Why we choose to travel around the world without flying

The overcrowded van crawls up the steep hill. The humming noise of the old engine, coupled with the screaming voices coming from the radio, make it impossible to hold a conversation. My seat doesn’t have a seatbelt but luckily, I’m stuck between Patrick and an old man with a big bag on his lap. I’ve counted nine seats and 14 passengers. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered that in The Netherlands. The smell of sweat and spicy food is getting worse. Is there any sign of the border yet?

Our trip from Turkey to Iran may not have been the most comfortable, but it was certainly one of the most memorable – a real adventure!

During our preparations for this world trip, we started to think; what if we could travel without flying? Now that’s what I call a challenge! In this blog, I explain why we made this decision and why you should consider traveling by public transport too.

It’s a small world

One moment you’re at home. It’s raining outside and your kissing your mom goodbye. Within the blink of an eye, you’re at the other side of the world enjoying a coconut cocktail under the burning heat of the Asian sun. It’s no surprise that people people say the world is getting smaller. You wake up in your messy one-bedroom apartment in Amsterdam and then later that same day you go to sleep in a trendy hotel in Bangkok. We’re pretty used to it, I guess. But let’s be frank. The world is not getting any smaller. It’s just that we’re losing track of time, distance and size. An inch on the map on your wall is not even an hour’s flight away. But we have plenty of time to enjoy this world trip. So why rush from country to country?

Special encounters

Most aircraft are filled with tourists, ready to embark on their special holiday or travel to an important business meeting. You don’t often see any locals getting comfortable for their inflight entertainment, do you? The local people still prefer to travel long distances by train or bus. It’s much cheaper and often, they’re not in the same hurry that many in the western world are. We didn’t decide to give up our flat, sell our furniture and pack our bags for this trip just to be surrounded by westerners. We wanted to have a real, authentic experience: to travel like the locals do and see the world at a more leisurely pace. On top of that, it’s much easier to have a chat with a fellow traveler on a train than it is on the plane. It’s these special encounters that are the most memorable.

See the world changing

By moving slowly and over ground, we see the world changing around us gradually. Habits, culture and language gradually merge when we move from one country to another. We pass endless green fields, rolling hills and snowy mountain peaks. With every border we enter, we come to realise even more that borders are just man made and only reflect political boundaries. In reality, we are all connected.

Better for the environment

We are both vegetarians. The cosmetics we use are produced without any microplastics. We refill our own water bottles, avoid products with palm oil and we make minimalists look like hoarders. The only thing I still feel guilty about is flying. Of course, as a travel journalist, I sometimes have no other choice than to fly. If I stopped, I would be better off looking for another job. But now that we are traveling full-time, I find it even more important to keep my carbon footprint as low as possible.

Health

I do not like flying. I know, that’s a bit of an odd to say as a travel journalist. But it’s true. I really hate the hassle, the waiting in queues, the stress. Don’t get me started on the grumpy customs officers intent on turning your bag inside out. Or the running when the gate opens, as if we need to fight for our seat. People, we’ve all been assigned a personal seat. They’re not leaving without you! And then there’s the air conditioning that gives me a cold. Surely the restless sleep and bad food aren’t helping. You get the idea, right? I think it’s a good decision to avoid planes as much as possible.

Limitations

Of course there are some restrictions we face when traveling over land. Flying has become so cheap in some parts of the world that alternative options are no longer running. They simply couldn’t compete, take Sri Lanka for example: we were looking forward to crossing the 40 kilometers of sea that separate the island from mainland India. But the ferry that used to run between the two countries went bankrupt because flying was so cheap. No one took the boat anymore.

Then, of course, there are a few countries we’d rather not cross. What about Afghanistan? Or Pakistan. Not my first choice for a hitchhiking adventure. In actuality, we decided we didn’t want our decision to limit flying to restrict us too much. This means, when there really is no other option other than to fly to keep on traveling, we won’t be ashamed to board a plane. And if we do, we will choose the shortest, most direct flight to our next destination and we will offset our flight emissions through a climate programme.

Would you like to explore the world by train? Start with Europe!

We believe Europe is a great continent to explore by train. The facilities are great, distances between amazing places and cities are small and the network is getting better and better. At Eurail.com people from all over the world get a chance to explore exciting cities, incredible nature and many cultures that have been evolving for centuries. Click this link, buy your tickets and start planning for your grand adventure!