I visited EVERY country in the world by age of 21 – my tips to get cheaper plane tickets and extreme cure for jet lag
VISITING all the countries in the world might sound like a task that would take a lifetime.
But at just 21 years old, Lexie Alford was able to say she’d ticked off every single one, and earned an official Guinness World Record for the achievement.
And the now 26-year-old American, from northern California, wasn’t done there, and this year became the first person to circumnavigate the globe in an electric car, in an epic journey that features on the brand new series Charge Around The Globe.
After 200 days on the road and over 30,000 kilometres travelled across six continents, Lexie faced plenty of challenges – especially when it came to charging her vehicle in remote locations.
“It was so much harder than I originally set out for it to be – it took a lot of determination and perseverance,” she said.
Speaking to The Sun, the double-record holder – known to her 1.2 million Instagram followers as Lexie Limitless – also revealed her secrets to beating travel pains such as jet lag and flight booking.
Lexie’s love of travelling was kickstarted by her parents, who both worked as travel agents, but it wasn’t long before she set about her mission to see every country in the world and share her journey with her followers.
She said: “It started as a personal curiosity. I’ve always been curious about different places around the world and how far I could push myself.
“Through repeatedly putting myself in situations where I was uncomfortable, I’ve been really able to gain so much more confidence in my abilities that I can bring into my everyday life.
Her recent journey began in September 2023, setting off from the south of France then heading west through Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas, before returning back to Europe – although it was no easy feat.
“There were so many highs and lows throughout this project – no matter how much you plan a trip, there’s always inevitably going to be things that go wrong, most obvious being the fact that you have to figure out what to do when you run out of chargers.
“I ended up finding some pretty creative solutions: I tried everything from using solar panels in the desert to having a portable charger, which is kind of like the portable chargers you charge your phone on.”
Although Lexie’s most recent trip around the world saw her use an electric car, she’s still done plenty of flying – and has picked up some handy ways to get the best value deals.
Ultimately, she says, it’s always going to be worth putting the time and effort into checking multiple websites for the best deal.
But she also revealed that by changing one setting on your internet browser, you can sometimes beat the algorithms and stop websites such as Skyscanner from jacking up the prices it shows you.
She said: “When it comes to booking flights, hotels, it helps to do it on the incognito setting on your laptop. It’s really about doing a lot of comparison.
“Incognito mode hides your account information that’s based on your location, so it’s almost like an anonymous login to see these flights. It can show you a better price in comparison to if it knows that you’re based in the UK or in the US.”
Incognito mode can be easily accessed on browsers such as Chrome by navigating to settings and opening a new window with the setting activated.
Bargain hunting
Even if you manage to bag a bargain with your flight, plenty of tourists still end up getting ripped-off by taxi drivers looking to make a quick buck off weary travellers.
But with just a small bit of research, you can find out how much taxis should cost and avoid the price hikes, recommends Lexie.
And wannabe-travellers looking for a bargain don’t have to wait until their holiday to start saving.
By using credit cards that allow you to build up travel rewards and air miles, Lexie has been able to turn her everyday spending into flights and hotels.
She said: “One of the best ways you can start saving right now is by never using your debit card.
“Every time you use your credit card you could be collecting points and miles towards your next trip.”
To save money on food, Lexie also recommends putting in the research to find hotels that include free breakfast.
Having visited so many different countries and made so many memories – including coming face to face with a pack of mountain gorillas – Lexie struggles to choose a number one.
“I have so many different favourite places for different reasons: Egypt for the history, Venezuela for the natural beauty. Iceland is one of the most unique places on the planet – but if I had to choose one favourite, it might be Bhutan,” she said.
The people there are just so uplifting – they have such strong practices of gratitude, and I think there’s something everybody can learn from that
A hidden kingdom nestled deep within the Himalayas, it’s a nation relatively untouched by outsiders but has a reputation for being the happiest country on Earth – and Lexie credits an encounter she had in a mountain monastery with saving her from one of her most challenging moments in her recent journey.
“After experiencing the culture and meeting the people, happiest country in the world definitely feels like an accurate title.
“I went in to meet a Buddhist nun – her name was Karma. Being able to meet her and hearing her perspective on life really instilled this lesson of how important it is to be present, which was something I really needed to hear at the time.
“The people there are just so uplifting – they have such strong practices of gratitude, and I think there’s something everybody can learn from that.”
Danger zone
But where does she recommend travellers avoid?
Lexie suggests Mali – a west African nation home to the city of Timbuktu, but that in recent year has been plagued by fighting between armed groups.
“This is not the place for your average tourist vacation because the risk versus the reward isn’t worth it,” she told MailOnline.
“Large areas of Mali are under the control of Islamist rebels who practise extremely strict sharia law.
“Let’s just also say that these groups politically don’t take too kindly to American or European tourists.”
Given the number of countries she’s visited all over the world, she’s also no stranger to the pain of jet lag – but determined not to let it stop her from enjoying a destination from the moment she lands, she’s also found a way to keep it at bay as much as possible.
“One thing that definitely helps fight jet lag is cold exposure. So if you can do an ice plunge or a cold plunge, those type of things really jolt your system.
“And more generally, exercising. When you are arriving in a new place in the morning, getting your body adapted to being awake at a different time is the best place to start.
Solo safety
Having often travelled as a solo female, she’s always keen to inspire other women and girls to make their own journeys – and was herself inspired to make the 28-country trip in the electric car by a boundary-pushing female explorer from the 1920s.
At just 16 years old, Aloha Wanderwell set off in 1922 to become the first woman to drive around the world, using a Ford Model T.
“Hearing her story was the inspiration for this drive that I did,” explained Lexie.
“Being able to keep her story in mind was such an incredible thing to really try to shine a light on. Because if it wasn’t for women like her that came before me, then I might not have all of the opportunity that I do today to be able to get to do what I’m most passionate about.
While she had a crew with her for her most recent trip, when travelling solo, she always abides by two golden rules that help her get home in one piece.
She explained: “Number one – I tend to wrap up my adventures by sunset. Going out at night alone in places that I don’t know is a good way to find yourself in some trouble.
“My second rule is that I never get intoxicated, so I avoid alcohol or anything like that and try to keep my wits about me.
“If you avoid those two things, you can avoid the vast majority of unexpected complications.”
However, beyond staying safe, travel for Lexie is all about going outside her comfort zone – and when it comes to choosing where you want to go, she says, that’s what should drive the decision.
She said: “We see so many very trendy travel destinations on Instagram, which people travel just for that perfect photo.
“But try to go off the beaten path, because it’s so much more unpredictable and you feel like you’re really gaining something that’s uniquely yours.”
And her advice if you’re on a budget?
“Start small,” she says.
“You can travel to a country on the other side of the world, but chances are you haven’t been to some of the places within your own country.
“Budget travel is all about how uncomfortable you’re willing to get to be able to have these experiences – where you opt for the nine-hour overnight bus ride rather than the flight or things like that.
“It can be really exhausting, but you end up having a lot more interesting stories that way.”
All episodes of Charge Around The Globe are available to stream on Prime Video.