Lexie Alford was 21 by the time she had reached every corner of the globe. Now at just 22, she uses her online platforms and persona – aptly, ‘Lexie Limitless’ – to inspire budding travellers via Instagram, YouTube and her website.
We caught up with Lexie to celebrate her title as the youngest person to reach every country in the world. Originally from northern California – which she describes in our chat as “the most diverse of the American states, there’s nowhere I’d rather be,” she currently resides full time in sunny Los Angeles.
Hey Lexie! Thank you for joining us. Firstly – have you managed to travel much in the past year or so?
It’s pretty crazy, I was at Carnaval in Brazil the day before the first registered case there (in early March). So I came back to the US and we were straight into full lockdown.
But yes, during lockdown I did manage to travel for work. I went to Turkey to do a two-week road trip for my YouTube, and another two week road trip in Iraqi-Kurdistan.
Did you set out with the intention of becoming the youngest person to reach every country in the world?
It was more of a natural evolution. I started travelling when I was really young because my mum has a travel agency, a business she started when she was just 19. Growing up she would always pull me out of school and take me exploring with her, which was really cool.
This lifestyle meant that by the time I was 18 I had travelled to around 70 countries already. I had graduated early from high school, and got my associates degree by 18.
But one of my biggest dreams, from being 12 years old, was that I wanted to experience what it was like to live for one year of my life with no school and no work. So I saved up, a crazy amount, so I could take this gap year and travel the world.