46 guides
Guides for keeping count
Plain answers to the questions travelers ask about counting countries, reading their photos, days and visas, and keeping the memories. Each one answers first and gets to the point.
Counting countries
What counts, which list to use, and the edge cases travelers argue about.
- The countries that reach north of the Arctic CircleEight countries reach north of the Arctic Circle, from Russia to Iceland, which only just makes it. Where each one crosses, and the easiest places to go.
- The countries on the equatorThe equator crosses the land of 11 countries and the waters of two more. All 13 in order, where to stand on the line in each, and the myths you'll meet there.
- Countries that changed their namesSwaziland is now Eswatini, Macedonia is North Macedonia and Turkey asked for Türkiye. Renamed countries, old and new, and why a name never changes your count.
- Visited a country that no longer exists? How it countsA trip to Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union or Czechoslovakia counts for the country that holds that ground today. How each list handles it, with the common cases.
- The countries without an airport, and how to get thereAndorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City have no airport. Where to fly in for each, plus the territories you can only reach by sea.
- Do territories like Greenland, Puerto Rico and Hong Kong count as countries?Greenland, Puerto Rico and Hong Kong aren't UN members, but the 250 list and the Travelers' Century Club count them. How each list treats territories.
- Does a cruise stop count as visiting a country?A cruise port counts if you go ashore, even for an hour. What happens with tender ports, private islands, scenic cruising, canals and two-country islands.
- Does a layover count as visiting a country?A layover inside the airport usually doesn't count, but leaving it does. How the Travelers' Century Club, strict counters and visa rules each treat a transit.
- The world's two double-landlocked countriesOnly Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan are double landlocked: every neighbor is landlocked too. Why, what the Caspian Sea has to do with it, and how to visit both.
- How to count the countries you've visitedPick a list, set your rule for what counts as a visit, then gather proof from passports, photos and bookings. A clear method, with the edge cases settled.
- The world's newest countriesSouth Sudan has been the newest UN member since 2011. The countries born since 1990, when each joined the UN, what may come next and how a new one counts.
- How much of the world have you seen? Three ways to work it outHow much of the world have you seen? Work it out by share of countries, by land area and by population, with examples of how far apart the answers land.
- Transcontinental countries: the ones in two continentsRussia, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Egypt span two continents, and a few more do depending on the line. Where the borders run, and how lists count both halves.
- The Travelers' Century Club and its list of 330What the Travelers' Century Club is, how its 330 destinations are chosen, what counts as a visit, how to join at 100, and how its list differs from the UN's.
- 193, 195, 250 or 330: which list should you count by?The UN's 193, the 195 with observers, 250 countries and territories, or the club's 330. What each list includes, and which one suits the way you travel.
Your photos
Where your iPhone keeps the places you’ve been, and how to read them.
- How to add or change a photo's location on iPhoneAdd a missing location to one photo or a whole trip at once, fix a wrong one, or undo your change, right in the iPhone Photos app. Steps for iOS 26 and later.
- How to find every country you've been to from your iPhone photosYour iPhone already knows where you've been. How to read your photo locations on a map, the gaps to watch for, and how to turn them into a country list.
- How to see your photos on a map on iPhoneWhere the Photos map lives in each iOS version, how to explore it and see one trip on it, why some photos are missing, and how to make a map of countries.
- Why some of your iPhone photos have no locationThe eight usual reasons an iPhone photo has no location, how to tell which one hit you, and how to fix it for old photos and stop it for new ones.
- How to share a photo without its locationStrip the location from a photo before you send it, remove it from your library for good, or stop the Camera saving it, with what each choice costs you.
- How to see where a photo was taken on iPhoneSwipe up on any photo to see where it was taken, open the spot in Maps and find nearby shots. Plus what to do when a photo shows no location at all.
- How to keep your travel photos safeKeep three copies of your travel photos on two kinds of storage, with one away from home. How to do it from an iPhone, on the road and once you're back.
- How to make your iPhone save where each photo was takenTurn on Location Services for the Camera so every photo and video saves its place. The settings path, a ten-second test, and what to check before a trip.
Keeping track
Lists, flight logs, Timeline exports and moving between apps.
- How to export your Google Maps TimelineGoogle Maps Timeline now lives on your phone. How to export it on iPhone and Android, what the file holds, why it may look empty, and what to do with it next.
- How to make a log of every flight you've takenBuild a full flight log from booking emails, airline accounts, Wallet and old passports: the columns to keep, a sample layout, and how to fill the gaps.
- How far have you flown? How to add up every flightAdd up the great-circle distance of every flight you've taken: what that distance is, how to work it out, real routes to compare, and laps of the Earth.
- How to move your visited countries from one app to anotherGet your countries out of one travel app and into another without losing any: export formats, cleaning the list, name traps like Czechia, and the count.
- How to turn your passport stamps into a travel mapRead every stamp in your old passports, list the countries and dates, fill the gaps stamps leave in places like the Schengen area, then color the map.
- How to remember every place you've traveled, years laterRebuild your travel history from photos, email, passports, location history and your calendar, then keep it current with a quick note after each trip.
- Why a travel tracker without an account is worth looking forYour travel history is a map of your life. Why a tracker with no account that keeps data on your phone is safer, what you give up, how to check an app.
- Five ways to keep track of the countries you've visitedA checklist, a scratch map, a spreadsheet, an online map or an app that reads your photos: what each is good at, where each falls short, how to mix them.
Days, visas and Schengen
The 90/180 rule, the 183-day rule and how to count the days.
- The 183-day rule, explainedWhat the 183-day rule means for tax residency, how the UK, the US and tax treaties use it, how a day is counted, and why under 183 days isn't always safe.
- How to count the days you've spent in each countryCount the days you've spent in each country: pick the right counting rule, gather proof from flights, photos, stamps and maps, and follow a worked example.
- Schengen 90/180 examples: five real trips counted day by dayFive worked Schengen 90/180 examples with real dates: one long stay, two trips that don't fit, weekend trips, a Balkans break, and Ireland and Cyprus.
- The EU's Entry/Exit System and the end of Schengen passport stampsHow the EU's Entry/Exit System works: when it started, who it covers, the photo and fingerprints it takes, how long it keeps them and what replaced stamps.
- The Schengen 90/180-day rule, explained with examplesHow the Schengen 90/180-day rule works: the rolling window, why arrival and exit days count, which countries count, and worked examples you can check.
- What happens if you overstay in the Schengen areaWhat happens if you overstay your 90 days in Schengen: the EES overstayer list, fines, removal, entry bans of up to five years, and what to do first.
Keeping the memories
Films, posters, maps to share and a year in review.
- How to keep one travel map for the whole familyKeep one travel map for the whole family: choose the kind of map, agree what counts, give each person a color and gather everyone's photos into it.
- How to make a travel video from your photos on iPhoneTurn a trip's photos into a travel video on iPhone with Photos Memories or iMovie, then pick the shots, cut to the music and size it for Stories and Reels.
- Scratch-off map or travel app?Scratch-off map or travel app? A plain comparison of mistakes, small countries, which list, sharing and effort, and how to use both without double work.
- How to share your travel map on InstagramShare your travel map on Instagram: make the image, fit it to a post or Story without bad crops, build a carousel, write a caption and keep your home private.
- How to make a poster of the countries you've visitedMake a wall poster of every country you've visited: get the list right, color the map, solve tiny countries, pick a fair projection and print it sharp.
- Travel widgets for your iPhone home screenSet up travel widgets on your iPhone: how to add one, plus a world clock, weather where you're going, a trip countdown, travel photos and a countries goal.
- How to make your year in travel recapMake your year in travel recap: find every trip in your photos, count countries, cities, days and kilometers, pick one photo per trip and share it as a story.
Planning what’s next
Bucket lists and the places few people reach.
- How to make a travel bucket list you'll actually finishMake a travel bucket list you'll finish: mix far and near, write specific lines with a season and a first step, and review the list twice a year.
- How to visit the world's least-visited countriesThe countries with the fewest visitors, from Tuvalu to Comoros, why so few go, and how to plan a trip: flights, spare days, money, health and safety checks.