Lexie Alford

Lexie Alford Speaker Biography

My name is Alexis Alford and I was born in a small town called Nevada City, California. I have been traveling for as long as I can remember with my family who started a travel agency.

I traveled to all 196 countries by 21 years old, breaking the Guinness World Record for the Youngest Person to Travel to Every Country by over 3 years.

I graduated from high school two years early and received my Associates degree from a local college by 18. At that time I had traveled to 72 countries and that’s when it dawned on me that I could break this world record. In the beginning, I simply wanted to push the limits of what I thought I could do with my life and see as much of the world as possible in the process. It wasn’t until things started getting really challenging that I realized what I was doing was inspiring the people around me, especially young women. Feeling that support meant that I couldn’t give up when things got tough. I was determined to show everyone that the world isn’t as scary as the media portrays it to be and that there’s kindness everywhere.

My travels are completely self funded. I’ve done a few brand deals and campaigns along the way that helped fund my project but there’s never been an official sponsorship. I always knew I wanted to take time off to travel so I’ve working every job I could find and saving since I was 12 years old. The amount I saved kept me going for the first year and a half of my travels. From there I’ve been working as a travel consultant in my family’s agency when I’m in California and also working as a photographer/blogger while I’m traveling. I do a lot of research in advance to find the best deals, utilize points and miles for my flights, stay in cheap accommodation like hostels or create content for hotels in exchange for accommodation. I’ve also made sure to keep my monthly overhead as low as possible by living at home with my parents, I don’t have a car payment or student debt, and I don’t spend my money on unnecessary material possessions.
After finally completing this massive life goal, I’ll be taking the next few months to nourish my physical and mental health as I finish writing my book about this adventure and continue to make plans for the future.