Difficult-to-Visit Countries
 

So far, I've been to 109 of the 194 UN members, which leaves me 85 countries yet to go. .I have plans for at least 7 more of them, leaving me a list of 78 to go. .So, I was thinking today - what are going to be some of the most difficult ones left for me?

Would appreciate any inputs or suggestions people have for grouping them together, or how to get to some of the tougher ones....

I've got a count of 108 on independent countries - its getting harder and harder, mainly because I actually want to stay in a place for a while, and with only 12 weeks vacation, time is at a premium.

Caribbean is probably very easy to visit - but I dont want to just stop for a day. I hope RedJet starts flying to more places.

Africa is probably the biggest pain in the ..., frankly, I have no desire to visit the Congo or Nigeria, but you ve got some easy ones left, just take an overland trip thru Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi.

Some of the South Pacific islands are "hard" too, but with well timed award tickets, not so bad, I really loved Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Only regret is having only about 5 days in each.

The 'stans are relatively easy as well.

Saudi Arabia will be next to impossible, unless in transit.

Kiribati and Tuvalu are hard and expensive to get to.

I am going to Cyprus, Antigua, St.Marteen, St.Kitts, St.Lucia, Dominica, Barbados, Lebanon, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Cook Islands so hope to be at 118 independent and 125 total by August.

Thanks for the feedback - and agree.

Already "done" Vanuatu and New Caledonia, so those are out.

I know I have lots of easy ones left - Iceland, Jamaica, Bahamas, Bermuda, etc - lots of easy ones. I'm more trying to figure out the really difficult ones at this point!

Trying to figure out a business excuse to get to Saudi for at least a day, but it's not been easy!

How to get to Dominica?
 

I notice you have Dominica on your list of places to visit. I'm curious how you will be traveling there, since I am currently planning a trip there.

Any chance that I can find a prop plane to take me from a more convenient airport for less than $2k or is that a pipe dream?

I'm in the same boat as rankourabu, I've been to more than 100 countries and it's getting harder and harder to decide where to go. My goal was never the visit all the countries in the world, but I'm told by friends I should go for it as I've travelled a lot. I like to see new sights and don't care to keep seeing sights similar to what I've seen elsewhere. To make matters worse, I refuse to go to places that have little or no tourist infrastructure, camping and roughing it are define no nos. Trips on a whim are usually to places where I've already been and a lot of the destinations where I have not been to require advance planning/visas, etc. I'm not the kind of person who justs wants to check a country off my list, I'd rather SEE a country I visit and won't just rush through it just for the sake of getting to another country.

To answer the op, here are my thoughts:-

Bhutan is a little difficult to get to as it requires planning in advance (processing of visas, etc) and flight schedules to/from Paro are not extensive. I've been to Bhutan and it was well worth the effort.

Syria is going to be extremely difficult now because of the current situation. Was there in 2010 and it was wonderful country to visit, would never think of visiting the country now.

Never been to North Korea, and it will be interesting to see what changes happen there after Kim Jong-il's death, and if the country opens up to tourism.

Saudi Arabia will be a difficult country to visit.

rankourabu, make sure you go on a sea plane in the Maldives, the views are amazing.

This caught my eye. You do realize that most Americans get only two weeks. I'm very lucky to have 5. When I lived in Spain I had 6. 12 weeks is incredible! That's 3 full months a year!

I believe Belarus is hard to get into...at least for European countries.

Why is Saudi Arabia difficult to enter into?

:eek:

KSA doesn't issue visas for tourists at all. On business ones and you need a local sponsor. Of course there is always to option to convert and get a pilgrim visa. Has even the bonus to be able to visik Mecca.
Guess I was lucky, I could do both KSA and Belarus for my company.
Made the whole visa process very easy.

Australians get 4 weeks. I get 14 weeks due to my job but scattered!

*Sorry off topic*

[QUOTE=am3xplatinum;18149750]I notice you have Dominica on your list of places to visit. I'm curious how you will be traveling there, since I am currently planning a trip there.

Any chance that I can find a prop plane to take me from a more convenient airport for less than $2k or is that a pipe dream?[/QUOTE

Check AA out of SJU or LIAT, but if you take LIAT be prepared for delays. You can also check the flights out of SXM but depending on where you are it may be more expensive to get there than SJU. Good luck, I'll be in Dominica later this year

*back on topic*

From what I hear, you can pull this off without a business reason. One can transit visa free for under 18 hours in Saudi Arabia (but not allowed to leave the airport). So what you should do is book a flight that has a transit time of between 18 and 72 hours in Saudi Arabia. That way you can get a transit visa. And I hear that people can usually leave the airport on such visas.

Belarus is difficult to get into to. I've been there twice, and the visa application process, requiring a personal invitation from someone who lives there, registering at their office within 3 business days of arrival... it's just a pain in the butt, but talk about a living Soviet time capsule :)

Somalia might also be hard to get to, unless you're a spook :D:D

Actually I'd argue nowadays Belarus is relatively easy for many people, though still more difficult than countries which do not require a visa of course. You only have to register if you spend more than 5 working days in the country now and in some ways the whole visa process is easier than Russia (and certainly cheaper). Of course it also depends on your nationality and the effectiveness of your local Belarusian embassy (if you have one!) so YMMV. But there are far, far harder countries to get into!

Saudi Arabia has actually loosened up the rules re. tourist visas, though you'll almost certainly have to go on an organized tour. For example, I Googled Saudi Arabia cultural tour and this was one of the first search results. You might also look to museums and universities, as well a professional trade groups, all of which sometimes organize tours to KSA.

North Korea is similar to Bhutan, takes some advance planning and typically closes to tourism during the winter months, but the agencies do everything and flight availability is not a problem. Koryo Group is the big one and has plenty of interesting tours that no one can match, but my time was short I went with a cheaper, standard solo tour from Asia Live. I went in May 2010 and the agency was able to put the trip together and get the visa in under a month.

Everything transits to/from Beijing, so a double-entry China visa is required.

Since everything is set and deviation is extremely hard, plus communication with the outside world so constrained, it was perhaps my most relaxing vacation.

Of open ones on your list, I particularly enjoyed the Roman ruins, desert and even the cities (particularly Constantine) of Algeria.

I worked in Saudi for a while - wonderful country but as people pointed out difficult to visit.

One option is to apply for a job there. Get past the 1st phone interview and then they normally fly you in for a F2F...they pay visa and flight costs.

If anyone wants to visit Nigeria, they should pm me. Quite a cool route is an open Jaws ticket into Ghana, and travel by land through Togo and Benin to fly out of Nigeria. 4 countries are so close together it can be done in a single days bus ride..although I would recommend longer.

Lagos is a lot of fun, if you know someone who can tune you into the local scene ;)

I use to get a lot of offers to visit Nigeria, until the Gmail spam filter cut them off :D

I'm at 94 countries myself. I went to Belarus lat year, it wasn't that difficult. I think I got a visa support letter from a hotel or travel agency, sent that in to the embassy with my passport (using traveldocs.com) and got the visa a week or two later. Americans can also get visa on arrival at the airport, but it costs $400 or so, and you probably need the visa support letter. Minsk is well worth visiting though.

I have heard that Iran is a lot more difficult for Americans to get a visa, as of this year. I have also heard that Angola is not easy.

Aside from visas, I think the hardest to visit (for Americans) would be some of the little Pacific island countries. Infrequent, expensive flights.

You can all feel free to keep me posted if you want someone to join you on a silly country run.

Actually, it's quite easy, at least it was during my visit. I just rode my bicycle across the border. No government = no border controls. Then again, if you hit border patrols on exit (for instance at an airport) and don't have an entry recordation in your passport...

I've only had real trouble with three countries (out of about 150): Cuba, Libya and North Korea. I do try to adhere to my country's (United States) limitations on travel (hence the Cuba and North Korea challenges). The other problem was Libya. This was 10 years ago, and they just fought me to exhaustion on independent travel to Libya. This has probably changed.

Otherwise, I've gotten visas pretty readily, though prices are often on the edge of extortion.

I was there about 5 years ago, back when a well-connected visa handler could get an invite letter for a fee, and yeah it was fascinating. I understand it's much more difficult these days - I got lucky.

You might have missed my trip report from two months ago :D

I have a friend who goes there frequently for work, so this is exactly my plan. Fly into Lagos, spend a couple days, then have him help me out of the country to the west...and a few days/week later return from Accra.

Loved the TR. Look me up when you come to Lagos

I actually did the Accra/Lome/Cotonou/Lagos cannonball run about three years ago. About a four hour bus from Accra to Aflao. Walk across the border and then get a mototaxi into the heart of Lome. A few days later a three hour private taxi into Cotonou. Then a rather grueling 5 hour share taxi from Cotonou across the border to Lagos.

I actually didn't go into Lagos proper, I just went straight to the airport. I didn't have that much time to see the city. And I was chicken. The chaotic road scene just going across the Nigerian border was kind of scary.

I really liked Lome. Kind of a relaxed colonial vibe, good nightlife, and very beautiful women in Togo. Maybe the most beautiful women of any country I've been to. That's probably another thread though.

Great to read everyone`s thoughts!

I agree about Bhutan - well worth the effort (and money) - we flew from KTM and out to IXB. That was cheapest. Nowadays though, any agency will arrange travel - so its not really 'difficult'

Belarus I visited in 2002 (when I was 21), on a transit visa from Russia to Poland - man... the booze was cheap back then in Belarus.

Dominica - its easy and relatively cheap to get to from Antigua and Barbados on LIAT.

Another one that was sorta hard was Turkmenistan - but I finally found a great agency to do the paperwork.

I would imagine, for the Americans, it also may be hard to go to Iran since you have to go on a tour - but again, well worth the effort. What a fantastic country.

As for vacation, it helps to be in education, and unlike my underpaid colleagues south of the border, we get treated pretty well up here.

If you want to add a quick set of stamps to your passport, take a day trip to Anguilla from the French Side. You'll get a French exit stamp, Anguilla Entry Stamp, and a French Entry stamp when you return.

It's $40 round trip for the ferry, and a rental car on the island cost me $30 cash for the day.

I get 3 weeks!... but flexibility to travel from any point in the globe. So a lot of my vacations are workations with a fun weekend getaway. Cheap ticket to SXM? Sure! I'll work 8-5 during the week, party at night, and enjoy an awesome weekend.

lol dont tempt me - I just might do this! Are the cars readily available at the ferry on the Anguillan side, or should be arranged in advance?

Awesome by the way.

I was denied a transit visa from the Seoul embassy.

What was the reason? How long was your proposed layover?

If you have a 12 hour layover, do you still need a transit visa in advance, or can you just apply at the airport to go into town for a few hours?

The Gambia is nice, IME. And very small. Cheap flights on charter airlines from the UK.

So you could visit Senegal in the same trip.

Cape Verde is pretty civilised and in the same area. It has a better selection of charter flights than The Gambia, from a number of European countries, and you can fly from Prai to Banjul or Dakar.

Of course, JFK-DKR or IAD-DKR would work as starts too.

Nouvelle Calédonie is lovely, but it's a dependent territory of France, not yet a country - they are due to hold a referendum on independence sometime between 2014 and 2018.

I was there for Bastille Day - a parade of French might down the main street, and some nice fireworks in the evening. One really needs a car to travel around the island. The hostel was actually superb, and the only option under $150!

Easy to get to on an Air NZ award ticket, or a quick flight from Vanuatu

Thanks to everyone for the thoughts - lots of good stuff here. I definitely need to do the Nigeria to Ghana shuffle...and Gambia/Senegal as well.

It's hard to not have something big planned - until I have two big trips at once planned, I feel a bit empty, like the next is the "last for a bit."

That said, I need some big ideas!

You should hit up Iceland for 5-7 days! I'll put that one under 'easy'. You can take a 1/2 day trip on Air Iceland to Greenland from there too!

Are you sure you "visited" Vatican properly?

Or, did you just drop in at St. Peter's Basilica and/or the Vatican Museums? Just walked across from Italy and wandered around a bit?

To visit the Vatican Gardens, or even better, to gain access to the "city" through St. Ann's Gate, is the real deal. IMO. Analogous to border controls. :)

I refuse to believe that you are not fully aware that this is an absurdly high amount of holiday to have each year.

Aaah, but is country visiting equal to passport stamp collecting? Like Train Spotting?