A couple sold their house and all their belongings to backpack around the world in their retirement – and they’ve visited a whopping 92 countries from Europe to the Caribbean and beyond.
John Martin, 60, and his wife, Bev, 61, started their big adventure in November 2021. They sold their home in Stuart, Florida, in the United States, and gave away their furniture to charities.
After travelling around 53 US states and 52 of the incredible US National Parks, they wanted more from their travels. So now, the grandparents of eight have visited far flung places like Indonesia, Colombia, Guatemala, Greece, and New Zealand
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They stay in hotels and Airbnb rooms while exploring the exotic regions in their retirement whereas when they were in their home country they used a campervan. They call their travels the “trip of a lifetime”.
The duo do make sure to go back to the US twice a year and can’t wait for their grandkids to join them when they’re older and hopping around the world. It was apparently the pandemic, which limited foreign travel that sparked their plan to explore the world.
John, who used to be a manufacturing manager, said: “In 2020 we bought a campervan and travelled around all the US states and territories. We realised that we didn’t need our big house and that started this whole journey of what we wanted to do in our retirement.
“We thought ‘why not go see the world? ‘. We sold our home and downsized to a couple of backpacks and have been travelling ever since.”
Before this, in June 2016, Bev and John had moved into a retirement community in Florida. The couple shared that they had always dreamt of travelling. When the pandemic hit, they decided to buy a camper and explore all 53 US states and territories.
Bev, who used to be a stay-at-home mum, said: “We sat down one day and we knew we had money to travel in our retirement. We believed in living our life saving and being responsible around money.
“When we realised that we were retiring at a younger age, we looked at our budget and realised we could afford to travel two months a year But if we sold our home and our things we could afford to go on a big adventure.”
In November 2021, Bev and John embarked on their first leg of their global journey to Central America. Since then, they have visited the Bahamas, Vietnam, Brazil, Mexico and Romania as well as plenty of spots more familiar to us Brits like the UK, Ireland and France.
Bev says they have visited “so many wonderful places” but one that stands out for them is Ukraine. She said: “The war had started there when we visited in July 2022. We were in northern Romania – it was a safe area that we went through. The bridge we crossed was where many Ukrainian refugees fled the war and went into Romania.”
John added: “My grandfather came from Ukraine in early 1900’s and was never able to return. It was important to me to fulfill his unfinished dream of returning.
“It felt incredible to cross the border not knowing when we might get to return. I also love beautiful places to run. I think back to the mountains in New Zealand, Slovenia or Cape Town, South Africa. They have been amazing places for me and I have truly enjoyed them.”
You should always check the current government travel advice before travelling abroad. This is especially important for regions which may be affected by war, protests and threats of terrorism. You can find the latest advice on gov.uk.
When they told their children about their plans to travel the world, John and Bev said their kids were thrilled. She shared: “We have five children and eight grandchildren, and all of our children are very excited about it I think our children are excited for us to live out our best lives.”
“I hope we are setting a good example for them that things don’t matter, items don’t matter. It is about connections and experiences. We want to give them the gift of travel to the world, to our grandchildren, we want to change their lives and hope to take them on trips around the globe.” The couple are sharing their journey on: retirementtravelers.com.
The couple have visited:
1. Albania
2. American Samoa
3. Antigua & Barbuda
4. Argentina
5. Australia
6. Austria
7. Azores
8. Bahamas
9. Bahrain
10. Belgium
11. Bermuda
12. Bosnia & Herzegovina
13. Brazil
14. Bulgaria
15. Cambodia
16. Canada
17. Canary Islands
18. Cayman Islands
19. Chile
20. China
21. Colombia
22. Costa Rica
23. Croatia
24. Cyprus
25. Czechia
26. Denmark
27. England
28. Estonia
29. Faroe Islands
30. Fiji
31. Finland
32. France
33. French Polynesia
34. Germany
35. Gibraltar
36. Greece
37. Guatemala
38. Holy See
39. Honduras
40. Hong Kong
41. Hungary
42. India
43. Indonesia
44. Ireland
45. Italy
46. Kosovo
47. Kuwait
48. Laos
49. Latvia
50. Lithuania
51. Madeira
52. Malaysia
53. Malta
54. Mexico
55. Monaco
56. Montenegro
57. Morocco
58. Netherlands
59. New Zealand
60. North Macedonia
61. Northern Ireland
62. Norway
63. Panama
64. Philippines
65. Pola
66. Portugal
67. Puerto Rico
68. Romania
69. Samoa
70. Saudi Arabia
71. Scotland
72. Serbia
73. Singapore
74. Slovakia
75. Slovenia
76. South Africa
77. Spain
78. Sri Lanka
79. St. Kitts & Nevis
80. St. Lucia
81. St. Martin/Sint Maarten
82. Sweden
83. Switzerland
84. Taiwan
85. Thailand
86. Turkey
87. United Arab Emirates
88. Ukraine
89. United States
90. Uruguay
91. US Virgin Islands
92. Vietnam