Are you looking for your next adventure? Traveling from the UK to the United States by road sounds like a great experience, right?
Although the idea alone is adventurous and hard to turn down, the question remains, is it actually possible to travel to America from the UK?
Here’s if you can drive to America from the UK
No, you can’t drive to America from the UK by road only. The Atlantic ocean lies between the two regions; the only way to get across is by ship or air travel. The Bering Strait passage, which almost connects America to Europe, has no roads, and this challenge limits the options for travel by road.
Routes to drive to America from the UK
If you were to take everything to chance, then there might be a route you can travel through during your trip.
The journey would involve driving from the UK to Russia and crossing the Bering Strait into Alaska.
Your journey would begin by driving to Dover or Newhaven ports and catching a ferry to Calais or Dunkirk ports in France.
You can also opt to take the Eurotunnel shuttle train to cross the English tunnel in about 35 minutes.
To get to the Bering Strait, between Alaska and Russia, you would have to drive through France, Germany, Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine.
The fastest and safest routes to take would be major highways such as Autoroutes in France, the Kyiv-Chop highway through Ukraine, or the A2 motorway in Poland.
Say you arrive at Gukovo, a town in Russia near its border with Ukraine.
Traveling from Gukovo to the Bering Strait would take you approximately 80 hours at a speed of 100 km/hr (62 mi/hr).
However, the Bering Strait does not have any roads, which makes driving through the stretch challenging.
During winter, the sea freezes, and you can drive over the ice, but tidal flows and strong currents, especially at the narrowest point of the strait make traveling an impossibility.
Is there a ferry service that transports cars from the United Kingdom to the United States?
Yes, there are multiple ferry services that transport cars from the UK to the United States. If your vehicle meets the Roll-On/Roll-Off (RORO) standards that ensure the safety and stability of the ferry, you can apply for the service.
Ferrying a car from the UK to the US would approximately take 31 days, depending on the time of departure, the nearest port, and the vehicle’s model.
How Long Would It Take to Drive to America from the UK?
In short, while it is theoretically possible to drive most of the way from the UK to America, there are significant challenges, including the lack of a road across the Bering Strait. The journey involves several modes of transportation and traverses various countries. Due to these complexities and variables, such as driving speeds, rest stops, and weather conditions, it’s challenging to provide an accurate estimate of total travel time.
However, for a more detailed breakdown of what this journey might involve:
Firstly, you would need to travel from the UK to France. This part of the journey can be made either by ferry from Dover or Newhaven ports to Calais or Dunkirk ports in France or via the Eurotunnel shuttle train through the English tunnel. The Eurotunnel trip is the fastest option, taking about 35 minutes.
Next, there would be the extensive drive from France to Gukovo, a town in Russia near its border with Ukraine. This drive takes you through several countries, including Germany, Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine, primarily along major highways. The duration of this part of the trip is not specified in the article and could vary greatly based on factors like route selection, driving speed, traffic, and rest stops.
Once in Gukovo, the drive to the Bering Strait in Russia is estimated to take about 80 hours if maintaining a speed of 100 km/hr (62 mi/hr). This is, of course, assuming ideal conditions with minimal stops and disruptions.
However, reaching the Bering Strait only takes you to the edge of the American continent. The challenge lies in the fact that there are no roads across the Bering Strait. While the sea freezes during winter and theoretically can be traversed by vehicle, the realities of tidal flows, strong currents, and unpredictable conditions make this a daunting and likely impossible task.
For the final leg of the journey, there are ferry services available that transport cars from the UK to the United States. This would take approximately 31 days, depending on the departure time, the nearest port, and the vehicle’s model.
Please note that while it might be theoretically possible to drive most of the way from the UK to America, the journey is fraught with difficulties, hazards, and practical impossibilities. Therefore, it is not a recommended method of travel.
