Best FarFlung Travel Destinations (with the man who’s been everywhere)

Last week I surprised Stefan of Rapid Travel Chai after starting a Facebook live with the format:

We’re going to plan a round the world trip of far-flung destinations.

Stefan has been to 189 countries (of the 193 UN Countries), and on the TCC list (of 325 countries) he has been to 293.

So sitting down and getting to ask him to start naming his favorite far-flung countries was awesome. Since our live-streaming audio was poor, I decided to go ahead and make a post putting text, a map, and pictures to the best far-flung travel destinations we routed as a round-the-world trip.

Also if you’re not familiar with TCC, it’s just a club that has a list of more countries than the UN. For example, the UK is 1 country on the UN list, and England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are each their own items on the TCC list.

Or, Indonesia is 1 country on the UN list. But on the TCC list it’s 7 different regions to see – Java, Kalimantan, Lesser Sunda Islands, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Papua, and Moluka.

Which is all to say, Stefan has been nearly everywhere… or will have been everywhere soon.

Map of destinations discussed:

List of FarFlung Destinations

• Christmas Island, Kiribati
  • Peaked my interest. A far flung Pacific island is right up my alley! (He recommended getting there via Fiji Airways using Alaska or AA miles).
  • RTC blog post: Christmas Island Fishing.
• Vanuatu
  • RTC blog: Vanuatu
• Sri Lanka
  • Sri Lanka is one of my favorite places. It’s beautiful, less traveled, and the food is amazing.
  • TIF blog post & photos: Sri Lanka
  • RTC photo album here (first half is Burma).
    
• Bhutan
  • I’ve heard Stefan say a number of times that Bhutan was a very special trip. Right now you have to go via a tour… Which is a annoying, but it also means their tourism is greatly limited, which probably adds to how special it is.
  • RTC photo album here (first half in Bangladesh).
• China’s northwest
  • I’ve traveled China a bit and have been nowhere near any of these places. Sounds exciting, extremely unique, and less traveled!
  • Ningxia
  • Gansu
    • Dunhuang Grottoes
  • Xingjiang
    • Turpan
    • Kashgar
• All the “Stans”. 5 ex-sovient Stans are easier. 
  • I’ve also heard Stefan say before that Turkmenistan was one of his favorite places. But Maybe it’s just because he got a sweet photo over the Gates of Hell.
  • RTC photos here.
    
• Iran, Iran, Iran
  • He actually said “Iran, Iran, Iran”. Is it just me or does everyone as well traveled as him also say Iran is their favorite country? The people, the hospitality, and the sites.
  • RTC blog post /w photos –> Iran.
  • More here –> People of Iran.
  • Full album here.
    
• Georgia
  • The Rapid Traveler’s favorite of Eastern Europe is on the east side of the black sea. (Is that really Europe?)
  • RTC photos here.
    
• Faroe Islands
• Also listed are lots of European islands. Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia (off peak); Azores; Madeira; Canary Island (depending on the island).
  • RTC blog post –> Grand Canary
• Tunisia / Algeria
  • RTC photos here.
  • And a great photo of a child version of the Rapid Traveler:
    
• Mentioned Djibouti
  • Lake Assal
• Ethiopia
• Rwanda
  • Go see the Gorillas in the DR Conga or border.
  • RTC blog post –> Rwanda Gorilla seeing Permits
    
• Namibia
  • Actually, this is a roadtrip Carrie and I did with the Rapid Traveler… and it was rapid indeed. And as you can see, Namibia is made up of a lot of hostile terrain, which is what makes it interesting.
  • TIF blog post –> Roadtrip Across Namibia
    
• Chile
  • Atacama Desert
  • then into Bolivia…
• Bolivia
  • Salar de Uyuni
  • RTC blog post –> Booking Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni
    
• Galapagos Islands & Quito
  • Miles flights now too. 😉 Only 10,000 United miles from Galapagos to the following: Northern South America, Central America, Caribbean, and Mexico. Also now OneWorld availability.
  • RTC blog post –> Galapagos in a hurry: Planning
  • RTC blog post –> Galapagos in a hurry: On the ground
  • RTC blog post –> Quito, Ecuador
• San Andres Providencia
• Saba
  • RTC blog post –> Saba
• Dominica
  • RTC blog post –> Dominica: Pirates Cove
• Canada
  • Newfoundland
    • RTC blog post –> Newfoundland Ho
  • St Pierre and Miquelon
  • Nova Scotia
  • Price Edward Island
    • RTC blog post –> Prince Edward Island, Canada
  • Toronto
    • RTC blog post –> Chinese Food in Toronto

Special thanks to Stefan at Rapid Travel Chai, for traveling to everywhere on earth just to tell us where best to go. 😉