We Did It! Our #30under30

Have you heard of the #30under30 challenge? The idea is to try and travel to 30 countries before the age of 30. M and I have each already been to 30 countries, but last year we realized we had been together long enough that we actually had a shot of making #30under30 together - in other words, going to 30 countries together as a couple before either of us turned 30 years old.

We didn't count transits or mere airport stops; we both had to go to the country with each other at the same time and spend a night (or spend a day if we were on a cruise ship spending the night at sea). It was so fun to try and see so many different places in such a short period of time. Let's just say we've taken a lot of international vacations in the past two years.

We recently wrapped up a trip to Benelux: Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg. I didn't originally believe M when he said the word "Benelux" was a thing, but Google proved him right. These were the last three countries to push us to 30! I've sprinkled a few select photos from our Benelux vacation throughout this post so you can get an idea of some of the things we did. The countries were so close together and transportation was so convenient (we drove, but there were plenty of train options), that it's not only doable but truly enjoyable as a combined trip in our view.

Here's our total list of 30 countries we've traveled to together below, in order of when we went there.

1. Trinidad & Tobago
2. Jordan
3. Jerusalem
4. Italy
5. Vatican City
6. Switzerland
7. Spain
8. France
9. Monaco
10. Qatar
11. Kenya
12. South Africa
13. Ethiopia
14. United Arab Emirates
15. Australia
16. New Zealand
17. Uganda
18. Tanzania
19. Slovakia
20. Austria
21. Czech Republic
22. Hungary
23. Germany
24. Lesotho
25. Eswatini
26. Rwanda
27. Burundi
28. Luxembourg
29. Belgium
30. Netherlands

To be honest, it's pretty funny that we made this happen without ever visiting Canada or Mexico. We missed entire continents (looking at you, South America), too! Thankfully, there's still plenty of the world we have left to see, and we're excited to explore it together.