San Marino – the oldest country in the world

Possibly because it’s too small and insignificant for anyone to worry about invading, the tiny Republic of San Marino has been in existence since AD301. Surprisingly, this makes the 61 km² state, entirely landlocked by Italy, the oldest country in the world. Whilst other nations have been busy invading each other, changing names and having revolutions, sleepy San Marino has stood by and watched, untroubled. It doesn’t have an airport or railway station (try nearby Rimini in Italy for that), and shopping is the main attraction for the three million tourists that visit every year. This is largely because items are not subject to the 20% sales tax imposed by Italian law, but novelty collectables such as stamps and coin sets are also big earners. However, it’s not all souvenirs and duty free shopping, with the three mountain fortresses overlooking the Adriatic coast providing views that far bigger nations would be insanely jealous of. Getting to San Marino Nearest International Airport: Rimini in Italy is the closest, although Bologna is not far away and that gets more flights. Using public transport: Buses go reasonably regularly from outside Rimini’s train station. More information: San Marino tourism

Author David Whitley is an Australia travel expert who runs AustraliaTravelQuestions.com

Republique du Saugeais in France

The not-so-grand République du Saugeais is perhaps the only ‘country’ in the world that started as a joke.
In Eastern France, near the Swiss border, Saugeais started on its road to independence when a local hotelier jokingly asked the visiting regional prefect if he had a passport to enter.
The prefect then went and researched the area’s history and decided it should indeed be independent. He declared the hotelier to be the president.
And so a proud micronation was born, although there’s not really all that much to see.
Two retired farmers in fancy uniform man the border, while highlights for visitors include Montbenoît Abbey, lots of rolling countryside and plenty of cheese makers churning out the national cheese. Just don’t forget your passport

Hutt River Principality, Australia

Being the leader of a nation has got to be a tough job. No matter what you do, everyone seems to think you’re screwing them over, and you’ve got all those nasty vital decisions that affect the future of the world to make. Then again, you can have a bit of fun raiding the state coffers and imposing laws that suit you. No more short people holding umbrellas at eye poking-out height, the Black Eyed Peas outlawed, and all trustafarians with dreadlocks who bang on about Thailand could be jailed without trial.
It’s all just ponderings and contemplation though. Most of us will never be in that position anyway unless we take the lead of Leonard Casley.
You’ve probably not heard of him, but he is otherwise known as Prince Leonard, and he rules a micronation called The Hutt River Principality, which is about the size of Hong Kong. Not exactly a major player on the world scene, this self-declared state is nestled within the confines of Western Australia, and its story is pretty damn cool.

History of the Hutt River Principality
Back in 1969, Casley was merely a disgruntled wheat farmer who was pissed off about harsh quotas being imposed upon him. Whilst most farmers would have written letters to their MP, Casley took a more drastic course of action, and declared his land an independent nation. After searching through obscure British laws, he decided that it was perfectly legal to do this, and neither the Western Australian Government nor the Australian Federal Government has sent in the troops to take the land back. It remains the only bloodless secession in history, although the arguments still rumble on. In 1997, Hutt River Principality actually declared war on Australia after another petty squabble, but Canberra couldn’t be bothered to do anything about it.

Hutt River Principality today
What started as a reproach for the people in charge has now snowballed into something very strange. There are over 13,000 citizens of Hutt River Principality worldwide (although very few actually live there), and the breakaway principality has issued currency, stamps and passports. Companies can be registered there, in a similar fashion to those who register iffy businesses in the Cayman Islands to avoid people finding anything out about them. It’s also become a bit of a tourist curiosity.


Getting to Hutt River Principality, Western Australia
About 90km up the main road from Geraldton is where you’ll find the turn off, and you’ll not meet with any border controls. You can, however, get your passport stamped, and buy tacky souvenirs from a shop, where you’ll more than likely be served by Princess Shirley, the wife of the self-proclaimed Prince. Now, how often have you been sold a postcard by a member of a Royal Family?

More information on the Hutt River Province and acquiring dual citizenship.

Whangamomona – New Zealand’s breakaway republic

The tiny hamlet of Whangamomona on New Zealand’s North Island is independent in more than just spirit.
Whangamomona’s feisty inhabitants weren’t having any of it when local council boundaries were shifted in 1988. The settlement was due to move from the Taranaki region to Manawutu, but the locals realised that this would mean playing rugby for the detested rivals.
This was clearly not going to happen, so they decided to declare the village an independent republic.
Despite having an outdoor toilet as a border guard, the ‘republic’ boasts its own president and even has its own national beer. That said, two of the previous presidents have been a goat and a poodle.
Every second January Whangamomona holds independence celebrations, and of the many events, it’s apparently the sheep races that generate the most enthusiasm. They’re not independent enough from New Zealand to not get excited about sheep, after all.

Transdniestr in Moldova – breakaway Soviet state

When the Soviet Union broke up, the Transdniestr region of Moldova didn’t want to know about the new order and set about keeping things exactly the way they were. Following a civil war in the early 1990s, Transdniester declared itself independent. Though it is not recognised by any government, unscrupulous border guards, different currencies and frightening bureaucracy mean that any visitors need to treat it as such.
Strangely, Transdniestr seems to be acquiring a must-do status amongst a certain breed of travellers. While I was in the Ukraine, I met a few people that were eager to get to Moldova just so that they could try their luck in Transdniestr. But then again, I did meet them on a tour of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, so that could explain things.
By all accounts, it’s a bit dodgy, and anyone speaking English or wielding cameras and notepads is liable to come in for some special attention from hugely corrupt police and security forces.
But what else should they expect? Well... lots and lots of Lenin statues, Soviet era buildings and monuments in the capital, Tiraspol. Plus bribe-hungry border guards, instant suspicion of anyone with a camera and a sneaking feeling that the Cold War never ended.