30 by 30 countdown starts... NOW

I set a goal was to visit 30 countries by the time I turned 30 years old. At 28, I’ve visited 30 countries so far—some for weeks, some for days, some by careful planning, others by pure chaos.

My mom and I like to joke that we have the “bug” as in the "travel bug". She had it and I’ve definitely caught it!

I was fortunate to travel with my mom growing up, island hop with my dad and truthfully, will travel abroad any chance I get!

As someone who loves to travel, the question I get asked the most is: "Sydney what's your favorite country you've visited?" and it's a loaded question. To pick just 1? It’s impossible to pick just one place when there are so many factors that make a trip magical. Even solidifying this list has taken months of switching and swapping, so that I got it right. The fun for me has been reliving some of the best memories of my life, spanning from 10 years old to now 28.

This list is my attempt to rank them from worst to best—not based on GDP, Instagram aesthetics, or how cheap the beer was, but on how each place felt to me, at that moment in my life.

I'll be factoring in more than just historical sites. I'm capturing the entire experience and your personal experience may be different than mine! The scenery, the atmoshopere, the people, the warmth and the food — you can’t forget the food!

“Worst” doesn’t mean bad. A country can be beautiful, culturally rich, and still land low because of timing, burnout, weather, expectations, or just bad luck. Likewise, “best” doesn’t mean perfect—it just means I’d go back in a heartbeat.

I'm taking into consideration: The scenery, the atmosphere, the people, the warmth and the food — (you can’t forget the food!) AND if I would actually spend the time & money to go back.

I’m sharing this ranking for one reason: real travel is messy, personal, and wildly subjective, and I wish I’d read more honest, unfiltered lists like this before I started.

I'd love to hear your feedback and your favorite places that YOU have visited, because I'm always searching for the next adventure too.

Disagree with me? Good. That probably means you should go see these places for yourself.