With the flight shaming movement quickly gaining momentum, many travellers are opting to ditch flights and use alternative transport measures.
Italian Stefano De Simone decided to ditch flying when he travelled from Vietnam to India.
He said that flying often restricted what travellers could experience.
“The trip was impromptu. All I saw was India on a paper map, and I wanted to travel there. I slowly started to piece together a way I could travel without having to fly. I wanted to meet as many people as I could,” he told IOL Travel.
The 28-year-old from Piedmont said that he decided to go flightless so he could broaden his horizons. The journey from April to August 2018 took five months to complete. He rode on a hired motorcycle.
“If you travel with an airplane, you miss so many things, including the road, the people and the animals. I wanted to explore as much as I could. The idea of taking shortcuts is not for me.”
Simone said that he winged it. He looked at the map and plotted the trip as he went. He does, however, recommend that travellers do their research.
“Research is vital when embarking on trips of this nature, especially from one point to the next. Find out what each country requires before entering a specific destination.
He said that there was an issue with his visa at some Indian borders so he could only visit Varanasi, Rajasthan and Delhi before he travelled to Pakistan.
Simone embarked on the same adventure when he travelled to Central America from Mexico to Panama in 2019. He travelled to seven countries including, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.