By age 12, Alexis Alford had already decided that she wanted to take time off and explore the real world for herself. Many might wonder why—or how—exactly a 12-year-old came up with the idea in the first place, let alone decide to join that curious club of travelers known as country counters. But travel has always seemed like the norm for Alford thanks to her parents, who have spent the past 30 years running a travel agency—by the time she turned 18, she had accompanied them to every continent. And it was around then that she realized she wanted to keep going and become the youngest person to visit every country.
Fast forward a few years later, and Alford, now 21, has accomplished her goal, stopping the clock in North Korea on May 31. Along her journey she has become a travel influencer known as Lexie Limitless, racking up over 270,000 followers on Instagram as she chronicles volcano watching in the Congo, exploring the Great Pyramids of Egypt and diving in the endless deep blue waters of Indonesia. We caught up with Alford to find out what she learned during her trek around the world.
How did the idea to do this come about?
My family [runs] a travel agency in Northern California, so my parents always took me with them on their work trips growing up. I would get pulled out of school for you know, two or three weeks at a time and go on to independent study. By the time I was 18, I had traveled to around 70 countries and that's when I started to wonder who the youngest person to travel to every country was. So, on a whim I Googled it, and found the Guinness world record was held by a 24-year-old British man. I remember just thinking to myself, I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't try to follow through with this idea and see where it takes me. It sounded crazy, and in retrospect I had no idea how much work it was really going to take, but I just started focusing on one country at a time, and planning all these crazy trips.
Did any one ever say you wouldn't be able to it?
My parents had brought me to every continent and had exposed me to so many different cultures and ways of life. They showed me how to travel to every different type of environment and region in the world. When I told them I had this crazy idea, of course, they were like, "oh yeah, sure, you're going do that." But they had basically been preparing me for it for my whole life without even realizing it, so they were always very confident that I would be capable of navigating these places [without them] and figuring out how to do it safely.
Were you traveling alone?
It was really dependent on the place and the time. I ended up traveling to around 50 or so countries by myself for around seven months total. I've done quite a bit of solo travel but, honestly, I've found that I prefer to travel with my friends and family because when you have these incredible experiences, you want to turn to the person with you and share that with them. That way I have a memory with someone that connects us forever. But there were also a lot of times where I couldn't get anybody to sign up for a place, so I just went there by myself.
Were you ever worried about going to certain places alone?
The more and more I got into this the less spontaneous I could be with my travel decisions—especially because of the visas. One of my number one tips that I give to other solo female travelers (or really anyone that wants to have a good trip) is that you have to do your homework. Otherwise, you're going to run into a lot of frustration and waste a lot of time.
Do you think your relationship with social media has changed after all this travel?
I didn't have a relationship with social media before I started traveling. And I would say that an unbelievable amount of the opportunities that I was able to become a part of are 100 percent because of my use of social media. It's incredible how many complete strangers will reach out to you and say "hey, I'm in this city, come and stay with me." The networking potential is incredible, and it's such an invaluable asset to the way that I travel now.
What you think older generations get wrong about travel?
There's a lot of differences between the younger and older generations in the way that we prefer to travel. I would say older people, especially those who have been working in traditional jobs, see travel as an opportunity to take a vacation, whereas the younger generation sees a trip as more of a journey; something that's not always going to be comfortable, but is pushing your limits and giving you experiences that are off the beaten path. We want to go out and learn about what other people our age are doing in different countries and what their way of life is. A lot of us are photographers, especially because of social media, and so we're always looking for more places to take beautiful photos, too.
Is it important for young people to travel?
Of course! I wouldn't be the person I am today if it wasn't for travel. Travel is an essential part of growing as a person and realizing what else there is outside of the bubble that you were raised in. It breaks down so many different stereotypes and misconceptions about other places and about what other people are like. It's really hard to be closed-minded when you're a traveler.
What kind of advice would you give to young adults who want to travel like you?
I'm working on finding a good medium to talk to them about this, because every day I'm overwhelmed by how many people want to learn how to travel but don't know where to start. People often believe that they can't go out and [travel] because they don't have the means or the finances to get themselves there, or they're afraid to do it by themselves because they can't find anybody else that wants to travel with them. One of my main pieces of advice is that you have to prioritize what you want, and if that is travel, then you have to prioritize it over any other aspects of your life. To make this kind of lifestyle happen for yourself, you're going to have to work really hard, and make sacrifices with material possessions, time, and relationships.
Finally, finish this sentence: I travel because I want to____________.
I travel because I want to experience the world around me and what other cultures have to offer.