The surface conditions of the roads, the number of people (and in many cases animals) on the road, weather and the overall topography of the countries we have driven through have varied tremendously. These variables and many, many more all have a direct impact on the speed at which we are able to drive and ultimately the number of hours we end up spending behind the wheel. We started taking fairly detailed notes on driving time, speed and road surface conditions in China… we figured it would come in handy and would give Bouey some numbers to crunch since he is no longer auditing anyone. Below is a glimpse of just how much time we spent driving in a country, our average speed and some notes about the roads that one can expect in those countries.
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 China Total Distance Driven: 3,494 miles (5,590 km) Drive Time: 90.25 hrs Average Speed: 38.7 mph/61.9 kph |
Surface Conditions: Modern motorways (often congested) and provincial roads in poor and in many cases, total disrepair in many provinces
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 Mongolia Total Distance Driven: 2,163 miles (3,461 km) Drive Time: 83.75 hrs Average Speed: 25.8 mph/41.3 kph |
Surface Conditions: Outside of Ulaanbaatar, there were basically no surfaced roads to speak of and when we we not lost, found a range descent dirt tracks to rough jeep trails
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 Russian Federation Total Distance Driven: 688 miles (1,101 km) Drive Time: 14 hrs Average Speed: 49.1 mph/78.6 kph |
Surface Conditions: Modern and well maintained single lane roads
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 Kazakhstan Total Distance Driven: 1,486 miles (2,378 km) Drive Time: 32 hrs Average Speed: 46.4 mph/74.3 kph |
Surface Conditions: Mediocre surfaced roads but the run from the Uzbekistan border to Aktau was the worst stretch of road we have encountered
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 Kyrgyzstan Total Distance Driven: 882 miles (1,411 km) Drive Time: 23.75 hrs Average Speed: 37.1 mph/59.4 kph |
Surface Conditions: Descent single lane roads, but depending on the time of year, weather can cause fairly hazardous driving conditions on the higher mountain passes
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 Uzbekistan Total Distance Driven: 1,486 miles (2,378 km) Drive Time: 32 hrs Average Speed: 46.4 mph/74.3 kph |
Surface Conditions: Descent single lane roads, dirt roads through the Qizilqum Desert and lots of police checkpoints
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 Azerbaijan Total Distance Driven: 345 miles (552 km) Drive Time: 7 hrs Average Speed: 49.3 mph/78.9 kph |
Surface Conditions: Descent single lane roads
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 Georgia Total Distance Driven: 299 miles (478 km) Drive Time: 7.75 hrs Average Speed: 38.6 mph/61.7 kph |
Surface Conditions: Descent single lane roads
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 Turkey Total Distance Driven: 1,130 miles (1,808 km) Drive Time: 19.5 hrs Average Speed: 57.9 mph/92.7 kph |
Surface Conditions: Great single/double lane roads and motorways
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 Bulgaria Total Distance Driven: 479 miles (766 km) Drive Time: 10.5 hrs Average Speed: 45.6 mph/73 kph |
Surface Conditions: Great single lane roads and motorways
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 Romania Total Distance Driven: 437 miles (699 km) Drive Time: 13.5 hrs Average Speed: 32.4 mph/ 51.8 kph |
Surface Conditions: Descent single lane roads but rough and congested in some spots
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 Hungary Total Distance Driven: 343 (549 km) Drive Time: 5.5 hrs Average Speed: 62.4 mph/99.8 kph |
Surface Conditions: Great single lane roads and motorways
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 Slovakia Total Distance Driven: 54 miles (86 km) Drive Time: 0.75 hrs Average Speed: 72 mph/115.2 kph |
Surface Conditions: Great single lane roads and motorways
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 Czech Republic Total Distance Driven: 293 miles (469 km) Drive Time: 5.75 hrs Average Speed: 50.9 mph/81.4 kph |
Surface Conditions: Great single lane roads and motorways
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 Germany Total Distance Driven: 814 miles (1,302 km) Drive Time: 12.75 hrs Average Speed: 63.8 mph/102.1 kph |
Surface Conditions: Great roads all around – home of the autobahn and the fastest the trucks could go
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 Denmark Total Distance Driven: 101 miles (162 km) Drive Time: 1.75 hrs Average Speed: 57.7 mph/92.3 kph |
Surface Conditions: Expressway the whole way
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 Sweden Total Distance Driven: 1,501 miles (2,402 km) Drive Time: 28.5 hrs Average Speed: 52.7 mph/84.3kph |
Surface Conditions: Expressways, good single lane roads even when snow packed and icy
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 Finland Total Distance Driven: 62 miles (99 km) Drive Time: 1.0 hrs Average Speed: 62 mph/99 kph |
Surface Conditions: Good single lane roads even when snow packed and icy
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 Norway Total Distance Driven: 799 miles (1,278 km) Drive Time: 19.25 hrs Average Speed: 41.5 mph/66.4kph |
Surface Conditions: Good single lane roads even when snow packed and icy
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U.K. Total Distance Driven: 551 miles (882 km) Drive Time: 10.25 hrs Average Speed:Â 53.8 mph/86.0 kph |
Surface Conditions: Back to the left – good expressways and green country lanes
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 France Total Distance Driven: 1,078 miles (1,725 km) Drive Time: 17.25 hrs Average Speed: 62.5 mph/100 kph |
Surface Conditions: Great expressways but you certainly pay for it in tolls
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 Switzerland Total Distance Driven: 588 miles (941 km) Drive Time: 13 hrs Average Speed: 45.2 mph/72.4 kph |
Surface Conditions: Great roads, but more switchbacks and tunnels than you can possibly imagine
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 Austria Total Distance Driven: 131 miles (210 km) Drive Time: 2.5 hrs Average Speed: 52.4 mph/84 kph |
Surface Conditions: The hills are alive and so are the roads
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 Italy Total Distance Driven: 47 miles (75 km) Drive Time: 1 hrs Average Speed: 47 mph/75 kph |
Surface Conditions: We dipped down to drive Stelvio Pass but it was closed… too much snow
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 Andorra Total Distance Driven: 29 miles (46 km) Drive Time: 0.75 hrs Average Speed: 38.7 mph/ 61.3 kph |
Surface Conditions: Good roads that span huge mountain passes and deep canyons
