While looking at a globe, I realized that we do not really need planes or boats to get around as much as people think we do. It looks like can simply drive most places in the world given sufficient time. Suppose I start out in Massachusetts. I assume that I could drive into South America if I really wanted to. Likewise, if I can drive to Alaska and take a short ferry ride into Russia I think that I would be able to drive around most of the rest of the world. It looks like I could drive all around Asia, head over to Italy for some food, hop over to see the Eiffel tower in Paris, then take the Chunnel to get to Scotland for some golf. I have always wanted to see the pyramids so it looks like I can simply drive down to Spain or go through the Middle East to reach northern Africa. If I have a four-wheel drive, I think that I would drive all over Africa and maybe go on a safari. Then, I could turn around and come home. Is this trip of a lifetime feasible at all? What if I simply broke the trip into pieces and simply decided to drive from Scotland to China?
Persoanlly, I forsee you having a few problems. You could very likly encounter some areas that are pretty-much devoid of gas stations… That could suck…
Plus, you might tend to get pretty sick of driving after awile.
But it’s possible if you prepare enough I suppose…
I don’t know if there’s a car ferry from Gibraltar to north Africa; I know there’s passenger ferries, though. I’m also not sure you could get a car ferry from Alaska to Russia. In theory, though, you’re probably right; all you need is a ship large enough to carry your car.
I’ve always wanted to drive to Tierra del Fuego. But don’t assume you’ll be on super-highways with frequent gas stations, restaurants, rest stops, auto repair places, motels and English-speaking radio stations, not to mention friendly locals. The places you want to visit are, indeed, tempting; but don’t forget the thousands of miles between them.
There are no regularly scheduled auto ferries across the Bering Strait. Even if there were one, it wouldn’t do you much good. There are no roads that lead anywhere on either side of the strait. On the Alaskan side, the nearest road that ties in to the N. American highway system is about 500 miles from the strait, at Manley Hot Springs. On the Russian side, the nearest road that ties in to the Asian highway system is at or near Magadan, about 1,300 miles away from the strait.
Unless the situation has changed in the last 5 or 10 years, there is still no direct road connection between North and South America. You have to take a ferry from (IIRC) Panama City, Panama, to Buenaventura, Colombia (roughly 400 miles).
There are a great many ferries between Europe and North Africa. I’m sure at least some of them carry autos. There is a motorable road straight across N. Africa from the Strait of Gibraltar to Cairo. But are you sure you want to drive through Libya and Algeria?
Wouldn’t taking an auto ferry be cheating? I mean, isn’t the whole point of this trip to see if you could “drive” around the world?? If you are allowed to put your car on a boat to get from A to B, then why not park the damn thing on ChiefScott’s carrier and drive from Norfolk to the Middle East…
I’d count it as “driving” if you covered more than 99% (or maybe 99.9%) of the earth driving on land. This would allow a couple of short ferry rides. Ideally, you’d charter your own ferry to minimize the boat-ride. You’d especially need to charter your own boat to go from Alaska to Russia- I don’t think there’s much traffic up there.
You’d also need a caravan of trucks, etc. for supplies to last you through the thousands of miles of deserted areas, such as Siberia. Send us a postcard 
Arjuna34
My father, who enjoys driving, had the crazy idea about driving from the most northern part of Alazka and driving to the southmost tip of South America.
We both believe that this is possible…
In 1908, there really was a “race around the world.” Here is a reference to it. It began in New York and went west to Paris, about 20,000 road miles–if there had been roads to drive on. The racers only learned upon arrival that Japan had no roads, only trails. Perhaps wisely, the Germans bypassed that leg of the race entirely.
The fact that many of the participants actually finished is a miracle of endurance. One team got through by melting bullets and shot-dropping them into a pan of water to make wheel bearings. Another was pursued by a tribe of Cossacks. The Germans wound up finishing first, much to the chagrin of the French, but it soon became evident that they had cheated throughout the race. Victory devolved to American George Schuster’s team, riding the Thomas Flyer. Total time: 169 days.
The event, front page news at the time, was eventually used as the basis for Blake Edwards’ 1965 film, The Great Race, with Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis.
For this gig, you need a DWK-- a WW2 vintage amphibious truck (lorry).
Can I at least do my trip in parts? Is it possible to drive from England to India? Is it still impossible to drive Massachusetts to Argentina?
Here’s a book about a 23 day roadtrip from Alaska to the end of South America:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0394758374/ref=cm_mp_wl/102-9918880-5789736?colid=2YS1IZLB186GE
Arjuna34
It’s going to get easier, mavpace. There was talk in the news Friday of a to-be-built underwater tunnel from South Korea to Japan. Bear in mind if you decide to travel through that really long undersea tunnel that you’ll be in earthquake country.
You can drive to South America. If you have a 4WD. The Pan American Highway gos all the way from Alaska to the Southern tip of South America, but there is a 30 mile gap on the Colombia/Panama border. It’s kept that way to deter drug smuggling. Tavelling across Asia presents other problems. Most of Siberia is a frozen waste, with almost no roads (or people).
Getting from Europe to North Africa is similarly tricky. You could take the ferry to Morrocco. Then it’s Algeria and Libya. Algeria is having a god awful civil war, and Americans can’t get Libyan visas. So let’s head off to Turkey and the Middle East. Actually, this could just about be done. That’d be Syria, Jordan down to Aqaba (nice drive from Damascus to Aqaba BTW). Then a nice desert drive across the Sinai peninsula. Not sure if there are any roads there, but there’s definitely a rail link. The other way takes you through the Gaza strip and the West bank. Not a real smart idea these days.
And you can’t drive through the Channel tunnel to England. Trains only.
OK, then Mavpace, this is a fun game. So when you get to Scotland, even if you insist on doing the terrible golfy game when you get here, do get in touch, from the nearest coastguard station.
(And St. Andrews is much more fun than golf,really.)
[professor Fate voice] MAX!! YOU IDIOT! [/prof. Fate voice]
You would need quite a few ferries to get to Australia, methinks. And I guess you wouldn’t want to go to Antarctica…
Diver
It might be worth getting some practice in first. Why not try a nice short drive - maybe drive all thw way around the great lakes - but avoiding any roads with more than two lanes. If you can manage that, maybe try driving to LA using the same method (just don’t use a credit card and don’t stay in any motels on the way).
>> I don’t know if there’s a car ferry from Gibraltar to north Africa; I know there’s passenger ferries, though
You gotta be kidding. Hundreds of trucks loaded with produce and many other goods cross the straight every day.
That’s “Road Fever” by Tim Cahill (1991), an excellent (and fun) read for anyone interested in the NAm-SAm trip. He was supporting his friend Gary Sowerby in an attempt to get into the Guinness Book for the Ushuaia-to-Prudhoe-Bay run. Cahill made it clear that there are certain areas you just don’t want to be in and that you might not enjoy the trip as much as you expect. At the time, there were no roads between Panama and Colombia, forcing a short container-ship ride from Cartagena to Panama City. Since Panama has no less reason to fear spillover of the civil unrest in Colombia now than they did then, I would doubt that has changed.
You could get from the tip of Scotland to Singapore on your own wheels, not counting the railroad piggyback ride through the Chunnel.
To turn south and get into Africa without a long ferry ride would require passing from an Arab country into Israel, then back into an Arab country - does anyone know if that’s possible?