s four-year journey wasn’t without drama.
He revealed he was once arrested in Cape Verde after being mistaken as a people smuggler while on a fishing boat with Senegalese fishermen.
The explorer said: ‘We were held for six days in this cell that was designed for one person, and there were 11 of us in this cell. We’re just basically sleeping on the floor. There was no bed or anything on the concrete floor.
‘When I got there, they saw my passport, and because it says “United Kingdom or Great Britain, Northern Ireland,” they just read the last word: Irish.
‘So they didn’t report another bit arrested to the British Embassy. So it was a few days before the British Embassy found that, when they found out, what are you doing, it was, it was a bit of a communication cock-up, to be honest.’
Graham during his time in North Korea
Graham in Central African Republic
In Papua New Guinea
Graham during his travels through Sri Lanka
And in the DR Congo, Graham was held for six days – despite not knowing why.
One of the biggest logistical nightmares was getting to the Pacific Island nations such as Tuvalu, Nauru, and the Marshall Islands, which have no regular ferries.
He said: ‘If you’re trying to get there without flying, it’s going to be a ride on a sailboat or a ride on a cargo ship.’
Graham even managed to blag his way onto a cruise ship by having a friend email the company, pretending to be his PR agent, as he explained: ‘My expedition was called The Odyssey Exhibition. We just set up my friends’ emails on my website.
‘I would find out where a cargo ship was going or a cruise ship, and they would just write and ask “hey, is there any chance you can put this guy on your boat?”‘
Surprisingly, he said he rarely felt in danger – even in places like North Korea, Iraq, and Afghanistan. His biggest scare, in fact, was missing connections in remote destinations, as he could’ve ended up ‘stuck there for two weeks.’
He explained: ‘There’s about maybe 15 places where, honestly, I just crossed the border and I made sure that I had my GPS on. And I ticked it off the list, and I was like, right, that place is done.
‘Back then, you could go to certain areas of Afghanistan. You could go to the north of Iraq. You know, that was an autonomous region. Congo, no problem, Libya. This before the Arab Spring. This before ISIS.
Graham in Thailand
Graham in Iran
‘I was, honestly, really lucky, because if I tried to repeat the journey again today, I find it a lot more difficult, I reckon.’
The only country fully off-limits according to the UK Foreign Office at the time was Somalia. But even then, Graham found a way to visit the now self-declared Somaliland – despite risking his insuring at the time.
Graham admitted he had to pause his challenge to fly home to the UK after losing his sister to cancer, but within five months he was back on the road and planning a second trip to Sudan – after South Sudan became its own country during that time.
After more than 200 countries, 1,400 days, countless boat rides, and a few stints in jail cells, Graham has no regrets – though he’s since developed a niggling dislike for airports.
Graham in Nepal
He said: ‘Flying is fun. Like, I have no problem with flying, but, oh my god, airports are so dehumanising.
‘You feel like a person rather than just a number. There seems to be things to trip you up.’
Reflecting on his journey, he expressed: ‘Four years, I didn’t get ill, I didn’t get robbed, I didn’t get beaten up, didn’t get even stolen, just good vibes. I took my health seriously.’
But his ultimate advice for those on the road? He said: ‘Just keep smiling. No matter what’s happening. It doesn’t matter. Have a Plan B. Have a Plan C. There will be something else along.’
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