Travel Adventure of the Year – The Ultimate Train Challenge 2013
If you are looking for the ultimate adventure for 2013 then we think that we might just have the challenge for you. It’s called The Ultimate Train Challenge 2013 (UTC 2013).
The concept was thought up in late 2011 when three travel bloggers completed an epic train journey from Lisbon to Saigon in just 31 days. And we are super excited to tell you that they have developed it so that now anyone can do it this year.
The Ultimate Train Challenge 2013
YOU make your own schedule. YOU choose your own route. YOU decide how far you are going to push yourself. YOU decide where, when and how many places you are going to visit.
All within 31 days of crazy overland travel by train only.
Although it is about 15,000 miles (25,000 kilometers) to navigate, you will still have enough time to stop and explore outside of the train carriages. Your options are endless. Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Prague, Venice, Moscow, Beijing, Hanoi. Just some of the great cities to hit up along the way.
What do you get for your entry fee?
Apart from endless memories, experiences and one heck of a travel adventure, you get a crazy amount of extra goodies!
In short, you can blog your trip on the UTC 2013 website to keep your family and friends up to date with your journey. Including a live-mapping feature on the site, so you can everyone can keep up with you in real time. But that is the boring part…
There are lots of prizes and sponsors onboard (pun intended) who want to reward you for taking part.
Intrepid Travel is offering two fabulous 15-day tours to the first ones to cross the finish line in each direction. Intrepid Travel are also throwing a fun pre-launch party from both starting points. Eurail is offering up at least four of their Global Passes that they will be raffling off and giving away as prizes. And HostelWorld is offering two free nights’ stay in each city beforehand.
And that is just the starting point. You can check out all the goodies here.
But wait, that’s not all. In order to keep up with the latest developments on new sponsors, prizes and other news, you can sign up for their free newsletter via this link also. As an extra bonus, they will be giving away a new Samsung Galaxy SIII to one lucky subscriber from all the newsletter subscribers in February.
- If you register by February 15th, the entry fee is $295 US (approx. £183 / €223).
- If you register from February 16th to April 30th, the entry fee is $395 US (approx. £245 / €298).
- And because you are entering from this post, you will get $30 off your entry fee. All you need to do is enter the code “FJ13UTC “ on the “Referral” line on the entry page to get the $30 discount.
Ultimately this trip is not about the prizes or pre-event party being thrown in both cities for everyone.
It is about having a travel adventure you are going to talk about for years. It is about challenging your limits and doing something that very few other people have done.
From one corner of Europe to the far flung corner of Asia…. all by the best mode of transportation you can use to experience the vastness and wonder of the planet we live on. TRAIN.
And it’s all about Charity
The UTC 2013 team has also partnered up with Blue Dragon’s Children Foundation in Vietnam to raise some needed funds to help out their cause. We are asking each participant to raise $500, and Intrepid Travel has been generous enough to agree to match each donation dollar for dollar, up to a $10,000 total.
So not only are you doing this whole adventure to challenge yourself, the entire group is going to do a small part to make the world a better place.
How to take part
On the Your World, No Rules website, they explain everything you need to know about this event. They have also put together some travel resource pages for you to help decide on your route and work through your visas.
What are you waiting for? Grab some friends or just do it on your own. Live your life with no regrets.
This will be the adventure that will change your life. And don’t forget… on that sign up page please input FJ13UTC in the “Referral” box to get $30 off your entry fee and tell them that you found the Ultimate Train Challenge 2013 from Four Jandals!
Category: Adventure Travel
We have been wearing out our jandals (Kiwi slang for flip-flops) on our travel adventures around the world since 2009. We love all types of adventures that make us step outside our comfort zone, in comfort, including surfing, skiing, snowboarding, diving and cruising on our bikes. You can find out more 
Sounds like a really great experience, but I’m not sure if my boss will give me a month off work
Nico recently posted..Climbing the Roof of the World
It is a lot of time to take off but with the right amount of planning then I am sure you can manage Nico
Cole Burmester recently posted..Travel Adventure of the Year – The Ultimate Train Challenge 2013
Sounds like a great trip. I always prefer to travel overland (not just because I hate to fly) but because you see so much of the countryside that way. Have fun!
The Time-Crunched Traveler (Ellen) recently posted..In photos: A lazy stroll around Caye Caulker
Just got back from going on the Eurostar from the French Alps and it was brilliant! In between doing work and watching movies I got to just gaze out the window. Much better than being squeezed into a plane
Cole Burmester recently posted..Travel Adventure of the Year – The Ultimate Train Challenge 2013
Cole, many thanks for the support. If any of your readers have any questions about the UTC, they can feel free to email me. Would love to get some of them out on the rails for massive fun (and some great prizes up for grabs).
Michael Hodson recently posted..Check out a Trailer from last year’s UTC
Hopefully we get a few signing up soon Michael!
Wow, this journey seems awesome. This train covers ultimate cities like Berlin, Paris, Prague, Venice etc. The Ultimate Train Challenge is good but I think time duration is too long for this. Glad to read about charity through this long trip and you offer good advise. One should try this challenge if he has time. This adventure is not only to challenge to oneself but also for charity.
Agree with you Peter. It is a really tough call to make because while the train journey is really long, you will end up on the other side of the world! Perfect if you want to head in either direction though
This looks like an epic adventure if you love trains! I saw @hobonora’s YouTube video and it inspired me to add it to my bucket list. If I can get time off work and the entire budget for the trip is reasonable, I’d be in. What do you think the estimate budget for the entire journey flying from the U.S. would be?
Curious Nomad recently posted..Ciudad Perdida: Trek skill level
Hmmm tough call with the extra flight thrown in. We have estimated that it would be about $2000 – $2,500 with no sponsorship for the journey itself. But with the sponsors on board there is a high chance you could get discounted, or free, accommodation and train travel.
Thank you! I’m going to do the research and prep just in case my life plans change.
Curious Nomad recently posted..Who’s doing The Ultimate Train Challenge 2013?
Good luck with it! Lots of extra info on the Ultimate Train Challenge website too regarding costs, visas, etc
A train adventure sounds fun i would do it for sure