A dial with 80 ticks, one for each day of the journey 80 40

80 Days, 40 Years Later

Two ghosts. One deadline. No planes.

In 1988 Michael Palin went round the world in 79 days and 7 hours without getting on a plane. Forty years on, someone's going to try to beat him.

Leaves London at 8.45pm on Monday 2 October 2028

days
715
hours
01
minutes
01
seconds
19

The same minute Fogg's train pulled out of Charing Cross in 1872. Don't be late. Fogg wasn't.

Follow on Instagram for updates
Old engraved world map with a line tracing Fogg's route east from London, across Asia and the Pacific, through North America and back over the Atlantic.
Fogg's route, as mapped in an early French edition of the novel.

The rules

  • No flying. Not once, not even a short hop.
  • Land and sea only. Trains, ships, buses, boats and feet.
  • Eighty days. Out on 2 October, back in London by 21 December.
  • One person a day. Eighty people met on the way round, from ships' captains to station cooks.

Why it's harder now

Fogg bought his tickets at the dock. Palin hitched a dhow across the Arabian Sea and a container ship over the Pacific. Forty years on, most ships crossing an ocean carry boxes, not people.

The hard legs1 of 6 sorted
  1. Europe to EgyptPassenger ferries across the Mediterranean to Egypt have all but gone.Unsolved
  2. Across the Arabian SeaNo passenger ships. Palin went by dhow.Unsolved
  3. India to the Far EastOverland means Myanmar. By sea means finding a ship that will take a passenger.Unsolved
  4. Across the PacificAround two weeks on a cargo ship, if one will have you.Unsolved
  5. Across AmericaTrains still run coast to coast.Straightforward
  6. Across the AtlanticThe one ocean with a proper passenger ship.Sorted

Updated as each leg is cracked. Follow along on Instagram.

Two ghosts to beat

  1. 1872
    Phileas FoggA £20,000 bet at the Reform Club, about £2.5m today. In the novel he walked back in on the stroke of 8.45.
    80 days
  2. 1988
    Michael PalinNo planes, real timetables and a camera crew. Home on 13 December 1988 with 17 hours to spare.
    79 days, 7 hours
Engraving of five Victorian gentlemen at a card table in a grand club room, with two more standing behind them.
Whist at the Reform Club, where the bet was made. Alphonse de Neuville, from the first illustrated edition of 1873.

Fogg's timetable, 1872

The route the Morning Chronicle worked out for Fogg in Jules Verne's novel. Most of these ships are long gone, so the 2028 route is being pieced together one leg at a time.

Fogg's 1872 route around the world A world map centred on the Pacific. A dotted gold line runs east from London through Suez, Bombay, Calcutta, Hong Kong and Yokohama, across the Pacific to San Francisco, by rail to New York, and back across the Atlantic to London. LondonSuezBombayCalcuttaHong KongYokohamaSan FranciscoNew York
Fogg's route, 1872 The 2028 route, drawn in as each leg is confirmed Swipe to follow the route
From and toDays
  1. London to SuezRail and steamer, via Mont Cenis and Brindisi7
  2. Suez to BombaySteamer13
  3. Bombay to CalcuttaRail3
  4. Calcutta to Hong KongSteamer13
  5. Hong Kong to YokohamaSteamer6
  6. Yokohama to San FranciscoSteamer across the Pacific22
  7. San Francisco to New YorkRail7
  8. New York to LondonSteamer and rail9
London to London80

Some of the ships haven't been found yet.

Engraving of a man in a top hat riding an elephant, with a companion in a bowler hat and a guide holding a goad.
Crossing India by elephant when the railway turns out to be unfinished. Léon Benett, from the first illustrated edition of 1873.

Logbook

Dispatches from the build-up, newest first.

  1. Next Finding a way across the Pacific.
  2. 18 October 2026715 days to goThe handles are claimed, the domain is bought and this page goes live. Day one of the build-up.

Smaller updates go to Instagram first.

A sealed envelope marked to be opened on 2 October 2027 LONDON 18 OCT 2026 80 40 To be opened on 2 October 2027

Who's going?

Name sealed until 2 October 2027.

Partly for suspense. Partly so nobody can talk them out of it. Mostly because their boss doesn't know yet.

349 days until the envelope is opened. Watch Instagram for clues.

Nominate one of the 80

One person met on each day of the journey, eighty in all. Know someone on the route worth meeting? A ferry captain on the Red Sea, a tea auctioneer in Calcutta, a cook on a Pacific freighter. Send a name and one line on why.

Email a nomination
Engraving of a man walking into a grand club room, hat in hand, watched by a group of gentlemen and a crowd at the door.
“Here I am, gentlemen.” Fogg walks back into the Reform Club on the stroke of 8.45. From the first illustrated edition of 1873.

Eighty days of daily stories from ships, trains and ports, plus the build-up from now until departure. There's room for a small number of partners, and each partnership is shaped individually.

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Engraving of sailors on a steamer's deck sawing and chopping up the ship's woodwork beside its tall funnels.
The Henrietta's crew break up her woodwork to keep the boilers burning. Léon Benett, from the first illustrated edition of 1873.