Countries I Have Backpacked In But Skipped Their Capital City🇦🇶🇧🇴🇧🇷🇨🇦🇨🇩🇻🇨

“Fly me down to capital city in the sun” – Noel Gallagher.

Inspired by Nomadic Backpacker Trevor Warman’s post on capital cities he skip-packed on his journeys, here is a list of capital cities that escaped me to date (as of September 2024). For whatever reason, I have visited all these countries below but I was never in their capital city at all – not even to change buses, buy a beer, transitpack or airport change (which I’ve done in Kuala Lumpur, London, Warszawa and Paris). I guess it’s not a bad record! As of September 2024, I have backpacked 229 countries and only missed the capital city in 20 of them!

Afghanistan🇦🇫– Kabul

I entered and left Afghanistan by land at the northern border with Uzbekistan which meant I never went to Kabul, the country’s capital. I did a fair whack of backpacking here though – I visited Balkh, Bactria, Tashkurgan, Samangan, Haibak and Masar e Sharif, where I also had a night on the rip in Afghanistan, stayed with a local family, ate mantoo, stayed in a hotel and watched the national sport, buzkashi!

Antarctica🇦🇶- McMurdo Base

Some people class Antarctica as a continent and not a country, I count it as both given that it has a capital city, a passport stamp and if you are backpacking in Antarctica, you are backpacking in Antarctica! You are not still in Argentina or Chile, so it is definitely a separate country! That said, while I backpacked it hardcore for 13 days in 2010, I skipped the capital city  – McMurdo Base as our ship, the MS Expedition didn’t stop there. I managed to tour Foyn Harbour, Beagle Channel, Cuverville Island, Barrientos, Peterman Island and Pleneau, Elephant Island, Drake Passage, Polish Henryk Arctowski Base, Neptune’s Bellows, Deception Island, Neko Harbour, King George Island, Port Lockroy, Jougla Point, Half Moon Island and Telephone Bay.

Bolivia🇧🇴- Sucre

Bolivia was wild and to include it here in this list is red herringic as I was actually in lofty La Paz twice. However, La Paz is one of two official capital cities in Bolivia, therefore I still haven’t been to Sucre. With South Africa, I nabbed a hat-trick of capital cities by visiting Pretoria in 2011 and Bloemfontein and Cape Town in 2020. In Bolivia I visited a load of places including Oruru, Uyuni, La Paz, Colchani, Potosi, Incahuasi, Laguna Colorado, San Juan De Rosario and crossed a brace of land borders here too – to and from Chile or Peru.

Brazil🇧🇷- Brasilia

Astonishingly I have been to Brazil 5 times yet have never been to Brasilia, or the Brazilian Amazon or even Salvador! That said it is a massive country and I’ve done a few repeats there with Iguazu twice and Sao Paulo thrice. In Brazil I have also backpacked Oiapoque, Macapa, Belem, Fortaleza, Belo Horizonte, Rio De Janeiro, Recife, Olinda and Juquitiba.

Canada 🇨🇦- Ottawa

I’ve been to Canada twice and indeed the city of Toronto was TWICE the inspiration for this travel blog, Don’t Stop Living. In 2001 in Toronto, I saw the words “Don’t Stop Living” graffitied onto a wall at a High School so I pinched it forevermore. On my second visit to Toronto in 2007, I met two travel bloggers, Lee and Mike which led to me starting Don’t Stop Living in Summer 2007! Despite all that, I still haven’t been to Ottawa!

Cheatzerland🇨🇭- Bern

It’s no irony that “Cheatzerland’s” flag emoji is the initials CH. The Cheatz won’t get much wordcount here but alas I only did Zurich and Basel and both times for Northern Ireland matches. We were unbeaten in both – suck that, Cheatz. I skip-packed Bern. Good riddance.

Democratic Republic Of The Congo🇨🇩- Kinshasa

I slipped in and out of the Democratic Republic Of The Congo at the same border point – Bukhava which goes to Cyangugu in Rwanda. We stayed in the Hotel Horizon and arranged a nuts gorilla tour which we later banned! It was wild! I later returned to Democratic Republic of The Congo at Lubumbashi. Yet both of those places are miles and miles from Kinshasa, which borders Republic of Congo on the west. Land border backpacking is a surefire way to avoid capitals.

Eswatini / Swaziland🇸🇿- Mbabane

When I backpacked through Swaziland in 2011, it was called Swaziland. They have now changed the name to Eswatini. I saw the capital city Mbabane from a bus and indeed made a video of me passing it but alas I never stopped or went there. This didn’t in any way lowen the value of my time in Swaziland as I still toured Ezulwini, Malkerns Valley, Matsapha, Lobamba as well as the quirky House on Fire and Swazi Candles factory.

Iraq🇮🇶- Baghdad

Even though I flew in and out of Iraq, it was into the Kurdish part – known as the Iraqi Kurdistan region. The capital city Baghdad is miles south and we also missed Basra and Babylon. However we did get to backpack through Dohuk, Sulaymaniyeh, Erbil/Hawler, Amadiya, Ainkawa and Sulav. I even wrote about my best bars in Iraq here. However, a trip to Saddam Hussein’s House of Horrors was one of my grimmest backpacking days.

Mauritius🇲🇺- Port Louis

Mauritius is a small and tropical island and I included it on my MMMM tour in 2023. However, I wanted to backpack all 5 M countries nearby on that trip, but skipped Mayotte doing Mauritius, Madagascar, Mozambique and Malawi. I did enjoy Mauritius but I just wanted to laze on the beach, relax, write and bar pack through the area near my resort Explora Prestige at Blue Bay. I flew in and out of Mauritius from Reunion and the airport here is nowhere near the capital city. Sorry Port Louis – maybe next time.

Morocco🇲🇦- Rabat

I’ve had a load of airport stopovers in Morocco down the years on connections but even after all that – they were all in Marrakesh or Casablanca! The only two Moroccan cities I have properly seen and I stayed at the Kaktus Hostel, although I did buspack my way south to Western Sahara. This means Rabat is unbackpacked – I’ve never even been to the airport!

Mozambique🇲🇿- Maputo

Again with “The Beak” in 2023, I land bordered it from Dedza in Malawi into the town of Calomue, which was a quirky place. Mozambique’s capital city however is Maputo which is wild further south. Mozambique think that I have been to Maputo though as I made a fake reservation there and added it to my visa just to nab the beak visa and get in.

Myanmar🇲🇲- Naypyidaw

Myanmar’s capital city Naypyidaw wasn’t even on my radar when I whackpacked my way through Mandalay, Bagan, Amapapura, Inwa, Sagaing and Yangon in 2013. Notably I did backpack Inwa, the old capital and Yangon which was also the capital at one point! If I ever do go back, I probably would prioritise Naypyidaw this time, although the country was hardly mind-blowing.

Pakistan🇵🇰- Islamabad

In 2023 after another long winded online Pakistan visa application, I finally got into Pakistan. When I did I focused on the famous border parade with India at Wagah, I backpacked Lahore and also the seaside resort of Karachi. This meant that again a Stan capital was skipped.

Saint Vincent And The Grenadines🇻🇨- Kingstown

My Sainty V adventure in 2021 was a Noel Gallagher inspired journey where I went there to finish my book, chill out, pub crawl the east coast and snap the Pirates of The Caribbean filmset. That was enough for me. I had no desire to backpack Kingstown. If I ever go back there, it will be to Mustique and The Grenadines, not for the capital.

Sint Maarten🇸🇽- Philipsburg

I loved Sint Maarten and Saint Martin – two countries on one small island in the Caribbean and home to the best beach bar in the world where aeroplanes fly over your head! I toured both countries and in the French side, I backpacked Marigot, but I skipped Philipsburg. Also great for nudist beaches, cocktails and babewatching.

Tanzania🇹🇿- Dodoma

I definitely want to go back to Tanzania to see Zanzibar on a Freddie Mercury tour but also because I completely skippacked the capital city Dodoma. Weirdly on my two visits to Tanzania I also completely skipped the previous capital too – Dar Es Salaam. Instead, I stayed in Arusha where I visited orphanages and schools and drank coffee before doing 4 safaris there with Shadows of Africa including The Serengeti, Maasai Mara, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire and Lake Manyara. Those were glory days loyal.

 

United States Of America🇺🇸 – Washington District Of Columbia

Not a country I particularly like and one I barely recognise as a real country due to its gun laws, human rights records and continual promotion of serial killers and death movies. Still, I have been fivce there including Atlanta and Los Angeles but I’ve no desire whatsoever to whackpack Washington District Of Columbia. I did meet Obama when backpacking the Kong though.

Zambia🇿🇲- Lusaka

The last two on this list are on it for the same selfish reason – I only went here to see Victoria Falls! I did a few hikes and rivers walks as well as seeing the rhinos at Mosi Oa Tunya National Park. But Lusaka was skipped in favour of sleeping at the lovely Fawlty Towers Hotel in Livingstone and wetting the willy in front of Victoria.

Zimbabwe🇿🇼- Harare

I basically flew into Zimbabwe with Malina and Russell, we stayed at the quirky Shoestrings Backpackers at Vicky F, backpacked down to the Victoria Falls. Then we crossed into Botswana for Chobe National Park, the Baobab Tree Prison and Crocodile Farm stay before heading across into Zambia.

I think that’s covered them all. I guess it’s not a bad record! As of September 2024, I have backpacked 229 countries and only missed the capital city in 20 of them! Have you ever backpacked a country and skippacked the capital city?