On top of that, the PPL nav syllabus is really basic and anyone with enough intelligence to do the PPL exams will realise (usually quietly, manifested by lack of confidence) how hard it is going to be to fly long routes.
I keep seeing people say this but I don't understand it.
If as a result of your PPL course you can fly from point A to point B over 40 miles or so perfectly reliably, why is it so much harder to fly 300 miles (give or take stopping for the loo)? - it's just flying from A to B, which you can do, then to C, which you can do, and so on. Isn't it? (This is a UK biased question. I'm not about to set off over uninhabited places like central Australia. I am aware that this poses different navigational problems.)