California Teenager Becomes Youngest Person In World To Break Travel Record

At 18-years-old, California native Rio Matsuoka is officially the youngest person in the world to travel to every single country in Europe! According to Guiness World Records, it took him 100 days from the very first day he turned 18 to explore every country, starting in Iceland and ending in Malta. Matsuoka told his family before he graduated high school that he wanted to travel to Europe, but did not leave in pursuit of breaking a record.

“It was a real coincidence that I decided to attempt this world record. I was telling my family that I would like to travel to Europe after I graduated high school and, while doing some research, I remembered that someone had beaten the world record for youngest person to visit every country in the world. I realized I could do something similar with Europe and found out I had the opportunity to.”

The avid traveler did not travel entirely alone. He met a dog in Northern Moldova during a hike and the friendship stuck for awhile!

“We ended up hiking around and exploring the caves for 4 hours together. It was such an amazing time, I almost wish it never ended. I think it was also very therapeutic for me, as I needed some time away from the large cities and I missed my dog at home.” Of all the places that he visited, Matsuoka told Guinness World Records that the small island of Sark between England and France was his favorite.