I won Race Across the World and have visited 77 countries – my favourite is a ‘cheap paradise’ while this fan-favourite hotspot is the most overrated

After winning Race Across the World last year with his best pal Owen Wood, Alfie Watts has made it his mission to visit every country.

Now, with the new series of the BBC travel competition in full swing, the 22-year-old from St Albans gives his verdict on the show, as well as the 77 of the 195 countries around the world that he’s visited.

When it comes to his favourite countries, Alfie has two – Jordan and Malaysia.

In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, the travel content creator says: ‘I took my Nan to Petra because she’d wanted to see it for her whole life, so that was really nice, and the whole feeling around the trip was just really positive.

‘The people in Jordan are just so friendly as well.

‘And Malaysia is also a favourite, because it’s just a cheap paradise.

‘But my single favourite place in the world has to be Angel Falls in Venezuela.

‘They’re the tallest waterfall in the world, but they’re completely off grid, and a nightmare to get to.’

Former Race Across the World winner Alfie Watts, 22, tells MailOnline about his favourite and most overrated countries

One of Alfie’s favourite countries is Jordan. In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, the travel content creator says: ‘I took my Nan to Petra [pictured] because she’d wanted to see it for her whole life, so that was really nice, and the whole feeling around the trip was just really positive’

Alfie says his favourite place in the world is Angel Falls, Venezuela. He says: ‘They’re the tallest waterfall in the world, but they’re completely off grid, and a nightmare to get to’

When it comes to his least favourite country, Alfie finds it hard to single one out, but he admits Cambodia was the country he ‘disliked the most’, having stopped there during Race Across the World.

‘I just didn’t get along with it at all,’ he says. ‘I found the people quite unfriendly, and Cambodia is in southeast Asia, which obviously means that it’s surrounded by Thailand and Malaysia, which are so top that I just don’t think it comes close.

‘But a lot of people disagree, and love Cambodia, so I think I’m objectively wrong with this opinion!’

Another place many people love, but Alfie found to be overrated is Sydney.

He says: ‘Yeah, it looks all right, but it’s very expensive, and I just didn’t catch the hype.

‘I was really looking forward to it, and it was just a bit average.

‘Everywhere felt like it was trying too hard, and the whole hipster thing was just coming across a bit too much.

‘I do need to go back and explore more of Australia though, because Sydney is the only place I’ve been.’

Another standout country for Alfie is Malaysia, as it’s a ‘cheap paradise’. He’s pictured here in Kuala Lumpar

A place many people love, but Alfie found to be overrated is Sydney. He says: ‘Yeah, it looks all right, but it’s very expensive, and I just didn’t catch the hype’

The most surprising place for Alfie was Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. ‘It’s like being in London,’ he says. ‘It’s not how you think of Africa at all. You think of Africa and it’s chaos; there’s no bus times, and all of that, but in Kigali it’s completely different

The most surprising place for Alfie was Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.

‘It’s like being in London,’ he says. ‘It’s not how you think of Africa at all. You think of Africa and it’s chaos; there’s no bus times, and all of that, but in Kigali it’s completely different.

‘There are organised buses, high-rise buildings. They’ve got more developed shopping centres than we have! Kigali was crazy.’

Alfie’s most underrated destination, which he thinks everyone should experience, is the very top of Norway.

He explains: ‘It’s really slept on, and people put it off, probably because of the fact it gets 20 hours of daylight in the summer and 20 hours of night time in the winter.

‘But, up there, it’s just a different world. It’s just breathtaking.’

Alfie and Owen applied for Race Across the World when they were on a rooftop in Brazil.

‘The application form came up on an Instagram advert while I was on the toilet. True story,’ he laughs.

Alfie (left) and Owen Wood (right) were only given £1,100 each and challenged to make their way from northernmost Japan to the idyllic Indonesian island of Lombok

After racing nearly 14,000 kilometres over seven weeks and through seven countries, Alfie and Owen crossed the finish line in Lombok (pictured)

Last year, viewers fell in love with the pair as they – along with five other pairs – spent 50 days travelling by land and sea from Japan to Indonesia and ultimately coming out on top to win the £20,000 prize.

And it’s been emotional for Alfie watching the current series, set across China, Nepal and India.

He says: ‘Watching it back, it does remind you of the whole process, which was just amazing. The fact I got to do it with my best mate, and the fact that it was all filmed and then documented in a way that it would never be done before.

‘I think, just the uniqueness of it, just the way that you couldn’t replicate it, no matter how hard you tried. We did something you truly can’t replicate.’

But he admits he’s glad he got to do the show last year rather than this current series.

‘I’m much more relieved we had our route because it would have been a lot harder this year, particularly when they get to Nepal and India, just because of the chaos of those places. I think it’s going to get really stressful because they’re so overwhelming. Even going on holiday to India is such a sensory overload. Being in that situation is going to be tough for them.’