2016: My Best Travel Year Yet

2016 was a great travel year for me—the most travel I’ve completed in a single year.

I flew 52,575 miles (84,611 km), which equals to 2.11x Earth circumnavigation, and spent 120 hours and 13 minutes, or five full days, on planes. I visited 10 countries, eight of which for the first time. I set foot on the African continent and flew my longest flight from Johannesburg, South Africa (JNB), to New York (JFK) at 7,982 miles (12,846 km) – 15 hours and 45 minutes in economy!

Image courtesy of FlightMemory.com

Seriously, I can’t complain. I’m thankful for how flexible my job has been. And I couldn’t have done this much traveling without diving into the world of points and miles head first. Some of the flights were booked with cash at a killer deal, some with miles, and some with a combination of cash and miles.

To finish the year off, I’m posting a photo from each country I visited.

January

Skógafoss Waterfall, Iceland

February

San Pedro Island, Belize

Tikal National Park, Guatemala

March

Xel-Ha Park, Mexico

August

My 30th birthday, Santorini, Greece

Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

September

Maletsunyane Falls, Lesotho

October

Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa

December

Ak Bulak Mountain Resort, near Almaty, Kazakhstan

I’m hoping this year will be just as productive for my travels and I will add some new countries to my list. However, it’s going to be hard to beat last year, especially with how much time off I managed to request at work. Here’s to 2017!