Want to Drive the Pan-American Highway? This Guy Will Show You How

Follow along on Instagram as Dan Grec relives his Pan-American Highway overland adventure. He’ll provide plenty of how-to advice along the way.

Over the next 2-plus months, Dan Grec is going to teach you how to drive the Pan-Am Highway. Grec has done it — and with very little. His tips and tricks are an amazing resource for aspiring overland travelers.

Before Grec even knew what the word “overlanding” meant, he set out in a stock two-door Jeep Wrangler on a 2-year, 40,000-mile adventure that traversed 17 countries. He drove from the Arctic Ocean in Alaska all the way to the very southern tip of South America, along the famous Pan-American Highway.

That trip changed him forever. After spending a few years back at a desk job rebuilding his finances, he set off on his next grand overland adventure.

Earlier this year, he returned to the U.S. from his 3-year, 53,726-mile circumnavigation of Africa by Jeep. He visited 35 countries in that time!

Pan-American Highway: Learn How

Grec has been on the road across North America since, doing speaking engagements at Jeep and overland events. He’s been talking about what he’s done, teaching others how they can do it too, and spreading his infectious passion for overland travel.

He’s hunkering down in the Canadian Rockies this winter to write his second book, this time about his African adventure. (You can get Grec’s first book about the Pan-American, “The Road Chose Me Volume 1,” here.) He’s a passionate snowboarder, so after a few years away from the slopes, he’s jonesing for a steep and deep season as well.

Starting today, Grec will be posting daily Instagram posts @TheRoadChoseMe showing and teach us how a regular guy like him can undertake a big adventure like the Pan-American Highway. We’ll learn everything we’ll need to know to make the trip a reality for ourselves.

Driving the Pan-American Highway: An Epic Adventure

Grec will start from the very beginning, before he ever left his desk job, and revisit his Pan-American adventure. He’ll talk about finances, vehicle preparation, planning, and logistics. He’ll teach us all that he’s learned along the way about border crossings, bribery, paperwork, and the tips and tricks that make such a big trip manageable for anyone.

Before the Pan-American trip, he was working in Calgary, Canada, as a software engineer. After a few years of sitting inside unhappy, he realized that he might spend the next 40 years of his life doing the same thing every day. He dreamed of more — and then made that dream a reality.

“Make no mistake — I’m just a regular person like everyone else,” Grec said. “I didn’t have any sponsors, I had never written any kind of article in my life, my Jeep was completely stock, and I had a very modest savings account. Truth be told, I had little more than a ground tent, a bag of clothes, a box of food, a little hiking stove, and a massive sense of adventure.”

If you’ve ever dreamed of taking off on a big overland adventure of your own, or just need some inspiration, be sure to follow along daily as Grec shows us all how it can be done @theroadchoseme. If you want even more inspiration from Grec and just can’t wait for the daily updates, be sure to visit his website here.