Welcome to Vandipety English: Three years around the world by van

Welcome to the English version of Vandipety! We’re Sara and Paolo, and for the past three years, we’ve been traveling around the world in our van with Olimpia, our Rottweiler, and Sakè, our cat.

Who we are

We are two stubborn dreamers born in 1990 under the Pisces sign. We met while talking about the countries we wanted to visit, and since then, we haven’t stopped traveling together. In May 2022, we decided that a van could be the ideal home to help us collect emotions rather than souvenirs from around the world.

Together with Olimpia, a 10-year-old Rottweiler who has always been our favorite travel companion, and Sakè, a 3-year-old European cat we accidentally (or luckily) rescued on a Saturday afternoon, we’ve been living in 9 square meters in perfect balance, avoiding stepping on each other’s feet and paws.

Our journey so far

What started as a dream to travel from Italy to Japan by van has turned into an incredible three-year adventure spanning 37 countries across three continents.

Europe: where it all began

Our journey began in Italy in 2022, and we spent our first year exploring Europe. We traveled through the beauty of the Alps, discovered charming villages, and slowly made our way east, preparing ourselves for the challenges ahead.

Africa: an unexpected detour

Our original plan was to go straight from Europe to Asia, but circumstances (Covid, closed borders, and geopolitical situations) forced us to adapt. Instead of heading east to Asia, we found ourselves going southwest to Africa—quite off route, but this unexpected adventure taught us invaluable lessons.

We traveled through Morocco, Mauritania, and reached Senegal, the westernmost point of our journey. This African adventure served us immensely: we truly learned to live in the 9 square meters of our van, to understand its limits, ours, and how to solve the many problems you face every day alone in the middle of the world.

Asia: The dream continues

When the ferry to Asia finally reopened, we seized the opportunity. We traveled through:

• The Balkans: Slowly saying goodbye to Europe
• Turkey: From Edirne to the deep east, near Iraq and Iran
• Kurdistan (Iraq): An incredible and eye-opening detour
• Georgia and Armenia: Two countries that exceeded all our expectations
• Russia: Following parts of the Trans-Siberian Railway across this vast country
• Mongolia: The wild, magnetic land of Genghis Khan
• South Korea: Our first taste of East Asia
• Japan: The dream destination we’ve been working towards for three years

We named our van ToTo: TOrino-TOkyo (Turin to Tokyo)—the initials of two cities, the departure and the arrival. In between, all the changes of direction, every single emotion lived.

Why we’re launching Vandipety English

For three years, we’ve been documenting our journey on our Italian blog and YouTube channel  . We’ve accumulated a wealth of practical information, tips, and insights from traveling through 37 countries overland with our animals.

Along the way, we’ve met countless travelers, overlanders, and adventurers from around the world who were curious about our journey and hungry for practical information about traveling overland through challenging destinations. We’ve answered thousands of questions about:

• Border crossings with animals
• Van life in extreme climates
• Logistics of traveling through Russia, Central Asia, and beyond
• Practical tips for long-term travel
• Cultural experiences and local insights

We realized that all this valuable information was locked away in Italian, accessible to only a fraction of the travel community. That’s why we decided to launch Vandipety English—to share our three years of on-the-ground experience with travelers worldwide.

What you’ll find here

On this site, you’ll find:

Practical travel guides

Detailed guides for each country we’ve visited, including:

• Visa and border crossing information
• Cost breakdowns
• Internet and SIM card options
• Where to sleep (camping, wild camping, accommodation)
• Safety information
• Traveling with pets
• Climate and best times to visit

Overland journey stories

Follow our adventure from Italy to Japan with detailed accounts of:

• Route planning and logistics
• Challenges we faced and how we overcame them
• Cultural experiences and encounters
• Behind-the-scenes insights

Destination spotlights

Deep dives into specific regions and places, such as:

• Morocco’s 5 dream spots
• Hidden gems in Georgia
• The beauty of Casamance in Senegal
• And much more

Vanlife insights

Everything we’ve learned about living full-time in a van:

• Essential gear and equipment
• Vehicle maintenance on the road
• Dealing with extreme weather
• Living in 9 square meters with two animals

Our mission

Every day we seek new professional and creative stimuli. We love stopping to chat with everyone: local people, foreigners like us, travelers from all corners of the world. Each border we cross means one more opportunity to learn something: a language, a culture, a recipe, a sound.

Through this English site, we want to help fellow travelers, adventurers, and dreamers plan their own journeys, avoid common pitfalls, and discover the incredible beauty and diversity our world has to offer.

A note about translations

Important: All content on this English site is being translated from our original Italian articles using AI technology (Claude by Anthropic) and then carefully reviewed and edited by us humans to ensure accuracy and cultural appropriateness.

We believe this approach allows us to share our vast library of knowledge efficiently while maintaining quality. If you notice any translation errors or unclear passages, please don’t hesitate to let us know so we can improve the content.

Join our journey

While once we needed to know where we would open our eyes the next day, today we leave much more room for improvisation. The world out here sometimes offers paths that would be a shame not to explore.

We invite you to:

• Follow our ongoing adventure on YouTube 
• Connect with us on Instagram 
• Read about our overland journey from Italy to Japan

Thank you for being here. We’re excited to share our experiences, insights, and the incredible people we’ve met along the way.

The adventure continues, and now you’re part of it.

Sara, Paolo, Olimpia, and Sakè

🇮🇹 → 🇯🇵 100,000 km and 37 countries later