Meet the man who visited every country by the time he was 27

Have you got the Monday blues? Would you rather be overseas sipping cocktails and adventuring? We’ve got just the thing.

No, it’s not a free trip. But it is something – or someone – that will inspire you to start planning your next trip! Honestly, we’ll take any excuse.

Sal Lavallo landed in his 193rd and final UN-recognised country, Malta, in November 2017, and has since created a Youtube channel to share his travel tips. Which, obviously, there are a ton of.

Lavallo attended an international boarding school in the US growing up, then after studying at NYU, landed a job at McKinsey as a management consultant based in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, which remains one of his favourite countries.

He’d been travelling regularly to visit internationally-based friends, as well as for work, but two years ago decided to take a break and travel full time for six months – which turned into over a year.

“I took off what I thought was going to be six months of work, that turned into a year and I had already been to about 160 countries by then,” Lavallo told CNBC last year.

“I said if I do one more year of not working I need to make it a goal – I need to achieve something.

“My final four countries were on four different continents so I had to go to from the Pacific in Tuvalu, then I had to go to Africa to Congo, then I went to the Middle East for Yemen and then to Malta for the finale.”

He’s visited the danger zones in Libya, Syria, and Afghanistan, where he stayed with families of friends.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BelMVivHzou/?taken-by=sallavallo

As well as the world’s newest countries, like South Sudan and Timor-Leste.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BenqFviHG4s/?taken-by=sallavallo

Tanzania is also among the traveller’s favourite countries – he has a small farm there and visits every year.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bkc7sa0nWxq/?taken-by=sallavallo

And now you can hear it straight from the source – his Youtube channel!

If you ask us, there’s nothing more inspiring on a Monday than the promise of a new trip. Or, at least looking through travel photos and planning a trip in your mind.

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

193 countries Sal Lavallo UN recognised countries