So You’ve Made The Decision To Spend 6 Months On A Round The World Trip - Now What

For years you’ve dreamt of quitting your job to embark on the adventure of a lifetime and now you’ve finally decided to take the plunge - well done! Making this momentous decision is incredibly exciting, as a whole world of adventure opens up before you. Once the dust settles, you’re often left pondering the question - now what? Hundreds of other questions also start buzzing around in your head….where should I go, when should I go, which anti-malaria tablets should I buy, should I visit weird Uncle Derek in Adelaide….?

Deep breaths

My advice is to sit down, take some deep breaths and have a serious think about the following: what do you want to get out of your trip? Where in the world have you always dreamed of going? Are you a beach bum, culture vulture, adrenaline junky, all or none of the above?

Where to go…

Armed with this information, you can start deciding where you’d like to go. Write down all the places you’d most like to visit and then prioritise them into ‘must see’ places and those that ‘would be nice’. Next, with the help of a world atlas, arrange the destinations in a logical geographical order. As a general rule, the further off the beaten track places are, the more expensive your ticket will be. So, if you’ve always had a hankering to visit Guinea-Bissau, just bear in mind that that the price of your ticket will increase accordingly.

Round the World tickets

Once you’ve got your wish list of destinations, it’s time to look at which round the world ticket is going to suit you best. It’s a good idea to enlist some professional helps at this stage; a specialist travel agent will help you negotiate the minefield that is round the world tickets. It doesn’t hurt to do some initial planning of your own first though.

Flexibility

Most round the world tickets are very flexible and will allow you free date changes and a year’s travel from the date of departure. Other than that, each ticket has its own rules and regulations. Here’s a lightning quick guide to some of the major round the world tickets:

GREAT ESCAPADE

Main airlines you can use: Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic & Silk Air
Where can I travel to? This ticket is excellent for stops in Asia and the South Pacific. It’s great if you want to combine South Africa with Asia and also covers Australia, New Zealand, USA and the Caribbean.
Key facts:
- Unlimited stops (Maximum of 29,000 miles)
- Ability to add extra mileage - up to a maximum of 33,500 miles
- One stop in each city
- Several booking classes available to give you a better chance of getting availability on the dates you want
- Can upgrade to premium economy on certain sectors

ONEWORLD EXPLORER

Main airlines you can use: American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Malev, Qantas & Royal Jordanian
Where can I travel to? Pretty much anywhere! This is the only round the world ticket that does not have any mileage limitations which opens up some really exciting possibilities. It’s especially good for South America, as it includes flights on LAN who operate throughout the continent.

Key facts:
- Unlimited mileage
- Travel to up to six continents
- 4 different fare levels (3, 4, 5 or 6 continents) - fare rises as you add more continents
- Fly up to 4 sectors in any continent (6 in North/Central America & the Caribbean)
- Same price all year round

WORLD WALKABOUT

Main airlines you can use: British Airways, Qantas, Air Pacific
Where can I travel to?
It’s particularly good for South America in particular, with flights from Santiago to Auckland and Sydney and vice-versa, as well as lots of options on six continents.
Key facts:
- Up to 7 stops
- Must include a transit or stopover in either Australia or New Zealand
- Two fare levels, one with a maximum mileage of 25000, the other 29000
- Cheapest way to include South America in your round the world itinerary

TIKI TOUR:

Main Airlines you can use: Virgin Atlantic & Air New Zealand
Where can I travel to? This ticket is great for stops in the South Pacific in particular, including Raratonga, Fiji, Tahiti and Hawaii. It’s also good for the USA, New Zealand, Australia, Asia & South Africa.
Key facts:
- Several different fare levels to maximise availability
- You can upgrade your flights on certain sectors to premium economy
- One of the cheapest round the world tickets around

Happy planning!

Jeffrey Nevil writes on a number of subjects including round the world trip.