Round the World: without flying
Go global the greener way – options for a non-flying round the world adventure
Issue 114 | September 2010
Join an overland tour
A few heavy-duty buses leave London bound for the other side of the globe via Europe, into Asia to Australia, or via Russia and China to the USA – the modern version of the iconic 1960s/70s ‘hippie trail’. T
rucks tend to carry 15 to 25 people – who you’ll get to know extremely well.
Advantages are readymade friends and someone else looking after the red tape. The downsides are a lack of flexibility and a rather rushed journey, though travelling overland will give a flavour of every country you pass through.
Where to start
Oz Bus (0800 731 9427, www.oz-bus.com) runs London-New York (£6,999) and London-Sydney (from £4,199) trips.
Top tip
There’ll be lots of early starts. Stuff your pillow with the next day’s clothes – lumpy, but worth it for the ten-minute lie-in.
Ride public transport
If you’ve got time, flexibility and a head for logistics, a circumnavigation by public transport is possible. InterRailing will see you through Europe, and the Trans-Siberian runs across Asia.
Bus and train-hopping will get you to Thailand, where you can catch a flight to Australia (the easy option) or push south through Indonesia (the slower, hairier option) and fly from there.
There are no Asia-Oz ferries; a few freighters sail from Singapore to Perth and other ports, if you really don’t want to fly. Public transport in Australia and the USA is simple, so get creative: think trams, steam trains and even school buses.
Where to start
See www.interrailnet.com, www.seat61.com, www.greyhound.com and www.greyhound.com.au
Sail the seas
Tourist cruises are laden with restaurants and onboard entertainment; instead, try a freighter – some take passengers, offering good meals and crew banter with fewer frills.
Freighter Cruises has a RTW in 70 days trip, via the Cape of Good Hope and the Panama Canal, or ask at ports for individual passages.
Another option is to find crew work on private yachts. Acquire a Competent Crew qualification first (www.rya.org.uk).
Where to start
See www.freightercruises.com/voyages and www.strandtravelltd.co.uk for cruises; www.crewseekers.net lists crewing opportunities.