Questions to ask
Specific questions bring back far more than "where have you been?".
- Where was your first trip abroad by plane?
- Where did you go on your honeymoon?
- Did you ever do a guided tour through several countries? (Tours often cover three to five countries at once, which is easy to forget.)
- Did work ever take you abroad?
- Which place did you love most, and where would you go again?
Clues when memories are fuzzy
- Old photo albums — printed photos and film envelopes often have dates on the back.
- Tour itineraries and travel agency papers — countries and dates on a single page.
- Expired passports — if they kept them, the stamps are the most accurate clue.
- Friends and relatives who went along — their memories and photos help fill gaps.
Which phone to use
| Approach | Good for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Directly on your parents’ phone | They can keep adding trips themselves | Sit with them for the first entries |
| On another device, then transfer | Faster typing | Export a backup file and restore it on their phone |
Putting it together in the app
Tap a country and fill in what they remember
If they cannot remember the date, just color the country for now. The date starts as today, so correct it later when you find out. Use the companions field for notes like "with Mom" or "church group", and attach a photo so the story comes back when they look at it. Purpose separates holidays from work trips.
Check the finished map
Visited countries fill in by continent with the count and percentage at the top. Long-press a country to add it and long-press again to undo, so parents can keep it going themselves.
Turning it into a gift
- A framed map — export a high-resolution PNG and have it printed and framed.
- A world travel certificate — a one-page A4 PDF with the number of countries and continents. Home printing works; thick paper makes it look like a real certificate. It unlocks after one short ad.
- The family chat — send the map image and let relatives join the conversation.
FAQ
Should a one-day stop on a tour count?
That is up to your family. See how to count countries for common rules. When in doubt, color it and add a note like "one-day stop".
My parents use an iPhone.
The app is currently on Android. You can still make the map image or certificate PDF on an Android device and send it to them.
Travel Map: Visited Countries
No sign-up, and your records stay on your phone. Free on Android.