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Best Circumnavigation Record

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Rankings use category fit, feature coverage, pricing signals, public reception, and recency. Affiliate relationships do not affect scores.

0.0 - 10.0
Best 1 Ferdinand Magellan

Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese navigator who entered Spanish service and commanded an expedition that departed in 1519 seeking a westward route to the Spice Islands. His fleet discovered the passage now called the Strait of Magellan and completed the first recorded European crossing of the Paci...

9.18 Excellent
Why this score?

First circumnavigation expedition is canonical exploration history; personal completion limited by death before final return.

Scoring methodology
2 Juan Sebastián Elcano

Juan Sebastián Elcano was a Spanish navigator who completed the first recorded circumnavigation of the Earth. After Ferdinand Magellan was killed in the Philippines in 1521, Elcano eventually took command of the Victoria and sailed westward across the Indian Ocean and around the Cape of Good Hope, r...

8.49 Great
Why this score?

Completed first circumnavigation after Magellan; exceptional achievement, though public recognition is lower than expedition leader.

Scoring methodology
3 Over the Edge of the World

Laurence Bergreen’s *Over the Edge of the World* chronicles Ferdinand Magellan’s ambitious 16th-century voyage. This travelogue recounts his expedition's first circumnavigation of Earth, a pivotal moment in maritime history. The book details the challenges faced by Magellan and his crew during their...

4 Sailing Alone Around the World

Joshua Slocum’s *Sailing Alone Around the World* details his remarkable 1900 journey aboard the sloop *Spray*. The book chronicles his three-year circumnavigation, a feat previously unmatched by any solo sailor. Slocum's detailed account offers insights into 19th-century seafaring and navigation. It...

5 Volvo Ocean Race / The Ocean Race

The Ocean Race, formerly known as the Volvo Ocean Race and originally the Whitbread Round the World Race, is a crewed offshore sailing competition held every three or four years. First contested in 1973–74, the race is divided into legs between host cities and covers approximately 36,000 nautical mi...

8.05 Great
Why this score?

Elite crewed ocean race with extreme endurance reputation; sponsorship changes and niche audience limit broader reach.

Scoring methodology
6 Francis Drake

Francis Drake was an English mariner, privateer and naval commander active during the reign of Elizabeth I. His expedition of 1577 to 1580 completed the second circumnavigation of the globe and made him the first commander to survive an entire circumnavigation, although the voyage also involved raid...

8.04 Great
Why this score?

Second circumnavigation and major maritime fame; admired seamanship offset by privateering, slave-trading links, and imperial violence.

Scoring methodology
7 Ivan Fyodorovich Krusenstern

Ivan Fyodorovich Krusenstern, born Adam Johann von Krusenstern, was a Baltic German admiral and explorer in the Imperial Russian Navy. He is best known for leading the first Russian circumnavigation of the globe from 1803 to 1806, commanding the ships Nadezhda and Neva alongside Yuri Lisyansky. Krus...

8.02 Great
Why this score?

Circumnavigation surveys and Pacific hydrographic atlas materially improved nautical knowledge, combining exploratory achievement with accurate, influential charting.

Scoring methodology
8 Around the World in 72 Days

Nellie Bly’s *Around the World in 72 Days* recounts her extraordinary journalistic journey undertaken in 1894. The book details her attempt to circumnavigate the globe for the New York World within a remarkably short timeframe. Bly's ambitious feat, achieved primarily through steamship travel, offer...

9 Jupiter's Travels

Jupiter's Travels is Ted Simon's account of a four-year journey around the world by motorcycle, begun in the 1970s on a Triumph Tiger 100. The route carried the British journalist through Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Asia, covering roughly 63,000 miles and more than forty countries. Rather than...

10 Jean-François de Galaup de Lapérouse

Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse, was an eighteenth-century French naval officer and explorer who commanded a scientific expedition intended to survey much of the Pacific. Sailing from France in 1785 with the ships Boussole and Astrolabe, the expedition visited the Americas, Asia, Austral...

7.86 Good
Why this score?

Major scientific circumnavigation and mysterious disappearance; high French and Pacific exploration reputation.

Scoring methodology
11 Mike Horn
Mike Horn

Mike Horn is a South African-born Swiss explorer known for long-distance expeditions in polar regions, oceans, and remote terrestrial environments. His journeys have included a latitude-following circumnavigation near the equator, an Arctic Circle circumnavigation, and a traverse of Antarctica. He h...

7.82 Good
Why this score?

Major solo polar and circumnavigation feats; strong adventure reputation, though less academically canonical.

Scoring methodology
12 Fabian von Bellingshausen

Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen was a Russian naval officer and explorer who lived from 1778 to 1852. He commanded the Vostok during the Russian Antarctic expedition of 1819 to 1821, with Mikhail Lazarev commanding the accompanying Mirny, and the expedition completed a circumnavigation of Antarct...

7.75 Good
Why this score?

One of first Antarctic sightings and major southern expedition; strong specialist recognition, disputed priority.

Scoring methodology
13 Jules Verne Trophy (Sailing)

The Jules Verne Trophy is a prize awarded for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by a yacht, with no stops and no outside assistance. Established in 1993, the award is named in honor of French author Jules Verne and his novel "Around the World in Eighty Days." Competing crews typically use la...

7.55 Good
Why this score?

Prestigious sailing speed record with legendary attempts; record format means narrower competitive event identity.

Scoring methodology
14 Louis-Antoine de Bougainville

Louis-Antoine de Bougainville was an eighteenth-century French naval officer, navigator, and explorer. He commanded the 1766-1769 expedition that completed the first French circumnavigation of the globe, traveling through the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. His published account helped shape E...

7.53 Good
Why this score?

First French circumnavigation and Pacific observations notable; strong reputation but less transformative than Cook.

Scoring methodology
15 Dumont d'Urville

Jules Dumont d'Urville was a French naval officer, explorer, and cartographer who led voyages through the Pacific, the Mediterranean, and Antarctic waters during the nineteenth century. His expeditions contributed to European mapping and scientific study of Oceania, and he helped identify the site a...

7.48 Good
Why this score?

Pacific and Antarctic voyages made lasting geographic contributions; respected naval-scientific explorer.

Scoring methodology
16 Nellie Bly
Nellie Bly

Nellie Bly, born Elizabeth Cochran Seaman, was an American journalist and writer who pioneered the field of investigative reporting. Working for Joseph Pulitzer's "New York World", she famously feigned insanity to expose the abusive conditions inside a mental asylum and completed a record-breaking t...

7.41 Good
Why this score?

Record around-world journey and journalism fame are major; more media spectacle than geographic exploration.

Scoring methodology
17 Across Asia on a Bicycle

*Across Asia on a Bicycle* is an 1894 travelogue co-authored by Thomas Gaskell Allen Jr. and William Lewis Sachtleben. The book documents the authors' ambitious bicycle journey across the Eurasian landmass, starting from Constantinople and extending through Asia Minor, Persia, and into China. Their...

18 Mishima Skywalk

Mishima Skywalk is a 400-meter pedestrian suspension bridge located in Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Opened to the public in 2015, it spans the Kano River valley and holds the record for the longest pedestrian suspension bridge in Japan. The structure is designed for walkers and offers clear...

19 Kokonoe Yume Suspension Bridge

The Kokonoe Yume Grand Suspension Bridge is a pedestrian suspension bridge in Kokonoe, Oita Prefecture, Japan. Opened in 2006, it crosses a forested valley for 390 metres and provides views of nearby waterfalls, including Shindo Falls, as well as the surrounding Kuju landscape. The bridge functions...

20 Ídolos Brasil

Ídolos Brasil is the Brazilian adaptation of the Idol television format, derived from the British series Pop Idol. The program is a televised singing competition in which contestants perform for a panel and progress through elimination rounds, with audience participation in the later stages. The fir...

6.63 Fair
Why this score?

Produced capable singers and respectable Brazilian audiences, but network transitions, inconsistent ratings, and stronger competing formats limited its legacy.

Scoring methodology
21 Ídolos
Ídolos

Ídolos was Brazil's adaptation of the Idols television singing-competition format created by Simon Fuller. The program began on SBT in 2006 and later moved to Record, which broadcast it through 2012. Auditions and staged performances were evaluated by a judging panel, while viewers helped determine...

6.18 Fair
Why this score?

Recognized Idol-format adaptation with broad mainstream appeal, but limited international reputation and uneven season-level impact.

Scoring methodology
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