Circumnavigating the globe and visiting any country you desire is the premier trip of a lifetime. If you love to travel and yearn for something more than once-a-year trips to a single destination, or if you have always dreamed of traveling the world, a “round the world” trip is likely on your to-do list. However, planning an RTW trip can be tricky endeavour. Let’s delve into how you can plan the trip of your dreams, one step at a time.
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Planning the Flights
The most preferred and economical way of seeing the world is to purchase an RTW ticket for use on a single airline alliance. With these fairly cheap tickets, any type of routing is possible, but your trip will be made much easier by understanding how these alliances work. For instance, the Star Alliance, which is a partnership of 27 airlines, makes trips to numerous airports in 185 different countries. With an RTW ticket through this particular alliance, you can visit as many as 15 different countries.
However, the rules stipulate that you can only travel in a single global direction, such as east or west. There is no backtracking allowed. Also, your trip must begin and end in the same country, and all of your flights must also be planned out and booked before your departure, although the flights can be changed mid-trip for an added fee.
Determine the Length of Your Trip
If you flew non-stop, you could buzz around the world in a single weekend, but most RTW tickets have a minimum duration of at least ten days. Besides, going non-stop wouldn’t be very fun anyways. For the trip of your dreams, you may want to begin stockpiling vacation time far in advance or arrange a temporary leave of absence for perhaps a couple of months, but at least six to ten months would be ideal. If you plan on staying even longer, it’s important to note that RTW tickets have a maximum duration of one year.
Decide When to Begin
Regardless of whether you’re traveling around the world through an airline alliance or a super luxury yacht, the weather will not be ideal in every location. So, you need to focus on the weather patterns of your ideal locations and the activities you want to do there. For instance, if you want to visit Zambia, don’t go during the monsoon season. However, going to a destination out of season may result in cheaper tickets and accommodations.
Choose Destinations
The cheapest RTW tickets fly between the big cities, such as Sydney to Los Angeles or London to Bangkok. If you’re willing to travel a little more off the beaten path, you’ll notice that prices will drop quite noticeably. However, the price of the RTW ticket is primarily based upon the number of countries that are visited or the total distance that is travelled. For more economical tickets, you can travel by land in between destinations. For instance, if you are visiting the UK, you can land in London and travel by car to Edinburgh.
Try planning out your trip around a few personal highpoints as well. For instance, if you are a festival lover, you can plan your itinerary around the biggest festivals throughout the world. If this is the case, Germany’s Oktoberfest may make a good starting point. Berlin is also a great access point for both Eastern and Western Europe.
If budget is a concern, you can choose to devote more time to exploring countries with lower living expenses. Not only will destinations like Indonesia, Panama, Cambodia, and many others be cheaper than Western Europe and Australia, but you might have more interesting experiences and stories to tell as well.
Building an RTW trip is more complicated than planning a trip to a single destination. Thus, it’s always a wise idea to talk to a professional RTW flight booker who can inform you on the best routes at the cheapest prices. When it comes to an around the world trip, flexibility is key, because there are numerous things that can occur that will delay a departure by a day or two. However, with proper planning, an RTW trip will be an unforgettable trip of your dreams.
