A Ticket to go Around the World

David · Joined: 04 Apr 2004 Posts: 162

I had some friends who took a trip around the world for their honeymoon. Basically the way it worked for them is they spent a fixed amount and then stopped as many times as they liked as long as they never backtracked. I'm not sure if this type of arrangement is still available. I did find some more limited around the world trips here. It seems like such a trip would be quite amazing, especially if you had plenty of time to enjoy it.

Laura · Joined: 16 May 2004 Posts: 446 Location: San Francisco

They are definitely still available. There are also "Circle Pacific" tickets that let you fly around the Pacific Rim.

The Star Alliance (www.staralliance.com) offers a round-the-world fare that is good on the various member airlines (Singapore, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana, United, Vairg Lufthansa, plus others). I think American Airlines does something similar with their partner network.

The around-the-world fares can represent really good value. One of my friends had to go to a few different places in Asia on business and it was cheaper for her to buy an around-the-world ticket than to use point-to-point routings.

cocodrilo · Joined: 12 Apr 2004 Posts: 494 Location: Western Japan

David wrote: It seems like such a trip would be quite amazing, especially if you had plenty of time to enjoy it.

This is interesting, because my friend(another world-traveler) and I were recently discussing the pros & cons of 'round the world travel. I like to spend considerable time in one place, really getting to know the country & its culture and the longest I like to spend away from home is under two months. (One also tends to lose one's sense of reality, especially when one has one's own business to consider...) ALso, taking into consideration the climate of the different places you are visiting and with the season changes & possible custom changes that would require different attire, one might end up with an unreasonable amount of luggage. I am NOT a backpacker traveler, nor do I schlep a large suitcase, but for me to be comfortable on say a 6-month journey, I would probably be bringing a good amount of stuff. Perhaps a long round-the world cruise would be ideal for such travel, as you don't have to worry about schlepping bags here & there.

I often see around-the-world flights advertised from Japan, and I think most of them are 2 or 3 month "open" tickets where you can stop at serveral destinations of your choice. A lot of people who are working here as English teachers for one-year stints purchase these tickets when their contracts are up and see quite a lot of Asia on their way home.