What happens when you take three young children to Afghanistan, North Korea and some of the world’s most remote islands? Elena Chechina knows the answer. Having visited all 193 UN countries, she has plenty of stories to tell, unexpected invitations to village weddings in Iran, unforgettable encounters with strangers and rather complicated escape from Afghanistan involving closed borders, demonstrations and police escorts.
Named NomadMania’s Biggest Traveller 2026, Elena is one of fewer than 15 mothers worldwide to have visited every UN country. But how do you balance motherhood with a seemingly endless appetite for adventure? And what does it really take to travel the world with three little ones? We invite you to read this fascinating conversation we had with Elena!
Elena, tell us a little about your early life and where your love for travel began. What first inspired you to explore the world, and how did your earliest travel experiences shape the traveller you would eventually become?
I grew up in Moscow, and the trip that truly inspired me and changed my life was a two-week exchange program in Austria when I was about 13 years old. Together with other students from my school and our English teacher, I travelled to Austria and stayed with a local host family.
After those two inspiring weeks, I continued exchanging emails with my host family for many years. The experience left such a strong impression on me that, at the age of 19, I moved to Austria to study, hoping to build a life there. My first truly adventurous solo journey outside the EU took me to India and Malaysia.
I often stayed with local families through Couchsurfing and travelled around by train and bus, which allowed me to experience everyday life up close. I absolutely fell in love with Asia. The warmth of the people, the diversity of cultures, and the sense of adventure inspired me to keep exploring other continents.
Having experienced so many different cultures, which destination has challenged your preconceived ideas the most? Was there ever a place that surprised you in a way you could never have anticipated?
Iran. I have rarely met more hospitable, generous and welcoming people in my life. I stayed everywhere via Couchsurfing and within just a week in Iran I was invited to 2 local village weddings and an amazing picnic with university students. Everywhere I stayed, I was treated to incredible home-cooked food. Whenever I mentioned that I particularly liked a certain dish or ingredient, my hosts would immediately pack some for me to take home. By the end of the trip, I was carrying bags of dates and bottles of pomegranate sauce.
One of the most remarkable aspects of your travels is that you have travelled with your three young children. How did the idea of travelling with your children first come about?
I had already visited more than 100 countries by the time my first daughter was born, so I felt that maternity leave was the perfect opportunity to continue travelling. In Sweden, parents can use up to 390 days of paid parental leave, and I decided to spend much of that time exploring the world with my children.
When my second daughter was born, I embarked on an eight-month maternity leave adventure around the world. Together, we travelled through Pakistan, Malaysia, Australia, Tonga, Fiji, South Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Georgia, and Armenia. It was an unforgettable experience that allowed me to combine two of my greatest passions: motherhood and travel.
Before becoming a mother, what did you imagine travelling with children would look like? What has surprised you most about the experience, both positively and negatively?
Honestly, I never expected to have three children. Before my daughter was born, I had never even held a baby, so I certainly never imagined that one day I would be travelling the world with three kids and taking them on adventures to places like Afghanistan, North Korea, and remote Pacific islands.
When I started travelling with my babies, I quickly realized that it was not only easier than I had expected, but also much more enjoyable than staying at home and following the same routine every day: feed, change diapers, play, sleep, repeat. While travelling, the children were constantly stimulated by new surroundings and experiences. They were often perfectly happy sitting in a stroller, observing the world around them and taking in a different environment every day.
For me, the biggest challenge of travelling with young children was the lack of sleep. During the day, I would be exploring new places from morning until evening, and at night the babies would often wake up. This was especially common during periods of jet lag and overnight travels as the children slept while I stayed awake, often holding them throughout the night.
You have taken your children to destinations that can be challenging to visit. What particular considerations or preparations come with travelling as a mother of three? How has your approach to travel planning changed since your solo travelling days?
My main rule is that I do not take my young children to areas with a malaria risk. When travelling with babies, I also brought packaged baby food with me to reduce the risk of food poisoning in countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Socotra island. We also have a Swedish health insurance and I took a baby car seat to some countries where road safety and quality are poor e.g. Mauritania when my son was 3 months old and Socotra at 4 months.
When travelling with kids I always book accommodation, flights and trains well in advance. In certain countries, including Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Mauritania, we also travelled with local guides to ensure a safer and smoother experience.
Travelling with children inevitably comes with moments of exhaustion, frustration and uncertainty. Can you share what has kept you going when things got tough?
The excitement of being in a new country and exploring new places always made up for the lack of sleep and energy that came with travelling with small children. Every morning, I would wake up feeling refreshed and leave the previous day’s tantrums and meltdowns behind. Sometimes, I deliberately include a few slower days in our travel itinerary to recharge. And honestly, there is nothing better than spending a relaxing day at the beach or visiting a zoo with the kids.
You have recently completed all 193 UN countries – congratulations on this incredible milestone! How has this achievement influenced your perspective on travel? Was visiting all 193 always your goal, or did that ambition develop along the way?
Becoming the youngest mother to visit all 193 UN countries is an incredibly surreal feeling and a unique achievement. Fewer than 15 mothers in the world have visited all 193 countries, and I feel truly privileged and blessed to be one of them. I worked very hard over the past few years to reach my final countries and accomplish this goal. Interestingly, it was never my intention to visit every country in the world. In fact, I only started counting countries after I had already passed the 100-country mark.
Even when I spent eight months travelling around the world with my two daughters during maternity leave, I still had no plan to visit every country. I was simply fascinated by discovering new places, because arriving in a country for the first time always felt special. I think I truly decided to aim for all 193 countries after attending my first ETF in Armenia, where I was inspired by the many amazing travellers in our community.
Of all the countries you have visited, which three have left the deepest impression on you, and what made them particularly unforgettable?
Tanzania and Kenya were the first African countries I visited when I was in my early twenties. I stayed with Couchsurfing hosts in Nairobi and in a village outside of Dar es Salaam. I was deeply touched by the conditions at the village school I visited, as well as by the living conditions in a neighborhood in Nairobi.
When I returned to Sweden, I created the webpage “Maisha Mazuri” and started raising money to improve conditions of these places. Through the project, we provided a water tank, school supplies, and other essential resources to communities in both Tanzania and Kenya. Unfortunately, I had to discontinue the project after a few years.
I visited Algeria with my husband and my kids during Ramadan and we stayed everywhere via Couchsurfing. It was a truly special experience to witness the extraordinary hospitality of the people wherever we went. I will never forget one particular day in Constantine.
While we were walking around the city during the fasting hours, an elderly man approached us. At first, we assumed he wanted to sell us something. Instead, he had simply noticed that we were foreigners and wanted to invite us to his home for iftar dinner. That invitation perfectly reflected the warmth and generosity we encountered throughout Algeria.
Which country challenged you the most, whether culturally, logistically or personally? Looking back, is there anything you wish you had done differently?
Afghanistan. I absolutely loved the country, its culture, people, food, Unesco sites, and stunning mosques. However, I happened to arrive on one of the worst days: the 17th of May 2024 – the same afternoon that a group of tourists was shot in Bamyan. My guide met me at the airport and promised to show me how safe and beautiful his country was. We arrived at the hotel, and I went to freshen up with my son. When we came back down to the reception about 15 minutes later, I found my guide in tears.
One of his close relatives had been killed in the attack. Getting into and out of Afghanistan was also far more complicated than I had anticipated. My original plan was to travel overland through Pakistan in both directions. On the way in, however, the border was temporarily closed because of an immigration system update, forcing me to purchase a last- minute flight to Kabul. The return journey proved to be a nightmare.
After I had already exited Afghanistan at the Torkham border crossing, demonstrations on the Pakistani side disrupted border operations. We spent five hours waiting and trying to enter Pakistan, only to be told to turn back. As a result, I was back in Afghanistan without a valid visa, since my visa allowed only a single entry. We had no choice but to return to Jalalabad and try again the following day. The next day it was the Afghan officials who did not want to let us go.
We managed to escape to the Pakistani side the moment the Afghan officials stopped focusing on us. Upon arrival in Pakistan, I was questioned for more than an hour by the authorities and then assigned a police escort for much of the journey to Islamabad. What I wish I had done differently – just to arrive on any other date in 2024!
Is there a destination you would happily return to again and again, even though you have already visited it? What keeps drawing you back?
I love Asia, South America and the Islamic World. These are the regions that have left the deepest impression on me, thanks to their rich cultures, incredible hospitality, fascinating history, and unforgettable landscapes. I would love to revisit Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, Peru, Mauritania, Syria, Algeria. When it comes to cities I keep coming back to Bangkok, Istanbul, and Lahore. And of course I love Spain and return there almost annually.
If you could meet the version of yourself before motherhood and the journey to all 193 countries, what advice would you give her? What has the journey taught you about travel, yourself and life in general?
To learn some IT or other essential skills which would allow me to easily become a digital nomad and be able to work remotely from anywhere in the world. I would also advise not to listen to people who would say that once you get kids, your travel days are over.
You do not have to be the mother who stays home, travels only to child-friendly resorts and gives up her own dreams. You can love your children deeply and still want a life full of adventures. The journey to 193 taught me that you can chase your dreams while chasing your kids.
How has NomadMania played a role in your journey, and what do you enjoy most about the platform?
NomadMania inspired me and gave me the sense of belonging to a travel community where people have the same shared passion for travelling. It also gave me an easy way to track my travels through a detailed map of countries and regions. I love the feature of Master Ranking per country and gender. And of course, NomadMania Awards is such a great initiative! We needed our own Oscars Gala and NomadMania arranges it perfectly every year.
You won the NomadMania Travel Awards 2026 in the Biggest Traveller category – congratulations on this wonderful achievement! How does it feel to receive this award, and what does this recognition mean to you personally?
It feels amazing to know that the travel community recognizes and appreciates how hard and challenging it is to visit all 193 countries as a mother. There is a reason why fewer than 15 mothers have visited every country in the world. It is not just about overcoming visa challenges. It is also about overcoming other people’s judgements, dealing with obstacles, and balancing a full-time job and family responsibilities while continuing to explore the world.
That is why I am particularly happy that I could dedicate the Biggest Traveller Award to ALL Travelling Mothers. Every mother needs to work at least twice as hard to visit every country in the world. And there is one more thing that makes this award so special to me: knowing that one day my children will look at this trophy and remember how strong their mother was — how she never gave up on her dreams, and how she always encouraged them to dream big and never give up on theirs.
This award is not just mine. It belongs to all the mothers who keep dreaming, keep exploring and refuse to give up.
Now that you have visited all 193 UN countries, what are your travel ambitions and priorities going forward? What will your next chapter of exploration look like?
I would love to continue travelling with my children, attending incredible festivals around the world and exploring new and exciting regions together. Sharing these experiences with them and seeing the world through their eyes has become one of the most rewarding aspects of my travels.
Some of the top experiences on my bucket list include celebrating Día de los Muertos in Mexico, witnessing the Great Migration in Tanzania, exploring Peru and the Galápagos Islands, and island-hopping across Indonesia’s vast archipelago. One day, I would also love to take my children to Antarctica.
Finally our signature question, if you could invite four people from any period in human history – including fictional characters – to an imaginary dinner, who would be on your guest list and why?
I recently attended the ETF in Bangkok, where I listened to inspiring stories from modern travelers. However, I would love to attend a dinner with explorers from earlier times to hear their stories about our fascinating world before it became so modern, when each country had its own unique culture and many beautiful archaeological sites to discover.
Freya Stark: I would love to listen to her amazing stories from some of the least-traveled parts of the Middle East, including Hadhramaut in Yemen, Iran, and Afghanistan, which she explored as a solo woman. She learned many languages and was genuinely interested in meeting local people and understanding their lives and cultures.
I believe that is the most important aspect of visiting a country. She prioritized discovery over comfort and ventured far off the beaten path Gertrude Bell: another fascinated woman who explored some of the most remote regions of the Middle East and was like the female Lawrence of Arabia.
Ibn Battuta: I would love to listen to his stories from his 30 years of travelling across Africa and
Asia. I would especially love to learn about how Palestine, Syria, Sauri Arabia, Iraq, Persia and Central Asia were in his times.
Marco Polo: I would love to listen to his stories from the Silk Road and the rest Central Asia and China.
