5 Minutes With Harry Mitsidis of Nomad Mania

For McCool Travel’s 172nd travel interview, I am pleased to present Harry Mitsidis of Nomad Mania. I was introduced online to Harry Mitsidis through Henrik Jeppesen, who you may recall is the youngest person to have traveled to every country in the world. Henrik is impressed with Harry’s credentials, among them being the person who has visited the most regions in the world. Harry did this interview just before catching a ship between Easter Island and Tahiti. Wow!

Harry Mitsidis’ bio: “Harry Mitsidis is the Founder of NomadMania (www.nomadmania.com), the only travel club of its kind to verify its members claims to where they have been. But it has been a long journey till NomadMania. Born in London to a Greek father and a South African mother, Harry grew up in Athens speaking English at home. Following studies in sociology and an MBA in the Netherlands, Harry started teaching organisational behaviour and leadership at a number of colleges in countries like Finland, Switzerland and Oman.

Gradually, his love of travel took over and he ended up visiting every country of the world by the age of 36, finishing with Equatorial Guinea in 2008. A polyglot who speaks 7 languages, Harry now focuses on travel and developing NomadMania, while occasionally giving a talk on travels and how they develop leadership ability.”

Harry Mitsidis in SaoTome
Harry Mitsidis in SaoTome

Harry Mitsidis of Nomad Mania

HOMETOWN …
Athens, Greece and Rochester, UK
ALWAYS IN MY LUGGAGE …
Metal toy car given to me by my godson in 2008 years ago when he was 4; tiny Ukrainian ornamental doll given by my partner the first week we were together.
3 FAVORITE HOME-AWAY-FROM-HOME PLACES …

  • Belgrade, Serbia
  • Luang Prabang, Laos
  • Lisbon, Portugal
Harry Mitsidis of Nomad Mania in Mauritania
Harry Mitsidis of Nomad Mania in Mauritania

A FAVORITE TRAVEL MEMORY …
a conversation with a bunch of teenage boys outside the UNESCO World Heritage mosque in Bagerhat, Bangladesh. They asked me if I’m Muslim and I told them that I am not a believer, to which they retorted ‘oh, so you’re a communist’!
3 FAVORITE TRAVEL BRANDS …

  • Air New Zealand
  • Millennium Hotels
  • Monocle (kind of a travel brand…)

3 MONEY-SAVING TRAVEL TACTICS I USE …

  1. skipping dinner altogether
  2. overnighting on long-distance public transport which also gets me in a new place early in the morning
  3. travelling repeatedly to countries which are really low-cost such as South East Asia, Iran, or some in Central America

3 WAYS THAT I HAVE FUN WHILE TRAVELING …

  1. talking to the locals in their language wherever possible
  2. taking a random city bus anywhere it goes and then getting deliberately lost
  3. searching for unusual/unknown products at local supermarkets

8 WORD (OR LESS) TRAVEL MANTRA …
“You’ve got to go everywhere!”

Harry Mitsidis of Nomad Mania in RankinInlet Nunavut Canada
Harry Mitsidis of Nomad Mania in RankinInlet Nunavut Canada

FAVORITE NON-TRAVEL WEBSITE …
Eurovision.tv (for news on the Eurovision Song Contest) and Flightradar24 (technically this is aviation rather than travel in its strict sense!)
MOST MEMORABLE SOUVENIR …
Huge red painted wooden penis from Bhutan (and a great conversation item at airport security when asked what it was!)
FAVORITE CHEAP EAT …
bakery food (plus yoghurt) in any of the former Yugoslav Republics
RECENT DISCOVERY …
Poland is very underrated and should be visited and revisited
I AM FORTUNATE TO HAVE MET …
Andre Brugiroux, a real travel legend who dedicated his whole life to exploration
I WOULD LIKE TO MEET …
Ibn Battuta (but that is impossible) as well as Heinz Stucke, a German traveller who went practically everywhere on his bicycle!

Harry Mitsidis in Montenegro with Charles Veley
Harry Mitsidis in Montenegro with Charles Veley

Thank you so much, Harry, for sharing your travel inspiration and tips.
Follow Harry Mitsidis on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and NomadMania.


McCool Travel presents tips from travel experts in our 5 Minutes travel interview series—featuring travel industry giants, super frequent travelers, and adventurous persons. Check out McCool Travel’s previous travel interviews. Previous 5 Minutes travel interview: John Roberts.


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2 thoughts on “5 Minutes With Harry Mitsidis of Nomad Mania”

  1. Totally agree on Harry’s Air New Zealand take; so much fun! I love their air safety videos. Clever, creative, brilliant branding, all the way around. We globe trotters can learn a thing or 2 from them. Super interview Charles!

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