What’s the first rule of Fight Club? We never talk about Fight Club. Luckily, this exclusive travellers club can be spoken about and oh man do we want to join! The condition of entry though; you must have visited at least 100 countries (or territories) out of the 195 of the world.
Founded in 1954 by tour operator and avid traveller Bert Hemphill, the Travellers’ Century Club is only for the most globe-trotting of globe-trotters, and while it may not sound like the craziest feat in history, travel was much harder back in the 50’s when air travel was less frequent and getting to places like Croatia and Russia were done overland or by boat, taking aaaaaaaages!
Based in Los Angeles, the club still exists with a surprisingly small 1,400 members. Once you’re a member you not only get bragging rights, but access to a range of services and advice for travelling to remote locations, discounts, invite only events, and the opportunity to connect with other avid jet-setters through private social networks and members only trips. Hectic right?
The good news is you may be closer to joining than you think. Since there are a lot of destinations that may not be seen as a country in their own right but are still isolated, hard to reach, politically divided or split across two continents (like Turkey), the Travellers’ Century Club count them as separate territories and count them as a new place. PLUS, it counts as a visit even if you’ve only had a stopover there! Check out their list of 325 (!!!) destinations here and you might just be surprised by how many you’ve ticked off.
How many countries have you been to?