We spoke with Sean Traverse, a global, full-time traveler close to visiting every country & Oceanwide Expeditions guest, about what drives him to explore, what travel means to him, and how it can change people's lives in ways they may not expect.
The Oceanwide Expeditions experience draws people from all backgrounds and interests, with guests visiting the Arctic and Antarctica for many personal reasons. At first, the ends of the Earth may seem unattainable as a travel destination, but this is far from the truth. For the (extremely) seasoned traveler Sean Traverse, the expanse of Antarctica and the ancient wilds of Greenland are just a part of a remarkable global journey that has taken him from the heart of Africa to the farthest archipelagos of the Pacific.
The secret to traveling full-time
"I've been traveling internationally full-time for the last five years, and in the four years before that, I gradually ramped up to traveling about half the time," says Sean. For a man constantly on the move, he's relaxed and seemingly full of energy and an infectious curiosity.
Sean appears to have found the cheat code for a life devoted to travel - a career that allows him to work from anywhere, even the farthest edges of the map. "My job is 100% online, so I work remotely while traveling," he explains. "In 2019, I left a very established 19-year career because it was starting to clash with my growing travel obsession. I took a big chance, which was the best choice I've ever made!"
While it's clear that a tremendous amount of discipline is required to stay on top of his work, Sean has fully embraced the thrills of exploring locations off the beaten path and is close to visiting every country on Earth. Recently, Oceanwide Expeditions made it even more feasible for full-time remote workers like Sean or travelers needing to stay connected to their work and lives back home. On board all three motor vessels, complimentary internet is available, even in the depths of Antarctica or the Earth's northerly latitudes.
Picture by unknown photographer
Seeking meaningful experiences through curiosity
Some travel trends suggest that people increasingly seek more meaningful travel experiences. Sean certainly follows that principle, venturing off the beaten path in search of a deeper understanding of local cultures, customs, and the natural world.
"For me, travel is about keeping yourself awake and alive and not falling asleep into some routine," he says. "I want to have meaningful experiences in each place, whatever that may be. As I'm waiting to get into Venezuela (the final country on his list), I've been looping back to countries where I had short day-trip type visits early in my travels and spending more days in those places, which has been hugely rewarding."
"I'm very curious, and there's little better than being in a new place and experiencing things you never have before. Things that make you see life differently and think about things differently."
Travel can change perceptions, deepen understanding, and evolve us as people. "What hooked me on travel was seeing how I changed as I visited these places and had these experiences," suggests Sean. "It's not always easy to consciously achieve a broader and wiser perspective, but travel did that for me. I quickly came to view myself, my own country, and life very differently." This notion is a key part of the Oceanwide Expeditions experience, with guests joining expedition cruises and leaving with a deeper understanding of the polar regions and a better understanding of the biology, ecology, and the threats to these remarkable locations through educational lectures, guide expertise, and immersive activities by Zodiac and on land.
Picture by unknown photographer
Visiting the ends of the Earth with Oceanwide Expeditions
Most recently, Sean joined an 8-night expedition cruise in Scoresby Sund, Greenland, the most extensive fjord system on Earth. Amidst the stunning colors of the Arctic tundra and beneath skies glowing with the aurora, guests could take part in long hikes, spend extended periods away from the ship, and explore an ancient landscape. "My personal highlights from Greenland were seeing the polar bears in Vikingebugt, experiencing the northern lights each night, and hiking through those odd, spectacular landscapes with mirror-still water," Sean recalls. "I also loved meeting the people in Ittoqqortoormiit - talking to locals wherever I am and learning about how they view the world is so special." This small community at the mouth of Scoresby Sund is effectively cut off from the outside world for much of the year due to ice and the darkness of winter. During an expedition cruise into Scoresby Sund, guests can land here and learn more about the Greenlandic people's lives and the Indigenous history of Greenland.
"I appreciated how receptive (Oceanwide Expeditions) were to our feedback in Greenland; devoting additional time to finding polar bears, which was not in the itinerary, was huge for me since I'd never seen them in the wild before!" Flexibility is a key part of the Oceanwide approach to an expedition cruise, with small-size vessels and experienced staff and crew able to swiftly adjust plans to take advantage of the weather, landing opportunities, wildlife encounters, or simply to go further and experience more than other operators.
Before his trip to Greenland, Sean had joined a Basecamp Antarctica trip - an itinerary that Oceanwide is the proud pioneer of. "Greenland is wonderful, but nothing on Earth compares with Antarctica," he suggests. "It just has an energy and a purity that won't mean anything for you to hear until you go there yourself, but it is like stepping into heaven."
Picture by Saskia van der Meij
On a Basecamp Antarctica trip, guests can explore the stunning Antarctic peninsula through various dynamic activities, including camping, kayaking, mountaineering, and snowshoeing. "Interacting with penguins, ice climbing, and kayaking over whale skeletons in the crystal-clear water were huge personal highlights."
An expedition cruise is the best way to visit the remote eastern coast of Greenland, and in Antarctica, independent travel is impossible. This makes itineraries such as Basecamp Antarctica ideal for the budding adventure seeking authentic experiences beyond the beaten path.
Authentic travel, permanent bonds, and personal growth
An authentic travel experience isn't just about the location, country, or journey to get there. People form a key part of any genuine experience, and nowhere is this more apparent than on an Oceanwide Expeditions trip. Whether traveling solo, like Sean, in a group, or as a couple, guests form bonds with one another and the vessel crew, hotel team, and expedition staff that elevate their experience to something other than a standard cruise experience and last beyond the end of their trip together.
Solo travel hasn't fazed Sean due to these travel bonds of. "I've always loved to travel, but I didn't think going overseas alone would be fun. But, eventually, I did, and I quickly discovered that it's easy to make friends while traveling, and you're seldom alone for long."
"Most of the people who travel a lot are pretty interesting, so you meet a lot of kindred spirits," says Sean. "Adventure travel is an amazingly small world, and you can run into your friends in the strangest places. I went to the Mt Hagen festival in Papua New Guinea two years ago and met 13 people I knew at the festival!"
Picture by unknown photographer
Sean's journey towards visiting every country on Earth and a recent life of continual travel was partly sparked by the idea of personal growth. "I saw how much I had changed through the first few countries I visited and was fascinated by how I'd grow and change through 197 countries," he says. "I've always been fascinated by our perception of time, why it goes so slowly when you're a kid and speeds up the older you get. Our brains only make memories of novel experiences, so the more routine life gets, the fewer memories you form, and the more time seems to have flown by. Traveling full-time has shown me that every day brings new experiences, and as a result, every year of full-time travel feels like about ten years of regular life."
A world full of wonders
With years of global experience, it's difficult for Sean to narrow down his highlights. What is clear is that he has a deep appreciation for the people, places, cultures, and environments of the locations he spends time in, and by doing so, he continually discovers new places on the map.
"The more you travel, the more you discover new things you want to see," Sean explains. "I have been eye to eye with a humpback whale in Tonga and will always remember walking out onto the deck for the first time when we arrived in Antarctica. I have meditated with my friends inside the King's Chamber of the Great Pyramid on a full moon and sat on the cliffs overlooking the entire expanse of Bamiyan, hearing the call to prayer echo across the valley."
Picture by unknown photographer
"The world never stops giving you new things to see and experience," he continues. "Whether that's gazing into the so-called Gates of Hell in Turkmenistan or sitting with a family of gorillas on a hillside in the DRC and watching their babies play in the grass. I've been really lucky."
Sean still awaits entry into Venezuela to officially complete his list of countries. Still, the thirst for adventure and curiosity certainly show no signs of abating, with plenty of travel plans in the making.
"Travel has changed my life completely, and I'll continue to travel full-time as long as possible. The transformation that happens when something goes from some abstract idea you've had in your head since school and becomes something real you can almost touch is magical. You're connected to the long span of human experience in a way that you weren't before."
