Back in December of last year, on my 30th birthday, I announced that I was setting a personal goal to visit my 30th country at age 30. Considering that I’d been to 25 countries at the time, it meant I needed to visit five more this year.
And today is my 31st birthday, so I’m happy to say that I met my goal! 🎉 (Actually, with 3 months to spare!)
For my first 25 countries, I shared what they were as well as a snippet about my experience there. So I decided to do the same for the last five. Enjoy this quick recap of the five new countries I visited this year:
26. Andorra (January 2023)
My 2023 started out with a bang as Matt and I hopped on a flight to Barcelona just a few days after the New Year. After we got there, my family flew over and met up with us as well, and we all celebrated the European/Spanish/Catalan Christmas with our extended Catalonian family. (Shout out to AFS on this one.)
From there, Matt and I set out on a two-week road trip through southern France and northern Spain. But our first stop was Andorra! When I saw how close it was to Barcelona, I knew we had to go so I could check another country off the list.
Andorra is a tiny country nestled between Spain and France. Technically, it’s so small that it’s considered a “microstate.” We only spent a couple nights in Andorra la Vella, but with it being so small, that was all the time we needed.
27. Hungary (March 2023)
Only a month after getting home from Europe, I was hopping on a plane across the Atlantic again. This time, I was meeting up with my college bestie, Hanna, to visit London — where we met and became friends 10 years ago as study abroad students. We decided that while we were on that side of the world, we may as well go somewhere new.
So after a week in London, we set off for a few days in Budapest, Hungary. Even though it was early March and pretty cold, I absolutely loved it! Between the delicious food, interesting history, gorgeous architecture, and affordable costs, Budapest is a place I would recommend to any traveler.
28. Costa Rica (April 2023)
When I turned 30, Matt and I had an overnight stay in Boston on our way to Quebec City, Canada. Luckily, my friend Morgan let us crash in her Somerville apartment for the night. While we were at dinner, Morgan told us that she wanted to visit Costa Rica but couldn’t find anyone to go with her. And thus, our plan to visit Costa Rica was born.
Four months later, in April, the three of us set off for a week in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. We went to the beach every day, went ziplining into a waterfall, visited a chocolate and coffee plantation, and even saw a sloth right outside our cabin!
29. Croatia (September 2023)
By halfway through the year, I’d made it to 28/30 countries. I wasn’t sure what the second half of the year would bring, but it was getting down to crunch time on visiting my last two countries.
But Matt and I made the decision to finally apply for Spain’s new digital nomad visa, which meant we needed to go to Spain for an extended period of time while our applications were processed. We spent all of August in Spain, submitted our applications, and then decided to travel around Europe for the whole month of September.
Our first stop on our five-country trip was Croatia! While most of the Instagram influencers you see in Croatia are probably visiting the coastal cities, we checked out the land-locked capital, Zagreb. The food was amazing and the people were soooo nice.
30. Slovenia (September 2023)
And clocking in at country #30 was… Slovenia! With the capital city, Ljubljana, only a two-hour bus ride from Zagreb, it was a no-brainer to visit. We didn’t really know what to expect but went for the sake of the whole “30 countries” thing.
But we were truly surprised and delighted by how much we loved Ljubljana! It’s not a big city, but it is super charming,. With a river running through the middle, numerous bridges, the castle up on the hill overlooking the town, and the fact that it’s almost entirely pedestrianized, it’s hard not to fall in love with Ljubljana.
As always, thanks for reading and following along! I love posting on my birthday, and this was a great excuse for this year. Plus — fun fact — this is officially blog post #201 on The Girl Who Goes.
Here’s to another amazing year of travel, including my move back to Spain. Can’t wait to see what age 31 brings!
-Cathy
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