We are all dreaming of traveling around the world, especially when you are stuck in a job or due to a pandemic. What if you were to take your car and just start driving? How far would you get? I’m here to help you answer that question.
Is It Possible To Drive Around the World?
It is not possible to drive around the world without the use of a boat or an airplane. To drive around the world overland and over sea, without flying, theoretically takes around 4 months to complete. The hardest part is to find a boat to take you and your vehicle across the oceans.
Now that we know the theory, let’s discuss the practical side of this idea. What does it mean to drive around the world? Do you have to visit all seven continents? How long would it really take and how much would it cost? We’ll dive straight into all these questions in this article.
Can You Drive All the Way Around the World?
The simple answer is, no. Because around the world would mean you have to circumnavigate the planet and 80% is water. And a car cannot drive on water so you cannot use the car as your mode of transportation.
It also really depends on what you consider driving around the world. Does that mean you have to follow the equator because that would be the largest “around the world” distance. However, there is mostly water underneath the equator so sailing around the world would be a more appropriate term in that case.
Does driving around the world mean you travel to all seven continents? You trip would not really look like a circle anymore because you would go up and down the continents trying to tick off all of them. Of course there is going to be more boats involved because only Europe, Asia and Africa are connected by land. The rest you could consider islands. And what value does it add to go to Antartica? Does your vehicle have to touch the ground in such a fragile ecosystem for you to qualify for having driven around the world?
Or does driving around the whole world mean that you drive at least the span of the equator on land and visit multiple continents? Or do you merely try to hit multiple continents and sort of make it look like a loop around the world?
The rules for a Guinness World Record Circumnavigation
While there are no qualifying rules for driving around the world, a circumnavigation that counts as a world record is bound to strict guidelines.
To qualify for the Guinness Book of World Records most people travel from West Europe to East China, fly to Australia and cross Australia West to East and then fly to Alaska to cross North America West to East and then fly to Europe again to finish where they started. The exact rules for a record are as follows:
- The distance travelled must be at least as long as the the circumference of the Earth — 24,900 miles / 40,075 km
- Generally traveled in one direction, and preferably in one leg
- Starting and finishing in the same place
- Cross the equator at least once
- Cross all longitudes
- Hit two antipodean points (2 spots exactly on the opposite side of the world)
“The first and only circumnavigation by an amphibious vehicle was by Ben Carlin (Australia) in a modified Ford GPA amphibious jeep called Half-Safe. He completed the last leg of the Atlantic crossing (the English Channel) on 24 August 1951. He arrived back in Montreal, Canada on 8 May 1958, having completed a circumnavigation of 62,765 km (39,000 miles) over land and 15,450 km (9,600 miles) by sea and river. ”
How long would it take you to drive around the world?
The fastest circumnavigation by car around the world according to the rules of the Guinness book of records is 19 days, 10 hours and 10 minutes. However, the time stops when you are in the air. So in reality you would be away from home a bit longer.
With your own set of rules you could do it faster, but my recommendation would be to go slower. Driving around the world (same goes for riding, cycling or sailing) is a trip of a lifetime and an adventure that should be enjoyed not rushed. As well as traveling faster is more expensive than traveling slower. So you would get more days to enjoy all the cultures you meet along the way than you would trying to set a new record.
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How long can you drive a day?
On an extended road trip you should not drive more then 10 hours a day excluding breaks. Take a break every 2,5 hours to stretch, drink and eat. As soon as you start feeling tired make sure to stop and close your eyes for as long as you need.
With overlanding, what we call a big road trip around the world, it is not about the destination but about the journey. I always strongly recommend not driving in the dark, especially in foreign countries where dangers are lurking in the form of drunk drivers, wildlife on the roads, unlit people walking their cattle in the middle of a highway. This limits the time you can be driving each day but it makes sure you come home safely without injuring yourself or someone else.
So a 10 hour driving day on a big road trip is an exception and I would only do it if I needed to catch a plane or I have to leave a country because my visa is running out. How far you get on a long days drive really depends on where you are. A ten day drive in rural India gets you 50 miles while a long day on the German highway might take you 700 miles in one go.
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How far is it to drive around the world?
A quick way to drive around the world via Russia and North America is about 10,372 miles or 16.692 kilometres. The route starts in Hamburg, Germany crossing from Europe through Russia to Vladivostok. Then you take a plane to Seattle and cross from there to Halifax and complete the trip.
This is a quick and dirty route to a round the world trip. However, you can take any route you want to roam around the world overlanding. The best trips are those where you are not on a strict time schedule. The best tip I can give for route planning is to limit the amount of times you ship or fly over a vast body of water. Those are the most expensive tickets in your overlanding RTW (Round the World) budget.
What is the longest drivable distance?
The longest drivable distance on the world is from Khasan, Russia to Cape Town in South Africa. The two cities are approximately 22.000km / 13,600 miles apart and it takes 322 hours to complete.
The rules for longest drivable distance are simple. You are not allowed to take a ferry to cross a river or other body of water but a bridge or tunnel where you drive the car through are. Google maps can be a great help but there are a few point where the information is behind or politics block you from crossing the border instead of physical boundaries.
However, the details of this question are so vast that I could write a whole other article about it. It is also impossible to drive the route right now, because of political issues such as a civil war in Syria and South Sudan.
How much would it cost to drive around the world?
A simple drive around the world would cost approximately US$25,000 for 2 people in one car. This trip would span three continents, traveling for 3 months and includes two shipments across the oceans.
This is just an indication of costs, how much you would actually spend depends on many factors such as the speed you prefer to travel, you level of luxury and if you want to wild camp or not.
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Related questions that might interest you
How long would it take to drive all the way around the world?
It takes 19 days, 10 hours and 10 minutes to drive all the way around the world according to the rules of the Guinness book of records and its current record for fastest circumnavigation by car.
Can you drive all the way around the world
You cannot drive all the way around the world without the use of a boat or an airplane. To drive around the world overland and over sea, without flying, theoretically takes around 4 months to complete. The hardest part is to find a boat to take you and your vehicle across the oceans.
Can you drive around the whole world?
You cannot drive around the whole world without the use of a boat or an airplane. To drive around the world overland and over sea, without flying, theoretically takes around 4 months to complete. The hardest part is to find a boat to take you and your vehicle across the oceans.
Want to hit the road and travel overland to explore new places and experience extraordinary cultures? I’ve been there too and looked into the options of how to afford this lifestyle. In this article we talk about overlanding as a multiple continent, long term travel style. We will dive into each strategy, how to mix and match and a basic indication of how much money you should be thinking about.