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!

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?

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

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!