Round the world overland

From Wikitravel

This article is a travel topic.

Travelling round the world has been a goal for many intrepid explorers ever since humans suspected that the world was round. Ancient Greek mathematicians calculated that the world was round and speculated on how to follow it all the way round, and the first person generally acknowledged to have pulled it off was Ferdinand Magellan.

These days, it is easy to buy a number of flights that take you around the world, but for many people choose not to fly. One reason is that air travel is a polluting form of transport. Another is that the joy of travelling is the journey itself and the many places and experiences that come by passing through countries rather than flying over them.

Many people plan to travel around the world without using air transport by using a combination of sea, rail and road, although generally it is almost impossible not to include some air transport on the way, due to the cost of covering the oceans and for political reasons in some parts of the world.

There are a number of suggested itineraries, the most common are -

• By train using the Silk Road via Kazakhstan to China and sailing on to America.
• Taking a cabin on a cargo ship that can take you to a number of different ports.
• Driving a car across land and shipping it at ports or selling it at the port.