Hello, it’s me Harry from Away With The Steiners. After travelling the world backpacking and in our motorhome, people always ask me what my favourite places are. It is hard to choose! But looking back at all our adventures, these are my top 10 favourite countries and the awesome memories that gave them a special place on my list.
1. Pakistan
Pakistan will always be at the top of my list for a lot of reasons, but mainly because of how kind and welcoming everyone was. Total strangers would constantly invite us into their homes for tea or dinner.
One of my favourite memories was going for walks with our tour guide, Adil who took us back to his family home for an amazing dinner. Another time we took a train all the way to Karachi and stayed with a family who we had never met before. Those moments are exactly why I can’t wait to go back there someday.
2. France
My favourite part about visiting France was heading down to Contis, a really cool, beachy surf town. We have friends who live there, so we got to stay with them and spend almost every day longboarding and riding our carver skateboards through the streets. It is such a fun, easy-going town.
3. Morocco
Morocco holds a very special place in my heart because we made so many close friends there while driving all over the country. If I had to pick my top three spots, they would be:
- Rabat: Exploring the massive, bustling market inside the old walled city.
- Imsouane: A super chill surf town that has the longest riding surf wave in Africa.
- Marrakesh: Eating at Chez Lamine, which is one of the oldest restaurants in the city (and the exact place where Gordon Ramsay ate!).
4. Germany
My Godmother, Auntie Liv, is originally from New Zealand but now lives in Augsburg, Germany. I had been wanting to visit her and her family for a long time, but I also really wanted to see the massive football stadium in Munich!
We actually parked our motorhome right outside the Munich Stadium and slept there for the night. The next day, Dad and I did a full tour inside the stadium, and it was so cool to see it in real life.
5. Ukraine
I had watched a video about Borscht online and became obsessed with trying it. When we rolled into the town of Uzhhorod, we went on a mission to find an authentic restaurant that served it.
We eventually found this really interesting underground restaurant where you had to walk down a big flight of stairs to get inside. I ordered the Borscht, which is a famous Ukrainian soup that is bright red because it’s made from beetroot, and it was absolutely delicious.
6. Italy
Having friends living in the countries you visit makes traveling so much better. While we were in Italy, our close friend’s dad met up with us and showed us all around Milan. He took us to see the famous Duomo di Milano cathedral, and of course, we topped the day off with pizza and getting a giant scoop of Italian gelato.
7. Denmark
My number one favourite thing in Denmark was spending a full day at Legoland in Billund – it was awesome! After that, we explored Copenhagen to see the famous Little Mermaid statue and walked along the waterfront to check out all the iconic, brightly coloured houses.
8. United Kingdom
I can’t say this enough, but having friends or family to visit makes a massive difference when you’re traveling. In London, we stayed near some beautiful green parks with our close friends, Lucinda and Andrew, and we got to take their two dogs out for walks. London made my list because there is so much to see, from historic places like St. Paul’s Cathedral to modern skyscrapers like The Shard. I even loved riding around on the underground trains – The Tube!
9. Japan
Before we started traveling full-time, Mum worked at an early childhood centre, and one of her colleagues, Naoki, was from Japan. When we received an invitation to Naoki’s Dad’s birthday in Tokyo, we knew it was an offer too good to pass up!
We got to dress up in beautiful traditional Kimonos and even had lunch out on a boat in Tokyo Harbour. It was a very cool experience, and I would love to go back to Japan again.
10. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Visiting Bosnia was a really special experience for our family. While we were driving through, something went wrong with our motorhome’s wheel bearings. We had to pull over in a small town called Goražde, but luckily, we met some amazing local mechanics.
After they fixed our van, we parked up for a free camp. The next morning, the mechanics invited us on a walking tour of their hometown. It was incredible and humbling to listen to them talk about what it was like growing up there during the war when they were kids. I highly recommend visiting Bosnia for unique experiences – and you definitely have to try a local Sinalco Soda while you’re there!
My Favourite Countries (So Far)
As tricky as it is to choose my favourite places that we’ve visited I feel really grateful to have seen the countries that we have and to have met so many people.
Thank you for reading!
By Harry 🙂
Travel Planning for New Zealand & Beyond
These are the companies we use and can recommend for planning and booking travel.
- Booking.com – The best all-around accommodation booking site that constantly provides the cheapest and lowest rates.
- 12GoAsia – Book trains anywhere in Asia.
- Skyscanner– This is by far our favourite flight search engine. They are able to search small websites and budget airlines that larger search sites often miss. We book all our flights through Skyscanner.
- GetYourGuide– Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace for tours and excursions offered all around the world including everything from walking tours, adventure ticket, local tours and more!
- SafetyWing – A global travel insurance that covers people from all over the world while outside their home country. You can buy it short or longterm; and even if you are out of the country.
- World Nomads – Travel insurance tailored for longterm travel and nomads (including those who have already left home). Make sure you have insurance before travel anywhere in the world!