Discuss: No Flight Travel

As a former mile higer, not the sexual connotated word, I seek alternative means of transportation. The old school as you will. The three key means I wish to stick to are:

Rail, Ocean, Road.

I am looking for others that have traveled RTW through these mediums exclusively. Tell of your experiences. Your recomendations, ect... I want to hear from the people who enjoy the journey and not just point "B". The way in which you get somewhere is more than half the story.

Well, I haven't RTWed, but on every trip we try and include as many means of transport as possible. Aside from a plane to get where we are going, we always try to include: train, bus, subway, tram, boat/ferry, hitchhicking, walking. If we can find them, the following are also great: gondola, various historic trains (whatever you call the kind with really narrow rails, or with gear-wheels), and on. Just seems like a more natural way to explore a region if you take advantage of all the various transport possibilities. They're normally there for a reason and suited to the environment.

1.
Try to avoid camels and mules. Camels are an acquired taste, and when they gallop they can ruin a bad back. Mules are slow, and the constant sitting can make walking unbearable afterwards. Mules also have the annoying habit of going as close as possible to the edge of cliffs without actually tumbling you over.

2. Horses can be great, IF they aren't entirely stupid. Try and get the smart and independent ones.

3. I've never tried elephants. I hear elephant rides are available in India, Thailand, and Burma.

4. Trains. Take them as often as possible.

5. Buses. They're great everywhere but in Europe and North America, for the most part. Greyhound and trailways in the USA are guaranteed to have stops in bad parts of any given town. I think sometimes that if they weren't bad before, they get worse just by the presence of the bus stations.

6. Feet. They work too.

7. Bicycles. (I have walking muscles, though for those with biking muscles, its a great way to get around)

etc...

Boats: One of these days I'll get on an oceangoing vessel, I swear!!!!

quote:

5. Buses. They're great everywhere but in Europe and North America, for the most part. Greyhound and trailways in the USA are guaranteed to have stops in bad parts of any given town. I think sometimes that if they weren't bad before, they get worse just by the presence of the bus stations.

So what is wrong with the busses in Europe then?

I'd love to travel around the world without flying some day, but I'm afraid the ocean crossing bit could be a bit difficult. If you find any info on that, please let me know.

Well, I think Tortuga_traveller hasn't had any or doesn't remember the buses in South America, where you stop in the middle of nowhere, with only a hole in the ground in a earthen hut to do your business - which usually lets you hold it for another few hours. Or buses in India, where numbers seem to work differently, because they always fit three times as many passengers into the bus as there actually is space for. Or buses/small buses in Pakistan, where you easily start praying even as an atheist, because those ledges are just a wee little bit too close and flying by too fast. I think buses in Europe and NA are EXCELLENT (albeit way too expensive).

Ever since my initial RTW, I always try to do as little flying as possible. I just did a trip that led me overland from St. Petersburg, through Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan to India. However, a around the world trip without flying is somewhat difficult. There are certain region/areas where it is made hard for you to get further without flying or without missing out a lot or with it becoming too expensive (as stupid as this might sound).
The crux lies quite often in the Pacific. Getting from Indonesia to Papua New Guinea is not too easy. It can be done but is as far as I know very unreliable and illegal (I'll tell you in not too much time, as I intend to leave Australia into that direction.) Obviously, you can take a boat from a bigger port in Indonesia straight to Oz - but yeah, then you miss out. Similar thing from the South Pacific Islands to South America. Those tiny nations often don't have boats going all the way to South America. If you manage to get to the Easter Islands, you should be fine...as there are boat services to Santiago. But often it's actually cheaper to fly from Auckland to BsAs or Rio.
Depending on your route, Africa and the Middle East can pose problems as well. Some countries are just not passable and there is no way around it, so you have to fly over them. Has ever anybody here travelled to Saudi Arabia? I was looking into a trip crossing Northern Africa from West to East going through the Middle East to Iran and that way to India. I just gave it up because it was too much hassle in Africa and the ME.

You see, I gave this a lot of thought myself and I do have a friend who's travelling since 20 months now. They tried to do it without flying at first as well, but then had to give in somewhere in Indonesia.

Hope it helps.

Adrian

Very cool guys. Great info and fasinating stories. I see what you mean Adrian, how some countries, the only way through em' is over em'. A bit disapointing on my end, but hey, plenty of other spots to visti im sure. I would love to hear how your friends managed travling w/out flying. I wonder how hard it would be to 'wing it'. Take a train to new york and hitch a ride on the queen marry II or with a freighter bound to europe. Than train to where ever within that massive continent. Find houses to stay for a few nights. Find work when needed. Maybe find a place to call home later in life. Who knows. I am so excited to travel more though.

Check out this site for finding places to crash out.
www.couchsurfing.com

Oh seraphim,

Check out some of these sites for No Fly travel.

I have been taking a look at them and wondering how i can score cheaper means. The idea is there though

Cargo Ships
http://www.freighterworld.com/

Perfect Site....almost.... for what were lookin for
http://www.seat61.com/

Queen Mary II
http://www.cunard.com/CruiseItinerary.asp?cruiseid=2726...e=&Sub=&OB=&Region=7


Fun time looking through the info.

sheep baron -- though I cannot help you much right now, but i can support your thoughts on no fly traveling. I am currently on a trek driving rtw, though I am still in the states part of my trip. I think you can see so much more and get into the culture more if you stay on land while traveling. I hope to do a by foot/bike travel sometime in my future for a long period of time.. i would think that would give you the most detailed experience.

anyways, I just wanted to ramble and agree with you... I think it is time for me to sleep now

quote:

Originally posted by Sheep Baron:
http://www.seat61.com/

That's an excellent site

I'm trying to do much the same thing.

I'm training it from London to Singapore - getting boats around the Philippines and Indonesia and down to Oz.

It's getting across the pacific to the Americas that's a killer - there doesn't seem to be a cheap alternative to flying.

Same thing with getting to Greenland from Canada, once there you can island hop across the atlantic no bother.

Maybe the trick is to stow away down to Antartica - scoot around there for a bit and back up to Patagoina

So once you are in Europe or 'over the atlantic', you can pretty much travel like humans were ment to; by way of train, boat or foot? Nice!! Thanks that is really encouraging. Tell me more about this stow away sufff! Sounds real fun. And is it possible to get over the big pond cheaply?

I haven't read this book but plan on soon: Pedaling to Hawaii: A Human Powered Adventure--Stevie Smith. It's about these guys who travel around the world without flying...I think just pedaling, just human powered. Check it out.

Jeff Greenwald wrote a book which title escapes me at the moment, about travel without leaving the ground. IT was fairly good read, but I found some things funny, where he is observing a group of people like "oh they're just tourists, and will be here only to shop, etc", while keeping up the "I'm a traveller not a tourist" schtick, but then 3 pages later, he professes his love of shopping in foreign bazaars and the like.

My wife and I are about 16,000 miles into our RTW trip by car and we have still not left the North America. I can't imagine how different the experience would have been if we would have taken a plane to 5 or 6 cities and missed the parts in-between. there is nothing like waking up in a state park at sunrise and hitting the road with a cup of deli coffee in one hand and a stale donut in the other (leaving only your knees to steer)

Puddle hop from Alaska to Japan. The only problem is that it would have to be with a tour group since you'd HAVE to pass through Russia to do it. Then there's that disputed territory between Japan and Russia. But it's definitely possible.

Look up the blog "Pilgrim's Progress" here on Boots'nAll, the travelogue of a Kiwi family with 8(!) children who went all the way from Singapore to Europe with nary a flight along the way- IRC they did mainly trains/buses in Asia up to Beijing, Trans-Mongolian to Russia (visas were a hassle but doable with enough planning), got a campervan in Berlin, eventually flying out of Istanbul several months later. Amazing read.

There is a book "The Wrong Way Home" about an Aussie who goes from London-Sydney overland but he had to catch a flight from Indonesia-Darwin as he couldn't get regular passenger service. And there was a Kiwi girl who was posting around here doing the same with her bicycle all the way to NZ, last I heard she'd found a yacht in Bali to take her all the way to Auckland.

North-South America is doable as well, you can take a boat around the Darien gap from Panama-Colombia where there's no road. For the oceanic crossings the Atlantic crossing is pretty easy due to boats like the QEII (I've seen prices there comparable to a plane ticket!) but Pacific is more difficult- short of freighters I've only seen one cruise ship doing that route, going from Japan to Alaska every few months, stopping in Russia along the way.

That's what I can recall about the issues at hand- totally doable if you're of the mindset to do it and fine with spending a few extra $ where needed I think.