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[stevejames]

I've noticed that whilst a RTW air ticket is a popular option for a newbie traveller wanting to see the world, many people - especially second-time-rounders - are preferring to travel overland. Can anyone share any classic overland stints they know of? The Trans-Siberian or Trans-Mongolian is the obvious one... also the Thailand-Laos-Vietnam-Cambodia-Thailand clockwise loop... any others?

[Jessica_CDN]

My fav is from San Diego to Baja California and then down through central america.

There's nothing as classic as chicken buses in central america!

[peacefrog]

The Americas look like a fantastic playground for overlanders, from one tip to any other, or making loops...
Patagonia loop (BsAs-Atlantic Coast-Ushuaia-Andes/Pacific-Santiago) and Bolivia-Peru-Chile loop are classics.

Africa as well, you can drive up or down all the way.

I would be interested in hearing about the current Middle East routes, say from Mongolia to Kazakhstan to all the other -stan countries south of there... And how to emerge back in Europe without going through a warzone...

[peacefrog]

And what about going down rivers? Mekong, Yangtse, Amazone, Nile for the bigger ones.

[wakingdream]

And what about going down rivers? Mekong, Yangtse, Amazone, Nile for the bigger ones.

Oh yeah, that would be tres cool! Istanbul to Cairo would be neat.....I'd keep going into Iran and the rest of the Stans.

[rbisset]

There's a few in Africa that are pretty popular. The backpacker central Nairobi to Cape Town and the monster Cairo to the Cape!

I'm thinking of going from Istanbul to Singapore overland through Iran, Pakistan into India, Nepal, Tibet (China) and onto SE Asia. Not for a few years though

[wakingdream]

I'm thinking of going from Istanbul to Singapore overland through Iran, Pakistan into India, Nepal, Tibet (China) and onto SE Asia. Not for a few years though

Ahh, but when you do, it'll be SO worth the wait! I'd like to do a simialr trip myself at some point.

[Jambo]

Africa (e.g. Cairo to Cape Town) seems a bit less stupid of an option than it was, say, 7 or 8 years ago. I've just finished reading Paul Theroux's great book 'Dark Star Safari' which was him travelling exactly that route. If you are flexible with your time and prepared to rough it, it sounds like a fantastic experience.

[tomandbecky]

We'll be doing Bangkok - Bombay overland, through Thailand, Laos, China, Tibet, Nepal and India. Can't wait.
It seems there aren't that many people doing this, especially in this direction, so I hope it will be fairly adventurous.

Istanbul to Kathmandu is a classic I'd love to do one day. If only the security sitation was different, we might consider buying a VW van in Bombay and going back home over land.

Did you ever read "Full Tilt" by Dervla Murphy? She travelled from Dunkerk to Dehli by bike, absolutely cool, that lady!

[wakingdream]

We'll be doing Bangkok - Bombay overland, through Thailand, Laos, China, Tibet, Nepal and India. Can't wait.
It seems there aren't that many people doing this, especially in this direction, so I hope it will be fairly adventurous.

Tremendous trip! You guys are going to have an adventure of a lifetime!

Overland is where it's at. I very rarely fly after the initial hop over the pond. I find that the depth of the experience of traveling overland is unbeatable

[rbisset]

We'll be doing Bangkok - Bombay overland, through Thailand, Laos, China, Tibet, Nepal and India. Can't wait.
It seems there aren't that many people doing this, especially in this direction, so I hope it will be fairly adventurous.

Istanbul to Kathmandu is a classic I'd love to do one day. If only the security sitation was different, we might consider buying a VW van in Bombay and going back home over land.

Did you ever read "Full Tilt" by Dervla Murphy? She travelled from Dunkerk to Dehli by bike, absolutely cool, that lady!

Sounds like a great trip. When we were in Lhasa there were a few travellers but not huge amounts like you'd get in Bangkok. It's fairly easy to arrange a 5-6 day trip from Lhasa to the Nepalese border. It's great fun and make sure to spend the night at Everest Base Camp on the way!! It's a once in a lifetime thing, although when I do my overland I'll be going to the second-in-a-lifetime experience

[peacefrog]

Definitely sounds good.

Another good one would be to go through Myanmar-India-Bangladesh-etc... I just spent an hour explaining some hard-head that he could not cross from Myanmar to India.

[rbisset]

You can't cross from Myanmar to Bangladesh either although there are rumours about a planned road joining the 2 countries.

[travel2live]

I've noticed that whilst a RTW air ticket is a popular option for a newbie traveller wanting to see the world, many people - especially second-time-rounders - are preferring to travel overland. Can anyone share any classic overland stints they know of? The Trans-Siberian or Trans-Mongolian is the obvious one... also the Thailand-Laos-Vietnam-Cambodia-Thailand clockwise loop... any others?

In Africa, Cape Town to Nairobi, or even to Cairo is a classic. I didn't go north past Nairobi, but spent 2 months going up from South Africa to Kenya....awesome times!

In South America, I did some overlanding from Santiago to Rio, down through patagonia. Not sure if it is a "classis" route?

South America I did on my own. Africa I did with GAP. Both were great. I got a bit bored in SA a few times, being in remote places, but I felt a bit crowded in a group in Africa, so take your pick!

Trans-siberia is a must for me to try soon!

[marc-patty]

Hi there!

We went from Europe to Singapore by land (Trans Siberian and the whole SE Asia by land). We took our 1st plane from Singapore to Brunei and then to Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands. We just took 4 planes in 18 months of traveling, and it was amazing.

We flew from Pacific Islands to LA and went from LA all the way to Central and South America by land

If you have time to do it, overland it's definetely better for me as it gives you so much flexibility and some border crossings are just unique if you do them overland...

We came back 4 months ago and it feels like a dream now....

I hope that helps!
Patty

[lraleigh]

Definitely sounds good.

Another good one would be to go through Myanmar-India-Bangladesh-etc... I just spent an hour explaining some hard-head that he could not cross from Myanmar to India.

I know someone who did that border crossing. Read Adventure Capitalist: The Ultimate Road Trip by Jim Rogers. I guess money talks, though when I asked how he did it, it was as though the clouds parted for a second!

[opalchelle]

marc-patty do you have a travelogue - it would make for a great read

[wakingdream]

Definitely sounds good.

Another good one would be to go through Myanmar-India-Bangladesh-etc... I just spent an hour explaining some hard-head that he could not cross from Myanmar to India.

I know someone who did that border crossing. Read Adventure Capitalist: The Ultimate Road Trip by Jim Rogers. I guess money talks, though when I asked how he did it, it was as though the clouds parted for a second!

I wish you could cross there, or at least it would be good if it were more of a possibility. Without having to line your pockets. That would be great.

[opalchelle]

I find this thread really interesting but as a newbie RTW traveller what are the tips to keep in mind when overlanding.

Eg if we want to go overland in Africa by ourselves where do we find the information for this to feel more confident about it or is it simply having to read through all the africa posts until it comes together bit by bit.

Just worry if I am up to the challenges that overlanding will bring feel a bit nervous about it - but hubby definetely doesn't want to do tours

[rbisset]

You'll be fine! Travelling is really easy. Make sure you have an up-to-date guide book. I normally use the Lonely Planet as it's easy to use and the transport details are normally spot on.

The only thing you really need to worry about is getting from 1 place to another and it's not hard to find out when the buses/trains leave.