Around the world tour without flying

Planet

CARBON REDUCTION
This is a one hundred day, round the world journey that is entirely flight free, using rail, ferries and scheduled ships rather than flights between continents. By linking Eurostar, high speed and sleeper trains in Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, China, Japan and North America, together with sea crossings between Japan and Canada and between New York and Southampton, the itinerary avoids a large number of long and short haul flights that a comparable trip by air would normally require.

Shared public transport is used throughout. Guests travel almost exclusively on scheduled trains, metros and ferries, including Eurostar, TGV, Railjet, high speed services in China and Japan, and Amtrak in North America. This ensures that emissions are spread across many passengers rather than generated by private vehicles or chartered transport. Many city hotels are located within walking distance of railway stations, which reduces the need for additional transfers.

Much of the sightseeing is carried out on foot with guided walking tours in Vienna, Bra?ov, Bucharest, Sofia, Plovdiv, Istanbul, Tbilisi, Khiva, Bukhara, Shanghai, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Tokyo, Vancouver, Seattle, Chicago and New York. We also encourage responsible travel habits, including packing lightly, choosing plant based or vegetarian meals where possible, carrying reusable water bottles and making conscious choices regarding laundry and energy use in hotels.

ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE
We prioritise accommodation partners with clear environmental policies, including efforts to reduce water consumption, minimise single use plastics, manage waste responsibly and adopt energy efficient practices. Many of the international hotel groups used on the itinerary publish sustainability data, while smaller locally owned properties are selected after discussing their waste management approaches and responsible sourcing.

The trip includes entry to and time in protected and sensitive environments such as the forests of Transylvania, Bozjira National Park, Charyn Canyon, Zhangye Danxia Geopark, and major North American reserves including Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Badlands and Rocky Mountain National Park. Entrance fees and guiding support conservation management, habitat protection and wildlife monitoring in these areas.

Wildlife experiences follow strict responsible travel practices. Bear watching in Transylvania is conducted from designated hides with specialist rangers, and activities in national parks rely on qualified local guides who understand species behaviour and park regulations. We provide guests with guidance on low impact behaviour, for example staying on marked trails, keeping safe distances from wildlife and avoiding single use plastics in natural areas.

People

LOCAL ECONOMY
This journey blends well known international hotels with numerous regionally owned or independently operated properties, particularly in destinations such as Bra?ov, Plovdiv, Batumi, Khiva, Bukhara, Tashkent and several locations across Kazakhstan and Georgia. Using these hotels ensures that a meaningful proportion of traveller spending remains within local communities rather than flowing solely to global chains.

Local guides are employed in every country visited, from Romania and Bulgaria through Turkey, the Caucasus, Central Asia, China, Japan, Canada and the United States. This approach channels income directly to residents with place based expertise, while also ensuring travellers gain authentic insight into local culture, history and nature.

The itinerary includes many opportunities to support small businesses, including meals in locally run restaurants, wine cellars and food markets, and visits to traditional craft areas and historic marketplaces such as Khiva’s old city, Bukhara’s trading domes, Nishiki Market in Kyoto, and neighbourhood markets in Shanghai and Tashkent. Spending in these places benefits artisans, small traders and family run businesses.

EMPLOYMENT, INCLUSIVITY AND DIVERSITY
Our ground partners employ overwhelmingly local staff, with guides, drivers and support personnel drawn from the countries and often the regions visited. This ensures that wages and economic benefits remain within local communities and promotes skills development among young professionals in tourism.

We work only with partners who meet or exceed national labour requirements, including paying staff at least the legal minimum wage and providing fair working conditions. We encourage female guides, young trainees and staff from minority backgrounds to join guiding teams and to access training opportunities across the network.

We welcome travellers of all genders, ethnicities, nationalities and sexual orientations on this trip. Many of the cities visited, including Vienna, Istanbul, Tbilisi, Baku, Almaty, Shanghai, Kyoto, Tokyo, Vancouver, Seattle, Chicago and New York, have established international visitor infrastructure. At the same time, we recognise that social attitudes and legal frameworks vary between countries, so we provide clear and honest pre departure information for LGBTQ+ guests, including guidance on local customs and recommendations for low key public behaviour in more conservative regions. Our local partners are briefed that all guests must be treated with respect.