A world trip in numbers: How many countries does a trip include?
The grand tour through five, eight, twelve countries—or rather the thorough journey through a single one? We analyzed how many countries the documented trips covered in 2019 and 2025. The result: Multi-country trips are losing out, while focused one- and two-country trips are gaining ground.
The distribution: 2019 and 2025 compared
The grand route is becoming less frequent
In 2019, one in six documented trips still involved five or more countries—the classic round-the-world trip or extended backpacking route. By 2025, this will be only one in eight. Three- to four-country trips have also declined in popularity. The winners have been the more compact formats: almost half of all trips now stay within a single country, and the proportion of two-country trips has risen from one-fifth to one-quarter.
Several developments are behind this trend. The post-COVID era has established short-distance travel: those who hike through South Tyrol for a week or travel through Norway in a camper van stay in one country—and document their experiences just as naturally as they once did a round-the-world trip. At the same time, travel has become more expensive, and long sabbaticals are less common than during the heyday of work and travel. The result: shorter, more focused itineraries.
Data basis: all publicly available travel reports on Vakantio with travel date and assigned country, grouped by trip and year (as of August 2026). The number of different countries from which a trip in the respective year contains reports is counted. All figures are percentages, not absolute numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many countries does a typical trip involve?
The most common trip stays in one country (45.3% in the travel year 2025), while another quarter visits two countries. Only one in eight trips will involve five or more countries.
Are world trips becoming less frequent?
The really long routes, yes: in 2019, one in six trips led through five or more countries, by 2025 only one in eight. In contrast, trips to one or two countries have become significantly more frequent — people aren't traveling less, but more focused.
How many countries should you plan to visit on a trip around the world?
The data speaks in favor of quality over quantity: travelers today stay longer on average in each country (around five weeks in New Zealand or Australia). Those who travel for a year usually get further by thoroughly exploring six to ten countries than by rushing through twenty.
Whether one country or twelve — document your route
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