We are limiting ourselves to Europe. It is of course possible to travel overland much further and see many more sights and wonders, but there are various difficulties to overcome and the further East you drive, the more complex those issues become.
Harmonization of laws and regulations across Europe means that we can almost think of it as one country and that’s just one less thing to worry about! If we need to we can work without needing to get permits. Our driving licenses and insurance cover us Europe wide and with only a few exceptions, we only have one currency conversion rate to worry about.
Outside Europe, the security situation gets a little tricky as you travel East. Many countries outside Europe will require a ‘carnet’ which is like a vehicle passport. As an example, if you drive overland into India, you need a Carnet which will cost a few hundred quid, but also you need to put into bond cash equivalent to four times the vehicle value! You get the bond back when you leave with the vehicle, but if the vehicle gets stolen while in India, you lose the cash. This would be bad for a £100K motorhome with a £400K bond. So then you need carnet and bond insurance. It all gets smelly – that’s the point.
So, for now, for this trip it’s Europe only. There is a lifetime of amazing things to see without travelling too far from home! We may still hop across the strait of Gibraltar or stray into Turkey, we’ll see!
We also think it’s a form of poetic justice that we plan to be away from the UK when the brexit actually happens, although brexit may affect the trip – we’ll have to wait and see!
