Gary’s Q&A

Listener question & Gary’s response · Transcript passage

Let’s jump right into things, John Higham asks,

What counts as “visiting a country?” My litmus test is “Did I spend the night?” By that measure, I’ve been to 51 countries. But I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Vatican City, and unless you know the right people, you’re not spending the night. Does that count as a country visit? Or I once spent several hours on a tour along the wadis in Oman but did not stay the night. Is that a visit?

What’s your standard for “a visit?”

John, this is a good question and one that comes up quite often in various travel communities.

I understand why people use a stay overnight standard, but it is one that I don’t subscribe to. Let me explain.

Back in 2007, I visited Macau. I took the very first ferry in the morning from Hong Kong to Macau, and I spent a full day in Macau. I walked all over the island. I explored all the major attractions. I had three meals there, and then I took the last ferry back from Macau in the evening.

I didn’t say overnight, but I think I absolutely visited Macau.

Consider this compared to someone who flies into Macau, gets a room at an airport hotel, sleeps, wakes up in the morning, and goes directly to the airport to leave.

Most of their time in Macau was actually spent unconscious in a closed room. They didn’t see or experience anything, yet they technically spent a night in Macau.

To me, visiting a place involves doing and seeing things, not being holed up in a room sleeping.

So, what constitutes a visit is going to vary depending on where you are visiting.

So, I’d say you have absolutely visited Vatican City. It’s the smallest country in the world. If you’ve been inside St Peter’s and the Vatican Museum, you’ve literally explored more of the country on a percentage basis than you probably have for any other country.

I’m not sure why being asleep in a closed room would make your experience any more meaningful.

On the other side of the coin, a few years ago, I spoke at a conference on Hainan Island in China. I was at a resort hotel for several days, but I can’t say I really saw anything beyond the hotel. That is the only time I’ve been in the People’s Republic of China proper, not including the Special Administrative Regions.

Have I visited China? I guess technically, yes. But have I really visited China? No, I don’t think so, not really.

I think trying to force a rule for every country doesn’t make sense because every country is different. I literally walked across the country of Monaco, but I didn’t spend the evening there. I stayed in Nice.

The criterion I use is, was it a meaningful visit? That is going to vary from person to person and place to place.