Well the main reason for the original Silk Road was that there weren't any sea lanes to get there until the 1500's when Magellan finally circumnavigated the globe. So my first thought is to stick a big continent in the way to block the sea lanes. Second, make the technology level low so that sea-worthy ships don't exist yet (coastal barques and trade cogs are ok, though). You could always stick a desert or mountains in there or a swamp. You've already mentioned the roving nomads.
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Actually, the Romans operated a sea route to India, via Alexandria and the Red Sea. That route was no longer accessible to christians after the islamic conquest of Egypt, hence the overland Silk Road grew in importance to them. Also, circumnavigation of the globe was not needed for a new sea route to reach India; all one needed to do was to sail around Africa.Originally Posted by Ascension
Regarding the OP question, the sheer size of a continent is not the only way by which one could use geography to discourage sea trade. The shapes of the landmasses should also be considered. The Americas area good example here, actually. They form a long continuous chunk of land (before the Panama canal was dug, anyway) stretching North-South. This makes them a rather inconvenient obstacle to marine traffic, especially since the prevailing winds tend to blow either East-West or West-East. The northern coast of NA also reaches so far into the arctic that sailing around it has been mostly infeasible.
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