Gunnar Garfors facts for kids

Gunnar Garfors (born May 29, 1975) is a famous traveler, author, and speaker from Norway. He is known for his amazing journeys around the world. Gunnar was the first person to visit every country on Earth not just once, but twice! He also holds several world records for his travels. Besides his adventures, he has written many travel books and worked in broadcasting.

About Gunnar Garfors

Gunnar Garfors is the oldest of seven children. He was born in Hammerfest in Northern Norway. Later, he moved to Naustdal Municipality on Norway's west coast. He grew up there with his parents and six siblings.

Gunnar has lived in many different places. These include Havøysund, Førde, Dublin, Falmouth, Copenhagen, and Taipei. Today, he lives in Oslo with his wife, Jacqui Kunz.

Gunnar studied at Falmouth College of Arts in Great Britain. He earned a bachelor's degree there. He also has a Master of Management degree from the Norwegian School of Management.

Amazing Travel Records

Gunnar Garfors is famous for setting many travel world records. He has traveled to more places than most people can imagine!

Visiting Five Continents in One Day

On June 18, 2012, Gunnar and his friend Adrian Butterworth set a Guinness World Record. They were the first people to visit five different continents in the same day! Imagine flying across the world so fast.

19 Countries in 24 Hours

In September 2014, Gunnar set another record. This time, he teamed up with Øystein Djupvik and Tay-young Pak. Together, they visited an incredible 19 countries in just 24 hours! That's almost one country every hour.

Around the World in Under 57 Hours

Gunnar set another Guinness World Record on February 2, 2018. He traveled around the world using regular airplanes. He visited all six inhabited continents. With Erik de Zwart and Ronald Haanstra, he completed this trip in only 56 hours and 56 minutes. That's super fast!

Visiting Every Country Twice

On December 16, 2018, Gunnar made history. He became the first person to visit all 198 countries in the world twice. This includes all countries recognized by at least 10 United Nations members. It shows his incredible dedication to travel.

Books by Gunnar

Gunnar Garfors has written several popular travel books. One of his books, Ingenstad, became a bestseller in Norway. He also wrote a travel column for a Japanese newspaper, Mainichi Shimbun, from 2013 to 2015. Sometimes, he wrote travel articles for The Guardian newspaper too.

Work in Broadcasting

Besides traveling and writing, Gunnar has also worked in broadcasting. From 2000 to 2022, he was an advisor at the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) in Oslo. He helped with broadcasting and new media projects.

Gunnar was also the president of IDAG (the International DMB Advancement Group) for many years. In 2004, he was a director when NRK launched the first test of live TV on mobile phones. This was a big step for technology at the time!

From 2008 to 2013, Gunnar was the CEO of Norwegian Mobile TV Corporation.