How to plan a round-the-world trip – Advice for a one-in-a-life-time vacation
Instructions - Read the article below. What do the underlined words mean? If necessary look them up in a dictionary.
WHAT TO THINK WHEN THINKING ABOUT A ROUND-THE-WORLD TRIP
Itʼs the ultimate trip: circumnavigating the planet, and stopping off wherever takes your fancy. Great for travellers who want
to see it all, or who are just plain indecisive. But booking a round-the-world (RTW) trip can be a complex business. Hereʼs our
guide to getting started.
T
he most economical way to circumnavigate is to
buy a round-the-world (RTW) air ticket that uses
one airline alliance. Theoretically, any routing is
possible, but knowing how the RTW booking
system works will make your trip cheaper. For example,
the Star Alliance, a coalition of 27 airlines, offers a RTW
ticket with a maximum of 15 stops. Its member airlines fly
to 1185 airports in 185 countries.
There are rules: you must follow one global direction (east
or west – no backtracking); you must start and finish in
the same country; and you must book all your flights
before departure, though you can change them later
(which may incur extra charges).
How long do I need?
You could whip round the world in a weekend if you flew
non-stop. However, the minimum duration of most RTW
tickets is ten days. Consider stock-piling annual leave,
tagging on public holidays or even arranging a sabbatical
in order to take off two months, ideally six to 12. The
maximum duration of a RTW ticket is one year.
When to go?
The weather will never be ideal in all your stops. So, focus
on what you want to do most and research conditions
there: if a Himalaya trek is your highlight, donʼt land in
Nepal mid-monsoon; if you want to swim with whale
sharks off Western Australia, be there April-July. Then
accept youʼll be in some regions at the ʻwrongʼ time –
though this might offer unexpected benefits (for example,
Zambia in wet season means lush landscapes and cheaper
prices). In general, city sightseeing can be done year-
round (escape extreme heat/cold/rain in museums and
cafés) but outdoor adventures are more reliant on – and
enjoyable in – the right weather.
Adapted from Lonely Planet (https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/how-to-plan-a-round-the-world-trip).
Daniel Bosch Ibáñez for Nista School of Languages
Where to go?
The classic (and cheapest) RTW tickets flit between a few
big cities, for example London – Bangkok – Singapore –
Sydney – Los Angeles. If you want to link more offbeat
hubs (Baku – Kinshasa – Paramaribo, anyone?), prices will
climb considerably. The cost of the ticket is based on the
total distance covered or the number of countries visited.
Remember, you donʼt have to fly between each point: in
Australia you could land in Perth, travel overland, and fly
out of Cairns. Or fly into Moscow, board the Trans-
Siberian train, and fly onwards from Beijing.
If budgetʼs an issue, spend more time in less expensive
countries. Your daily outgoings will be far higher in
Western Europe and North America than South-East Asia;
Indonesia, Bolivia and India are particularly cheap.
Tips, tricks & pitfalls
Be flexible: moving your departure date by a few days can
save money; mid-week flights are generally cheaper, as
are flights on Christmas Day.
Think about internal travel: it can be cheaper to book
internal flights at the same time as booking your RTW
ticket – but, with the global increase of low-cost airlines,
you may find it better (and more flexible) to buy them
separately as you go.
Be warned: if you donʼt board one of your booked flights
(say, on a whim, you decide to travel overland from
Bangkok to Singapore rather than fly it) your airline is
likely to cancel all subsequent flights.■
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