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How to get around the world
You can hop on a freighter across the ocean, then buy a motorcycle, or maybe a horse, and trade it in for a plane ticket when you’re ready to move on. You can work your way from continent to continent on a yacht, or circle most of the world on buses and trains. Price, length of journey, reliability and comfort vary drastically with each mode of transport, so you’ll want to pick the ones that best fit your budget, itinerary (or lack thereof) and hardship threshold.
Making sense of the round-the-world flight tickets
The tickets come in two basic forms: a special RTW ticket provided by an airline alliance, and a series of cheap, often consolidated (airline talk for agents who purchase in bulk and pass on the savings) tickets sewn together by a booking agent. With an alliance ticket, the standard arrangement is this:
- The ticket is valid up to one year.
- You have to keep going in the same direction around the planet although some tickets do allow backtracking within a region.
- You pay based on the distance you cover (which increases the more you deviate from a direct route around the globe and decreases if you cover some of the ground in overland segments), or by the number of defined “zones” you stop in.
- You have to pick your stops and dates when you book the ticket, but you can make changes for free or for a fee depending on your ticket.
Where to book tickets
So do you go with an alliance, a RTW spec list or just do it on your own
with your favourite booking service? Our friends at 
bootsnall.com publish an
analysis of the market called the “Around The World Airfare Report”.
Unfortunately, the exact prices of their findings will likely be outdated a
week or two after the report is published. But the essence of what they
discovered, summed up here, should help you with your strategy no matter
when or where you book. They compared a do-it-yourself option, booking a
series of one-way tickets with Kayak ( kayak.com), with fares available from specialist travel agents
and alliance packages. For travel agents, they tried AirTreks ( airtreks.com), Flightfox ( flightfox.com), Indie ( indie-travel.com), World
Travellers’ Club ( around-the-world.com), and STA Travel ( statravel.co.uk). They also
checked the alliance packages from SkyTeam ( skyteam.com), Star Alliance ( star-alliance.com) and
OneWorld ( oneworld.com).
- Cheapest for basic RTW trips
Kayak came out ahead (eg
Chicago–London–(overland)–Milan–Istanbul–Delhi–Bangkok was around
£1000/$1500 on kayak.com
and the most expensive was just over £3050/$4700 on OneWorld).
Again, the exact prices may vary from day to day, but this provides
a sense of the basic range.
- Cheapest for complicated RTW trips FlightFox was the winner here. The alliances seemed to be the clear losers with either the highest price or inability to even calculate the trip. The range for the sample trip (Vancouver–Reykjavik– Cologne–Kathmandu–Bangkok–(overland)–Phuket–Bali–Honolulu–Vancouver) was roughly £2000/$3000 at Flightfox and £4150/$6400 at Star.
- Most likely to allow free changes Alliance packages. They may be expensive, but free changes is one of the perks.
Should you put an overland segment on your RTW ticket?
Numerous passes allow you to insert overland segments into your trip. Some even come packaged that way. It can provide a great way to connect two points and you’ll likely have a nice adventure along the way and feel you’re actually covering some of the globe by land. The problem is, the longer and more interesting the overland route, the harder it will be to guarantee you can (or will want to) make your next connecting flight. Either your bus gets delayed at some washed-out bridge, or you find so many mind-boggling things to do that you feel like you’ve grossly underestimated your time allotment. Which gets back to the flexibility of your ticket. How are you possibly going to know when you book the ticket that seventeen days is exactly the right amount of time to spend in Thailand? The best approach is to take a look at your time management strategy, coordinate with any special festivals or activities, and give it your best guess. Then pay a rebooking fee if you guess wrong.
A great RTW alternative: using a home hub
You can also book a series of return tickets with lengthy stopovers and open-jaw tickets (which allow you to fly into one country, out of another and travel overland in between) and simply return home for a quick break between journeys as you head around the world. For example, starting in Vancouver, you might book a return ticket to Santiago, Chile, make some kind of loop around southern South America and then fly back home. From there, after a short breather, you might fly to Delhi with Thai Airways, and take advantage of a free stopover in Bangkok (airlines often stop at their hub city and allow you to stay for days, weeks or months), then make your way overland from Delhi to Kathmandu, and fly back home again (with another stay in Bangkok if you like). You won’t necessarily circumnavigate the planet this way, but that’s just a technicality. It can be nice to sort out some of the mail that may have piled up in your absence (even if it’s coming to your parents’ house), spend some time going over your travel pictures, meet up with some friends, grab a change of clothes and work up some thirst for your next destination. If you don’t feel like returning home, or just want to save some money, pick a city with great international fares like London, Bangkok or New York, and use it as a base.
TYPICAL RTW ROUTES
3-STOP RTW STARTING IN LONDON
London–Delhi–Bangkok–New York–London
10-STOP RTW STARTING IN LONDON
London–Mumbai–(overland)–Varanasi–Bangkok–(overland)–Ho Chi Minh City–Perth–Sydney–Easter Island–Santiago–(overland)–Lima–Bogota–London
16-STOP RTW STARTING IN SYDNEY
Sydney–Auckland–Fiji–Cook Islands–San Francisco–(overland)–Los Angeles–Mexico City–(overland)–San Jose–Lima–(overland)–Buenos Aires–Cape Town–(overland)–Johannesburg–Nairobi–Mumbai–(overland)–Delhi–Bangkok–(overland)–Singapore–Sydney
17-STOP RTW STARTING IN NYC
New York–Mexico City–(overland)–San Jose–Lima–(overland)–Buenos Aires–Cape Town–(overland)–Johannesburg–Nairobi–Mumbai–(overland)–Delhi–Bangkok–(overland)–Singapore–Perth–Melbourne–(overland)–Sydney–Auckland–Fiji–Cook Islands–New York
Another great RTW alternative: wing it with locally purchased bargain flights
It’s not only possible to book one-way flights as you go – it’s usually pretty easy and not necessarily that much more expensive. Just pick up tickets from local travel agents and get any necessary visas and vaccinations at embassies and health clinics respectively along the way. If the country you’re entering next requires an onward ticket, no problem: simply buy a fully refundable onward ticket and cancel it once you arrive. (Just remember to ask specificallywhere you can collect the refund, as some airlines will only perform theservice where you bought the ticket or at the corporate headquarters.)
How do you find local deals?
Most of the smaller agencies have been steamrollered by the web in the West, but in many places travel agencies still thrive. And many countries have well-established travel booking sites as well (locals should be able to tip you off about the best ones to use).
Local agents make the deals and know the discounts. Depending on which points you’re connecting, it’s certainly possible to circle the globe this way (or zigzag around for a while) for the price of a mid-range RTW ticket. Some of these local travel agents are “destination specialists”. In practice, the term usually refers to an agency run by first- or second-generation immigrants (ethnic neighbourhoods are a good place to find them), which focuses on ultra-cheap tickets to “the homeland” by buying large quantities of seats on certain flights (sometimes charters) and operating with lower margins. Though all agencies like to claim that they are specialists, one giveaway is if they have a country-specific name (such as Athens Travel for Greek flights, Taj Mahal Tours for Indian flights and so forth).
Bear in mind too that international flights are almost always more expensive than domestic flights that cover the same distance. To get around costly international flights and taxes, it’s often possible to string together domestic flights in neighbouring countries with short overland connections on buses or trains across the border.
PAY AS YOU GO
Because I was travelling for more than a year, I bought my ticket in two halves: New York to New Delhi, then a year later (by phone), the next segment that took me back home. You don’t have to return to your starting city within twelve months on all tickets.
Are courier flights a viable option?
The short answer is no. There are some ultra-low ticket prices available between major hubs, but piecing together any sort of round-the-world journey this way is not realistic.
How to travel the world by sea
Rather than zipping over dimpled oceans at 30,000 feet, you could head for the high seas, especially if you’ve got a strong stomach. As the saying goes, “If a man has anything in him, travel will bring it out – especially ocean travel.” On the plus side though, no other form of transport quite conjures up that special feeling you get arriving by sea: a grand entrance in the style of the great explorers and nineteenth-century travellers. You can circle the world on one ship, skip from boat to boat, or simply make it a segment of your journey. Catching a lift on a yacht is the cheapest option. After that it’s a toss-up between cruise ships and cargo vessels. To find out which will work out best for your journey, read on.
Yes, you can hitchhike on yachts (and even earn money doing it)
Private yachts of all types often need an extra pair of hands during a sea passage. Some are crewed by professional captains delivering a boat to a new owner and some by “old salt” couples who live aboard their vessels full time. They usually follow common routes across seas where anchorages are safe, the scenery is agreeable and (since many are retired) the prices are low – and they generally simply want a little help or a little company on board. In other words, it doesn’t necessarily mean seeing the world with a bunch of nouveau riche assholes.
It’s possible to get a working passage or catch a free lift (though some may request £5–20/$8–31 per day to cover your food and drinks) while heading almost anywhere if you know the sailing seasons, yachting centres and routes (the big three regions are the Mediterranean, Caribbean and the South Pacific), and how to present yourself professionally. Most agreements to crew aboard a boat are made casually at the individual harbours, though you may have a written contract. Passages can be anything from a couple of days to a couple of months, depending on the destination.
You don’t need to be a sailor to crew on a yacht, but if you’re reasonably fit it certainly helps. Space is limited, so a compact kit will be appreciated. Show up pulling a Samsonite trolley and you’ve got a few strikes against you already. There’s not much special gear involved, but in your collapsible bag you’ll want some non-marking shoes, a good hat that won’t land in the drink when the wind picks up, sun block, UV sunglasses with safety straps, motion sickness pills and some smart clothes that won’t get you thrown out of the occasional yacht club.
You may be able to catch a ride right back to your departure point, but don’t count on it. Even if you’ve prearranged a long round-trip berth, one thing or another may cause you to hop off earlier. Expect to cough up for a cheap one-way plane ticket, ferry ride or bus trip, depending on where you end up.
USEFUL YACHTING WEBSITES
MARINA LINKS
CREWING AGENCIES
These online crew agencies let you sign up free of charge, and then take a percentage fee from the hiring vessel:
Where and when to find a yacht
The sailing season in the Caribbean begins in October, following the summer hurricanes, and lasts until May. If you want to head “down island” (south), show up in Miami or Fort Lauderdale between November and March. Antigua Sailing Week (end of April) is the big event, and the Antigua Yacht Club marina is an ideal place to pick up a berth to just about anywhere, especially South America, the USA or Europe.
The season in the Mediterranean kicks off in June when yachts need crew for their summer charters to cruise the Med. Nearly all major marinas are active, but especially Antibes, Palma de Mallorca, Rhodes, Malta, Ibiza, Alicante and Gibraltar. Then, from around November 20, there’s a 2700-mile fun run (of sorts) from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Canary Islands) to Rodney Bay in St Lucia: the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC). Over two hundred boats participate in the rally, and even more make the crossing unofficially. If you show up in Las Palmas at the beginning of November or before, and chip in some food money for the crossing (about £200/$308), you’ve got a good chance of catching a lift. To get a step ahead of the competition, you could start your search a few weeks earlier in Mediterranean marinas around Spain or France to catch the yachts before they pass through the Strait of Gibraltar on their way to Las Palmas. But, unlike the typically smooth passage across the Atlantic, the leg from Gibraltar to Las Palmas can get rough.
The major springboard for the stunning islands of the South Pacific is a few marinas in northern New Zealand – Opua, Whangarei and Auckland (probably in that order). Most boats leave in the autumn (end February to end April). If you’re looking for passage in the other direction (to New Zealand) or on to the USA, your best chances are between July and October. Some prefer to start in Australia – if so, try the marinas in the Whitsunday Islands, Airlie Beach and Townsville. May to July is a promising time to head north towards Indonesia.
Once there, how to look for passage
Head down to any major harbour and start by scanning the noticeboards. Then find the harbour master and ask if he knows any captains looking for crew. That way, you can slip in a personal reference (“The harbour master said I should speak to you about a crew position you’re trying to fill”). If that doesn’t yield any leads, ask if you can use his radio to announce on the local sailors’ channel that you’re looking for work. Before walking the docks in search of a captain, try a more informal place like the local sailing-supply shop or, better yet, the harbour bar. If you like to plan ahead, check the ads in yachting magazines and newsletters. There are also crewing placement agencies that specialize in this very service. Or, if you prefer to see the boat and meet the skipper first (which is probably a good idea), you may be better off on your own.
If captains don’t like how you look or conduct yourself, they may not reveal they have a position available. You need to dress smartly and demonstrate that you’re easy-going and level-headed. Moreover, you’ll need to learn some yachting manners – always ask for “permission to board” before letting your foot cross the rail, for example. If you’re a good cook, mention it. If you’ve got technical experience, let the captain know. If you’ve got some solid job references, keep a few copies on hand. Tell the captain he’s welcome to search your luggage (he may request this anyway) and that your travel documents are in order (make sure they are). The interview works both ways: you want to size up the captain and crew as well. Are these people you want to be stuck at sea with? Women travellers must especially be aware. Will you be the only woman on board? Can you speak to other women on board who have sailed with these men before? Find out. Once you set sail, it’s too late.
FINDING CREW WORK
First, you don’t need to know how to sail to do a crossing: you need to be neat, clean and trustworthy. If you’re doing day work for a boat in the harbour – which is a good way to get your foot in the door – show up on time and take it seriously. My first boat was pretty shitty. And the captain was mostly incompetent. But I had been working day jobs on various boats in the harbour in Antibes for three weeks and was getting desperate. He did, however, give me a free lift across the Atlantic. And after that, finding boats was easy. I went after the nice boats first. They usually had the best, most talented captains – and the most money. I even got paid over $1000/£630 for the crossing back home after a few months in the Caribbean.
My friend and I flew right to Las Palmas, but there was so much competition, it took ten days of active looking before we got a free lift. We walked the docks, even borrowed a dinghy and rowed around to the boats that were anchored just offshore, but didn’t get a lift until a captain saw me playing guitar at a party. He brought my friend and I along as onboard entertainment. It wasn’t until we were well on our way across the Atlantic that I told him it was the only song I knew. Once we were in the Caribbean, it didn’t take longer than five days to catch a lift. You just need to make sure that you don’t get left someplace without a lot of yachts. Barbados, St Martin and Antigua are the places you want to be.
I saw a number of women hitching on boats alone, usually doing the cooking, but if it were me, I’d team up with another woman or man for safety.
Travel by cruise ship vs freighter
Here’s the surprise: it’s not much cheaper to take a freighter. There are some reasonably priced cruise ships – if your definition of reasonable is £100–200/$155–310 a day – that can take you across various stretches of ocean (a cruise-booking specialist can help find what’s available). On a freighter, the average per day may be lower (£70–100/$108–155) as human freight, but it’ll take a bit longer (nearly double the time on some routes), and you may end up staying in a hostel for a few weeks waiting for the ship to leave for its “scheduled” departure, so the total price can easily end up about the same.
There’s more to do on a cruise ship, but, as far as hardcore budget travellers are concerned, the image can be an issue. That is, the leg of your journey you made by cruise ship isn’t going to be a big hit at the next hostel story-swap.
Another little surprise: freighters tend to put you in fairly luxurious officer staterooms (bigger than what you get on a cruise ship with a tight budget), many of which have been made available as the ships have replaced crew members with computers. Groups are usually small (about twelve – more than that and the ship is required to carry a doctor), but some freighters have become quasi-cruisers and take up to a hundred passengers.
Besides lengthy departure delays, one of the trickiest problems to overcome on many routes is the one-way issue. Ships give priority to round-trip travellers, so one-wayers generally end up on the waiting list. Also, single travellers may face a supplement of ten to twenty percent. If you’re over 65, you’ll want to bring a doctor’s certificate of good health. And, finally, keep an eye out for pirates. The waters off the Horn of Africa (Somalia and the Gulf of Aden) have the highest risk of armed attacks; Nigeria comes in second and Indonesia third. Working aboard freighters for passage isn’t likely to be a viable option, but they just might need some cleaning, an extra mechanic aboard or the services of a massage therapist. It never hurts to ask.
One more decision: container ship vs bulk freighter
The difference, as far as passengers are concerned, is the likelihood of delays and the number of days spent in each port. Container ships carry the giant metal-box eyesores that can be dropped onto the back of a truck, which expedites the loading and unloading process. This means you may only get six to twelve hours in port to look around, but it does help the ship keep on schedule. Bulk freighters may take two to three days in port, which gives you more time to explore, but increases the chances of falling behind schedule.
SAMPLE FREIGHTER TOURS
Some of the more common (round-trip) routes include:
- Australia/New Zealand–USA 45–70 days
- Mediterranean–USA 60–70 days
- South America–USA 45–55 days
- Around the world 84–120 days
Check out:
What you need to know about travelling overland
Overlanding is usually the cheapest, and by no coincidence most exhausting, way to travel. Anything can happen… and usually does. Buses break down in scorching heat, leaving you trapped next to a tin speaker blasting out Hindi remixes of Britney Spears’ songs at inhuman decibels; trains may stop for half a day for no discernible reason at all; and entire roads get washed away. There’ll be times when you’ll see a plane soar overhead and the thought of the cramped seats and rubber sandwiches of an economy-class cabin will send a wistful tear down your cheek. That said, kilometre for kilometre, overlanding is the most interesting way to get around, and no global trip would be complete without at least one land segment. Routes have sprung up over the years, some following ancient paths like China’s Silk Road or Central America’s Ruta Maya, or the 1960s’ contribution, The Hippy Trail. Others have popped up to connect popular backpacker destinations, buttressed by glowing guidebook reviews. Some trails are better trod than others and sometimes the route branches then reconnects like a stream flowing around a rock, and you’ll pass hundreds, if not thousands, of other backpackers along the way.
BORDER CROSSINGS
Having the right visas, vaccination certificates and onward tickets can be vital when you’re passing through certain countries. Often you can obtain everything you need for onward travel at the various border crossings for free or for a small charge; at other times you need a stamp from an embassy, but count on the border guards turning you back if your papers aren’t in order. Look ahead over your route and get updated visa information prior to departure, from either a guidebook or national websites.
The best thing about public transport
This is perhaps the most culturally enriching way to get around. Passenger status places you on equal footing with those around you and allows a precious peek into the daily travel experience of locals. You might not enter their homes, but this is the next best way of experiencing how locals – especially low-income locals – live. It gives you a chance to strike up a conversation with them, or attempt one with a phrasebook and hand gestures.
Guidebooks contain the necessary travel details on major bus, train and ferry lines. With the exception of the Trans-Siberian railway, a few popular ferry connections and transport during local public holidays, tickets are rarely an issue and can be booked the same day (even a few minutes before departure).
Remember to buy your tickets at the bus or train station, not from an agent in the city (who may overcharge and take a commission, sometimes a large one). And with buses, always ask if they have a working toilet on board.
JOURNEY TIMES
You can check approximate journey times in different parts of the world on the maps in the “Where to Go” section. Please keep in mind that overland journey times can differ substantially – in some parts of the world, drastically – by season and by the type of service. These times were calculated using regular, non-express trains/buses/ferries. There are often slower (and cheaper) overnight services, more expensive high-speed services and special express services, so make sure to research which option works best for your budget and schedule.
The overland tour – is it a good first step for you?
If you find the idea of overlanding exhilarating but intimidating, you’re not alone. There’s an entire industry comprising overland tour operators that load travellers into revamped army trucks (or some sort of steroid-enhanced transport), take care of all the paperwork and drive them across Africa, Asia or South America. You typically sleep in tents or cheap hostels, share the cooking and cleaning chores and take in the major attractions en route. It’s not uncommon for travellers to use these tours as a sampler before heading off on their own or with a friend they’ve made in the group. However, there are some drawbacks: you’re trapped with the same group of people for weeks or months and chances are reasonably high that at least one person is going to tweak your nerves; and you may feel ready to jump off and go it alone long before your financial commitment is up.
Overland tour companies are mostly UK-based and charge around £700/$1080
per week depending on location and length of journey. Try Dragoman ( dragoman.com), Exodus ( exodus.co.uk), IntrepidTravel
( intrepidtravel.com)
or Overland Africa ( overlandafrica.com).
The wonderful (or horrible) tour bus
This includes everything from four-star luxury tours to local packages that can be arranged in almost any mid-sized city. There are thousands of tour companies to choose from at any number of levels, and it certainly helps to get a personal recommendation or find some favourable reviews. In many areas, hostels team up with local tour operators (or allow tour operators to leave posters around, for which the hostel may get a commission); the operators typically offer off-road budget trips to scenic spots in the area that are hard to access by local transport. Often these tours are good fun, but it pays to try to get a sense of what the guide is like, and trust your instincts. For all the informative tips you get on the “real culture”, you’re unlikely to experience much of it with this sort of transport.
GUIDED EXCURSIONS
Despite the general reluctance of independent travellers to sign up for just about anything, jumping on a tour for small portions of a longer trip can be an excellent way to get some professional supervision while you do something you haven’t done before – and can work out cheaper and easier than arranging it on your own. There are glacier treks, journeys by dugout canoe into the Amazon, kayak trips around the Fijian islands, hippo-dodging African canoe safaris – the list goes on. You can usually get good, impartial information from your guidebook and other travellers while you’re in the region.
A few good questions to ask when enquiring about an activity are:
- How easy is it to book on the spot without a reservation?
- Are there any possible (likely) weather-related conflicts with the intended activities or refunds if they’re not available when you arrive?
- Does the price include taxes and tips? If not, what’s the total cost?
- What are the living conditions like? Private room? Toilet in room? Washing facilities?
- What meals are included?
- For walking and cycling tours, are baggage transfers or porters included?
- What is the cancellation policy, and what kind of insurance is included?
The essentials on buying a car or motorcycle in another country – or taking your own
It’s possible to take a car or motorcycle across borders, and in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand, car travel can be a great way to save money and explore the backroads – thoughout Europe be prepared for motorway tolls and petrol priced like 12-year-old Scotch.
In Asia, Africa and Latin America, prepare yourself well in advance for the mountain of paperwork and fees ahead. After you’ve specially prepped your vehicle for the trip, you’ll need to get it a “Carnet de Passage”. For more details on documentation, preparation and international hassles you may encounter, take a look at The Adventure Motorcycling Handbook (Trailblazer). You’ll see a few more suggestions in the “Where to go” section of this guide.
BRINGING YOUR OWN VEHICLE
If you want to take your car or motorcycle around the world, you’re going to need a Carnet de Passage en Douanes (CPD). It’s not necessary if you’re bringing a car to Europe or North America, but for crossing continents the document works like a passport for your vehicle, allowing it to pass through customs with a set of stamps. The actual purpose of it, however, is to keep you from selling your vehicle in countries you’re travelling in (thus circumventing local import taxes). So, while the carnet itself only costs a few hundred pounds (depending on how many blank pages you want in it for stamps and on whether you’re a member of the automobile association that issues it), to get it guaranteed you need to put down a refundable deposit of as much as six times the value of the vehicle. That means that if you’re taking a Land Rover worth £20,000/$30,000, you may have to leave as much as £120,000/$185,000 (and probably not less than £60,000/$92,000) to get a carnet – though you can also pay an insurance company a fraction of that amount to guarantee the carnet gets paid in the event you and your vehicle become separated. If you leave the country without the vehicle you came in with or overstay your visiting time allotment, they’ll presume you sold it (even if it died and you left it in a scrapyard), and the country is legally entitled to collect from the carnet issuer an amount equalling whatever the import duties would have been, which can – you guessed it – be up to 600 percent of the vehicle’s value in some countries.
However, if you’re just shipping a vehicle to one country, such as Australia, you should look into the local import duties. It may well be easier and cheaper to pay those than to get a carnet.
In the UK, pick up a carnet from the RAC ( rac.co.uk). In the USA and
Canada, this was handled by the CAA ( caa.ca) until March 31, 2015. At the time of the printing of
this guide, it was still unclear who would
provide this service in the future. The AA also issues carnets in South
Africa ( aasa.co.za), Australia
( aaa.asn.au) and New
Zealand ( aa.co.nz). Outside
these areas, try the Swiss-based Alliance Internationale de Tourisme
( ait-touringalliance.com), which administers the carnet
system; the public part of its website has a listing of affiliated
members.
AREAS WHERE A CARNET WILL COME IN HANDY
Sources differ regarding which countries require or recommend carnets, so treat this approximation as the guideline it is:
- All of Africa except Morocco and Tunisia
- Most of the Middle East and Far East
- Australia, New Zealand and Vanuatu
- Latin America and the Caribbean
Third-world driving tips
- Have multiple copies of everything. Even get some colour copies of your driving licence laminated so you can leave them with border guards who threaten to hold them for a bribe.
- Take a course in vehicle maintenance so you can fix minor problems yourself. If you can’t find one, go to a garage and ask to pay by the hour for a half-day or day’s worth of lessons. It’s likely to be more expensive, but you’ll get to practise on your own car and can buy any spare parts you need at the same time.
- Cross-check maps in remote areas with local drivers. Some of the roads marked on your map may only be in the planning stage, while others may simply not exist.
- Crossing borders is more time-consuming for vehicle owners, so get there early or just after lunch to avoid the crowds, and try to steer clear of crossings during weekends or local holidays.
- Keep things friendly at the border. Patience is paramount. If the border officers or police ask for money (a bribe), cheerfully asking for a receipt and their names so you can send a note to the tourist board might discourage them a little. Or have some small bribes ready: little souvenirs, cigarettes, sweets and the like can help circumvent more costly cash bribes.
- On a map, a town does not always equal a filling station, so tank up whenever you get the chance.
THE TRANS-SIBERIAN EXPRESS
Matronly Russian train attendants with enough facial hair to knit a pair of leg-warmers, food that most travellers would only eat on a dare, and smoke in some cabins so thick you could conceivably cut off a piece of the seat and use it for a nicotine patch if you ran out of cigarettes… you might wonder how the Trans-Siberian Express has managed to maintain its exotic appeal. Still, it feels like the right way a traveller should head across Asia, whether on the way out or on the way home – going both ways may be overkill. The actual Trans-Siberian line runs from Vladivostok (a Russian port city just north of China) to Moscow. Instead, most travellers take one of two lines from Beijing to Moscow, neither of which (confusingly) is called the Trans-Siberian, though people refer to them as such. There’s the Trans-Mongolian, which takes six nights to cover 7865km and passes through Mongolia (Russian and Mongolian visas required), and the seven-night Trans-Manchurian (9001km), which passes just north of Mongolia (Russian visa only). Though you can hop on and off along the way, the ten-day Russian transit visa won’t give you much time to explore.
Budget travellers usually opt for a four-bunk cabin, which has relatively comfortable bunk beds and luggage space. You can also ride in a more expensive first-class compartment with two beds, slightly softer seats and, on the Chinese trains, a shower. In both classes, attendants keep things clean and make your bed with rented sheets. The dining facilities on both trains may receive less than stellar reviews, but more interesting fare can be found off the train during the brief stops in Russia: here, fresh smoked fish from Lake Baikal and other goodies are available for pocket change. There are also samovars at the end of each car filled with hot water you can use to make your own soups and teas. Many travellers cross Asia on Cup-a-Soup and Earl Grey.
If you’re not crossing in summer, bring warm clothes to stretch your legs comfortably at the border checkpoint or when the trains get a wheel change. (Russian and Chinese rails have different gauges, so they actually switch the train cars onto different wheel bases; this takes several hours, so a good novel will come in handy as well.)
Bring something to clean the outside windows. A cheap squeegee fastened to a long stick will make you tremendously popular, as many windows are coated in thick dust. Who knows, you might even be able to trade your window-washing services for a few drinks. In second class, ask for a top bunk so you can sleep when you want, not when your cabin-mates decide to relinquish your seat-bed. And pick up a copy of Bryn Thomas’s Trans-Siberian Handbook (Trailblazer).
Both the Trans-Mongolian and Trans-Manchurian depart once per week.
See seat61.com for good,
in-depth information. You can book tickets on realrussia.co.uk. They
have a booking widget that uses data directly from the RZD (Russian
Railways) database. You’ll want to do this in advance, before you land
in Russia.
BUYING A TRANS-SIBERIAN TICKET IN CHINA
They don’t let you walk into the train station and buy a ticket at
the counter. If you want to take the easy, more expensive, route you
can find a local travel agent in China to
sell you a ticket. If you want to save a bit (the exact amount is
hard to say – it depends on the travel agency) you can pick up a
Russian visa and head to the Chinese Tourist
Board’s official agency, CITS ( cits.net). If your visa and
forms are in order it should be fine.
Stopovers are a bit tricky to arrange on your own since CITS insists that you buy separate tickets for each leg of your trip (eg one to Ulaanbaatar and one from Ulaanbaatar to Moscow), but will only sell you the leg from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar. The Ulaanbaatar to Moscow leg must be bought in Ulaanbaatar. That brings most people back to a booking agency.
A Russian visa can be picked up at the Russian embassy in Beijing. You can pick up the Mongolian visa at the Mongolian embassy, which gets you 30 days in the country. Note that US citizens don’t need a Mongolian visa for visits of up to 90 days. Remember to buy your train ticket before pursuing the visas.
BUYING A TRANS-SIBERIAN TICKET IN RUSSIA OR FINLAND
To do it yourself, head to Central Railway
Agency in Moscow. The Trans-Mongolian requires Chinese
and Mongolian visas. The Trans-Manchurian only requires a Chinese
visa. A first-class fare will get you get a two-bed compartment.
Booking with a local travel agent will add a service charge to the
fare, but will allow you to make arrangements in advance and give
you assistance with stopovers. In Moscow, try G&R International ( hostels.ru). In Finland,
tickets are available at the train station in Helsinki, though it
will cost more than in Russia. If money is less of a concern, and
you want a choice of diverse excursions during stopovers, try the
Russian Experience ( trans-siberian.co.uk), where the Trans-Siberian Classic
will cost from £600/$925.
A Mongolian visa can be picked up at the consular office in Moscow once you already have your Chinese visa. Americans don’t need a visa. For anything more than a transit stay in Mongolia, you’ll need an invitation. Moscow isn’t the best place to pick up a Chinese visa, but it can be done, again in about three working days – you’ll need to show your train ticket and onward ticket from China. If you’re leaving by an overland route you’re making up as you go, try getting a letter of introduction from your country’s embassy. If you’re planning stops along the way, there are several alternative trains you’ll be able to catch throughout the week that don’t go all the way to China.
The pros and cons of taking a bicycle
A bicycle involves much less paperwork than a car or motorbike, but few countries are set up for cyclists (not to mention people wearing spandex shorts with built-in crotch padding), which can work both for and against you. In small towns off the main routes where few people with motors care to stop, you’re an instant celebrity (or freak). But getting between those towns can be a dusty, muddy, traffic-dodging experience. Some countries, however, such as the Netherlands or Denmark, are especially well suited for cycling (Norway and Switzerland too, if you don’t mind hills). Find out what you’re in for before packing the bike. On the downside, you may not always feel like biking, especially when the weather conspires against you. And if you start trying to put it on a bus or train, you’re likely to face extra costs. With all the locking and carrying, it can feel at times as much of a burden as it does a liberty.
If spare parts are a major concern or you want to get a first-hand look at local cycling conditions, wait until you arrive and then buy a sturdy local model. And just because your bike holds four saddlebags, that doesn’t mean you should bring all four. You will probably need four if you’re camping, but if you’re planning to stay at hostels or pensions, two saddlebags should be sufficient, and the reduced weight is a godsend going up hills. More important, it makes daily security less of an issue. If you want to head into a market or restaurant or up a flight of stairs to check the availability of a hostel (something you’ll be doing daily), it’s easy to lock up the bike and carry two bags along. With four bags (or five including a front bag), that’s not much of an option, so someone will get stuck guarding the gear – or you’ll need one impressive security system.
CLASSIC OVERLAND ROUTES
NEW YORK TO LOS ANGELES
Distance: 4050km
New York–Philadelphia–Cleveland–Chicago–Denver–Grand Canyon–Las Vegas–Los Angeles
LONDON TO SYDNEY
Distance: 19,900km
England–Belgium–Netherlands–Germany–Czech Republic–Slovakia–Hungary–Romania–Bulgaria–Turkey–Iran–Pakistan–India–Nepal–Tibet–China–Laos–Thailand–Singapore–Indonesia–Australia
ISTANBUL TO KATHMANDU
Distance: 17,000km
Turkey–Iran–Pakistan–India–Nepal
BEIJING TO BERLIN
Distance: 7380km
China–Mongolia–Russia–Finland–Sweden–Denmark–Germany
CAIRO TO CAPE TOWN
Distance: 8000km
Egypt–Sudan–Eritrea–Ethiopia–Kenya–Tanzania–Malawi–Zambia–Zimbabwe–Botswana–Namibia–South Africa (Sudan/Eritrea/Ethiopia borders can be problematic)
ANCHORAGE TO TIERRA DEL FUEGO
Distance: 14,500km
Alaska–Canada–USA–Mexico–Guatemala–Honduras–Nicaragua–Costa Rica–Panama–Colombia–Ecuador–Peru–Chile–Argentina (Darién Gap, between Panama and Colombia, can be problematic)
AMMAN TO CAIRO
Distance: 1000km
Jordan–Israel–Egypt
Note: Remember that political turmoil, natural disasters and the like can rapidly change the security situation in most countries. See Chapter 15 for more on staying safe on the road.