Not being american

[QCNR]

and I appreciate the USA is a large country to explore to start with. But how many here plan to, or have ventured outside the US borders?
How long were you away for?
Where did you go?
Anyone planning on visiting a different continant?
Anyone have experience with shipping their vehicle from/ to the USA?

 

[TreXTerra]

I have family in Taiwan and I have spent time there and in Hong Kong. I spent about three weeks in Taiwan on one trip and about 10 days on another trip.

I plan to travel internationally more when I can afford it (hopefully a better paying job comes along soon). My wife an I have a Google map with pins all over the world of places to visit, Germany is probably next up since we have friends there and can crash with them for cheap, but we also want to rent motorcycles and tour from the Italian Alps through Switzerland and into Austria. Ideally we would like to ride motorcycles all over Europe and into the Nordic Countries.

Australia has been on my bucket list for years and Andrew St. Pierre White has made me want to rent a rig and explore southern Africa. Island hopping the Caribbean on a sailing ship is on the list, as is Japan.

 

[Murphy Slaw]

I walked into Mexicali once.....

 

[druff6991]

Been to the Philippines

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[Kevin108]

I spent a week in Mexico. It was cool, but it was a bit of an unusual experience. How many people do you know who have a house on the beach in a town in Mexico where you get around with ATVs and a guy with a customized semi-truck frame, a seat, and a steering wheel comes to tow your ATVs down to the water for you?

The US is huge. At 37, I'll never explore enough of here to need to go anywhere else.

 

[The other Sean]

My wife is from Poland, so when we go we go for 3ish weeks. We become "travelers" and not "vacationers" as there is a big difference. Since my wife is a fluent speaker, we can blend in as a local with her American husband and get better treatment. We prefer to avoid the tourist traps and hit the local spots.

 

[APtrail2005]

Traveling abroad is unbelievably the best experience you can achieve. I have traveled all over Europe and across the Middle East. It's really cool to explore all the Cold War locations. You pull up to a small town with your rig and they go crazy, everyone wants to see it up close. You have a chance to see how people live and learn the local culture. It's unbelievable ...
As far as shipping goes you have to rent a shipping container, helps to have a buddy or post an add online to share the expenses. It is worth it and truly a lot of fun.

 

[CDN Offroader]

We only get one chance on this rock, and I plan on seeing as much of it as possible. So far I've made it to every province in Canada(still need the territories), about 10 of the United States. 2 Countries in Africa, Central Asia for 9 months(work trip) and almost every country in Western(except the Nordic Countries) and Central Europe as well as Iceland, Cyprus(Greek and Turkish sides), the Canary Islands, and the UAE. Cuba, DR, St Lucia and Belize for the Caribbean. Next on the list is Argentina/Chile to check out Patagonia for 2018.

Would have loved to have my rig in Iceland with me, but didn't have time to look into it. Was a last minute trip.

 

[britz]

I've explored a decent portion of Canada , a bit of Mexico and Germany (boyfriend had a vehicle there). Iceland is on my list, but I'll just rent a rig and live out of the backpack.
But there's so much I still want to explore in the US and Canada, that Iceland may be a few years off.

 

[Craig M]

I've only been to a few other countries, including the given Canada and Mexico. I was stationed in Korea for a year, so I was able to get out and experience life there a bit, I also lived in Mexico for just about a year after the Army. Other than that I spent a couple of days in Japan once, work trips to Toronto and a couple vacations in Mexico.

 

[ASNOBODY]

I was born in California but grew up in Europe, mostly in London. I have family and friends all over the world so it is hard to avoid visiting. I've lived in London England, Cardiff Wales, Malaga Spain, Los Angeles, NYC, Detroit, Miami and have visited Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, Scotland, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, Italy, Sweden, Dubai, Japan, China, Turkey, Jordan, Ireland, Egypt, Hong Kong, Morocco, Hawaii, Jamaica, Guam, Majorca and all of North America. My big plans for the next few years are South America, Australia, Eastern Europe, Russia and more of Africa.

I absolutely love traveling and do so regularly for work and pleasure. Some short trips, some for a few months. I tend to have been the kind of person that likes to go alone (if possible) and explore cities on foot but these last several years the wilderness has been calling more and more…especially with my wife or friends in the relative safety of my truck :)

I have no experience shipping vehicles.

 

[[DO]Ron]

I went to the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, UK and Switzerland :P

But being Dutch I guess that is kind of cheating :P

 

[TOMB]

I lived in West Africa for a year. Liberia actually, before the troubles they had. Enjoyed every minute. We shipped my motorcycle there, and bought two more. Had a great time. Will I ever go back? Nope. Been to Mexico, Canada, Spain, Germany, and Denmark. Nice places, but there is no place like home.


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[Jeff Graham]

My bucket list includes traveling to every country in the world.

General Travel:

I have seen all of Europe Some countries for fun, and many for work. I have visited some Asian Countries: China, Korea, Japan, India, Pakistan, UAE, Iraq, Kuwait. Again; Some countries for fun, and many for work. I have visited all of the Americas.

Overlanding:

I have been to many Central American countries while Overlanding. I will eventually Overland all of the Americas before I retire. When I retire in a few years, the first few years, will be spent overlanding In Africa. I have traveled to Only a few African countries. Entirely for work, so not a lot of sight seeing. I did do a lot of driving across some interesting terrain in Africa. I only have very tentative plans for the rest of Asia, but Austraillia will play a big part.

 

[QCNR]

Thankyou for all your replies. I persoanlly have travelled quite a bit. Central America (whilst in the military), Brazil, a lot of europe (obviously :D ), middle east. Been to the US for 2 weeks whilst on a parachute course. However me and my wife are planning on taking a year off
in about 2- 3 years and our plan so far is to ship our vehicle to the US and drive around.
Starting to get cold here now in Norway, and can't really say we have had much summer... :D
keep exploring

 

[jeffs blackjeep]

traveling away from your doorstep as they say, is the best education you could give yourself with a wide verity of different cultures, food and architecture...plus a load of options to explore if you rent a 4x4

 

[Curtis2010]

Left the USA in 2004 via sailboat. In 2004-2005 cruised from Texas thru Florida to Bahamas, Jamaica, Bay Islands Honduras, and ended our cruise in Belize in 2005.

Started a seasonal business in Belize (sailing school), but my late wife prefered living on the Rio Dulce in Guatemala. So, we built there and I traveled back and forth, usually by boat, as needed.

Shipped the Jeep on a cargo ship from the USA to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala in 2005. Overlanding to Guate would have been fun, but under the circumstances shipping it was the most practical. Only cost $750 to ship it...cheaper than driving, but not as fun.

Since then my current wife and I have driven all over most of Central America, excluding Mexico. While still living on the Rio Dulce, we did lots of road trips in Guatemala and Honduras. Then in 2013 we took off on an epic road trip from Guatemala to Panama (we had sailed from Guatemala to Panama in 2012). Now, we are living in the Chiriqui highlands of Panama. Spectacularly beautiful area with lots of off roading opportunities.

My Jeep has now been registered in 3 countries: USA, Guatemala, and Panama. Ive spent more money on importation and paperwork than the book value of the Jeep, but hey, Im not getting rid of my XJ!

Planning to start a full Overlanding build of my good old 89 XJ soon. Looking forward to more extend overland trips in the new and improved Jeep.

Pic of Jeep on a barge heading to Hawaii....Hawaii, Guatemala that is...a small beach town on the Pacific coast of Guatemala.

 

[Curtis2010]

One handy thing about being American is that you can travel to almost any country in the world without applying for a Visa in advance.

 

[Jeff Graham]

One handy thing about being American is that you can travel to almost any country in the world without applying for a Visa in advance.

As a world traveler, I wish this where a little more true.

https://www.passportindex.org/byRank.php

I have had no problems traveling in the Americas. In other parts of the world, the US passport can be troublesome. Even so, I wouldn't trade it for any other.

 

[Curtis2010]

As a world traveler, I wish this where a little more true.

https://www.passportindex.org/byRank.php

I have had no problems traveling in the Americas. In other parts of the world, the US passport can be troublesome. Even so, I wouldn't trade it for any other.

It is still one of the most widely accepted passports in the world, without a visa. The group 1 countries on the list are accepted in 158 countries, the USA (group 4) 156...hardly a dramartic differentiator. 156 out of 190 or so (depending upon whose official count you use) is still over 80% of the countries on the planet. That Certainly qualifies as "almost any country in the world"...save the relatively few where its not accepted without a Visa or just a plain bad idea to travel to now.