I’ve been collecting passport stamps since I got my first passport at age 16. Before then, I was on my Mom’s passport, where I collected a few at a young age moving from London to New Zealand. My first few trips on my own passport were to Australia; before heading over to Europe for my ‘Big OE‘ (overseas experience) in 1999. It’s a shame I don’t get stamps for travelling in the European Union (yet), as my passports would look far more exciting than they do! But then again, I’m a fan of freedom of movement, the EU; and enjoy the ease of travel without visas, so I can’t complain.
What stamps are in YOUR passport? Share your favourites below!
Countries
I’m not about ticking countries off my list – I’m all about quality over quantity. But when it comes to passport stamps, it is fun to count the countries and to enjoy the different stamps and colours. While customs and stamping passports is a serious business, there’s no reason why you can’t look back on them with enjoyment and nostalgia.
Canada seems to be the predominant stamp in my old passports. One, because my family live there, but also because it’s one of the places that actually stamps my passport. I’ve probably visited once every 1-2 years since I moved to the northern hemisphere in 2003. Some of my favourite travel memories have happened in Canada: Road-tripping from Vancouver to Banff; connecting with long lost family in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan; and exploring the Canadian Maritimes.
What’s the stamp that appears the most in your passport? Do you have a country you keep going back to?
Passport Privilege
I am a dual passport holder – I have both a UK passport and a New Zealand one. I am lucky, and I know it. Not only do I have two passports, but I also have two very privileged passports – I can visit most places with very little paperwork. I have friends from countries with more restrictions (passport and travel-wise), and it can be really frustrating and sad for them. I think it’s important to be aware of your passport privilege – especially for those of us who blog.
The weird and wonderful passport stamps & visas
Do you have any weird and wonderful passport stamps? I think my stamp from Osaka Kansai airport in Japan is the most interesting because it is bilingual. They sure do fit a lot into that one little stamp! Sometimes visas are just as interesting – my Japan visa was stapled in and I was scared of losing it.
Don’t get me started on hilarious passport photos – I think that needs a whole post just for itself!
Collecting Passport Stamps
I love being able to look back at my passport to see where it has taken me, and am disappointed when I visit a country that doesn’t stamp. But I am thankful when I can visit these countries so easily and without visas. What stories do your passport stamps tell? What stamps are you most proud of? Share in the comments below!
Do you want to add some more stamps to your passport? Let me help you plan your travels! Get in touch via my contact page!
All photos & content © Hannah Henderson and may not be used without permission (sharing this blog post is fine, though!).
It’s not just the stamps sometimes, it’s the visas too (I’ve travelled in Africa a bit, for instance). Some visas are works of art with fancy holographic designs on pieces of paper (Laos), others are just simple paper printouts (Afghanistan), while others are mere illegible ink marks as if they were simply overly-large entry stamps (Burkina Faso).
Each stamp and visa is its own unique souvenir for a trip – the long waits at the borders (Zimbabwe -> South Africa), the time I “lost” the share-taxi with my luggage (Benin -> Togo), the over-zealous border guards (Kyrgyzstan -> Uzbekistan), the really obscure border crossings (Thailand -> Cambodia), the uncomfortable journeys (Ukraine -> Belarus) …
There was a pop album … I forget what, but I think it was by French singer Etienne Daho … where the album sleeve and lyric booklet was decorated in passport stamps … 🙂
Yes – visas! Love your stories – the ‘over-zealous border guards’ sound a bit scary! Your passports sound like rainbow-colourful things of beauty!
I really ought to make a post about them. Some of them are quite pretty, yes!
The border guard into Uzbekistan spent 20 minutes looking through the photos on my tablet. Turns out he was looking for porn (!), so I think i may have bored him senseless with pictures of random places in Kyrgyzstan and Chile! :p
The only scary guard I came across on my trips was the matron-like lady coming into the USA from Canada. She was truly fierce and dauntingly unjolly – she kept me so long my bus nearly went without me!
Haha yes, I had equally surly guards at the USA border, it must be their training!
We have some not-so-common stamps and visas in our passports too. In our last passport we had Angola, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Malawi, Nepal & Malaysia for instance. In the current one we have multiple entries of Turkey (as we were living there), Zambia, Malawi again, and our pride and joy Iran (in my case head covered visa and everything) 😉
Wow – Iran – that’s awesome! I can’t wait to add Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa to mine too. What fabulous adventures your passports remind you of!
I would love to one day photocopy and display all of my stamps! I love my Kenya one because it takes up a whole page, my land borders of Morocco and Bosnia are pretty cool and I should probably say my USA resident visa…it took nearly a year of paperwork to get that page and all it’s entry stamps!
I reckon that would be an amazing artwork! A testament to all your adventures 🙂
At the start and end of the Inca Trail, they had passport stamps for our passport. Its lovely to see my Machu Picchu stamp in there when I flick through!
Aww wow, that is so cool. Something to look forward to when I finally get over there. Keep those old passports and enjoy reminiscing!
Hi Hannah. My favourite must be the less visited places..
Pakistan VOA after crossing the Kunjerab pass from China and secured the last VOAs as they discontinued this , October 2011.
Entry to Syria was a delight and the visa for Mali was such a breeze as was the crossing from Senegal. Treasured visas and stamps. X
I love hearing about your adventures – and having these mementos is so wonderful X
I collect Passport Stamps of Sudan, but in my case they are actual stamps that have been adhered to the pages, and not ink stamps. I have a collection of several hundred going back to the 1800s.
I wonder if there is a name for this type of hobby, i.e., like ‘Deltiology’ for the hobby of collecting Postcards.
Anyone?
I have many stamps of former Iron curtain countries from my extensive travels in Eastern Europe during the 80s, including the former Yugoslavia, Czechoslovia, Magyar, ( now Hungary ),and Bulgaria etc. Very interesting and sometimes scary days.