How to Drive Overland Around the World

1. Get a partner.
2. Get some money.
3. Get a vehicle.
4. Get on the internet.
5. Go!

Use your preferrred method for this and make sure it's a good one as the two of you will be spending a lot of time in each other's company. Two people can share the costs of buying the vehicle, the fuel and food; living, for the most part, as cheap as one. Make sure, though, that you're both completely focused on the common goals; you're both working and saving and that you can equally divide the tasks ahead.

Life on the road is much cheaper than being at home so anything you can save while working before the journey will go much further actually on the journey. As the departure time approaches, adopt the frame of mind that you are on a mission to save as much as possible and be aware of the financial costs in everything you do, imagining how far that money will take you once on the road. Cycling around instead of driving might save you a tank of gas which is enough to buy two tanks of diesel in Russia, for example. Or, making your own coffee instead of getting Starbucks to do it could save you enough to buy fruit and vegtables for a week.

Consider, too, some kind of income while you're on the road. This could be something as substantial as the rent on property you own or something as hard work as making money from your photographs or articles on the internet or in print.

The choice of vehicle will play a large part in defining your journey but, first of all, it is important to realise that you don't need a fancy, off-road expedition vehicle. In fact, any car, van or truck can make it round the world as long as its in good repair. A 4x4, certainly, will give you more options but there are roads going all over the world being used by normal, everyday vehicles. The next thing to say is that diesel is much better than gas or petrol engines. In the vast majority of countries diesel is significantly cheaper - sometimes a quarter of the price of gas. There is also the possibility of using freely obtained, used vegetable oil, if you have a modified diesel vehicle (Wikipedia: Vegetable Oil Fuel). Diesel vehicles are also generally more robust, easier-to-fix and can rack up an interstellar mileage and still be good. The reality is that, also, older vehicles can be more reliable if well maintained - newer vehicles with their computers and cheap components can be difficult to repair if the worst happens thousands of miles from the nearest branded garage.

The big choice, then, is whether to take a car, a small van or a bigger truck - how much living space you want to take with you. At one end of the scale, if you have a camper van based on a Sprinter type vehicle, you have a space that the two of you can live in for months if not years without ever having to trouble a hotel or restaurant. However, your rig won't fit into the normal sized shipping containers - you might pay more for crossing the oceans; you'll certainly be restricted to the routes you can take - you can stick to land routes or wait for the Global Highway Network to kick in. At the other end of the scale would be a station wagon or estate car which is big enough to sleep in the back if it's too wet to put the tent up or roomy enough to cook some food on a camp stove when all the restaurants have closed. The good thing is that you're highly maneoverable - whether you're in the cities or on the high seas. However, without careful planning things can get fairly miserable living in a car - if you're on a quick journey you may be able to afford the hotels but for a more lengthy voyage, consider the next step well...

Well done! You already are on the internet! Consider joining social networks such as Wwoofing or Couchsurfing. Wwoofing offers a directory of farms or small residential businesses like hostels, retreats or retirement homes which are looking for people to stay and work a few hours a day in return for food and lodging. It's a great way to experience the rural life of a country. For the cities, Couchsurfing hooks up people who have a spare bed or couch and maybe time to show you around town with travelers from all over the globe.

Also, join in the forums of overlanding or traveling websites such as Drive The Americas or Horizons Unlimited . Your fellow travelers are the best place to learn about whether a certain sea route is possible or the best places to park up and boondock, for example.

Coming soon - How to work out whether you can afford it...