Planes, Trains, Automobiles and Tractors -- Cheapflights.com Uncovers Wild Travel Stories

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - Sep 27, 2012) - Nowadays, people travel for many reasons and in many ways. Adventurers at heart, the travel experts at Cheapflights.com love to hear about when, where and how people see the world. And there are some amazing stories out there, which inspired the team to track down some of the craziest, yet real, travel experiences for their Top 10 Unbelievable Tales of Travel.

Below are five incredible travel legends on our Top 10 Unbelievable Tales of Travel where the voyagers journeyed by plane, train, automobile -- and even a tractor -- for extreme adventures that will inspire you to see the world differently.

• Steven Shoppman and Stephen Bouey's drive around the world - In two and a half years, Stephen Bouey and Steven Shoppman managed to reach 69 countries while driving more than 77,000 miles. Their journey, "The World by Road," started in Denver, Colorado. From there the trip involved driving the length of North and South America between Alaska to Argentina; driving through Europe, between the northern tip of Scandinavia and the southern tip of Spain; hitting up almost the entire west coast of Africa; a lengthy drive through Asia; and even clocking mileage in Australia and New Zealand.
  
  
• Nellie Bly's unescorted tour of the world in under 80 days - Women can accomplish anything today, but in 1889, the thought of a woman traveling unescorted was nothing short of scandalous. Leaving New York, where she worked for the New York World, Nellie Bly boarded a steamboat for Europe with the goal of making a 25,000-mile journey in less than 80 days. Famously, Bly is known for leaving with nothing but the dress she was wearing, a winter coat, underwear and her most necessary toiletries. She arrived back in Hoboken 72 days later.
  
  
• Kinga Freespirit's hitchhike around the world - In 1998, Kinga Freespirit and her partner Chopin set out on a five-year hitchhiking trip around the world, covering North America, South America, Australia, Asia and Europe. In her book Led by Destiny, she tells stories of hitching a ride on a plane in Alaska, getting a lift on a yacht in New Zealand and meeting new, kind and interesting people all over the world.
  
  
• Michael Hodson's train adventure from Lisbon to Saigon - After circumnavigating the globe for 16 months, Hodson decided to take a train trip from Lisbon, Portugal to Saigon, Vietnam -- in less than 30 days. After covering almost 15,000 miles, Hodson decided more people needed to experience the amazing adventure, and so he created the Ultimate Train Challenge. Part scavenger hunt, part adventure, part competition, the Ultimate Train Challenge requires that participants log-in as much mileage as they can from Lisbon to Saigon, in less than 30 days.
  
  
• Manon Ossevoort's tractor ride from Europe to South Africa - Biking, hiking, sailing -- or just walking -- might seem like great ways to get around. But Manon Ossevoort saw no better way than by tractor. Traveling from the Netherlands to the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa took two and a half years, as she rode through the Balkans, down Egypt all the way to South Africa. Along the way, she wrote down dreams of the people she met along the way and carried them with her. Ossevoort left her tractor at the Cape of Good Hope, and continued onto Antarctica by boat, with the hope of burying the dreams of the world there.
  

Rounding out our list of incredible travel tales are five from adventurers who managed to make their way without motorized power during their exploits: Rob Gauntlett and James Hooper's 180-degree expedition; Rory Stewart's walk across Afghanistan; Frank Muldowney's walk across Australia with an empty wheelchair; Dave Kunst's expedition around the world on foot; and The Vogels' bike ride along the Pan-American Highway. To read more about these inspiring stories, check out Cheapflights.com's complete list of Top 10 Unbelievable Tales of Travel at news.cheapflights.com/top-10-unbelievable-tales-of-travel.

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