Man who traveled to every country in the world without catching a flight details ‘very strict rules’ he followed

A man who's traveled to every single country in the world without hopping on a single flight has revealed the 'very strict rules' he followed to complete the ambitious challenge, as well as how he kept going when times got tough.

Thor Pedersen made history in May 2023 after reaching the Maldives, the final country on his mission to visit every nation without flying.

The near decade-long journey saw Thor presented with a ton of challenges, including the small feat of navigating a pandemic while on his travels.

And while he had hoped to have visited every country in the world in just four years, Thor was delighted to finally complete the mammoth challenge two years ago.

Speaking to UNILAD, the travel fanatic said he followed some 'very strict rules' while on his journey despite the temptation of packing it in and heading to the nearest airport to check off every country.

Thor completed his ambitious mission in May 2023 (Supplied)

"I wanted to define what does it mean to go to every country without flying, [so I] came up with three cardinal rules," the traveler told us.

"There can be no flying, no evacuation, no nothing," Thor said of the first rule, something which was evident as the travel blogger spent two years in Hong Kong during the Covid pandemic.

Thor went on to tell us he would spend a minimum of 24 hours in each country for it to be checked off the list.

He added: "24 hours is not a long time in most countries, but no one will claim you haven't been there if you've been there for 24 hours."

Thor carefully mapped out how he would complete the challenge (UNILAD)

The third rule was quite a simple one: 'Do not go home'.

While Thor acknowledged there were challenges along the way, breaking such a record is surely worth the sacrifices.

He went on: "Now, did I want to break those rules? Absolutely. Did I want to go home several times? Yeah, I came so, so close. Did I want to spend less than 24 hours in some countries? You know, I was given an option.

Thor followed 'very strict rules' despite the challenges (Supplied)

"There was a country I spent four months [trying to] get inside and within those four months, I was given an option to go in for 12 hours. I could get a 12 hour window, go in and come out and go like it's not enough. Who cares?"

Nonetheless, Thor stuck to it and eventually was able to gain access to the country for a 24-hour period.

"When I started to get fed up, it's so hard to argue [on] why I should keep going. What am I doing this for? I'm not curing cancer," Thor continued.

"What am I doing with my life if I'm not enjoying it and there's no benefit to anyone that I can measure or see? Why am I still doing it?

"I really felt like giving up and going home a million times."

So, because Thor was not permitted to jump on a plane, how did he get about?

Well, he relied heavily on incredibly long bus journeys, trains and even boats when they came in handy.

"When you're on the bus for ten hours on a bumpy road, you have a window seat, and you look up on a big blue sky, and you see an airplane passing, you have plenty of time to think about what you're doing with your life," Thor added.

Through all of his doubts however, Thor stuck with it - and he'll certainly be in traveler folklore for life as a result.