Want to know how to travel in style, just like the pros? We check in with frequent fliers to find out how often they fly, their favorite destinations and what they never leave home without.
Name: Henrik B. Jeppesen
Occupation: Travel blogger/writer
Hometown: Thisted, Denmark
Residence: Randers, Denmark
College: Business School
Website: everycountryintheworld.com
Short bio: I’m a 30-year-old traveller from Denmark that has visited every country in the world, and been to 300 of the 327 countries, territories and unique destinations on the Travelers’ Century Club’s list.
How often do you fly? Used to fly a lot, but now that I am Europe based, I experience a lot of road trips instead of flying. In total, I’ve been on approximately 1,000 flights the first 30 years of my life.
How many countries have you been to? 193 of the 193 defined by the United Nations.
How many continents have you been to? 6, but going to Antarctica soon.
Earliest travel memory: My first flight was Aalborg-Copenhagen as a 12 year-old to be a cycling expert live on national TV. At that time my life was all about cycling, like travel is now.
Favorite American city: New York.
Favorite international city: Cape Town.
Least favorite country: South Sudan.
I have no desire to go to: Lots of regions in Africa (except southern Africa) and Russia. That is why I am not part of MostTravelledPeople and Best Travelled. I have probably gone to 20-30 countries I had no intention of visiting, just to complete them all. South Sudan is interesting and an experience, but I have had enough discomfort in my travels.
Friendliest people in the world: Iran. Hitchhiked from Tehran Airport easily, and met so many friendly and helpful people.
Country with the meanest immigration officers: Ethiopia. I was sent away on the next flight as I needed a business visa as a blogger or at least that is what the officer claimed. I came back a year later, wrote tourist and it was fine.
Favorite World Heritage Site: Socotra archipelago.
Favorite airline: Sun Air of Scandinavia. Fantastic personalized service on small aircrafts with excellent food and drinks. Use your British Airways miles on this one.
Favorite aircraft type: No favourite.
Aisle or window: Window always. Very important for me to get proper sleep on the long-haul flights.
Favorite airport lounge: Many of the seaplane lounges in the Maldives as it’s quiet, personalized and often with excellent service. W Retreat and LUX* come to mind.
Favorite U.S. airport: Never thought of it. Probably Boston Logan.
Favorite international airport: Singapore is everyone’s number one, isn’t it? I, however, more like great airports in countries I love. I love my home airport of Aalborg with free parking for all passengers. I also like Copenhagen, Stockholm, Reykjavik, Cape Town, and Johannesburg.
Favorite hotel: There are many! Singita lodges in Tanzania, Glenmere Mansion, Ballyfin, and for a great value country hotel, I like Hotel Landgoed Het Roode Koper in the Netherlands a lot and where I recently stayed for a week.
Favorite cruise line: Only been onboard Four Seasons cruise in the Maldives, but plan to cruise in the future to reach difficult territories.
Favorite travel credit card: We are not so lucky with credit cards in Europe, sadly. Big advantage for you, Americans.
Favorite island: Favourite island nations are the Seychelles and the Maldives. For favourite island, it must be my favourite resort in the Maldives. Gili Lankanfushi.
Favorite beach: I don’t like public beaches. I like anywhere where I can have the beach for myself on a private island resort.
Favorite fancy restaurant: &samhoud places, Amsterdam, with two Michelin stars. Better than any of the three Michelin stars I’ve been to.
Favorite hole-in-the-wall: 222 Veggie Vegan, London.
Favorite bar: I rarely go to bars, but really liked the bar at the Merchant Hotel in Belfast.
Favorite fruit: Strawberries.
Favorite food: Vegan.
Least favorite food: Fish curry. Been food poisoned several times. A fish curry gave me the worst experience.
Drink of choice (in the air and on the ground): Appletiser. South African drink found at most restaurants and supermarkets here.
Favorite travel movie(s): The Aviator and Motorcycle Diaries.
Favorite travel show(s): Graham’s World about Graham Hughes’ journey to every country without flying.
Favorite travel book(s): “Chasing 193.”
Right now I am reading: “Chasing 193,” again.
Top 3 favorite travel newsletters/magazines/blogs: Condé Nast Traveler, Travel+Leisure and The Points Guy.
Favorite travel website(s)—besides JohnnyJet.com, of course! NomadMania.com
5 things you bring on a plane: Nothing really. I travel very light. For six months I travelled without any bags as an experiment. Loved it.
What do you always seem to forget? I travel so light that I rarely forget anything.
What do you like least about travel? Discomfort. Pollution in some big cities. Worst are probably Dar es Salaam and Nairobi. I also hate passive smoking you can’t avoid in countries that still allow it in public places. One of the reasons Egypt is not among my favourite countries.
What do you want your loved one to buy you from an airport Duty Free store? Nothing. I sadly haven’t found a loved one yet. I can’t think of anything from Duty Free I would like except a bottle of Evian water maybe.
Favorite travel app(s): Uber. Incredible invention. I have a list of all my favourite travel apps on my website, too many to mention here.
Most embarrassing travel moment: Left my passport in the safe of Corinhia Hotel in Budapest and missed my flight for the first time where it wasn’t the airline’s mistake.
I’m embarrassed but I haven’t been to: Lord Howe Island and Pitcairn, but ask me again in two years.
Worst travel moment: When my passport was stolen in Gambia. Arriving late to the ferry station to catch the ferry to the capital of Banjul, while in the line, my passport got stolen from my front pocket. I got it back by screaming and crying for help in front of hundreds of people. The police of course wanted money, but think I paid something like three dollars just to get out of there. This is the worst travel moment, but with a very happy ending. The other worst travel moment must be my food poisoning in the Andaman Islands. My stomach wasn’t normal for at least six months after that.
What’s your dream destination? Besides South Africa, I love staying at private island resorts in the Maldives. Bora Bora has a few, but the service is some of the worst anywhere, even at EUR1000-a-night resorts and I didn’t enjoy it much. I am hoping to reach a total of 100 private island resorts in the Maldives stayed before the end of 2017.
Best travel tip: Couchsurfing, sign up for low-cost airline newsletters, follow leading travel bloggers for deals, and hitchhike in safe destinations with no public transport instead of taking rip-off taxis.
