Dear overlanders,

I just returned after an amazing trip travelling overland from Europe to Nepal. Since I did my research before departure on the internet forums, I want to share some of my experiences.

Route:
Netherlands-Germany-Poland-Ukraine-Black Sea Ferry-Georgia-Armenia-Iran-Pakistan-India-Nepal. Most of the overlanders decide to travel via Turkey. Of course a great route as well, but I think Georgia/Armenia were maybe the best parts of my trip. Nice mountain roads, almost no traffic, great off-road possibilities, beautiful historical places to visit. The hard part is to find the exact ferry times. Please contact UkrFerry, and email with mister Vladlen Tarasenko. His english is good, and he is a reliable guy in Odessa. His email address:vyt-ukrferry-tour@mail.ru and company's address:

"Our exact address: SUBSIDIARY COMPANY "UKRFERRY TOUR"; Ukraine, Odessa, 18, Schepkina street, office 1, the second floor. For information: on a ground floor bank "PIVDENNYI" is located. For your facility: The office is located at the crossroads of Schepkina and Preobrazhenskiy streets. This is a 10 minute walk from from Deribasovskaja street or 20 minutes of driving by car from railway station."

The ferry is great fun!

Second big thing to think of doing this trip is of course the safety situation in Iran-Pakistan area. If you start your research, you will find out Balochistan is the danger area. This starts actually in Bam (Iran) and continous to the border (Taftan) and all the way to Quetta and beyond. I had great doubts before and even during my trip if it was wise to do it. In Bam I decided to visit the overlanders-hotel and talk to the owner. Here I decided to continue, and I enjoyed every single bit of the journey! The situation is absolutely not safe. Travel wise, and get your information from the local police and people. Respect this information, and don't be a hero. I stayed in the same hotel as the kidnapped Swiss couple, and learned they decided to ignore the police advices... The police was very helpfull to me. On the various police checks they insist on escorting you. I had escorts all the way from Bam-Taftan-Quetta-Sukkur-Multan-Lahore! These escorts are free of charge, except for a lunch or some small contributions.

The road from the border to Quetta is long. Most bikers decide to do this in one day. I was very happy to stay in Dalbandin. There is a good hotel there to spend the night. This allows you to drive more at ease and enjoy the great great beauty of the trip! Border to Dalbandin: 6 hours, Dalbandin to Quetta: 6-8 hours. Quetta was really at war at the time I was there (april 2012). Very tensed and a lot of police and army on the road. 4 attacks in the week before my arrival killing 20 people... And last week we received the awfull news about the the killing of the red cross doctor. So again, the area is not safe, but in the meantime it was the best part of the trip perhaps because of the great natural beauty.

I was travelling as a single driver and enjoyed every single bit of it. Hope many people more can enjoy this. Such nice people on the road, especially in Iran-Pakistan and of course in Nepal! If you have questions, I am happy to assist. For those who are Dutch, have a look at dirk.waarbenjij.nu

Cheers.

Dirk