Is overlanding dangerous? Overlanding is not inherently more dangerous than any other kind of traveling. It all depends on the countries you choose to travel through and what kinds of risks you are willing to take. With the right preparation and decision making you can safely travel to most parts of the world.

So what are the risks to take into account while overlanding, what are some precautions you can take to stay safe and is overlanding together safer than overlanding alone? We will discuss those topics in the article below.

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What exactly are the dangers of overlanding?

When I talk about overlanding, I usually mean traveling by any type of vehicle over land through multiple countries for an extended period of time. The fact that you are in/on a vehicle, crossing borders and getting to places you have never been before creates new risks that you normally don’t have to navigate in daily life. The unknown of what you will be facing along the way is what people perceive as dangerous. A whole list of what ifs get’s pulled out of a can as soon as you start thinking or talking about the concept.

Before you go crazy from all those negative ideas and set your dream of overlanding aside listen to the advice of an experienced overland myself. Yes there are risks involved with traveling, but not necessarily greater than the ones you are taking driving your car to work every day. There were 33,654 people who died in a fatal traffic accident in 2018 in the USA alone. Getting in that car every day is also dangerous to some extent.

I don’t want to minimise the risks you take when overlanding, so here is a list of the most common issues you have to take into account while riding around the world.

Traffic
Getting into a traffic accident is probably one of the biggest risks you are taking. Almost all of my overloading friends who have traveled extensively have a story of getting into a crash.
Theft
Stealing, theft, robberies. It happens, but probably less than you think. However is especially occurs in countries where there is a big gap between rich and poor and your vehicle exudes richness.
Vehicle failure
Yes, your car/motorcycle/bicycle will break down eventually. And probably in a pretty inconvenient place.
Offroad accidents
Riding offroad is part of the adventure for most, but falling over on a motorcycle or getting stuck with the car is very likely to happen when you step the paved road.
Remoteness
Being alone in nature is the goal for many of us overloading, but there is a danger in bing out of cell reception by yourself. Getting stuck out there because of vehicle failure is a big risk.
Nature
Landslides, extreme cold, extreme heat, hurricanes. You get the point. Nature is not always as serene it looks on the pictures.
Animals
A venomous spider bite, an angry elephant or a kangaroo crossing the street. The animal kingdom can pose a threat to your safety while overlanding.
Deadly diseases
Catching a cold abroad can have disastrous consequences. First of all you might be traveling to places that have diseases you have never heard about. Secondly the health care system in those countries might not be as good as those at home so you might leave the hospital with more problems than you entered with.
Malicous intent
In some places there might be a price on your head as a white tourist from a rich country no matter what you do. Kidnapping or terrorist attacks on busy tourist hotspots can be a real danger.
Corrupt officials
Maybe you have done nothing wrong but you happen to meet a corrupt official in a bad mood which leaves you in prison for three nights. True story….

As you can see the list is quite extensive of the extra dangers you face when you decide to do some overlanding. So why did I just tell you that it isn’t more dangerous then staying at home? It all depends on how you mitigate those risk which we will discuss now.

What are procedures one could take to make overlanding less dangerous?

This is a great question! Depending on how much travel experience you have, you might already be doing some of the things right. Other tactics are more specific to overlanding so let’s dive right in.

Traffic

This is one of the biggest risks you will face on a long overlanding trip especially when traveling to places like India and Asia where traffic customs will be very different from what you are used to. So what can you do?

NEVER!!! drive at night - streets without lights, potholes or other road construction that you cannot see, wild animals or livestock crossing the street, people crossing the street, drunk drivers. The list goes on. Whatever you do, find a place to stay for the night before the sun sets. Usually you will start searching 2 hours before the giant fireball leaves the sky.
Don’t speed Why risk it? Are you really in such a hurry?
Adapt your driving style to match the locals - when in India, drive like an Indian because then you are more predictable for the other people around you.
Stop when you are tired

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Theft

On our trip through Africa we’ve had nothing stolen, we lost a few items, but never was something stolen. Here are some tactics you can use

Don’t flash it - if you have a phone don’t put it out on display in the middle of a busy street. Keep your fancy cameras at home or in your bag until you really want to take a picture.
Keep it on your body - not in pockets because they are easily picked. Carry your most valuable things like passports and credit cards on you. I often put things in my bra but you can also get one of those special carriers.
Cover it - A popular method for motorcycle travellers is to carry a cover to put over the bike when parking up in busy places and it instantly disappears. I prefer to park the motorcycle inside in such cases. Inside the lobby of my hotel or a restaurant across the street. Somehow there is always a solution.

Vehicle failure

Flat tires, stalling engines or simply ran out of fuel. Getting stranded is never fun. Here are some tactics to keep you safe

Know your vehicle - getting to know your vehicle technically can really help to stay safe. Try and listen to all the sounds it makes. As soon as you hear something unfamiliar check it out before it does more damage. You don’t have to be a mechanic when you leave, but bring the (Hanes) maintenance manual with you, have the youtube app installed on your phone and be willing to learn.
Bring some basic tools with you - While you are learning how your vehicle works, it helps to have a basic toolkit with you. And if you find out that you are missing something you can always buy tools that are missing.
Learn to do maintenance - good maintenance can keep you out of trouble when you need to rely on your vehicle the most
Let the locals help you - in the East, you will receive help from strangers when stranded on a road. You just gotta wait. Accept the help and repay in any way you can.

Offroad accidents

Motorcycles crash and cars get stuck. It might just be the stupidest fall you have ever made, but if your bike lands on you and pins you down in such a way that it breaks your leg.

Don’t drive there - if your skills are not up for the terrain, turn around and find another route
Travel together - If you do want to drive through that desert, team up with friends or make new friends. At least then there is someone to rescue you
Take an offroad driving/riding course - Learn how to drive your vehicle from a professional to avoid the most obvious mistakes.
Take a first aid course - Know how to address certain issues and pack your first aid kit according to your own skills. No need to bring syringes when you don’t know how to use them.

Remoteness

Alone in the desert. A dream or a disaster?

Don’t travel there - if it is so remote that you might not see people for weeks and you are all alone think again and turn around. The line between bravery and stupidity is fine. Don’t cross it.
Tell someone where you are going and when they should contact authorities when you don’t communicate with them at a predetermined time.
Bring the proper safety equipment - be prepared for snow storms and heatwaves. Bring enough food, water and safety blankets to keep you alive.
Take a satellite 2-way communicator - I prefer the Garmin Inreach where you can send sms over satellite to friends, family and rescue services just in case you break your leg in the middle of the desert.

Nature

We love her, but she brings her own set of challenges to us overlanders.

Drink water, stay hydrated - Especially true for bicyclists and motorcycle riders.
Filter all water you drink - If you decide to drink water from a pristine looking stream, it doesn’t hurt to filter it. You never know what happens upstream.
Don’t swim in wild oceans - if the waves are big, don’t swim. The currents can easily sweep you off your feet never to be seen again.
Don’t swim in lakes in Africa - There is this bug called Bilharzia and it can make you sick when you go swimming in a lake that is affected.
Take cover in a thunder storm - Get off that mountain, stay away from trees and make sure there is always something higher than you.

Animals

Sometimes they look so cute and fluffy.

Keep your distance - it’s tempting sometimes to get just a little closer to take a really good photograph of that bison. But don’t be fooled by how calm they look.
Don’t drive at night - I’ll just bring it up one more time, animals often cross the road at night, you don’t want to hit that elephant in the middle of the street.
Don’t pet the rattle snake - Obvious?
Shake out your motorcycle boots that you left outside of your tent last night before you put them back on. Same goes for ordinary shoes.

Deadly diseases

Get your shots before you leave or before you enter an area that is know for that type of disease. They are expensive but you don’t want to get yellow fever when it could have been prevented.
Use mosquito spray and cover your bare skin - Malaria, dengue, west nile virus. All kinds of diseases are transferred by mosquitos. They mostly bite during dusk and dawn so spray wisely and keep your arms and legs covered with thick fabric.

Malicous intent

Do proper research, don’t rely on your governments advice - The safety of a country for overland travellers is not always in line with the travel advice most governments give to it’s citizens. Go on facebook and join overlanding groups, start WhatsApp groups with people you meet on the road. Talk to people who are coming in the opposite direction you are traveling and talk about their experiences. Based on all of that information make your own decision on whether is it safe enough for you to travel there.
Stay away from those countries - There are some countries where you should really not travel to at the moment. Somalia, Syria and South Sudan come to mind. For your first overland adventure it’s best to stick to the well traveled trails before venturing into war zones.
Talk to locals - Talk to the locals about the state of their country, listen to the tips they are giving you. If they tell you to not walk around at night, then stay in your hotel. Some regions the violence is not aimed at foreigners but at rivalling groups or the government. Other areas it might be the complete opposite and your white skin could become a target.
Don’t talk to locals about their neighbours - It’s always “it’s not so bad over here, but in the neighbouring country you better be aware!”. This pattern repeats until you circumnavigated the world.

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Corrupt officials

Smile and wave - Pretend to wave when passing by a police car without stopping.
Bribe if necessary - When things heat up, you can always try and bribe your way out of the situation
Have the phone number of your embassy at hand - This I still forget but luckily most of the time I had a phone with internet connection on me
Have the anti corruption number on hand - Some countries have an anti corruption hotline. Have it programmed in your phone. Start asking for the officers name and rank and start dealing. I am sure you will see results very quickly.
Don’t get aggressive - stay calm, take your time. Pitch your tent in the garden of the police station if you must. Persistence is key.

What exactly are the dangers of overlanding alone?

Overlanding is an amazing style of traveling, definitely my favourite so far. When I was 27 I decided I wanted to start my overlanding career but I did not have any partner or friends that were interested in coming. Sounds familiar? So how dangerous is overlanding alone? It is not more dangerous than traveling as a couple or as a group. You do take different decisions in certain situation but that usually means staying on the safer side.

For example riding down a deserted mountain trail with a steep cliff on the side. The road keeps getting narrower. As a solo rider I decided to turn around because the likeliness of someone passing in case I crash and get hurt was too low. If I would have been with my partner we might have pushed on taking more risk riding down a dangerous trail. Is overlanding as a woman dangerous? No, not more dangerous than as a man. As a women you are quickly taken care of arriving in remote and small villages. Men are perceived as a possible threats and are approached cautiously.

Is convoying safer than driving alone?

It depends, but usually not.

Driving in a convoy usually means that you are trying to stick together as a group and take more risk in traffic.
Instead of a lone traveler that passes by too quickly to act, now someone has time to think about what to do between the first and the last person in the convoy. This makes you a target.
Wild camping by yourself is usually quiet and you can easily hide. With a bigger group you are bound to make more noise and be found by anyone with bad intent.
You tend to take more risks when traveling with someone else. Having a backup vehicle can make you feel safer then you actually are.

I hope you are still dreaming

I hope I didn't scare you with this article, it was meant as a reminder that the risks that we take are manageble. In comparison with any other type of travel. If you have any questions, leave them down below and send me an email.