Gunnar Garfors: 17 Passports and 198 Countries
In my extensive travels, I’ve had the privilege of visiting approximately 40 countries. However, there exists an extraordinary individual, a 48-year-young citizen of Norway, who has not only journeyed all 198 countries but has accomplished this remarkable feat not once, but twice! Gunnar Garfors Passports Countries
Gunnar Garfors stands as the sole person to have achieved this astounding milestone. While a dozen astronauts have walked on the moon, it is awe-inspiring to note that only one person has circled our planet and explored all of its countries twice. But there are more astonishing achievements…
- 2012: He visits 5 continents in the same day
- 2014: 19 countries in 24 hrs
- 2018: Circumnavigated the world by plane in <57 hrs
- 2018 Dec: The first person to visit all 198 countries in the world – Twice!
These outstanding achievements generated two books.
>198: How I Ran Out of Countries is the first book he published, sharing his global travel experience
> Elsewhere: A journey to the world’s least-visited countries
Gunnar displayed exceptional kindness by offering insights from a unique perspective on his global travels, focusing on the less-explored topic of passport and visa-related details, which had not been covered in previous interviews.
How many passports do you have?
17 in total, and I could keep 15. One was an emergency passport I needed for a trip as my normal passport was in an embassy, and the border police refused to let me keep it. One is probably hiding somewhere in my mom’s loft.
I have two passports at times when I travel extensively. In Norway, you are allowed to have a so-called duplicate passport if needed for work reasons. This is however only valid for 2 years, as opposed to 10 for normal ones.
Do you always get the passport type with the most possible pages?
I wish! In Norway, all passports have 34 pages. I have however added extra pages to passports twice. Once border police in Laos did it with pages from an old Laos passport as there was enough space for their stamp. Another time I took unused pages from one of my old passports and added to my current ones. Never had any issues with this. That’s so cool. Unusual official Laos page extensions in a Norway passport. You already made passport history with this.
How many visas do you have in all the passports?
Loads… I am however traveling in Africa and I only have two passports here, so I cannot count. Most of my passports filled up before they expired.xx
What was the most difficult visa to get?
What is the rarest visa in your passports? Gunnar Garfors Passports Countries
Any memorable stories about visas or passport issues during travel, crossing borders?
Do you keep your receipts of visa/passport fees?
What was the most expensive visa?
Tips to keep your passport safe at all times during travel? Ever lost one during travel? Gunnar Garfors Passports Countries
If you had a wish to Norway passport designer or visa designers, what would you want them to change?
I propose that your photograph be prominently featured on one of the visa pages. After all, who could serve as a more fitting brand ambassador for Norway than yourself? Typically, we reserve such pages for individuals who are no longer with us, but why not celebrate living legends like you instead? 😉
All pictures courtesy of Gunnar’s Instagram account @garfors.
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