How Many Miles Around the Earth Driving? And Can You Do This?

You all learned at school that the Earth has a circumference of about 25,000 miles or 40,000 kilometers. Does it mean that you can drive around the Earth covering just that distance? Unfortunately, no. The direct distance between two cities may be 100 miles, but you will need to drive 180 miles on the roads just because they are not direct.

Can you at all drive around the Earth in your car? What kinds of obstacles will you meet on the way? I will tell you in this article what I think about it.

Of course, the topic is quite wide and I will try to keep it short and fact-based. Here's what I'm going to cover:

• Potential distance of driving around the Earth - why so different?
• Why can it be hard to drive around the Globe?
• What kind of transport do you need to try this crazy idea?
• How much time this potentially can take?

Let's get started!

What should be the distance of driving around the Earth in your car?

The circumference of the Globe is not the same in all places. For example, you may run around the Earth axle in Antarctica for 2-3 miles and you can say that you've just completed the round-the-Earth trip. For being more or less adequate in forming my answer, I will presume that you live in the US and want to drive all around Eurasia and come back to the US from a different side.

In this case, you will have to travel about 60,000 miles, but this distance includes not only driving but also going with all kinds of ships. For example, from New York to London or Lisbon, you will need to take a ship that can not only take you but also your car.

To tell you the truth, I've tried hard and found only one pretty expensive way to deliver your car on the ship to Europe. The cost of such a trip will be pretty bad and this may discourage you from starting the trip.

So, the idea is to find a delivery company that sends goods on ships to Europe and ask them if they can ship your car. Usually, you will need to pay for the entire container or at least for one part of it. And you will need to take your vehicle to the chosen sea port. I would choose Portugal or Spain if I was intending to drive around the Earth.

Then, you will be able to drive through the continent and then ship your car again with any kind of sea transport from China. If you look at the map, you could go to Russia and then take a short ocean trip to Alaska. But it's impossible now - no transport and not that safe for people from the Western world in Russia.

So, you will probably need to go through the Asian part of the continent - Turkey, Kazakhstan, China.

When your vehicle is shipped with sea transport, you don't need to travel on the ship, too. Just take a plane and arrive 20 days earlier than your vehicle arrives.

So, this is what the most probable round-the-Earth trip on the car will look like. You will need two times to have your vehicle shipped in a sea container.

Why can it be hard to drive around the Earth?

Round-the-Earth trip includes several types of transport. It's easier than you think to complete this trip on a plane now - it will take you just two or three days and most of your time you will spend in airports all around the Globe waiting for the next flight.

Sea transport also offers round-the-Earth trips and you can even buy a ticket for a cruise ship with a lot of cool entertainment and other great things to enjoy. This will take you about two months.

But for a motorhead, these ways are bad. A real motorhead will want to drive around the Earth. And they will have to deal with several important obstacles:

• Delivering the car through the oceans. At least two times you will need to have your vehicle delivered through the ocean. It may be quite challenging to organize such shipping from China to the US, for example.
• Being legal at all times. Driving a car with American registration may just not be legal in some Asian countries, so you may get problems with road police.
• Finding a place to have rest. In the US and Europe, you will have hundreds of options to choose from. But when you are driving through the vast deserts of Kazakhstan, for example, finding a place to sleep can be quite challenging.
• Unfriendly countries. Unfortunately, not all countries are friendly to tourists. Some countries will hate Americans, others will hate all tourists and this can be a problem. In some places, people can even damage your vehicle.
• Quality of fuel. If you buy fuel in some small village in Turkey, you can end up being stranded on the roadside. In some countries, the quality of fuel is not controlled that strictly, so "businessmen" sell you some mixtures that will kill the car.
• Getting ready for all kinds of weather. While in one part of the world, it's now warm and sunny, in some other parts you may have snow and ice on the road. So, you will need a set of spare tires with you.
• Servicing and maintaining your vehicle. To change oil every 10K miles, you will need to find a good place to do it. Also, in some countries, you will not find proper oil and filters for your vehicle.

These all are just the problems that are on the surface of this trip. If you start going deeper and considering other possible issues, you will create a list that won't be readable because of its length. So, no, it's not going to be a fun ride in your car, it's going to be a challenging trip that requires all your money and skills.

If you still want to try, you need to plan everything as precisely as possible. And you will still have to deal with a lot of unexpected problems on the way. You should also understand that in some countries, people just don't speak English, and you will not find any help from locals.

What car do you need to drive around the Earth?

If you want to catch the warm feelings of driving around the world in a small 30-year-old retro vehicle and smiling towards the wind, you better right now get rid of this idea. This journey will require the perfect vehicle that can cope with off-road, dusty roads, hot and cold climate, hilly areas, etc.

You may also need to sleep in your vehicle, so it should be quite spacious to let you rest after a very hard day.

The best choice, in my point of view, is a very tough off-road vehicle or a big SUV. It should be reliable and have a big and durable engine. Otherwise, your journey will end after just several thousand miles.

Also, your car should be equipped with everything you may need on your journey. Starting with essential pills and medical equipment and finishing with some food supplies that never spoil and are edible in all kinds of situations.

So, not all Americans have such cars that will allow them to travel around the world. Such a trip will be a journey of your lifetime and risks are huge. So, you need to get prepared before you go. Of course, I recommend talking to a person who knows what it means to travel thousands of miles in a car.

How much time can this journey take?

The round-the-Earth trip in a car can take you at least two months. Well, you can make it faster if you have the goal of going as fast as you can. But for most people who actually want to do this, the journey will be the chance to get rid of their daily routine, have some rest, forget about problems that are surrounding them at home, etc.

So, you will stop in different cities and villages, talk to locals, have some fun, and even may stay a week or two in some unexpected country.

Also, about a month or even longer will take the ocean journey of your vehicle. Not all of us have enough money to order aviation delivery of the car that would last one day.

How much money will you need?

Unfortunately, I can't tell you the sum of money you will spend on this journey. Just car deliveries with sea transport will cost you at least $4,000. Also, you should include costs for fuel which would take more or less $12,000. Then, the expenses on hotels and motels are huge. Even if you sleep in your car, you will still need to pay for parking or camping, in most countries.

Also, these two months you will need to eat and drink something. Take $100 a day, on average, for food for one person because you are not going to cook and will use some fast-food options or small restaurants on your way. So, the minimal cost of such a journey should be around $25,000 and it doesn't include a lot of unexpected expenses no one can count.

Final thoughts

Of course, driving in your car around the world is not an idea that you can easily make happen. In most cases, you will need a lot of money, a lot of courage, and a lot of luck to even start this journey. I haven't heard of anyone who would succeed in this. And I actually think using public transport options is much more interesting for such a journey.

Oceans on our planet limit your route and don't allow you to drive your car anywhere in the world. So, it's almost always better to use planes or ships and then use different land transport to move from one place to another.