A man who traveled to nine countries on four continents in less than a week has set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest time to visit the New Seven Wonders of the World, according to travel technology company Travelport.
British traveler, author and motivational speaker Jamie McDonald set the new record for using only public transport to visit the New Seven Wonders of the World in six days, 16 hours and 14 minutes, according to the company that planned the itinerary and said it was confirmed by Guinness World Records.
Known as the “Adventureman”, equipped with only a backpack on his shoulders, McDonald “set off on the journey of a lifetime” to visit the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, the ancient city of Petra, the Colosseum in Rome, Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer , Machu Picchu and Chichén Itzá.
The “New Seven Wonders of the World” was a private initiative launched in 2000 by Bernard Weber to “encourage citizens around the world to select seven new wonders of the world by popular vote,” according to the World Heritage Convention. There is no connection between sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List and Weber’s campaign. Since ancient times, lists declaring various “wonders of the world” have been compiled to highlight breathtaking places.
A pizza in Rome was McDonald’s only chance to eat non-airplane food while traveling. In total, he took 13 flights, 16 taxi rides, nine buses, four trains and one toboggan, covering a total of 22,856 miles.
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Travelport wanted to investigate whether their “modern retail platform” could make “the world’s most complex journey simple.” When the trip began, Travelport said that Guinness World Records rules prevent the company from assisting if any of the McDonald’s connections were missed.
The feat was more “remarkable” because as a child he had been diagnosed with a “rare” back condition that doctors believed would leave him in a wheelchair for most of his adult life.
“Until the age of nine, Jamie was in and out of hospital with a rare back condition called syringomyelia, but with the help of doctors and nurses, his symptoms began to ease,” Travelport’s statement said. The clock starts the moment the challenger leaves the first wonderland and does not stop for any reason until the challenger sets foot in the last wonderland.
In order to get Guinness World Records to sign off on the trip, McDonald had to comply with a number of other rules.
- Use only scheduled public transportation, with licensed taxi rides not exceeding 31 miles per hour.
- keep a logbook with evidence proving travel
- Get receipts and tickets anywhere available
- Use accurate professional GPS equipment
- Take videos and photos showing the applicant, location and date of each site visited
- Obtain a written or recorded statement from an official employee, local dignitary and/or police officer at each location.
Want to follow in Adventureman’s footsteps?
Travelbag, a travel agency partner of Travelport, has packages available to visit all seven wonders of the world from around $38,000.
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