longest road trip world record

Longest Road Trips in the World You Could Drive

Everyone loves a road trip – out on the open road, free to explore wherever and whenever you want. with a classic playlist on shuffle, plenty of car snacks and a roughly drawn route into the unknown, there’s a reason why road trips feel synonymous with chasing adventure and freedom. with this list, we’re focusing on distance, drawing up some of the longest and most ambitious road trips we can think of. grab a bag, a map and some friends, and head for the sunset… .

London to Cape Town 

This one’s a classic, and many brave adventurers have crossed this monster journey off their list. One of the longest north to south journeys in the world, the fastest known completion of this route was 13 days, 8 hours and 48 minutes, as part of a publicity campaign for the new Ford Cortina. This beat the previous champions by 18 minutes! If, however, you’re keen to actually soak up the incredible sights, a month is likely the minimum time needed to cover this two-continent trip.

Starting with the Eurostar to Calais, passengers can enjoy scenic drives through rural France and Spain, take the ferry across the Strait of Gibraltar and down into the heart of Africa. For those that make it across the harsh Saharan Desert, the road evens out to provide breath-taking drives across countless National Parks, from the primate-filled rainforest reserve of Dja Faunal in Cameroon, to the lion and elephant filled landscape of Etosha National Park in Namibia. Pulling into Cape Town at the southern tip of South Africa, this drive will have covered 13,207km (8,207 miles) and 13 countries.

Australian Coastal Loop

Driving ‘The Big Lap’ is another adventure that is often planned and rarely attempted. With huge swathes of the continent uninhabited due to its searingly hot desert climate, Australian road trips can be lethal to those without a map and plenty of backup fuel. The best bet for anyone looking to cover the whole country is to stick to Highway 1, a 14,935km (9280 miles) long highway that essentially follows the entire Australian coast in one big loop. Starting in Sydney, drivers can follow the coastline up to Brisbane, past Cairns, Darwin, Port Hedland, Perth and Adelaide, before hitting the spectacular Great Ocean Road to Melbourne and finally, back to Sydney.

The drive is perfectly possible to do within a month, but three months will give drivers time to better explore each stop fully. Because of the size of Australia, it is important to also keep an eye on the seasons. It is recommended to start the north in winter and summer in the south, following the milder temperatures round as you go.

Europe to Ulaanbaatar

Centuries ago, nomadic settlers made their way along the central Asian steppe, seeking new lands and adventures. Now you can follow their route, making your way through Eastern Europe and down into Turkey. Crossing the Istanbul bridge, Europe slowly turns into Asia, swapping crumbling Christian churches for Islamic minarets and the sweeping rural expanse of Lake Van. From Turkey you have two choices, head down through the ancient Persian settlements of Iran, or up over the Caspian Sea into Russia. Both routes reconvene in the sweeping grasslands of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, before the Gobi Desert springs over the horizon.

In recent years, adventurers have made this journey into a challenge, dubbing it the Mongol Rally . Each year, participants sign up, buy a beaten-up old car and race from Europe to Mongolia. Generally broadcasting their progress (or non-progress) on social media, the challenge is designed to be as disaster-filled as possible, creating opportunity for “motoring stupidity on a global scale” and unexpected adventures. If this sounds like your cup of tea, sign up for the Mongol Rally 2022 , and start looking for your rubbish vehicle!

Pan-American Highway 

So you might have done a cross-US road trip, but how about dreaming a bit bigger? This mammoth road trip covers almost the entirety of the Americas, from northernmost Alaska, down through Canada and the US, into Colombia, coastal Peru and Chile. The only break to the journey is the Darien Gap , a roadless region preventing driving access between Panama and Colombia (and by extension the entirety of North America to South America). Though there have been several attempts to build a highway, the impenetrable dense rainforest and prevalence of tropical diseases (not to mention the importance of protecting the indigenous communities that remain in the forests), means a road crossing has never been possible.

The only option, bar a famously hellish 5-day ferry journey , is to take a flight, but once safely into Medellin or Bogota, the journey south can carry on unimpeded. Assuming one drives from Prudhoe Bay in Alaska to Panama City, and then Medellin in Colombia to Quellon in Chile, this insane road trip should clock up a cool 23,662km (14,703 miles). Assuming you drove for 8 hours a day, this trip would take you a month. Those who have done it, however, take anytime between 2 months to 2 years.

Trans-Eurasian Belt

Our final route on this list doesn’t actually exist yet. It is an imagined driving route that follows much the same path as the Mongol Rally – from London to Ulaanbaatar. Yet once it hits Mongolia, it carries on, heading up through the easternmost point of Siberia and crossing the Bering Strait into Alaska. From there, the entirety of the Americas is possible, even linking down to South America. This journey is not yet possible, since the Bering Strait remains unconnected. However, plans for a Trans-Eurasian Belt Development are in the works, and we may soon see a connecting bridge be built to truly connect the world.

Who knows what such a connecting bridge will do for global trade, as well as perceptions of East and West? All we know is, it sounds like an epic road trip.

If you're planning a road trip across multiple countries, remember to get yourself covered with adequate car insurance just in case.

Starting from Skratch? Here are a Few Tips to Get You Started:

https://www.outbackcrossing.com.au/Touring/How_Long_Does_it_Take_to_Travel_Around_Australia.shtml

https://medium.com/@katheryn.watson/mapped-the-longest-road-trips-f6cf454b967c

https://www.skratch.world

World's Longest Driving Routes at a Glance:

🇬🇧london to cape town🇿🇦.

Distance: 13,207 km (8,207 miles)

Number of Countries: 13

Time Taken: 17 days (assuming 8 hours a day driving)

🇦🇺Australian Coastal Loop🇦🇺

Distance: 14,935 km (9,280 miles)

Number of Countries: 1

Time Taken: 19 days (assuming 8 hours a day driving)

🇵🇹Lisbon to Ulaanbaatar🇲🇳

Distance: 13,000 km (8,077 miles)

Number of Countries: 16

🇺🇸Pan-American Highway🇨🇱

Distance: 23,662 km (14,703 miles)

Number of Countries: 12

Time Taken: 30 days (assuming 8 hours a day driving)

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Couple holds Guinness World Record for longest roadtrip ever

Well, technically the Guinness World Record is for the “Longest Driven Journey,” but now we’re getting into semantics.

Put simply, the Schmids may be the most hardcore road trippers on the planet. Here’s their latest Guinness World Record entry:

As of 16 July 2014, the longest driven journey is 692,227 km (430,130 miles) and was achieved by Emil and Liliana Schmid (Switzerland) who travelled across 180 countries in the same Toyota Land Cruiser in a journey that started on 18 October 1984 and is still ongoing.

Of course, since then they’ve logged thousands more miles, so the total is well over 450,000 miles these days.

The couple started back in 1984 when they shipped their Toyota Land Cruiser from Iceland to New York. They spent two years touring North America before heading to South America and then on to Africa, Australia, Asia and back to Europe — and that was all in the first decade of the trip.

Thirty years later, the couple is still racking up the miles.

Their journey started simply enough when Emil convinced Liliana to leave Switzerland and explore the world for what she thought would be a maximum of two years. Clearly, the travel bug took hold of them in full force, and they’ve never looked back.

The Schmid’s “home” for the past three decades has been a 1982 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ 60, outfitted with a 5-pound propane tank, a jerry can for water and a makeshift bed. They also carry a good amount of gear ranging from a table and chairs to a pressure cooker, water purifier and mosquito net.

Of course, they also carry a digital camera and laptop to capture and share their epic journey.

When you’ve been to more than 180 countries, it might be hard to pick some favorites, but Liliana told Trekity some of her favorites from the past 30 years of exploring:

Papua New Guinea: I liked for its different tribes with their unique costumes and paintings, highlighted at the Goroka and Mt. Hagen Shows.

Chile: I appreciate because it offers everything: From desert, glaciers, volcanoes and coastal areas. I loved the solitude and untouched nature – a camper’s paradise.

Oman – where we were just recently – offers deep Arabian tradition, great hospitality, a unique scenery and security. I have no worries at all to camp out in the wild.

But if I would have to choose right now where to spend the rest of my days, it would be Moorea (the sister island of Tahiti) in the South Pacific. Life is peaceful; the sea is azure blue; the scenery outstanding and the women still wear a shiny flower behind their ear: For me it is just paradise!

Of course, that doesn’t mean they haven’t had a great time on their journeys to North America too. In fact, the couple’s very first 4x4 adventure was in the Canyonlands National Park.

Read the rest of this story at roadtrippers.com.

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Couple breaks world record for longest road trip in single country

THIS couple drove 47,500km in 103 days through some of the world’s most incredible scenery. Could you and your partner survive?

Resort eliminates most hated part of skiing

US theme park from 1926 opens

Sign in New York baffles Australians

ALL IT took was 47,500km, 103 days and 39 states.

American couple Greg Cayea and Heather Thompson have broken the world record for the longest road trip in one country, reports Travel + Leisure. They easily surpassed the previous record of 36,058km set in India in April. Cayea and Thompson started their trip in Arizona on September 20 and have since travelled to 22 national parks, stopping in some of their favourites including Yellowstone, Zion National Park and Crater Lake National Park. They’ve also found unexpected tourist attractions, ranging from outdoor animal safaris in South Dakota to a ghost town in Idaho. To achieve their goal of driving through the 48 contiguous states (that’s every American state except Hawaii and Alaska), the duo set a series of rules: no round-trips and no backtracking more than 10 per cent of the total mileage. They also promised to record every stop, keep a log book along the trip, record at least 10 minutes of video footage of the trip each day and not cross any country borders. They also permitted themselves to take two weeks of resting time. In total, they’ve spent around 35 days of their trip so far on stops. But where do the sleep? The majority of the journey, the couple sleeps in their 2008 Subaru Outback. They told Travel + Leisure that each night they prepare their mattress and catch up on their favourite Netflix shows before retiring. Next up, Cayea and Thompson will head to New York’s Hudson Valley. They expect to keep travelling until mid-November. This article originally appeared on Fox News and was reproduced with permission.

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There is an obvious reason this American ski resort is a favourite among the rich and famous – and it wants Aussies to visit next season.

It is the biggest theme park in the US and it’s opening for its 98th season. Entry is free and inside you’ll find more than 60 rides, even one dating back to 1913.

It’s just a piece of paper in a store window – but it tells you everything about the huge difference between Easter in Australia and the US.

Meet The Couple About To Break The Record For The World’s Longest Road Trip

Grab a paper and a pen, I want to try something. Think about some things that have been on your mind for a bit. Goals or dreams that have been tucked in the farthest reaches of your brain. I’m talking about the things that, for one reason or another, you’ve never actually acted on. Once you scribble down ten or so, sit back and admire. You just took one step closer to accomplishing those long-dormant fantasies.

That’s the same first step that author and famed drifter Greg Cayea took before deciding that he and his girlfriend Heather Thompson needed to break a world record. Specifically, the world record for the longest domestic road trip . The two have been driving, almost non-stop across the U.S. for over 100 days now and have covered close to 25,000 miles.

On the tail-end of their marathon, world-record shattering, road trip the couple were kind enough to hop on the phone with us about their daily rituals, the lessons learned by living within arm’s reach of your partner for 100 days, and how the hell they’re bankrolling this whole endeavor.

How have you guys been?

We’re good, man. We’re taking a little breather. It’s been about 100 days. There’s all these rules that we have to follow, and one of them says that we’re allowed to stop in any one location for 13 days. We were passing by New York, and that’s where my parents live, so we’re basically restocking on food and coffee and all that shit.

We got to be out of here by … Friday, I think, will make our 13th day? Then we’re going down to finish up the trip.

Where’s the finish line?

We don’t know. The Today Show contacted me to see if we could maybe make them the ending point on the actual show.

Yeah, but it’s kind of a catch 22, because they need confirmation from Guinness that we will have the record. It’s a complex process. They want to make sure that we’re verified. I don’t know where the endpoint is, is the answer.

Did you ever play with the idea of going to Florida?

Yes. We’re going to Florida, actually. That’s our next stop. We’re heading down there. When I filled in the application [ for the record ]… There’s a two-step process. First you have to apply to break the record, and if you get accepted, then you have to basically submit your blueprint for how you intend to do it. If you get accepted for that, then they give you the green light and they send you the guidelines that you have to follow. During that process, they ask a start and an end location, because you’re not allowed to do a round trip. It had to be different locations. Why no round trip?

In order — I don’t really know. I guess because in other countries … We’ve got a big country here. We think about it, and we’re like, “Why do they even consider that?” I guess it’s if you’re living in a smaller country like, I don’t know, wherever, Denmark, they don’t want you to be able to just keep going back and forth.

Oh just doing loops.

You’re also not allowed to backtrack for that reason as well. I don’t quite know the exact reason, but I think that that’s probably it.

For the endpoint, they did ask that, so I arbitrarily put in Paughkeepsie because it’s in the Hampton Valley. I love the Hudson Valley. It’s one of my favorite places. Right now that’s our endpoint, but I just hit them up. I said, “Can we change our endpoint?, and they said, “Yeah.” I’m just waiting to hear back from The Today Show to see if they’re going to allow us to do that or what.

And you can’t go into Canada or Mexico, right?

No, we can’t. A friend of a friend recently drove from… I think New York to Buenos Aires. We’re not allowed to do anything like that. We have to stay in the country. There’s been a couple times where we ended up on the border of Canada. We’re almost about to take a ferry [but,] if you cross the border, you’re automatically eliminated.

Yeah. The only thing they look at is the tracking footage on our GPS. If we were to even come anywhere close to the line … I really don’t know how it goes. There was one point when we were on the border of Mexico where my phone alerted me. It said, “Welcome to Mexico”, and I was like, “Fuck, no. I hope we’re not too close. I hope the highway didn’t dip into Mexico or some shit.” No, it didn’t.

Damn, that’s nerve-wracking. What started the idea? What sparked the need to go on the longest road trip?

Heather and I were living LA and we decided to move. I really wanted to do something interesting. I don’t know. She was real pumped up about the road trip, but I had done the New York to LA, east coast to west coast trip. I’ve been doing it since I was 14 years old. I grew up on the road. I was a troublemaker. I was always hitchhiking and all that shit. I had done it so many times.

I was looking at her excitement, and I was jealous. I was like, “Man, I wish I was excited because what? We’re going to drive on I-70 or I-80 or I-10 or whatever. We’re going to go through all the cities I’ve already seen. She’s super pumped and I don’t want to bring her down and not be super pumped.” She had never seen the country, really. Then I listened to a Tony Robbins audiobook, and that pretty much sealed the deal. What book?

It was Awaken Your Giant Within . You do all of these writing exercises and shit, like “Are you living up to your potential?” “I don’t know.” “Well what would that look like? Take five minutes to write down everything that you would every want to accomplish spiritually, in business, financially.” On my list was break a world record. The second part of the exercise is like, “Now go back to that list and circle the top five” That ended up in my top five of the 100 things I wrote down, I didn’t know where to start, so I started Googling travel world records. Then Guinness came up, and I was like, “Oh yeah, Guinness. Guinness World Records . I used to fucking read that book when I was in second grade.” Then I found this record that we could break.

Basically, it’s the longest domestic road trip, but the technical term is longest journey by car in one country. I looked at it. It was 19,400 miles, but that got broke while we were on the road. The new record is now 22,406 miles, but we beat that. I was like, “Man, we could totally fucking redo this. It’s kind of my way way of breaking up with the road, really getting it out of my system and having something to show for it.” Heather and I also didn’t know where we really wanted to live, so we literally have gone through every small town, every big city, everywhere. We’ve seen it all. That’s it. That’s why. It got me pumped, and that’s like a vitamin for me.

It’s funny how people have to keep going harder and harder and harder to get a buzz they used to get biking down their own street.

Yeah. My life tolerance is pretty high, so I had to really pick something big.

I totally hear you. You say you were looking for a home base. Which is funny because I’ve gone on road trips doing the same thing with my girlfriend. No matter what you end it, and you’re like, “Well, now I just want to see more. I can’t find a home base now because there’s so much more out there.” Did you guys feel a bit of that, or do you know the spot?

Probably, man. It’s like that study that they did with … I think it was jam, where they set up 20 different flavors of jam at the supermarket, and then they do another exhibit where they only set up three flavors of jam. They sell way more because there’s less options. You don’t have to make those decisions. It’s the same deal, man. I used to love LA for the weather and the lifestyle. I appreciated New York for the same feel. Now it’s like every place is different, but it’s the same. You know what I mean?

You’re going to have to elaborate on that a little bit. I love the sentiment. But, I want to hear more.

All right. I used to love LA for the weather. Then I left, and I was like, “Oh, it’s cloudy out. That feels nice. Finally. The sun is not beating down on my head.” Then we were in Arizona, and I was like, “Oh, god, it’s so hot.” Then we would go up to Montana, and it would be freezing at night. “Ah, that’s kind of nice.” You sleep a lot better when it’s freezing at night, but it’s also shitty in the morning, whereas LA’s awesome in the morning. The pros and cons become equal in every single city and every single place. I used to think there is more pros than cons in LA and vice versa in other places until I realized just being outside in all of these places constantly that the pros and cons are all equal. They’re just different. No place is better, to me, it’s just a totally different way of living, totally different mindset.

I think I got you. Ultimately, anywhere you decide to settle on, it’s going to become home. With that, by virtue of being home, there’s going to be ups and downs.

Right. For me, it’s like wherever there’s community, that’s where the pro is. They did a study where the number one factor for longevity in life is being around people. It’s like no matter where we are, even in the dumpiest of place, in Creek Springs, Nevada, Elko, or wherever, you meet some people. You have a good time, and you have good memories. You really form the geography in your head. All its attributes are coming from me. They’re not actually coming from the place.

Heather, now that you’re here, I’ll ask you the relationship question. The highs and lows of being together all day, every day for over 100 days now. How does that affect your relationship? How’d you learn to work through it? What was the learning curve?

Heather: It wasn’t really that difficult. Sometimes —

Greg: Surprisingly, it wasn’t that difficult. Some TV networks wanted us to do … They wanted us to do a reality TV show about this thing, and we’re not about that kind of thing.

Heather: It was kind of boring. It’s like, “We’re fine.” Listening to podcasts and …

Greg: That was my biggest question. Before we left, that was my big fear: the relationship, but her fear is food.

Heather: That’s when I get the grumpiest. I’ll start freaking out if we can’t get good food, and half these places like the truck stops and places that we’re at we just have shit food. We’re eating hamburgers and fried stuff. That tests the psyche.

Greg: I’m a road junkie. I really didn’t think the road would be hard. I thought being in the same closed container with anybody would be difficult. I was really scared that it might tarnish the relationship for the sake of a prideful venture, I suppose. We’ve gotten into some fights, but for the most part, I think we pretty quickly realized when the other was grumpy. I’m grumpy at a certain time. She’s grumpy at a certain time. I know what makes her feel better. She knows what makes me feel better.

Heather: A big thing is dropping it. If we get in an argument, we move on real quick. There’s nowhere to go. We can’t go like, “Oh, I’m going out. I’m going to go for a walk.”

You can’t go into the other room.

Heather: There’s no escape.

Greg: We tried that. We were in Yosemite and we got into this argument, and I was like, “I’m going for a walk.” She’s like, “Well, where the fuck you going?” I was thinking to myself, “Where the fuck am I going? We have one car, we’re at Yosemite, there’s no service…” So, I get out of the car. I’m all pissed off. I go to the bench 20 feet away, roll a cigarette, I smoke it, and I was thinking, “Man, it’s hot out here. Maybe I should just go say sorry.” I got done. I came back two minutes later, and I was like, “Yeah, so, I’m sorry.” She’s like, “Yeah, I’m sorry.” That is pretty much it. It’s not avoiding the fights. I think fights are inevitable. It’s part of life. It’s letting it go. The key is stopping it at a commercial, not letting it narrate into a feature-length film.

That makes sense. That’s a really good way to put it.

I’ve come to find that road trips expedite relationship conversations. What else are you going to do but talk to each other? So you end up sorting through a lot of shit over the course of the trip…

Greg: I always tell everybody, “If you’re going travelling with your girl or your guy or whatever in an intensive travel venture like this, if there’s one thing, you’re going to find out you’re either going to stay together for a long, long time, or you’re going to break up immediately.”

Yeah, that will become apparent.

Heather: It’s like a test. You got to make it happen.

How are you guys funding this? I’m sure you get asked that all the time, but where’s the bankroll?

Greg: I was doing marketing and PR for other people as a freelancer. That was my way to travel and all that stuff. I put together a lot of money, and I saved it. I’m not a spender. I like doing PR stunts. I made a decision to stop doing PR and marketing for other people and to do a wild, wild PR stunt for my life, which was this road trip. That’s not necessarily the driving force behind it, but that’s in the back of my head. If it’s not worth writing a story about, I don’t really want to do it.

But, what I ended up doing, we were on the road, and money was diminishing. We swerved over in Lincoln, Nebraska. I have a blog that … It’s pretty well-read, not famous, but it’s okay. I swerved over in Lincoln, Nebraska, and I wrote a book. I published it, and that’s how we’ve been making money from that point on.

Heather: You finished the book.

Greg: Yeah. I had started writing the book awhile ago, and I decided to finish it and publish it and put it out to my blog list and see if it would take off. That’s how we’ve been paying for the rest of our trip since then.

Holy hell. What’s the book?

Greg: It’s called The Drifter Chronicles Volume I: No Direction Home .

I dig it already.

Greg: It’s a good book. You should read it.

You finished the book from the road? Damn, how long was the process of finishing it and getting it published and doing all that?

It was grueling. It was many, many hours. We were in Lincoln, Nebraska for about 10 days. I was writing for about 13 to 15 hours a day, at least. I put it out myself. I taught myself how to do it. It was on InDesign and Photoshop. I do all the illustrations. It’s flooded with cartoons and illustrations. I did the cover. I did it all.

Wow, man. That’s really inspiring.

Yeah. Now you can go and do that same shit.

Yeah. I got to get to Lincoln, Nebraska…

I got the spot for you. I’ll send you the address.

Did you guys get any advice going into the road trip that resonated with you or stuck with you?

Heather: It happened kind of fast.

Greg: It did happen kind of fast. The short answer’s yeah. I got tons of advice.

Heather: People said “you’re crazy,” more than anything.

Greg: Yeah. Every morning … I guess it should be noted I’m sober. I’ve been in recovery for five years now. A lot of that came into play. I have a big outreach group that if I’m ever feeling shitty, I have a group of people that I call. A lot of the advice I got were from people within that circle. The advice I gave to myself was to make sure that I stuck to my regimen I had before I left.

Which is what?

I wake up every morning at about 6am. I do 120 push-ups. I meditate for 15 minutes, and then I ask the universe to take care of me. That’s it. Every single morning, no matter where I am. Truck stop, rest area, national park, service fucking station on the side of the Jersey turnpike. It doesn’t matter. That’s what I do.

That’s incredible. Would you have any advice for someone thinking of doing something? Not trying to break your record, but someone going on a big road trip?

Heather: Plan. We did not do any pre-planning.

Greg: We didn’t?

Heather: No, we had two weeks, and then we took off.

Greg: What would we have done differently?

Heather: I don’t know. I guess I would have thought about…

Greg: Heather brought a lot of shit. I told her at the beginning. I was like, “You’re bringing a lot of shit.” I think what I would say is, “Don’t let the hidden gems pass you by, and you don’t need to travel to another city to find something interesting. You just need to open your eyes.” Here’s my advice. “Take a lot of photos. Stop. If you see something interesting, don’t just say, ‘Aw, man. That would have been a great photo.’ Turn around, drive back 5 miles. If you see a lake that you want to jump in, and you already passed it but you can’t stop thinking about it, turn around, go back. In the grand scheme of things–

Heather: Worth it.

Greg: The whole point of a road trip is to create a memory. You don’t know if it’s going to be good or bad, but you know it’ll change your life. You want to remember that life-altering experience that your building. I’m not a photographer. I never will be, but I would assume that 90 percent of photography is actually taking the picture and capturing the moment. I think that most people just drive straight through really interesting stuff. They don’t get off the exit. They don’t drive around the city. They don’t stop off at the exhibits or take a look at the small towns or pee in the middle of the highway when there’s no one on the road, any of that stuff. People are going from point to point. It’s just about being on that line.

Heather: Buy a National Parks Pass.

Greg: Oh, yeah. Buy a National Parks Pass. Buy a National Parks Pass. It’s the best investment you’ll ever have.

They’re what? 50 bucks for unlimited entries to everywhere?

80 bucks, and you not only get national parks, you get any national anything. National forests, national monuments.

Heather: Except Mount Rushmore.

Greg: Yeah, a few are not included, like Mount Rushmore. I think if it were a couple, my main advice would be to shut up and let it go after you get pissed and to make sure that you start every day new. Give the person you’re with a kiss before you go to bed, no matter what’s going on, and always get up and start fresh.

Heather: Yeah, I completely agree.

Heather, if you had to give a couple some advice, what do you think it would be?

Heather: Journaling. That’s something I wish I did more of. Fortunately, I have all these logbooks. People ask us, “What was your favorite place? What happened when you were here?” Sometimes Greg and I get in the car and we can’t even remember where we just were two days ago because we’ve seen so much. Being able to go back and read about how you felt or whatever, I think is important. Yeah, journals.

Greg: I’m going to try to make this into a book before I forget the details so people can learn what we learned and ride the journey with us without having to do it themselves. That’s basically touching on what she said.

Brilliant Maps

Making Sense Of The World, One Map At A Time

The Pan American Highway: The Longest Road In The World

At its fullest extent the Pan-American Highway is a network of roads stretching from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Ushuaia, Argentina, a distance of around 48,000 kilometres (30,000 miles).

According to Guinness World Records, the Pan-American Highway is the world’s longest “motorable road” . However it is not readily possible to drive all the way since the route is interrupted by the 160 kilometre-wide (100 mile) Darién Gap between Central and South America.

The Highway consists of both official and unofficial elements. The official section, which is referred to in Spanish variously as the Autopista / Carretera / Ruta Panamericana, runs from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico on the U.S. Border to Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina.

However, as shown on the map there are extensive unofficial sections to both the north and south of this.

The route shown on the map runs through 14 countries:

• The United States
• El Salvador

It also has links to a number of other countries. In the process it passes through all the major climate zones and many varied landscapes including arctic tundra, boreal forest, mountains, prairies, arid deserts and tropical jungles.

Moving from north to south, the route starts at Deadhorse, Alaska near the Prudhoe Bay oilfields and for the first 662 kilometres (414 miles) follows the Dalton Highway to Fairbanks.

The Dalton Highway was constructed in 1974 as a supply road to support the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. It is a challenging drive, with no services of any kind on one 384 kilometre (240 mile) stretch, and was the first road to be featured in the BBC’s World’s Most Dangerous Roads .

From Fairbanks there is a 155 kilometre (96 mile) link to Delta Junction at the northern end of the Alaska Highway, the next part of the route.

The Alaska Highway was constructed in 1942 by the US Army Corps of Engineers, as a wartime project using around 10,000 troops . Its purpose was to link Alaska with the 48 contiguous states through Canada to help defend against a possible Japanese attack.

It was originally around 2,700 kilometres long but as of 2012 had been shortened to 2,232 kilometres (1,387 miles) and is now paved over its entire length.

The Alaska Highway terminates at Dawson Creek, B.C. from where the route shown continues to Edmonton, Alberta. After Edmonton the map identifies two possible routes.

The first goes through Minneapolis after which it follows the Interstate 35 through Dallas/Fort-Worth to the Mexican border at Laredo, Texas.

The second route runs through Calgary, Alberta and Billings, Montana and then connects with the Interstate 25 through Denver, Colorado to Las Cruces, New Mexico and from there on the Interstate 10 to San Antonio, Texas, where it joins the first route.

In practice, given the unofficial status of the routes through Canada and the United States, many other alternatives are possible.

The Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo, just across the border from Laredo marks the start of the official section of the Pan-American Highway.

From there it runs to Mexico City along Mexican Federal Highway 45 and on to the border with Guatemala along Mexican Federal Highway 190.

It then proceeds through Central America, passing through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. With the exception of Honduras, its route takes it through the capital cities of each of these countries, namely:

• Guatemala City (Guatemala)
• San Salvador (El Salvador)
• Managua (Nicaragua)
• San José (Costa Rica)
• Panama City (Panama)

One of the most challenging sections of the route lies in Costa Rica, where it rises to 3,335 metres (10,942 feet) at the ominously named Summit of Death (Cerro de la Muerte).

This summit marks the highest elevation on the Pan-American Highway in Central America. Indeed, following the completion of the Christ the Redeemer Tunnel between Chile and Argentina (see below), it may well be the highest elevation along the entire route.

The route through Central America terminates abruptly at Yaviza, at the edge of the Darién Gap and resumes on the other side at Turbo, Colombia in South America.

All but the most intrepid circumvent the Gap by taking one of the ferries that go from Panama to Colombia or Ecuador, from where they can reconnect with the Pan-American Highway.

In Colombia the route runs through Medellin and Cali before crossing the border into Ecuador at Tulcán.

In Ecuador the highway goes through the capital, Quito. At 2,850 metres (9,350 feet) Quito is the world’s second highest capital city , exceeded in elevation only by La Paz, Bolivia. From there the route heads south to Peru, where it follows Peru Highway 1, which runs the length of the country and connects all major cities in the coastal area, including the capital, Lima.

On crossing from Peru into Chile the highway enters the Atacama Desert, the driest non-polar location in the world . The highway then follows Chile Route 5 through Antofagasta to Valparaiso.

As shown on the map, there is an unofficial branch of the highway that continues on down the Chilean coast on Route 5 terminating in Quellón on Chiloé Island.

At Valparaiso the official route heads east following Chile Route 60 across the Andes Mountains to Argentina, where it becomes Argentina National Route 7 and crosses the Pampas to Buenos Aires.

Before 1980, the border used to be at the Upsallata Pass, which at 3,832 metres (12, 572 feet) made it the highest point on the Pan-American Highway. However, 1980 saw the opening of the Christ the Redeemer Tunnel (Túnel Cristo Redentor) at 3,200 metres (10,499 feet), which became the new crossing point.

The final (unofficial) leg of the Pan-American Highway runs for 3,045 kilometres (1,892 miles) from Buenos Aires on Argentina National Route 3 to Ushuaia passing through Bahía Blanca and Comodoro Rivadavia.

Near its southern end the route goes back into Chile and crosses the Straits of Magellan via a short ferry ride before going back into Argentina and on to Ushuaia, which is located on Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, the largest island of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago.

Argentina claims Ushuaia as the world’s most southerly city , a fact that is disputed by Chile which claims Puerto Williams for this distinction. While the Chilean town of Puerto Williams is indeed farther south , Ushuaia has a much larger population (71,000 vs. 3,000) , so take your pick.

The record for the fastest trip by car from Ushuaia to Prudhoe Bay (mostly on the Pan-American Highway) is credited to Tim Cahill and Garry Sowerby in the astonishing time of twenty-three days, twenty-two hours, and forty-three minutes .

Tim wrote about his experience in his book Road Fever . In 2003 Kevin Sanders broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest traversal of the highway by motorcycle , taking 34 days.

No account of the Pan-American Highway would be complete without a discussion of its missing link, the Darién Gap .

This area of undeveloped swampland, forest and mountain straddles the border between Panama and Colombia. Thus far, plans to build a road through the Gap have come to nothing .

There are a number of reasons for this including:

• The sheer difficulty and cost of building a road through such difficult terrain.
• Pressure to protect the rainforest environment
• Concerns by indigenous groups, such as the Embera-Wounaan and Kuna that a road would pose a threat to their traditional cultures.
• And concerns that a road would make it easier for foot and mouth disease to enter North America.

Over the years, the enormous challenge of traversing the Gap has attracted a number of diehard souls.

The first vehicular crossing of the Gap was by the Land Rover La Cucaracha Cariñosa (The Affectionate Cockroach) and a Jeep of the international Trans-Darién Expedition of 1959–60, which took 136 days!

The first crossing by a standard two wheel drive passenger car took place in 1961 with three Chevrolet Corvairs, only two of which made it out of the jungle.

Up to this point, the expeditions had used river boats for some sections. The first fully overland wheeled crossing of the Gap was that of British cyclist Ian Hibell, who rode from Cape Horn to Alaska between 1971 and 1973.

The first motorcycle crossing was by Robert L. Webb in March 1975.

The first all-land auto crossing was in 1985–87 by Loren Upton and Patty Mercier in a Jeep, taking an incredible 741 days to travel 201 kilometres (125 miles).

Ed Culberson was the first to follow the entire Pan-American Highway including the Darién Gap on a motorcycle.

There have also been a number of crossings on foot, including that of George Meegan in 1981, who walked the entire distance from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska over a period of 2,425 days !

The most unusual walker was evangelist Arthur Blessitt who traversed the Gap in 1979 while carrying a 12-foot wooden cross as part of what Guinness World Records recognized as “the longest round the world pilgrimage”.

Principal References:

• Pan-American Highway
• Dalton Highway
• Alaska Highway
• Pan-American Highway (South America)
• Atacama Desert
• National Route 3 (Argentina)
• The southernmost settlements in the world

Tim Cahill, Road Fever (1991) Ed Culberson, Obsessions Die Hard: Motorcycling the Pan-American Highway’s Jungle Gap (1966) George Meegan, The Longest Walk (1988) Russell Braddon, The Hundred Days of Darien (1974) John Blashford-Snell, Something Lost Behind the Ranges (1994) Ian Hibell, Into the Remote Places (1984) Mark A Smith, Driven by a Dream (2004) Wade Davis, The Rucksack Man (1976) Arthur Blessitt, The Cross (2009) Joseph R. Yogerst, Long Road South: The Pan American Highway (1999) Raymond and Audrey Pritchard, Driving the Pan-American Highway to Mexico and Central America (1998) Brad and Sheena Van Orden, Drive Nacho Drive: A Journey from the American Dream to the End of the World (2013) Ben Cunningham, The Longest Road: An Irish Pan-American Cycling Adventure (2009)

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Nicolás Valencia says

May 20, 2016 at 7:57 pm

I would like to clarify a point related to Chile. In our country it’s known as Route 5, but instead of arriving to Valparaiso, it goes to Santiago. In fact, in a short section, Route 5 is crossed by Route 60 (Valparaiso – Buenos Aires), before arriving Santiago, capital of Chile.

Route 5 cross Santiago as a north-south axis (well-known as “La Norte-Sur”), then continues on down to Puerto Montt. Then, you have to sail the Chacao Channel from Puerto Montt to Quellon, the southernmost city on Chiloe Island.

GeoNie says

November 2, 2021 at 10:14 pm

It’s on the internet dude!! Geez

November 2, 2021 at 10:18 pm

Hey NicolásValencia. Chile looks so beautiful in its beach front glory to that big wall separating Argentina. I envy you guys and will land in Santiago soon

Veronica Philips says

July 9, 2017 at 8:47 pm

Image what can happen on a family road trip, when your son asks the innocent question, “What’s the longest road in the world?” This was a great read, and I’m thinking it needs to be a bucket list item..

Tom Swinburn says

August 13, 2018 at 7:53 am

Meegan traversed 12 miles a day for YEARS to make his journey. Almost seven years in fact. So there were no sick days, no breaks of any kind? I guess I’m going to have to buy his book. The 12 miles a day was the average, but some days he could have walked much further, other days, like in the Darien gap a mile a day would have been tough. And the elevation changes! The feat seems almost superhuman.

August 10, 2019 at 10:06 pm

Without modern technology, navigating, writing and Reading about this would not be possible. Someday like the Jetsons someone will just be able to fly their own personal vehicle the whole way !!

Ian Sarad says

September 27, 2019 at 5:00 pm

I just did a little research and discovered that it’s actually 30,000 km (not miles).

Muhammad Naeem Khalid says

October 28, 2019 at 6:01 pm

Pan American Highway is 30000 KM or 30000 Miles please clarify

Bill Emerson says

February 23, 2020 at 9:57 pm

In 1998 I drove from my home in Kansas City to Panama…..It was a great trip! To return I put my car on a ship to Florida, and then drove back home. Even though I do not speak Spanish, I did not find language to be a problem. In fact, I had virtually no problems. I have always wanted to do another trip thru South America to southern Chile. Is there anything more that I should know?

Regards, Bill Emerson

Andrus says

September 11, 2020 at 3:51 pm

For a trip to south america, Route 40 in Argentina is far more interesting than the pan-american highway. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Route_40_(Argentina)

September 12, 2020 at 10:21 pm

In Argentina, the 5000 km of Route 40 are much more scenic that panamerica highway.

wayne winzer says

April 7, 2023 at 4:00 am

follow transmigratoty route. easier now than then. I drive Wichita to Guatemala every year

Jane Carpenter says

June 16, 2020 at 9:10 pm

Muhammad I think you’ll find your answer here in this article. Although you may not – it’s still slightly confusing! 🙂 https://www.dangerousroads.org/north-america/usa/4638-pan-american-highway.html

joana galarza johnson says

April 4, 2020 at 1:51 pm

What an interesting article, thank you. I would like to offer one more reason why the Darian Gap’s closure has come to nothing. Colombian drug lords. Colombia’s notorious Pablo Escobar and countless other drug cartel leaders, hid (and had drug distillation industries) at the northernmost tip of South America. In the rainforests.

Also, there is a new book, To Shake the Sleeping Self by Jedidiah Jenkins (2019) about traversing the Pan American Highway on bicycle, from Oregon south to Patagonia. Lovely book.

Stefan White says

April 5, 2020 at 7:01 am

My stepfather was the mechanic of an Inter-American Expedition in 1953 that drove a Sunbeam Alpine non-stop from Fairbanks, Alaska to the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego, using rafts to cross the Gap and sleeping with headhunters in Central America. That would be preceding the claim made here.

June 13, 2020 at 2:43 am

I just came up with about 22,000 kilometers on Google Maps, depending on the specific routes chosen. Clearly, 30,000 kilometers, or miles, is incorrect, since the straight line pole-to-pole distance is only 20,000 kilometers, as measured on Google Earth.

stephen morrow says

March 7, 2021 at 12:59 am

Mileage stated here is way off…19,000 miles is more like it.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-American_Highway

V CLEVE WALSTROM says

August 9, 2021 at 8:38 pm

Danny Liska of Niobrara, Nebraska rode a BWM motor cycle the length of the Pan American Highway (he hiked the Darien Gap) in the early 1960’s . His book Two Wheels to Adventure is a classic that out shines all.

Cleve Walstrom

Waithumbi says

October 3, 2021 at 1:34 pm

It’s a Wonderful article to read, like now when the migrants from Haiti are WALKING through the Darien Gap Jungle.

Gerard Deveau says

February 6, 2023 at 6:15 pm

Great article and comments as well! A Bucket List Adventure for sure God willing.

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Travel Tips

The longest road trip roads in the world.

If you dream of epic adventures you should definitely consider traveling down one of the longest road trip roads in the world. Whether you’re in search of some good ol’ American fun, or looking to experience other countries, or even entire continents, we’ve compiled a list of some of the most unique and longest highways systems on earth.

At nearly 3200 miles (5200km) U.S. Route 6 is the second longest road trip road in the United States

Also known as the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, U.S. Route 6 is a main route of the United States Highway system. Battling U.S. Route 20 for the title of the longest “continuous” transcontinental highway in America, this road will take drivers through fourteen different states starting in California and ending in Massachusetts.

At over 3300 miles (5400km) U.S. Route 20 is the longest road trip road in the United States

U.S. Route 20 covers 3,365 miles, from Boston, Massachusetts to Newport, Oregon. In 1926, it officially became a U.S. Highway, and during its early years, terminated at Yellow Stone National Park. Now U.S. Route 20 is the longest highway in the country, it crosses through twelve states of America’s beautiful landscape.

The Golden Quadrilateral Highway is the longest road trip road in India at 3600 miles (6000km)

The Golden Quadrilateral Highway in India is a network of highways connecting India’s four top metropolitan cities; Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, forming a quadrilateral. Launched in 2001 as part of India’s National Highways Development Project, it is the largest highway project in India. Overall the quadrilateral consists of four, six lane express highways.

The Trans-Canada Highway is the longest road trip roads in North America

Crossing through six time zones, this once-in-a-life time road trip starts at one end of Canada and ends at the other. Commenced in 1962, the Trans-Canada Highway takes you through ten Canadian provinces and crosses the Pacific Ocean on the west and to the Atlantic Ocean on the east.

The Trans-Siberian Highway runs the entire length of Russia and is the third longest road trip roads in the world

Spanning from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok, the Trans-Siberian Highway is a network of federal highways. As one of the more dangerous roads on this list, it has some of the toughest environments and uneasy terrain, from the Baltic Sea of the Atlantic Ocean to the Japan Sea of the Pacific Ocean.

Highway 1 in Australia, also known as the “Big Lap,” is the second longest road trip roads in the world

As the second largest road in the world, it joins all the mainland capitals of Australia. Constructed almost half a century ago, the first section of the route was signposted between Brisbane and Adelaide in 1955. At the time is was Australia’s only true national highway. Now there are more direct routes that crisscross throughout the country, none of them are more scenic than Australia’s Highway One.

At nearly 30,000 miles, The Pan American Highway is by far and away the longest road trip roads in the world

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Pan American Highway is the longest designated road in the world. At its fullest extent it links most of the nations of North and South America. Stretching from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina, but briefly interrupted by the 100-mile Darien Gap between Central and South America.

You’ll notice that two of the world’s longest highways are located in the United States, however there are many other scenic and unique systems in other parts of the world. When you’re considering your next family vacation or solo adventure, consider road tripping down one of the longest road trip roads in the world.

If you’re looking to travel one of these longest road trip roads and need a vehicle, check out Car Rentals for a great deal.

What's the farthest distance you can drive in North America?

The Pan American Highway, almost 30,000 miles away, is by far the longest win streak trip in the world. Also, Pan American Highway is the longest designated highway throughout the globe, and as per the Guinness Book of World Records. This unites almost all of the nations of North and South America to its greatest extent.

What are the best US road trip routes?

While planning a great American road trip, you must wonder the best of bests road trips in the USA. The list of incredible USA road trips includes Route 66, Pan American Highway, Great River Road, Pacific Coast Highway, Overseas Highway, Hill Country and many more.

What are the longest road trip roads in the world?

The United States boasts of some of the world's longest highways. The Pan-American Highway is the world's longest 'motorable road,' according to Guinness Book of World Records. At over 3300 miles (5400km) U.S. Route 20 is the longest road trip road in the United States of America.

Mike Shubic

Tags: longest road trip roads , Longest road trip roads in the world , longest road trips , longest road trips in the world , What are the longest road trip roads in the world

17 Comments

Bill and I travelled Hwy 6 and 20 in our travels.

Hi Jan…is that right? Did you do the entire length?

I would love to do the longest road trip in the world, but I just don’t like the countries it goes though.

It would be epic indeed.

Hey, Mike! I noticed on the Pan Am Highway, coming south from Alaska, it veers into two sections in Canada. When one fork enters the U.S., is it I-35? Thanks a lot, I enjoyed your blog!

Hi Mike…thanks for stopping by. That’s a good question, I’m not sure. Alaska is actually the only state I have not yet road tripped around. Are you thinking of driving this Pan Am Highway soon? Cheers, Mike

I am looking for travel companions to go anywhere. In some languages I am fluent, in some not, but even I do not speak Spanish I travel every winter in Mexico without any problems so far. From Maharaj to Germany I can communicate with locals, and many of them speak English as well.

Regardless of what the Guinness book of records states, the Darian gap separates the road, pretending otherwise is ridiculous.

Thank you for your thoughts.

The farthest you can drive in Alaska is Prudhoe Bay, which is a full 5335 miles from Miami, FL.

Thank you for sharing, and, for stopping by. Cheers, Mike

Wow, can you imagine road tripping one of these. Very interesting.

Epic indeed.

Such an interesting post. Your blog is amazing!

Glad you enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by.

I would like to thank you for the efforts, this is a great post.

My pleasure. Thank you.

Comments are closed.

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Where to Find the World's Longest Road

The Pan-American Highway covers 19,000 miles.

Steven Casale is a New York City-based freelance writer and digital strategist. He specializes in food, travel, and lifestyle content for publications like Tasting Table , Travel + Leisure , The Lineup , and amNY.com.

Bob Marley once sang that " life is one big road with lots of signs ." If he was singing about the biggest, he must've meant the Pan-American Highway.

Stretching from the frozen north of Alaska to the glacial tip of Argentina, the Pan-American Highway runs the most miles — or kilometers, if that's your thing — of any road on Earth.

Beginning in Prudhoe Bay , or Sagavanirktok in Inuit, where caribou wander through Arctic air, the Pan-American Highway heads south to its unofficial end in Ushuaia, the capital of Argentina's Tierra del Fuego province.

However, the highway is not without its peculiarities. The Alaska Highway, which runs through Alaska and Canada, is the unofficial beginning of the Pan-American Highway. Once in the contiguous United States the entire Interstate Highway System is designated as part of the Pan-American Highway.

There are a couple of routes — Interstate 35 is the most popular — to take south toward Mexico and Central America, where the road is known as the Inter-American Highway.

By the time it reaches Panama, the highway is interrupted twice: by the Panama Canal, where vehicles can be ferried over, and by the Darién Gap, where vehicles dare not go.

The Darién Gap is a 60-mile stretch of swampland that straddles the border of Panama and Colombia. No road exists between Yaviza, Panama, and Turbo, Colombia, because construction has been deemed too expensive. There are also concerns that a highway running through the area would damage the environment and disturb indigenous peoples.

The highway then rolls through the jungles, mountains, and deserts of South America's Pacific coast. It passes through Ecuador, Peru, and Chile before turning east into Argentina. Once in Buenos Aires, the route unofficially continues south toward Argentina's end.

There it once again reaches an obstruction: the Magellan Strait, over which a ferry must be taken to the archipelago of Tierra del Fuego . The second split takes motorists by boat across to Uruguay and continues up along Brazil's coast passing through cities like São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro along Brazilian Highway 116.

The roughly 19,000 miles of the Pan-American highway represent the most extensive highway system on Earth, passing through every kind of terrain and a variety of cultures.

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This Couple is Breaking the Record for the World's Longest Road Trip in One Country

Greg Cayea and Heather Thompson are on out to break the record for the world’s longest road trip in one country. The previous record is 22,406.66 miles, and was set in India.

The couple has already covered 29,500 miles over 103 days, passing the 22,406.66-mile mark on September 20.

They started their trip in Tempe, Arizona, and are weaving through America's 48 contiguous states, with only 11 states to go.

Cayea got the idea while listening to a Tony Robbins' audio book, and seeing a writing exercise about setting a world record. He looked into various records, and decided the longest journey completed by car could be good for the two of them to try because they were preparing to move to Philadelphia. And because “being on the road has been such a big part of my life,” Cayea told Travel + Leisure.

Related: Where to Find the World's Longest Road

“Every chance I could, I would get on the road, because that’s where I felt most at home,” said Cayea, who wrote a book on his experience, “No Direction Home: The Drifter Chronicles Volume One” , which is how he and Thompson are funding their trip.

Cayea and Thompson have been to 22 national parks, and said their favorites have been Yellowstone National Park , Zion National Park , and Crater Lake National Park .

They have also discovered unexpected tourist attractions, like outdoor animal safaris in South Dakota, and have visited quirky spots like the ghost own of Bayhorse , Idaho.

Of all the roads they’ve driven, they said the Beartooth Pass on the Beartooth Highway was the most scenic.

“It’s an insanely beautiful drive that goes around lakes that look like melted glaciers, just like the ones of out Glacier National Park,” Cayea said.

To break the record, they have a set of rules they must follow, which includes no round-trips, no backtracking more than 10 percent of the total mileage, recording every stop, keeping a log book along the trip, recording at least 10 minutes of video footage of the journey per day, and making sure not to cross country borders.

They’re allowed to take two weeks of resting time, and have spent around 35 days of their trip so far on stops, sleeping in their 2008 Subaru Outback the majority of the time.

While being on the road can be tough, the two have found ways to take advantage of the lifestyle, using national park grills to make food, and parking in truck stops, rest stops, or Walmart parking lots before prepping their mattress and watching Netflix in the back of their car.

The couple is currently heading to the Hudson Valley in New York and will most likely be on the road for one more month.

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500 miles in a toy car: a guinness world record attempt from jacksonville to key west for a worthy cause, 2 women attempt the longest trip by toy car and their journey doubles as a fundraiser to save animals.

Carianne Luter , Digital Media & Engagement Manager

Ciara Earrey , Photojournalist

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – How far have you driven during a road trip? 100 miles, 500 miles? Imagine doing that drive in a toy car.

Two women, Cassie Aran and Lauren, are attempting a 500-mile drive down the coast of Florida to earn the Guinness World Record for Longest Distance by Toy Cars, and their journey began right here in Duval County.

Cassie and Lauren started their journey at Friendship Fountain in Jacksonville and will end at the Southernmost Point Buoy in Key West. With occasional assistance from Cassie’s boyfriend, Brandon Lucante, they expect the attempt to take two months.

Cassie and Lauren’s Story

Cassie and Lauren have been close friends since their kindergarten days in New Jersey, where they rode battery-powered toy cars in the neighborhood.

“This just kind of came as this wild idea because we had these cars as kids,” Lauren said. “We used to ride around with toy cars as kids and have always wanted a Guinness World Record attempt. So we’re like, this would be a fun way to kind of honor our childhood.”

The two have a great relationship and love pushing the boundaries to add excitement and spontaneity into their lives. They aim to inspire others to do the same throughout this process and to remind everyone not to take life so seriously.

“We just love to do crazy adventures and push the limits of what is possible and try to inspire other people in the process,” Lauren said.

The million-dollar question, or record-setting question — why?

Besides aiming for a Guinness World Record — which doesn’t currently exist, by the way — Cassie and Lauren said they’ve transformed the endeavor into a memorable road trip. Why go five miles to set a record with your best friend when you can go 500, right?

And did we mention their mission is also raising money to save animals?

Related Video: Play the on-air version with the live crew interview below

Cassie and Lauren encourage donations by giving shoutouts on social media to their top donors. With more than one million followers on social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube and Instagram — the duo raised more than $600 during the first 24 hours of their journey.

Their fundraiser aims to reach $10,000, which they will donate to the Red Panda Network in Nepal, the Costa Rica Animal Rescue Center, the Save a Fox Rescue in Minnesota, the World Bird Sanctuary in Missouri and more.

Cassie also owns a clothing company called “The Ear Socks,” where 10% of all proceeds from sales of shirts, stickers and hoodies go toward the Best Friend’s Animal Society to help end all kill shelters by 2025.

You can learn more about their mission to save animals by visiting their website.

Preparation

The Guinness World Record folks are sticklers and getting into the record book isn’t easy.

Cassie and Lauren told News4JAX it took nearly a year for the Guinness team to approve their attempt for the “Longest Distance by Toy Car.”

When they finally gave the pair the “OK,” they also sent a laundry list of requirements the duo will have to track for the attempt to be counted (see below).

One of the first things Cassie, Lauren, and Brandon had to do before starting their journey was drive along their chosen routes to verify accessibility. One of the paths they have to use is through the Everglades.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Cassie Aran (@cassie.aran)

Official Rules and Regulations

To receive the official title of “Longest Journey by Toy Car,” Guinness must be 100% certain the two didn’t cheat.

So Cassie and Lauren created a daily checklist to keep track of the dozens of things they must have in order at the end of their journey.

The rulebook: Guinness sent the two a giant rulebook of things they can and can’t do. Some rules include: the shell of the cars must remain the same during the entire journey. The batteries, tires and wires may be replaced, but they must be the same ones that came with the vehicle. They must carry specific things with them at all times. Cassie and Lauren must adhere to these specific guidelines, and more, outlined by Guinness World Records for the record they are attempting.

The logbook & witness book: The two must also use a logbook to track every stop they make, even if it’s to use the bathroom. They must record why they stopped in the logbook and include photos, receipts, and signatures (witness statements) of individuals who saw them there. They also must take a picture with every known Florida landmark along the route. These details provide comprehensive and verifiable evidence that supports the record attempt. Cassie and Lauren will also use their video recordings on social media as documentation of their day-to-day journey.

“The daily checklist is like our Bible,” Cassie said. “Like, if we miss one little thing, it’s over. We could lose the whole world record if we left one thing off that checklist.”

GPS tracker: Guinness World Records gave Cassie and Lauren a GPS tracker they must turn on every day before their journey to ensure the attempt is accurate and authentic and that they’re not cheating or manipulating data. The GPS tracks where they go, how fast they go, when they stop, etc.

The two must follow the Guinness guidelines, which include making safety a priority so they don’t hurt themselves or anyone else.

Break any of the rules and Cassie and Lauren will not be awarded the record.

“It’s a lot,” Lauren said. “It’s intensive and it’s all day. It’s a lot of work. It’s not like we’re just driving cars all day. It’s a lot of logging things and taking photos and getting signatures.”

(Note: The video below was filmed before Cassie and Lauren’s first failed attempt. The vehicles have since been changed)

Trials and tribulations

This isn’t Cassie and Lauren’s first attempt at the record. The toy cars they used on their first go-round hit the sidewalk and failed them only a few miles in.

“The first time that we attempted this, the batteries did not last as long as they did in testing for us, and it was like half as long,” Lauren said.

The two weren’t even out of Jacksonville before they had to start over, this time with new vehicles — Freddo Rocket toy cars. The two-seaters can handle rough terrain and can reach 11 mph (now you see why it’s going to take at least two months). The cars have headlights, emergency brakes and even play music. One major obstacle they face while driving these cars is they must steer clear of significant cracks and potholes due to the low clearance of their vehicle.

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When they tested the battery life on the Freddo Rocket cars, they lasted around 11 miles. Yes, that means they have to stop to change out their batteries every 11(ish) miles. They plan on charging the batteries overnight at hotels.

With the new cars, they were off again and so far, so good.

But of course, it’s Florida.

The weather and other factors will come into play for sure. How fast can an alligator go again?

Cassie and Lauren said that when it rains, they have to use car covers and umbrellas to protect the vehicles and essentially have to ride out the storm.

To stay updated on Cassie and Lauren’s journey, check out their YouTube , Instagram , Facebook , and TikTok channels, or visit their website . Learn more about The Ear Socks .

News4JAX is rooting for you, Cassie and Lauren, and we know you’ve got this! Keep on driving.

Copyright 2024 by WJXT News4JAX - All rights reserved.

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The world's longest and greatest road trips

Road-trips are the perfect way to experience many different countries, cultures and landmarks all in one epic journey.

Being in control of your destiny and the freedom that comes with jumping in the car and driving wherever you see fit can be liberating. Whilst road-trips do need a decent period of time to undertake there are plenty of options to suit whether you’ve got a long weekend or taking a year to travel the world.

We’re concentrating today on those longer trips, those inspirational life affirming journeys that take you from one side of the world to the other by looking at the world’s longest road trips.

Sagres to Talon: The Longest Overland Road Trip

The furthest that you can drive without the need of ferries or trains is from Sagres in Portugal to Talon in eastern Russia.

This 9,414 mile (15,151km) journey will take around 200 hours of continuous driving. Clearly you’ll be wanting to break up the journey, doing so means you’ll be able to explore a number of wonderful countries from the start point in Portugal, through Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Belarus and across the breadth of Russia via Moscow, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk and to Talon.

Prudhoe Bay to Ushuaia: Pan American Highway

The Pan American Highway spans the North and South American continents, from Prudhoe Bay in Alaska to the southernmost city in the world Ushuaia in Argentina.

It’s a distance of 19,000 miles (30,000km) making it the longest road in the world. It would take an estimated 720 hours to drive the length of the Pan American Highway – which is a solid 3 months of driving, but most people choose to take a much more leisurely approach over the course of 6-12 months.

The journey takes you through Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, United States and Canada – which gives you plenty of places to explore and enjoy along the way. From the Patagonian icefields to the Atacama Desert and the Rockies mountains.

We should be honest and admit that this isn’t fully achievable by car alone, the Darien Gap, which separates South America and Central America is a region of mountainous rainforest and swampland which can only be covered by boat.

Highway 1 in Australia: The Big Lap

Australia’s Big Lap is essentially the world’s biggest ring road. The 9,000 mile (14,500km) Highway 1 connects the capitals of Australia’s states (except Hobart and Canberra) by joining Perth (Western Australia), Darwin (Northern Territories), Brisbane (Queensland), Sydney (New South Wales), Melbourne (Victoria) and Adelaide (South Australia). 

In doing so it becomes the second largest road in the world. It showcases all that Australia has to offer from the Great Ocean Road between Melbourne and Adelaide to the isolation of the north eastern coasts with swamps, deserts and scrubland in between.

Although the record for the Big Lap is a remarkable 6 days, those of us with more time could enjoy the journey over the course of 3-6 months. Taking in all that Australia has to offer in that time.

St. Petersburg to Vladivostok: The Trans-Siberian Highway 

Many would have heard of the Trans-Siberian Railway, but did you know there was a highway as well?

Running the length of Russia from St Petersburg in the north west to Vladivostok in the south east it covers 7,000 miles (11,000km) making it the third longest road in the world.

The journey takes goes from the Baltic Sea coast to the Sea of Japan, through some inhospitable terrain making it one of the toughest road trips you can choose to do.

Driving constantly and going at full tilt will still take around 14 days to make it from one side to the other. Happily though, if you allow 4-6 weeks you can make the journey in a more manageable way and enjoy the cities of Moscow, Kazan and Irkutsk whilst the natural wonder of Lake Baikal. 

St John’s to Vancouver: The Trans-Canada Highway 

Canada is the second biggest country in the world, so it’s not a surprise to see it on a list of the world’s longest road trips. The Trans-Canada Highway meanders from St John’s in Newfoundland and Labrador in the east to Vancouver, the largest city in British Columbia on Canada’s west coast.

The journey is 5,000 miles (7,000km) takes you through ten Canadian provinces and takes you from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Coast in the west. In total, it would take around 120 hours of pure driving, but more realistically a 2-month trip would allow you to leisurely journey where you can take in all that Canada has to offer.

Along the route, stop in the beautiful Quebec City, explore the lakes and mountains of Alberta and try whale watching in Vancouver Bay.

Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata: The Golden Quadrilateral Highway 

India’s longest road trip in 3,600 miles (6,000km) long and connects 4 of India’s largest cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

In doing so it forms a quadrilateral where the highway gets its name. It is the newest highway on this list having been completed in 2001

2-4 weeks driving this route around India would be able to provide good time to explore each city and immerse yourself in some of India’s most famous landmarks including the world-famous Taj Mahal. 

Boston, Massachusetts to Newport, Oregon: U.S. Route 20

America and road trips go hand in hand, although Route 66 is probably the famous road trip in the world, the longest road trip in the United States is actually Route 20 which connects Boston, Massachusetts on the east coast with Newport, Oregon on the Pacific coast in the north west of the country.

Covering 3,365 miles (5,415km) it runs through 12 different states and some fascinating cities including Cleveland – where you can visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Minneapolis - for some retail therapy at the Mall of America, and Chicago - The Windy City. Aside from cities you can also experience the USAs natural beauty including Yellowstone National Park, Craters of the Moon National Preserve and, if you’re willing take a 2-hour detour, you can see Mount Rushmore.

The 60 hours of driving that it will take can make for an excellent 3-week journey across the route, giving you enough time for a leisurely drive and multiple night stays along the way. 

Istanbul to Tokyo: Asian Highway 1

The longest road trip across Asia spans 12,774 (20,557km) from Istanbul in Turkey – known as the gateway to Asia – to Tokyo in Japan.

Asian Highway 1 takes around 125 hours to complete, but given the number of different countries through which it runs you’ll likely want to allow yourself 4-6 weeks to fully appreciate everything that this route has to offer.

The route runs through South Korea, North Korea, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. Whilst some of these countries may not be the easiest to navigate through geo-politically speaking the routes does hold some magnificent treasures throughout south east Asian and parts of the Indian sub-continent.

If you’re not sick of driving by the time you arrive in Istanbul, it is possible to continue the trip via the E80 which will lead you across Europe to Lisbon in Portugal. 

John O’Groats, UK to Cape Town: The Longest Euro-African Road Trip

Here’s one that is perfect for us Brits. A 200 hour drive takes us 9,100 miles (14,650km) from the UK’s most northerly mainland point – John O’Groats to Cape Town in South Africa.

It would take just over a week of solid driving to make the distance, but a much more sensible timescale will be 2 to 3 months – that way you can enjoy your trip through Europe and down the length of Africa.

This unique journey travels through France, Spain, Algeria, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, Namibia and South Africa – allowing you to get up close and personal with the wildlife of Africa in the various deserts, game reserves and national parks with the Algerian Sahara and Deadvlei and Etosha National Park in Namibia being particular highlights.

Serai, Indonesia to Cape Town, South Africa: The Longest Land Route with Ferries

If you’re willing to push the definition of a road trip a bit further and are happy to use a number of ferries, then the longest land route you can do with ferries is between Cape Town and Serai, North Sulawesi in Indonesia.

The longest road trip covers a distance of 20,885 (33,612km) through Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Kazakhstan, Russia and then across Europe from Belarus to Spain. Then head over to north Africa and travel through Algeria, Niger, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and more.

This is a mammoth journey that with constant driving would take 550 hours – the equivalent of 23 days straight!

Ready to hit the road for your next adventure?

Have we inspired to take a road trip? Even if you don’t have the time or the willing to travel tens of thousands of miles there are some excellent road trips closer to home including:

• North Coast 500 – Scotland
• Wild Atlantic Way – Ireland
• Ring Road - Iceland
• The Amalfi Coast - Italy
• Atlantic Road – Norway

If you are planning a driving adventure this year, remember to get yourself covered with travel insurance and car hire excess cover and breakdown cover to make sure you’re fully protected before you hit the open road.

The World's Longest Road Trip

What's the longest road trip in the world? To answer the question, we discount driving in circles, and limit the trip to continuous roadways, i.e. roads that are not interrupted by bodies of water. The YouTube channel Half as Interesting looks into the geography of the world's longest direct road trip, by looking at where the roads are.

While not using the exact same direct route, two Russian rally racers, Andrei Leontiev and Anna Zavershinskaya, drove from Cape San Vicente, Portugal, to Magadan, Russia, in 2014 in a Subaru Outback. They set a world record for the 16,000-kilometer trip, finishing in just over seven days (it was expected to take 15 days). You can see their video here . It's twenty minutes long and in Russian, but if you turn the auto-translate on, you may be able to follow it.

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The 10 Longest Road Trips in the World

By Nick Mafi

There are perhaps few things more liberating than a road trip. With miles and miles of concrete ahead of you, the only two obstacles are the gas in your tank and the end of the road. While the former can easily be handled with intermittent stops at a gas station, the latter will eventually end, effectively stopping the road trip. So why not consider the longest roads so as prolonging the experience? Modern technology and government collaborations have allowed, for example, for one strip of road to span from the northern tip of North America to the southern expanse of South America—a feat, no doubt, that would've left Magellan speechless. As such, this summer, as you prepare to plan your next road trip, consider the ten longest highways in the world (just make sure you have enough gas money).

Interstate 80

Spanning 2,899 miles, Interstate 80 is roughly 120 miles shorter than I-90. Starting in Teaneck, New Jersey, the highway stretches across 11 states before arriving in San Francisco. I-80 runs a similar route to the Lincoln Highway. Built in 1913, the Lincoln Highway was among the earliest transcontinental highways for automobiles to cross the country.

Interstate 90

Barely surpassing 3,000 miles, Interstate 90 is the longest interstate highway in the United States. Beginning in Boston, the road travels across the northern half of the country, continually uninterrupted until it runs through Seattle. Between those two cities, I-90 spans some 11 states.

U.S. Route 6

Almost running the entirety of the country, U.S. Route 6 begins in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and ends in Bishop, California (near the Nevada border). In total the highway stretches 3,199 miles, at one point going through the Loveland Pass, where it crosses the Continental Divide.

U.S. Route 20

Spanning 3,365 miles, U.S. Route 20 runs east to west, covering some 12 states. Completed in 1926, the road begins in Boston and ends in Newport, Oregon. Pictured here is the Julien Dubuque Bridge, which is a part of U.S. Route 20, and runs over the Mississippi River, connecting Dubuque, Iowa, and East Dubuque, Illinois.

By Sarah Archer

By David Nash

By Stefanie Waldek

China National Highway

Ranging some 3,541 miles, the China National Highway is the longest road in the country. It runs from Tongjiang in the eastern edge of the country all the way to Sanya, on the southern tip next to the South China Sea.

Golden Quadrilateral National Highway

The Golden Quadrilateral National Highway is India's largest highway project, and one that connects many of the major cities in the country. Spanning 3,632 miles, the concrete road connects Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kanpur, Surat and Bengaluru, and more, effectively linking many of the major industrial, agricultural, and cultural centers of India.

Trans-Canada Highway

The 4,860-mile-long Trans-Canada Highway crosses the entirety of Canada from east to west. If ever one finds themselves on a long stretch of road in Canada and wonders if it's the Trans-Canada Highway, it's easily identifiable by a distinctive white-on-green maple leaf route marker on its signs.

Trans-Siberian Highway

The Trans-Siberian Highway, which starts in metropolitan St. Petersburg, runs 6,835 miles through the heart of Russia before ending in Vladivostok, on the far eastern end of the country, next to the Pacific Ocean.

Australia's Highway 1 circles around the entire country/continent, totaling some 9,000 miles. Passing through all the major cities, the road covers a wide range of terrain such as tropical swamps, deserts, and ocean coastlines.

Pan-American Highway

Spanning some 19,000 miles, the Pan-American Highway is the longest roadway in the world. Starting in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, the road moves south, passing through Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central America. There, the road hits a small bump, where travelers have to pass a gap connecting Central and South America briefly by sea before moving through Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile, and ultimately ending in the southern tip of Argentina.

By Katherine McLaughlin

By Natalia Rachlin

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Couple breaks world record for longest road trip in one country

This couple has broke the road trip record and they're not stopping. (scrambledgregs.com)

All it took was 29,500 miles, 103 days and 39 states.

An American couple that started their trip in Tempe, Ariz. has broken the world record for the longest road trip in one country, reports Travel + Leisure. 

Greg Cayea and Heather Thompson easily surpassed the previous record of 22,406.66 miles that was set in India in April.

Check this bison out. #worldrecord #roadtrip pic.twitter.com/Otnlj6xFLi — Greg Cayea (@GregCayea) September 23, 2016

Cayea and Thompson started their trip on Sept. 20 and have since traveled to 22 national parks, stopping in some of their favorites including Yellowstone, Zion National Park and Crater Lake National Park. They’ve also found unexpected tourist attractions, ranging from outdoor animal safaris in South Dakota to a ghost town in Idaho.

To achieve their goal of driving through the 48 contiguous states, the duo set a series of rules: no round-trips and no backtracking more than 10 percent of the total mileage. They also promised to record every stop, keep a log book along the trip, record at least 10 minutes of video footage of the trip each day and not cross any country borders.

Our road trip so far #roadtrip #gwr #TravelTuesday pic.twitter.com/fW2M156cGw — Greg Cayea (@GregCayea) September 21, 2016

They also permitted themselves to take two weeks of resting time. In total, they’ve spent around 35 days of their trip so far on stops.

But where do the sleep? The majority of the journey, the couple sleeps in their 2008 Subaru Outback. They told Travel + Leisure that each night they prepare their mattress and catch up on their favorite Netflix shows before retiring.

Next up, Cayea and Thompson will head to New York’s Hudson Valley. They expect to keep traveling through mid-November.

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GUINNESS WORLD RECORD LONGEST ROAD TRIP

The road trip: los angeles, california, june something, 2016.

The road trip all started with Tony Robbins.

I downloaded his book  Awaken the Giant Within   on Audible and listened to it in two hours while my then-girlfriend was finishing her last shift at the café she used to manage in Griffin Park.

Tony starts talkin:

“Are you setting ambitious goals?”

Well, yeah, I’m gonna be a best-selling author, I tell Tony through the headphones.

“Does that EXCITE YOU?” says Tony.

Uhhh… well, kinda… mostly it just sounds like a lotta work.

“Well what WOULD excite you? Some people just don’t dream  big  enough… is that  you?”  Tony asks me in a real soothing yet threatening voice.

I start tearing. YES, TONY THAT  IS  ME! How did he know?

“Well, it’s time to STOP and DREAM BIG,” he shouts in my ear.

FINE TONY, FINE!

“Take out a pen and start to write! WRITE FOR FIVE MINUTES! Stop the tape NOW and WRITE!”

Fucking shit this guy… So, I start to damn write and write and I write down everything I think I want but I’m not sure I want but think maybe I want and I don’t know… but I write it all down.

I look down at my pad. Amidst all the crazy mumbo jumbo I wrote down like “have Japanese tea garden”—whatever the fuck that mean, I see:

Set world record.

Hmm… A world record? A world record for what? I mean, it sounds fun… Okay. A world record, I’ll do it. But what kinda record? I wonder if there’s some kinda travel world record, do those exist? Is that a thing? It must be a thing. Everything is a thing.

I Google ‘world records travel’ and tons of fuckin travel world records pop up. I start browsing through em all to see which world records I might be able to break, and BOOM… I find one:

Longest Journey by Car in a Single Country. .. A ROAD TRIP!

Fantastic, that sounds great. I’m lookin at some couple in India that currently has the title at 19,600 miles, which is chicken shit, I think to myself. Well guess what motherfuckers? You’re goin down.

So, I click on the [APPLY TO BREAK RECORD] button and fill out a buncha shit and then I’m prompted with screen that says they’ll get back to me in twelve weeks… Twelve weeks?

You fuckin kidding?

Who plans shit out that far? Oh wait… OR I can pay them a dickload of money to hear back in three to five days. Eight-hundred dollars to be kind of exact (somewhere around there at least).

I PAY THEM THE DICKLOAD OF MONEY THEY EXTORT ME FOR AND WAIT FOR THE RESPONSE.

I hear back within a few hours I think, I can’t really remember, but it was fast. Congratulations, you’ve been accepted to apply for the record (is basically what it said). Then I’m prompted with some other page that says in many more words than I’m about to paraphrase it in, “Okay do a bunch of more shit then send us your roadmap and how you intend to break the record so we can approve it, and one more thing: you can’t start prior to approval.”

So, I spend five hours doin the map that night and I’m up with my ex—her name is Heather—so, I’ll just say Heather from now on…. Anyway, I’m up till like 3AM with my ex—I mean Heather—tryin to put together some kinda map that’ll break 20,000 miles… but the thing is they gave us all these rules—like no round trips and no backtracking and no leaving the country and more shit than that, but those are a few, so it’s quite hard to find some sort of route that’ll break 20,000 miles.

ZIG-ZAGGY ROAD TRIP

We come up with this zig-zaggy lookin route and submit it and THEN they say something along the lines of, “this shit isn’t good enough. Please be more detailed…” Actually, here’s precisely what they said:

So I do that and then they’re like…

“Thanks, we’ll get back to you in twelve weeks OR you can pay us another dickload of money to hear back in three to five days. So again, I pay the crooks because I’m impulsive and I wanna leave in like a week.

I wait and wait and wait and wait and wonder if I just spend sixteen hundred bucks for no reason just to get denied. Plus, Heather’s lease is over and we gotta leave LA and we have no idea where to drive, so we head to her parent’s house that’s right outside of Phoenix, Arizona.

Then, after like two weeks of us staying in the hottest place on Earth, I get a response from Guinness:

We prep our shit for  (what we think will be)  a 20,000-mile journey up and down the USA. But all that went to shit.

ROAD TRIP STANDSTILL -GILBERT, ARIZONA

July 7, 2016, or something like that..

The day is at least 120 degrees and the night is somewhere around 110. I gotta go get new tires and get my oil changed and buy a camera and get ready to sleep in the back of my car for… however long that’ll take. Gonna be sleeping in the back of my Subaru Outback on an air mattress, I think.

Before we leave I get bored and post on Facebook about the trip and some guy named Jake I met in a café in Brooklyn at one point in my life sends me a message that says:

LET’S WORK TOGETHER!

He worked for some branding agency or someplace where companies pay him money for content and now we were gonna be that content. He gets us a sponsor called Stream–they’re a live streaming platform. They want us to live stream the whole trip.

WHY AM I EVEN DOING THIS?

Oh right, cause I was dissatisfied with my life.

Five days later, we’re still in Phoenix.

WHY IS THIS SO FRUSTRATING ALREADY??

Turns out we weren’t  fully ready yet…  Another hiccup with Guinness…

So I flip out cause we are READY TO GO! KML file?! What in the  fuck is that?  WHAT THE HELL DOES THIS MEAN!?! I gotta figure out what in the world a KML file is. I google the living shit outa it and NOBODY has an answer.

IN SEARCH OF A KML CLUE…

Who would know this? Who needs to record mileage? TRUCK DRIVERS! I’ll call a truck driving company!

So I call one of them and they have no fucking clue.

Dammit… Hmm, maybe another world record breaker? But I don’t know any other world record breakers. I freak out again.

WHAT THE FUCK IS A KML FILE?

But there’s no more time to waste, we gotta get on the road! But STILL–even after a few days driving I’m goin back and forth with Guinness tryin to figure out if I did the KML file thingy right. And STILL they are writing me back shit like:

Seek professional advice? PROFESSIONAL ADVICE?! YOU ARE THE FUCKIN PROFESSIONAL ADVICE!

Dude points to some Garmin GPS system.

“That’ll do it”

FINALLY. SOME EXPERT HELP (IT WASN’T AS WE LEARNED).

So we get back home—Heather and I—with some dumb 300-buck GPS system and turn it on and it says update the software. We click update. The update will take 25 hours, please do not turn off your computer.

25 hours?!?! ARE YOU FUCKIN KIDDING ME?

So we wait 25 hours for this GPS to update and go swimming in Heather’s parent’s pool.

Then we have sex; a rare occasion.

Then Stream, our new sponsor, says they sent us two Samsung phones with unlimited data so we can rig the car up to live stream the entire trip. Those phones show up at the house. Free phones. That’s cool.

“You ready for the walk through on how to use the software?”

But the GPS update still has 20 hours or whatever and the KML files are wrong and we gotta get going here and it’s 120 degrees outside and now we gotta learn how to use this live streaming software. I feel flustered.

So I turn on the Samsung Galaxy phones but the phones won’t turn on till its charged for another hour.

I write back to Jake and the Stream people that:

“Phone taking long time to charge can push back Skype sesh?”

TAKING OUT WORDS MAKES IT SOUND LIKE I’M IN A RUSH.

They say yes and when the hour goes by and the phones are charged we turn them on and are prompted with two options:

Call the cops  or  turn off phone.

So, we head to  the Verizon store,  but they tell us they need our password to activate it. We don’t know the password so I send another message to Jake and Stream tellin em we can’t even turn the phones on.

Meanwhile back at the house the fuckin DSLR camera I bought is still on the floor of the room Heather and I were stayin in at her parents’ house and it’s lookin at me sayin:

You’ll  NEVER  figure me out. NEVER.

I look at the photo of the camera on the box with all its buttons and shit and I’m thinkin:

Damn, I’ll never figure out how to take a damn picture on this thing.

Problem with that is, part of the rules we gotta follow say  we’re required to take photos of national landmarks and film two minutes of video footage for every hour we’re on the road…  Okay, I’ll worry about that later.

DAY 0: HEATHER GETS PULLED OVER

Actually, it’s not even day one. We haven’t even left yet and Heather got pulled over and lost two points on her license and got a $300 ticket for running a stop sign right outside her parent’s house in a sub-development of a sub-development of a sub-development in Gilbert, Arizona. Not a good start.

We leave tomorrow.

DAY 5: MILE MARKER 904 – ANOTHER FIGHT

Finally we left Phoenix and went up to Prescott and then over to Flagstaff and we parked that first night at a Pilot Flying J’s truck stop. We setup the car for the first time to sleep in and I was stressed the fuck out cause Heather brought so much shit and I told her a million times “you’re bringing too much shit” and she was like “no it’s all good you’re freakin out” and I was like:

“YOU’VE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE. I AM TELLING YOU THIS IS TOO MUCH SHIT. WE WON’T BE ABLE TO PUT THE SEATS DOWN CAUSE THERE’S TOO MUCH SHIT TO PUT AWAY!”

Then that night she easily put everything where it needed to be and we slept comfortably and I woke up and said sorry.

I hate being wrong. Especially when I’m wrong with so much conviction.

But before we went to bed, we put towels in the windows so we could have some privacy. A couple weeks later on an Indian reservation in the back of a casino the casino manager told us we were ruining the “ambiance” of the casino and that we had to leave.

“BUT LOOK AT ALL THE TRUCKS! THEY AREN’T RUINING THE AMBIANCE?”

I was about to freak out.

“Well, see how they’re… clean? You have towels hanging out the windows…”

Translation: Beat it white trash.

LESS WHITE TRASHY

The next morning Heather made curtains for the windows and put Velcro all around the car so we could slap the curtains up at night and take em off during the day. It looked much less white trashy.

I woke up at like 6am and did 120 pushups (humble brag) on some concrete sidewalk at some truck stop while Heather was still sleeping and then I meditated on my yoga block and when Heather woke up we moved all the shit from the front seat back to the backseat and deflated the air mattress and drove to the Grand Canyon.

I nearly  died at the Grand Canyon  a few years back, but that’s beside the point.

Here’s what happened next… (coming soon)

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Longest journey by car in a single country

The longest journey by car in a single country is 69,207 km (43,003 mi) and was achieved by Manikkuttan G S (India), in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, from 13 August to 19 November 2023.

Manikkutan describes himself as ''someone who loves to drive a lot''.

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Lowest fuel consumption driving to 30 contiguous provinces in China (petrol car)

Most countries visited on a single tank of fuel (diesel or petrol).

Greatest distance covered driving on ice in one week

Lowest fuel consumption driving to 48 contiguous us states (hybrid car), longest journey by bus (including cargo).

Fewest charge stops to cross New Zealand, in an electric car