[Mynameis]

Just came across this article by TOI.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/t...as77701943.cms

18 countries in 70 days. For 15 lakhs.

Worth it?

I can't say much on expense, comfort levels, etc, since I haven't travelled abroad for holidays. Those who have been through vacations abroad can provide insight as to how much sense does this bus service make.

But one thing is for sure, this does seem interesting

[Jeroen]

it says 20,000 km in 70 days. That is well over 300 km a day on average, every day. On a bus.

It looks as if hotels are included as well, which supposedly means most of the travel will be during the day. Which means you are going to find yourself in the bus staring out a lot. So I am not so sure how much actual time there will be to enjoy all these countries you find yourself travelling through. First glance it appears you will be in a bus for 70 days, at least 6-8 hours a day if not more.

Definitely not my kind of travelling.

We have bus services from the Netherlands to Spain and Switzerland and so. They usually drive at night, two drivers. It is a very cheap option to get to your holiday destination without loosing too much (day) time.

In the early 80s I travelled for weeks in the USA with the Greyhound buses. Always travelled at night, slept on the bus, explored during the day.

Although at 61 I am still not done exploring the world and I still travel a lot, but you won’t be seeing me on any bus anytime soon. Just to damn uncomfortable. Just because they have a loo on board and reclining seats does not make it comfortable. Just less uncomfortable.

Jeroen

[haisaikat]

Learnt that the owners of this business initiative themselves made the same route on road couple of years back. I read the fare includes 5 star or equivalent hotel stays in the fare. It would be interesting to see if people can really afford 70+ days even if they can spend 15 Lakhs INR

For the record there existed a similar bus route from Kolkata to London back in the 50s for almost 20 years. Round way fare was approximate 145 pounds back in those days for a single head.

Link to the News Article is: https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/a-b...l-2696673.html

[rakirank]

I understand they have been doing this each year since 2017. The 2017 drive was followed up with a trip in 2018 & 2019.

The 3 trips had some really enthusiastic participants join them driving their own cars across countries (must have been one memorable drive).

The link for the 2019 trip is below:

https://youtu.be/zqpbdHD6HBo

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by haisaikat

For the record there existed a similar bus route from Kolkata to London back in the 50s for almost 20 years. Round way fare was approximate 145 pounds back in those days for a single head.

Link to the News Article is: https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/a-b...l-2696673.html

Amazing find! ~150 pounds back then is about ~5000 pounds current value; which is still a fantastic deal for the ~2+ month bus ride. Also looking at the route, I guess back then the countries were much more easier to traverse through.

P.s. With regards to the 70 day trip, I'd suggest folks to try the a day long bus ride on one of our Neeta/other volvo bus trips. Enuf inputs for making the decision, I'd say

[narayans80]

To head west out of India, you should either cross Pakistan or China. Given the relationship with either country, getting a visa alone is a big deal let alone overlanding.

All the overland trips have been done through China (and it is guided IIRC) and have happened prior to the border incidents in 2019.

If this basic criteria itself doesn't get satisfied, I wonder how any Indian citizen can ever travel this.

[Cessna182]

You can visit every continent in the world (except Antarctica) for less than 10 lakhs. This is too overpriced in comparison.

[GTO]

Mod Note: Thread moved to the Commercial Vehicle section. Thanks for sharing!

[ruzbehxyz]

This is the website of the guys who are arranging such trips:
https://adventuresoverland.com/

The 52 days 2021 self drive trip to London in your own vehicle costs a woping 22 lakhs per person. This was started in 2017.

This is website for the bus to London trip:
https://bustolondon.in/
No information for the tariff.

[drmohitg]

I think this is a great initiative. The organisers have themselves travelled via car across the globe quite extensively. I have followed their Delhi-London road drives over the last 3 years and they look definitely worth exploring. It is the trip of a life time. There is no point in criticising it for the long duration etc. Travelling via road is a passion and adventure. A non enthusiast calls driving from Delhi to Jaipur also boring and unnecessary. They would rather take a train or flight. So let's not dismiss this just on the basis of duration of the trip.

[WorkingGuru]

At 15L per person, this is no initiative, its a rip-off !

In the age of being SO well connected with so MANY ways to plan travel and book hotels/guides etc, just about any person with average IQ can find the info to do this by themselves and surely it'd barely cost a fraction of the price.

The gall of some woke people!

[Red Liner]

Absolute rubbish. Good for the well heeled of society to have someone else do all the dirty work for a princely sum, for them to come back and float at private parties about their adventure of a lifetime!

You want real adventure? Do this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_Rally

The original rules stated cars should be under 1000cc with no age limit.

Motorcycles and scooters of up to 125cc are permitted on the Rally

Yeah, we can count out the rich folks. Lol.

[SamDrive]

Good for tourists. Travellers can do this route at a fraction of this ridiculous price. In place of the tourist bus, they can use local transport including yaks.

[dicor]

Originally Posted by ruzbehxyz

This is the website of the guys who are arranging such trips:
https://adventuresoverland.com/

The 52 days 2021 self drive trip to London in your own vehicle costs a woping 22 lakhs per person. This was started in 2017.

This does not include fuel and return fare + vehicle air transportation charges from UK to India. Add a couple of lakhs more for that please.

I & my wife had contacted them in 2018 but after listening the eye watering charges we decided that we will be much happier to buy a Mercedes GLA rather than spending 50 lakhs on a road trip.

[F1-Addict]

One heck of a trip

I had read about the road trip to Thailand a few years ago and that bug is still there with me. Every now and then I keep thinking about it.

But not in a bus for me - I would want to DRIVE this route to London. Ohh what a trip it would be.
It would be a ONCE IN A LIFETIME journey.

And the important thing is its not the destination that matters.. its the journey..

Someday surely... someday....