List of circumnavigations

The Magellan–Elcano expedition was the world's first circumnavigation.

This is a list of circumnavigations of Earth. Sections are ordered by ascending date of completion.

Global

Nautical

16th century

  • The 18 survivors, led by Juan Sebastián Elcano, of Ferdinand Magellan's Spanish expedition (which began with 5 ships and 270 men); 1519–1522; westward from Spain; in Victoria. After Magellan was killed by Lapulapu off the Philippines on 27 April 1521, the circumnavigation was completed under the command of the Basque Spanish seafarer Juan Sebastián Elcano who returned to Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Spain, on 6 September 1522, after a journey of 3 years and 1 month. These men were the first to circumnavigate the globe.
  • The survivors of García Jofre de Loaísa's Spanish expedition 1525–1536 including Andrés de Urdaneta; westward from Spain. None of Loaísa's seven ships completed the voyage, but Santa María de la Victoria reached the Moluccas before being wrecked in a Portuguese attack. Successive chiefs of the expedition (Loaísa, Elcano, Salazar, Iñiguez, De la Torre) died during the voyages. Andrés de Urdaneta and other fellow men survived, reaching the Spice Islands in 1526, to be taken prisoner by the Portuguese. Urdaneta and a few of his men returned to Spain in 1536 aboard Portuguese ships via India, the Cape of Good Hope and Portugal, and completed the second world circumnavigation in history. One of the four survivors was Hans von Aachen, who was also one of the 18 survivors of Magellan's expedition, making him the first to circumnavigate the world twice.
  • Francis Drake; expedition against the Spanish Main 1577–1580; westward from England; in Golden Hind; discovered the Drake Passage but entered the Pacific via the Strait of Magellan; first English circumnavigation and the second carried out in a single expedition. Drake was the first to complete a circumnavigation as captain while leading the expedition throughout the entire circumnavigation.
  • Martín Ignacio de Loyola; 1580–1584, westward from Spain.
  • Thomas Cavendish; 1586–1588; westward from England; in Desire.
  • Martín Ignacio de Loyola; 1585–1589, eastward from Spain (via Macau (then a Portuguese territory), China, and Acapulco, Mexico) to become the first to circumnavigate the world eastwards and first to use overland routes in his circumnavigation.
  • João da Gama; 1584 (or 1585)–1590; eastward from Portugal; from Lisbon to India, Malacca, Macau (then Portuguese) and Japan. Gama crossed the Pacific at a higher northern latitude; was taken prisoner in Mexico and carried in Spanish ships to the Iberian Peninsula. One of the first to go eastwards, mostly by sea.

17th century

The map of Dampier's circumnavigation produced by Herman Moll (1697)
The map of Ambrose Cowley's circumnavigation in the 1699 edition of his travels
  • The survivors of the expedition of Jacques Mahu; 1598–1601; westward from Holland; Of Mahu's five ships only one returned.
  • The survivors of the expedition of Olivier van Noort; 1598–1601; westward from Holland; Of Van Noort's four ships only one returned.
  • Francesco Carletti; Florentine merchant; 1594–1602; westward from Italy; travelled across the American continent overland, through Panama. All Carletti's other travel was by sea until he ended in the Netherlands; he travelled from there overland back to Italy. Carletti was perhaps the first to travel all legs as a passenger, not as a ship's officer or a crew member. Carletti described his journey in his autobiography, "My Voyage Around the World", translated into various languages.
  • Joris van Spilbergen; 1614–1617; westward from Holland.
  • Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire; 1615–1617; westward from Holland; in Eendraght; Discovered Cape Horn and the first expedition to enter the Pacific via the Drake Passage.
  • Admiral Jacques l'Hermite and vice-admiral John Hugo Schapenham and rear-admiral Jan Willemszn Verschoor; 1623–1626; westward from Holland.
  • Pedro Cubero; 1670–1679; eastward from Spain; the first maritime circumnavigation including significant travel overland.
  • William Dampier and Ambrose Cowley (English); 1679–1691 and 1683–1686; westward from England, travelling together in parts of their voyages and producing the first maps of the Galapagos Islands while raiding Spanish shipping between Panama and Peru.
  • Gemelli Careri; 1693–1698; eastward from Naples; the first tourist to circumnavigate the globe, paying his own way on multiple voyages, crossing Mexico on land.

18th century

The routes of James Cook's voyages. The first voyage is shown in red, second voyage in green, and third voyage in blue. The route of Cook's crew following his death is shown as a dashed blue line.

19th century

Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev

20th century

  • The Great White Fleet; 1907–1909; first fleet to circumnavigate the world.
  • HMS New Zealand 1913, first by a Dreadnought era battleship or battlecruiser.
  • Harry Pidgeon; 1921–1925; second single-handed circumnavigation.
  • Conor O'Brien; 1923–1925; in Saoirse, a 20 ton 42 ft ketch, designed by himself and built in Baltimore, Ireland. First small private craft to circumnavigate west to east and south of the three great capes: Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope and Cape Leeuwin SW Australia – the Clipper route.
  • HMS Hood, HMS Repulse, and the rest of the Special Service Squadron; 1923–24; in the Empire Cruise, a tour of the British Empire after World War I.
  • Francesco Aurelio Geraci; 1932–1935; first italian to circumnavigate the globe with his little wooden ship M.A.S. (Memento Audere Semper).
  • Harry Pidgeon; 1932–1937; third single-handed circumnavigation, first person to circumnavigate solo twice (1921–1925 and 1932–1937).
  • Electa and Irving Johnson; 1934–1958; sail training pioneers, circumnavigated the world seven times with amateur crews.
  • Vito Dumas; 1942; single handed circumnavigation of the southern oceans, including the first single handed passage of all three great capes.
  • Operation Sandblast; 1960; USS Triton; first underwater circumnavigation.
  • Operation Sea Orbit; 1964; USS Enterprise, USS Long Beach, and USS Bainbridge; first circumnavigation by an all-nuclear naval task force.
  • 1966 Soviet submarine global circumnavigation; 1966; K-133 and K-116; first underwater circumnavigation conducted by the Soviet Union.
  • Sir Francis Chichester; 1966–1967; first single-handed circumnavigation with just one port of call.
  • Sir Alec Rose; 1967–1968; single-handed circumnavigation with two stops (in Australia and New Zealand).
  • Leonid Teliga; 1967–1969; single-handed circumnavigation aboard SY Opty.
  • Robin Knox-Johnston; 1968–1969; first single-handed non-stop circumnavigation.
  • Robin Lee Graham; 1965–1970; then youngest (at ages 16–21) solo circumnavigation aboard 24-foot sailboat Dove.
  • Chay Blyth; 1971; first westwards single-handed non-stop circumnavigation.
  • Edward Allcard; 1957–1973; circumnavigation via the three great capes aboard his 36-foot wooden ketch Sea Wanderer.
  • Webb Chiles; solo circumnavigation 6 times, with the first being in 1975–1976
  • Jon Sanders; 1970–2021; completed eleven circumnavigations.
    • 1970 First solo circumnavigation trip east to west mostly sailing through tropics.
    • 1981–82 Double nonstop solo circumnavigation west to east via Southern Ocean.
    • 1986–88 Triple non-stop solo circumnavigation: 657 days 21 hours and 18 minutes at sea. Guinness World Records cites this as the longest distance sailed non-stop by any vessel (71,023 nautical miles)
    • 2016–17 Completed 10th circumnavigation at the age of 78, mostly singlehanded.
    • 2019–21 Completed 11th circumnavigation at the age of 81
  • USS Inchon; ETR-3 crew September 1972 – September 1973 Circumnavigation via Panama Canal Norfolk VA. East to west.
  • Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz; 1976–1978; first woman to perform a single-handed circumnavigation.
  • Naomi James; 1977–1978; first woman to perform a single-handed circumnavigation via Cape Horn.
  • Mark Schrader; 1982; completed two solo circumnavigations. In 1982–1983 became the first American to complete a solo circumnavigation via the five southernmost capes.
  • Marvin Creamer; 21 December 1982 – 17 May 1984; only known person to circumnavigate the globe by boat with no nautical aids
  • Bertie Reed – 1982 – the first South African to complete three singlehanded circumnavigations.
  • Nikolay Dzambasov; 1 September 1983 – 25 July 1985; the first Bulgarian to circumnavigate the globe; traveled in a self-made yacht.
  • David Scott Cowper; 1985; first single-handed circumnavigation by motor boat.
  • Peter Freeman; 14 October 1984 – 14 July 1985; Skippered a Hartley 32 ferro-cement sloop Laiviņa, from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada in 236 days. Set a new Guinness World Record.
  • Dodge Morgan; 12 November 1985 – 11 April 1986; Aboard sailboat American Promise, became first American to sail solo around the world, non-stop.
  • Trishna; 28 September 1985 – 10 January 1987; First Indian circumnavigation by an Indian Army Corps of Engineers crew. Also had the first handicapped (one-legged) sailor to sail around the globe.
  • Serge Testa; 1987; an Australian yachtsman who holds the world record for the circumnavigation in the smallest boat, completing the voyage in 1987, in his 11-foot-10-inch (3.61 m) boat, the Acrohc Australis.
  • Teddy Seymour; 1987; aboard sailboat Love Song; the first African-American to complete solo single-handed circumnavigation.
  • Mike Plant; 1987–1991; completed three circumnavigations.
    • 1986–87: Won the BOC Challenge with a time of 157 days aboard Airco Distributor, an Open 50 sloop built by Plant and designed by Roger Martin.
    • 1989: Competed in the first Vendée Globe on Duracell, an Open 60 sloop built by Plant and designed by Roger Martin. Although eliminated from the race after receiving help with a rudder repair in New Zealand, Plant still set a record for the fastest American to sail single-handed around the world with a time of 135 days.
    • 1990/91: Finished 4th overall in the BOC Challenge, setting the highest mark in a solo-sailing event for an American with a time of 132 days.
  • Tania Aebi; 1985–1987; American woman who completed a solo circumnavigation by the age of 21, one 80-nautical-mile (150 km) stretch with crew disqualified her from an official record.
  • Kay Cottee; 1988; first woman to perform a solo non-stop circumnavigation.
  • David Scott Cowper; 1990; first single-handed circumnavigation via the North West Passage.
  • William (Bill) Deltoris Pinkney III; 1990-1992; Via the 5 Great Capes of the southern oceans. He departed from Boston August 5, 1990. Sailing first to Bermuda, then along the eastern South American coastline, across the Atlantic Ocean to Cape Town, South Africa, across the Indian Ocean to Hobart, Tasmania, across the South Pacific Ocean, around Cape Horn, and up the eastern South American coastline, finally ending up back in Boston. Pinkney sailed a Valiant 47, named "Commitment".
  • Duncan McQueen; 1992–1999;
  • Pat Lawless Snr; 1993–1996 Irish solo sailor, took him 3 years and 3 days in his 32 foot yacht Loon. He returned to Limerick, Ireland at the age of 70 after his solo circumnavigation.
  • Lisa Clayton; 1994–1995; first British woman to sail single-handed and non-stop around the world.
  • Brian Caldwell; 1995–1996; '1st-Under-Age-21' to complete solo circumnavigation with stops, completed by age 20.
  • David Dicks; 1996; youngest recognized assisted circumnavigation, completed aged 18 years 41 days.
  • Henk de Velde; 1997; sailed a catamaran eastbound around the world in 119 days, non-stop. He is still the only person in the world to perform this feat single-handed with a catamaran, although others have made faster single-handed circumnavigations in trimarans (Ellen MacArthur, 2005, and Francis Joyon, 2008).
  • Cable and Wireless Adventurer; 1998; 74 days, 20 hours, 58 minutes, a new Guinness World Record for a powered vessel.
  • Robert E. Case; 1998–2001; American who was the first solo amputee to sail around the world.
  • Amyr Klink; 1998–1999; Brazilian who completed a solo circumnavigation of Antarctica in 88 days.
  • Jesse Martin; 1999; youngest recognized unassisted circumnavigation, completed aged 18 years 66 days.
  • Azhar Mansor; 1999; first Malaysian to sail solo around the world.
  • Alex Thomson; 1999; youngest skipper ever to win a round the world race (Clipper 1998–1999).
  • Daniel D. Moreland; 1997–1998; first circumnavigation of sail training vessel Picton Castle.
  • Vinny Lauwers; 1999–2000; 233d 13h 43m 8s; 21760 nm; Vision Quest; first single-handed circumnavigation by a disabled sailor (paraplegic).
  • Wladek Wagner, 1932–1939, first Polish citizen to sail around the world. He wrote the book By the Sun and Stars about the voyage.

21st century

  • Wilfried Erdmann; 14 August 2000 – 23 July 2001 in 343 days; monohull Kathena Nui; solo westward non-stop circumnavigation.
  • Ellen MacArthur; 2001; monohull; circumnavigated singlehandedly as the then fastest woman.
  • Mike Golding; 2001; first person to circumnavigate non-stop in both eastward and westward directions. 1993 World record for a westward circumnavigation, 161 days, Group 4. 2001 Vendee Globe Race 7th position.
  • INS Tarangini; 2003–2004; first Indian sail naval ship to circumnavigate the globe with the theme of "building bridges of friendship across the oceans".
  • Bruno Peyron and crew; 2005; aboard maxi catamaran Orange II; set the then current windpowered circumnavigation record, 50 days, 16 hours, 20 minute.
  • Ellen MacArthur; 2005; trimaran B&Q/Castorama; then the fastest singlehanded circumnavigation (71 days), is still the fastest woman in 2010. See also 2001.
  • Dee Caffari; first female to sail non-stop round the world westabout and both ways;
    • 2005–2006; first woman to perform a solo westward non-stop circumnavigation, in 178 days.
    • 2008-2009 Vendee Globe Race (Solo Nonstop Eastabout) onboard IMOCA 60 Aviva in 99 days 1 hrs 10 min 57 sec
  • Álvaro de Bazán; 2007; First circumnavigation of the globe by a Spanish warship in 142 years.
  • RMS Queen Mary 2; 2007 world cruise; at 148,528 gross ton, the world's largest passenger ship to circumnavigate the globe.
  • Earthrace; 2008; wave-piercing trimaran, with two 540-horsepower multi-fueled engines; current world record holder for a motorized vessel (disputed with USS Triton, 1960), in 60 days 23 hours and 49 minutes.
  • Francis Joyon; 2008; 95 ft (29 m) IDEC 2; fastest singlehanded multihull circumnavigation at that time, 57 days 13 hours 34 minutes 06 seconds.
  • Michael Perham; 2009; then youngest person (aged 16–17 years) to perform a singlehanded circumnavigation (with stops, through Panama Canal).
  • Franck Cammas and a crew of 10; 2010; French trimaran Groupama 3; set the fastest maritime circumnavigation at the time, in a time of 48 days, 7 hours 44 minutes and 52 seconds.
  • Dilip Donde (Indian Navy); 2009–2010; first Indian to carry out a solo circumnavigation; stopped in four ports – Fremantle, Lyttelton, Port Stanley and Cape Town.
  • Jessica Watson; 2009–2010; youngest person (aged 16) to perform a solo non-stop southern hemisphere circumnavigation (past Cape Horn).
  • Reid Stowe; 2007–2010; eastbound circumnavigation, 1152 days; longest time spent at sea without resupply or touching land.
  • Minoru Saito; 2008–2011; oldest person (aged 77) to perform a singlehanded circumnavigation (westbound, past Cape Horn, with stops). He has made eight singlehanded circumnavigations; after the seventh (which was non-stop) at age 71 he was already the oldest.
  • PlanetSolar; 2010–2012; first solar vehicle to circumnavigate the globe.
  • Laura Dekker; 2011–2012; youngest person (aged 14–16 years) to perform a singlehanded circumnavigation (with stops, through Panama Canal).
  • Jerome Rand, Oct 2017 to June 2018, 271 day, unsponsored, nonstop circumnavigation from Gloucester MA on a Westsail 32 (Mighty Sparrow)
  • British sailor Jeanne Socrates; 2018–2019; oldest woman (aged 77) to single-handedly sail around the world, non-stop without outside assistance, for a year oldest person until Bill Hatfield sailed at a higher age. Also oldest woman at the time (aged 70) to do the same thing 2012–2013, also making her first woman to make solo non-stop unassisted circumnavigation from west coast of North America (Victoria BC, Canada). Oldest, in 2010–2011 (aged 68), to sail single-handedly around the world, with stops. Both were eastbound via Cape Horn.
  • Bill Hatfield; 2019–2020; oldest person (at 81) to sail solo non-stop unassisted single-handedly around the world, also first person (of any age) to sail solo non-stop unassisted single-handedly westabout (westbound) around the world in an under 40ft vessel.
  • Abhilash Tomy (Indian Navy); 2012–2013; first Indian to sail solo, non-stop around the world without outside assistance. Sailed south of the five southernmost capes.
  • Gerry Hughes; 2012–2013; first deaf yachtsman to sail single-handed around the world to pass the five great capes. On 1 September 2012, Hughes left Troon, Scotland to start his eight-month journey across the world. Hughes travel around the world solo, sailed 32,000 miles and became the first deaf yachtsman to passed all five southernmost capes.
  • INSV Tarini (Indian Navy); 2017–2018; six female naval officers sailed south of the five southernmost capes during their Navika Sagar Parikrama expedition; they stopped in Fremantle, Lyttelton, Port Stanley and Cape Town.
  • 2020–2021 Vendée Globe Race a total of 25 sailors completed a solo non-stop circumnavigation and 2 more completed a stopping.

Fastest

See also: Around the world sailing record
  • Operation Sandblast; 1960; USS Triton; first underwater circumnavigation, and fastest mechanically powered circumnavigation (disputed with Earthrace, 2008), in 60 days 21 hours.
  • Jon Sanders; 1986–1988; holds the world record for completing a single-handed, non-stop, triple circumnavigation, in 657 days 21 hours and 18 minutes.
  • Jean-Luc Van Den Heede (French); 2004; fastest westward single-handed circumnavigation, 122 days 14 hours 3 minutes 49 seconds.
  • Adrienne Cahalan (Australian); February–March 2004; fastest woman to complete a circumnavigation (crew of "Cheyenne") 58 days 9 hours 32 minutes 45 seconds.
  • Earthrace; 2008; wave-piercing trimaran, with two 540 horsepower multi-fueled engines; current world record holder for a motorized vessel (disputed with USS Triton, 1960), in 60 days 23 hours and 49 minutes.
  • François Gabart (French); Nov 2017–Dec 2017; current fastest single-handed circumnavigation, in 42 days, 16 hours, 40 minutes, 35 seconds.
  • Francis Joyon and crew of five sailors; Dec 2016–Jan 2017; the Maxi trimaran IDEC SPORT; current absolute (wind or mechanically powered) fastest maritime circumnavigation, in 40 days 23 hours 30 minutes 30 seconds of sailing. Average speed of 26.85 knots (30.71 mph), covering a total distance of 26,412 nautical miles (48,915 km; 30,394 mi).
  • Bill Hatfield (Australian); 22 February 2020; fastest single-handed westbound circumnavigation in a vessel of under 40 feet (12 m) in length: 258 days, 22 hours, 24 minutes, and 9 seconds

Aerial

In 1999, Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones achieved the first non-stop balloon circumnavigation in Breitling Orbiter 3.

(Widespread introduction of Very Low Frequency navigational aids)

  • Elgen Long, 1971, first solo circumnavigation via the poles, in a Piper Navajo.
  • Don Taylor, 1976, first circumnavigation by homebuilt aircraft.
  • Ross Perot, Jr. and Jay Coburn, 1982, first circumnavigation by helicopter, by Bell 206L-1 LongRanger II
  • Dick Smith, 1982–1983, first solo circumnavigation by helicopter, in a Bell Jetranger III.
  • Donald "Rode" Rodewald, 1984, first circumnavigation by a paraplegic pilot in a Comanche 260 with hand controls.
  • Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, 1986, Voyager, first non-stop non-refueled circumnavigation in an airplane, 9 days, 3 minutes and 44 seconds.
  • Dick Smith, 1988–1989, first circumnavigation landing at both poles, in a Twin Otter.
  • In 1992 an Air France Concorde, registration F-BTSD, achieved the fastest non-orbital circumnavigation in 32 hours 49 minutes and 3 seconds.
  • Fred Lasby, 1994, oldest circumnavigation, at 82 years of age, in Piper Comanche.
  • Dick Smith, 1994–95, first east-west circumnavigation by helicopter, in a Sikorsky S-76, a distance traveled of 73,352 kilometres (39,407 nautical miles).
  • Peter Joohak Lee, 1998, first Asian to circumnavigate the globe on a single engine aircraft. Using a Cherokee 235, he traveled east for 36 days and 29,920 miles.
  • Brian Milton, 1998, first microlight circumnavigation. He used an open-cockpit single engine Pegasus Quantum 912. No support aircraft escorted the flight. Keith Reynolds was copilot from Webridge, Surrey, to Yuzhno Sakhalinsk, Siberia. Then, as required by the Russian authorities, navigator Petr Petrov accompanied Milton to Nome, Alaska. Milton completed the rest of the 120-day voyage solo (71 flying days).
  • Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones, 1999, first non-stop balloon circumnavigation in Breitling Orbiter 3, 19 days, 1 hour and 49 minutes, covering 42,810 kilometres (26,600 mi).
  • Jennifer Murray, 2000, first solo circumnavigation by a woman by helicopter.
  • Colin Bodill, 2000, first solo circumnavigation by a microlight (Mainair Blade) in 99 days. Also held fastest circumnavigation by microlight until broken. Bodill was part of an entourage of 4 aircraft, one of which carried supplies and support.
  • Steve Fossett, 2 July 2002, first solo balloon circumnavigation.
  • Matevž Lenarčič; 2004; Circumnavigation with microlight aircraft Pipistrel".
  • Steve Fossett, 3 March 2005, GlobalFlyer, first non-stop, non-refueled solo circumnavigation in an airplane, 67 hours, covering 37,000 kilometres (23,000 mi).
  • Steve Fossett, 11 February 2006, GlobalFlyer, longest non-stop, non-refueled solo flight (with circumnavigation) in an airplane, covering 42,469.5 kilometres (26,389.3 mi), in 76 hours and 45 minutes.
  • Barrington Irving, 27 June 2007, Inspiration, youngest solo circumnavigation in an airplane, at that time, 23 years, 228 days; left Miami, Florida, March 23, 2007, first stop, Cleveland, Ohio. (record broken numerous times subsequently)
  • Rahul Monga and Anil Kumar, 2007, fastest circumnavigation in a microlight, 79 days. Team from the Indian Air Force to commemorate the 75 Anniversary of the founding of the Indian Air Force. Aircraft used was a Flight Design CTSW. They covered 40,529 kilometres (25,184 mi) in a total flight time of 247 hours and 27 minutes.
  • Matt Guthmiller became the youngest pilot to circumnavigate by aircraft, solo in 2014. Since then the record has been surpassed by Australian Lachlan Smart in 2016, American Mason Andrews in 2018 and Englishman Travis Ludlow in 2021.
  • Swiss pilots Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, in the first circumnavigation by solar-powered aircraft, took off from Abu Dhabi aboard the Solar Impulse 2 on 9 March 2015, and were originally scheduled to complete their circumnavigation of the Northern Hemisphere in five months. Due to battery damage, continuation of the flight was postponed until April 2016. This circumnavigation was completed on 26 July 2016.
  • Michael Smith, November 2015, first solo circumnavigation in a single-engine flying boat in Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey two-seater light sport aircraft
  • Fyodor Konyukhov, 23 July 2016, broke the record for the fastest circumnavigation in a hot air balloon. He took "just over 11 days", breaking Steve Fossett's 2002 record of 13 and a half days.
  • Peter Wilson and Matthew Gallagher; 7 August 2017; First circumnavigation by helicopter through antipodes.
  • Ravinder Bansal, 20 August 2017, became the first person of Indian origin to complete a solo circumnavigation in a single engine plane.
  • Shaesta Waiz, 4 October 2017, became the youngest woman to fly solo around the world in a single-engine aircraft, a feat superseded by Zara Rutherford.
  • Norman Surplus, 28 June 2019, first Gyroplane/Autogyro circumnavigation. Using an open cockpit, Rotorsport UK MT-03 Autogyro (Registered G-YROX – "Roxy"), Surplus flew a distance of 27,000 NM, through 32 Countries and set 19x FAI new world records. Initial departure was on 22 March 2010, but difficulty with Russian permission delayed the aircraft in Japan for 3.5 years. The circumnavigation was reset/continued from the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, McMinnville, Oregon on 1 June 2015 and was finally successfully completed on return to the same place on 28 June 2019.
  • Terry W. Virts and Hamish Harding, 11 July 2019, fastest circumnavigation of the globe via the North and South Poles. Virts and Harding headed a crew of eight in a Gulfstream G650ER jet to circumnavigate the globe in a time of 46 hours, 40 minutes and 22 seconds, with an average speed of 860.95 km/h (534.97 mph).
  • Robert DeLaurentis, 10 August 2020, the first pilot and aircraft (Turbine Commander 900 "Citizen of the World" N29GA) to successfully circumnavigate and use biofuels over the North and South poles. Initial departure from Gillespie Field, El Cahon, CA, was November 17, 2019, completed August 10, 2020 with a five-month delay due to Pandemic. Other first-time records include the longest distance flown in a twin or single engine turboprop—18.1 hours; first and fastest Polar circumnavigation in a twin or single engine turboprop; first testing for plastic microfibers across the globe including over the South and North poles.
  • Zara Rutherford, 20 January 2022, became the youngest woman to fly solo around the world and the first person to complete the circumnavigation in a microlight. She began her westabout journey from her native Belgium on 18 August 2021.
  • Mack Rutherford, 24 August 2022, became the youngest person to circumnavigate the world by aircraft solo and youngest person to circumnavigate the world by microlight.

Spacecraft

  • On 12 April 1961 Yuri Gagarin made the first human flight in space, and completed the first orbit of the Earth, in Vostok 1, in 108 minutes.
  • The second and third orbital circumnavigations, the first two to have multiple orbits, were made by Gherman Titov (17.5 orbits, a little over a day, for the Soviet Union) and John Glenn, in Friendship 7 (3 orbits, almost five hours, for the US, first American orbital flight), respectively.
  • The first woman to circumnavigate the Earth in orbit, and to also do so multiple times, was Valentina Tereshkova, who made forty-eight orbits between 16 and 19 June 1963, aboard Vostok 6.
  • Frank F. Borman II, James A. Lovell Jr., and William A. Anders, 21–27 December 1968, first human circumnavigation of the Earth-Moon system, 10 orbits around the moon in about 20 hours, aboard Apollo 8; total trip to the moon and back was more than 6 Earth days.

Human powered

Further information: List of pedestrian circumnavigators

Motorized transportation is permitted over water and where otherwise needed, but the human-powered distance must be a minimum of 18,000 miles (29,000 km) to qualify for a world record, according to Guinness rules since 2013.

  • Thomas Stevens was the first person to circle the globe by bicycle. The feat was accomplished between 1884 and 1886. While impressive at the time, a good portion of the trip was by steamer due to technical and political constraints.
  • Dave Kunst walked around the world between 20 June 1970 and 10 October 1974.
  • Rick Hansen, a paraplegic athlete, became the first person to travel around the world in a wheelchair from 21 March 1985 to 22 May 1987, covering over 25,000 mi (40,000 km) through 34 countries on four continents.
  • Robert Garside is credited by Guinness World Records as the first person to run around the world from 20 October 1997 to 13 June 2003, taking 2,062 days to cover 30,000 mi (48,000 km) across 29 countries and 6 continents.
  • Steve Strange completed the first true cycling circumnavigation, riding for 276 days in 2004–2005, following updated Guinness World Record rules for a proper circumnavigation. Nick Sanders had set the record for cycling around the Northern Hemisphere in 1984, which was considered a circumnavigation by earlier Guinness rules.
  • Jesper Olsen travelled 16,000 mi (26,000 km) from 1 January 2004 to 23 October 2005 during a circumnavigation solely on foot except for ocean crossings.
  • Colin Angus circumnavigated the Northern Hemisphere solely by human power in 2006 but did not qualify under the Guinness guidelines as a human powered circumnavigation. His attempt, however, was recognized by National Geographic.
  • Jason Lewis completed the first true human-powered circumnavigation (without sails or any motorized transport) from 12 July 1994 to 6 October 2007, covering 46,505 mi (74,843 km) in both the southern and northern hemispheres and reaching two antipodal points, gaining accreditation from Guinness World Records and Adventurestats by Explorersweb.
  • Rosie Swale-Pope travelled 20,000 mi (32,000 km) from 2 October 2003 to 25 August 2008 during a circumnavigation solely on foot except for ocean crossings.
  • Erden Eruç completed the first solo human-powered circumnavigation (without sails or any motorized transport) traveling by rowboat, sea kayak, foot and bicycle from 10 July 2007 to 21 July 2012. Erden crossed the equator two times, passed over 12 pairs of antipodal points, and logged 41,196 mi (66,299 km) while setting 13 Guinness records for ocean rowing.
  • Juliana Buhring completed the first cycling circumnavigation by a solo female in 2012 following updated Guinness World Record rules for a cycling circumnavigation. She began in July and finished in December 2012 after 152 days of riding over 18,063 mi (29,070 km), averaging about 119 mi (192 km) a day.
  • Paola Gianotti set the current record for the fastest cycling circumnavigation by a female in 2014. She began her attempt on 8 March and finished on 30 November 2014—including four months of recovery after an accident that broke a vertebra—riding for 144 days over 18,389 mi (29,594 km), averaging about 128 mi (206 km) a day.
  • Mark Beaumont set the current record for the fastest cycling circumnavigation in 2017. He began his attempt on 2 July and finished on 18 September 2017, after 78 days, 14 hours, and 40 minutes, averaging about 230 mi (370 km) a day on an 18,039-mile (29,031 km) ride across Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and North America. Beaumont had also broken the same record in 2008.
  • Jenny Graham set the current record for the fastest unsupported cycling circumnavigation in 2018. She completed the attempt in 124 days, 10 hours and 50 minutes, starting in Berlin on the 16th of June 2018, and arriving back on the 18th of October.

Miscellaneous

  • King Kalākaua traveled around the world, over land and sea, thus becoming the first reigning monarch to complete such a journey in 1881.
  • Nellie Bly traveled around the world with public steamboats and trains in 72 days (from November 14, 1889, to January 25, 1890), a world record, resembling the Around the World in Eighty Days novel.
  • Clärenore Stinnes and Carl-Axel Söderström were the first persons to drive around the world in a car between 25 May 1927 and 24 June 1929.
  • Friedrich Karl von Koenig-Warthausen, in a Klemm L.20 aircraft over land and via ship for ocean legs, circumnavigated the globe solo, between August 1928 and November 1929.
  • Mrs Victor Bruce completed the first solo partially aerial circumnavigation by a woman (crossing oceans by vessel) in 1931.
  • Beginning in Montreal, Ben Carlin circumnavigated the world in a modified Ford GPA Jeep between 1950 and 1958, becoming the first person to circumnavigate the world by amphibious vehicle.
  • Heinz Stücke has been cycling around the world since 1962.
  • Arthur Blessitt has been walking around the world carrying a 45 lb (20 kg) wooden cross since December 25, 1969, covering 42,279 miles (68,041 km) through 324 countries. As of June 13, 2008, aged 67, he had walked in every country of the world, since when he has returned to some.
  • Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Charles Burton, et al.; 1979–1982; first circumnavigation via the North and South Poles on the Transglobe Expedition.
  • Garry Sowerby holds four world records for circumnavigation in an automobile.
  • Vladimir Lysenko circumnavigated the globe from west to east, deviating no more than two degrees of latitude from the Equator. Starting in Libreville, Gabon, Lysenko crossed (in a car, a motor boat, a yacht, a ship, a kayak, a bicycle, and by foot) Africa, Indian Ocean, Indonesia, Pacific Ocean, South America and Atlantic Ocean, finishing in Libreville in 2012.
  • Kane Avellano became the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe by motorcycle on a trip completed just one day before his 24th birthday. The circumnavigation began on 31 May 2016 and ended on 19 January 2017, with a total duration of 233 days. Avellano covered more than 28,000 miles (45,062 km), passing through 36 countries and 6 continents.
  • The second season of Jet Lag: The Game, recorded in 2022, featured Sam Denby, Joseph Pisenti, Adam Chase and Ben Doyle racing to circumnavigate the world on commercial flights while completing various challenges; the race was won by Chase and Doyle after 93 hours of game time.

Non-global

See also