Europe to New Zealand, through Africa or Turkey/Iran?
 

Hey guys,

So if all goes according to plan I will be able to travel for about 15-16 months starting in July/ August 2015. Long time to plan, and things might change overnight in some countries as we've seen in the last few years but unless a country has turned into being an active war zone I would like to more or less stick to the planned route.

I travelled for 29 months around South and Central America (first 23.000 km on my xt 550, then another 49.000km on a pulsar 180 cc I picked up over there), starting in Patagonia and made my way all the way up to Mexico.

One thing I learned from that trip is that plans are made to be changed.... !

Anyway... I have two routes laid out and I feel like i should have enough time to cover the distance and get myself to NZ by the end. Germany is the start because even tho I don't live there anymore I was born there and the end will be in New Zealand since I went to school there and always wanted to go back at some point.

Route:

Germany -> France -> Italy -> Greece -> Egypt -> Sudan -> Ethiopia -> Kenya/(Uganda) (-> Madagascar) -> India/(Nepal) -> Bangladesh -> Myanmar -> Laos/Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand/(China)-> Malaysia -> Indonesia/(Philippines)/(Papua New Guinea) -> Australia -> New Zealand.

Alternative Route:

Germany -> France -> Italy -> Greece -> Turkey -> Iran -> Pakistan -> India/(Nepal) -> Bangladesh -> Myanmar -> Laos/Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand/(China)-> Malaysia -> Indonesia/(Philippines)/(Papua New Guinea) -> Australia -> New Zealand.


The bracketed ones are countries I would love to go to but will see ... Depends on time/ money /etc.

I would really prefer to go by the first route but it involves shipping/ flying the bike several times more than it already is and since I think I will need the money for the last couple of months I would drive the alternative route if it meant that I would save a lot of money and time.

But the again I met a bunch of bikers who'd been to Iran and said it was pretty much the highlight of their trip.

I would appreciate any comments really, especially those from people who've already been there and can give me any help concerning bike travel, customs, what I need/ don't need and where to go! Is there any countries on my list where I would have trouble entering with a bike? I'd love to go to china but I think that's probably not gonna work. Maybe tho I can leave the bike in one of the nearby countries for a few weeks and head over the border anyway.

The picture is of the panamericana, about 500km south of Lima.

Mark

I think Myanmar should definitely be in brackets here. There have been some signs of a change, but it´s still nowhere near fully open to tourists, especially when they want to drive/ride overland. Vietnam could be a problem as well, might depend on your luck. There are recent threads about it.

China could be possible, but very expensive, and most likely quite laborous to arrange it all.

And I´m sure there must be somebody, who has gone to PNG, and from there to Australia with their own vehicle, but to this day, I haven´t heard of anyone. And don´t expect to find too many international ferry lines in Asia, or Australia.

I'm keeping an eye on this. I'm currently on my way to Cape Town, then back up. My 'ideal' route is your alternate from Iran. Will be there towards the end of next year.

Steve

Don't miss Turkey,Iran,Pakistan...
 

Hello

I would suggest you to take alternative route which is in my mind more interesting.

Regards

I contact Myanmar embassy in Malaysia and informed that the boarder is CLOSED. And NO way to passthrough.

I am planning for 2015 to travel from Muscat, Oman to Sydney via same route as yours.

Still sourcing around to get a positive solution which can same time and money.

Regards
Hamood
Muscat, Oman


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Africa and Asia are two very different experiences.

Asia has staggering physical and cultural diversity, is the home of most of the world's oldest civilisations and religions, amazing food, history etc etc.

While I have limited experience in Africa, it certainly can't tick as many boxes, but is logistically simpler.

You alternative route through Asia however is not feasible, as previously mentioned. There is also the question of the Iran - Pakistan border crossing which is rather unsafe on the Pakistani side.

Have a look at my website for some Asian experiences!