Whether you’re an avid adventurer or just a typical traveler, chances are you’ve heard the term Round the World ticket. But, what exactly are Round the World fares and how do they work? Well, it may prove beneficial for you to read this basic guide on Round the World fares that explain their system and the companies that specialize in them.

Instead of buying separate tickets for several destinations, a Round the World fare (RTW) is a cheaper and sometimes more convenient alternative for international travel. It gives you the opportunity to have several destinations in different parts of the globe. Depending on company policy and customer preference, a Round the World ticket can last from six months even up to a full year. Many adventure-seeking travelers plan entire holidays according to a Round the World itinerary.

If you’re planning a simple round-trip flight to Europe or Asia, a Round the World fare may not be the ticket for you, since there are special conditions to adhere to that may make it more complicated. However, with airline prices being so unpredictable these days, you never know if your round-trip ticket might cost more than a Round the World fare. Depending on the distance, Round the World tickets can cost the same or even cheaper than round-trip tickets while allowing the traveler to have additional destinations. They are also safer than purchasing one-way tickets, which can make some airport security and immigration suspicious.

Depending on the distance, Round the World tickets can cost the same or even cheaper than round-trip tickets while allowing the traveler to have additional destinations.

Getting Started

Though it may be less costly and more convenient, a Round the World flight needs more preparation than a regular trip. There are several ways you can start planning your trip according to your desired timeline and budget. First, use a mileage calculator to determine the total mileage of your trip. WebFlyer’s Mile Marker helps you compute the air miles distance of a number of your destinations. To minimize your route’s mileage, try to find direct flights between your destinations.

After you determine how much mileage you will accrue, join a frequent flyer program. A Round the World flight will help you collect a great deal of points, which could all add up to a free flight for you next time around.

As much as you can, be flexible with your timeline. Your desired route might not have flights on the dates you would like. In regards to the timeline, consider taking your trip during the low season. Often, this may mean lower airline costs for your route. Also, start your trip from a low-cost country, like Thailand, Bulgaria or Tonga. Round the World fares are priced depending where the ticket is issued, so you can save up to 50% if you start from these countries. However, if your itinerary includes high-cost countries like United Kingdom or New Zealand, many travel consultants advise that it’s cheaper to buy Round the World tickets from these countries themselves through a travel agent, say, in London. You can do this through the phone or email. For example, if you’re from the U.S., buy a one-way ticket to London and start your Round the World flight from there. For your return home, have your routing pass through the U.S. and don’t take the last trip back to London.

Consider taking unusual and once-in-a-lifetime destinations like Easter Island or parts of Africa that would normally be expensive, but with a Round the World fare would only cost you miles.

As always, keep your eyes peeled for the fine print. Taxes and surcharges that are not included in the cost of Round the World flights can add up to a lot, especially if your itinerary includes Europe. Visas and certain vaccinations may also be required in some of the countries in your routing, so research early.

Lastly, don’t feel chained to your Round the World fare. Bear in mind that creativity often pays off. Take discount or non-alliance airlines in between RTW destinations to add to your route’s stops without adding to the mileage or cost on your Round the World fare.

Terms and Conditions

As good as they may sound, Round the World tickets have strict clauses that travelers must follow, which include a number of limitations. First, depending on the price of your ticket there is a mileage limit that you have to stick to. For example, for One World Global Explorer, if you pay for a RTW ticket that goes up to 26,000 miles, you are not allowed to exceed that, or you might be paying for the next mileage tier: up to 29,000 miles.

As its name suggests, a Round the World ticket requires that you have a return trip back to your departure point. However, another clause that may not be so clear is that these tickets also require that you travel in one direction, either east or west. You can only pass the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean only once.

Another limit to be weary of is your trip’s timeline. Make sure you don’t go beyond your RTW ticket’s time limit, which often goes up to 12 months after your departure.

There’s also a limit to the number of stops you can have with your Round the World route, but this all depends on the company from which you purchase your ticket. A Round the World “stop” is defined as staying in one place for 24 hours or more. Each Round the World ticket provider requires a minimum number of stops, usually three, and a maximum number, which often can be as high as six, depending on the ticket price. However, you can certainly purchase extra transit flights if you have several days until your next Round the World flight during your route.

Types of Round the World Tickets

Around the World Ticket Brokers

Perhaps one of the most popular ticket brokers online now is AirTreks, which has a website with easy, dynamic mapping that allows the traveler to customize his itinerary to an unlimited number of destinations all over the world. Once the destinations have been picked, the website instantly provides you with the price estimates for your specific itinerary. Because AirTreks is a ticket broker, and not an airline alliance associated with other airline companies, AirTreks is able to offer discounted routes connected to all airlines. After you enter your desired destinations into the trip planner, it will give you another route suggestion based on your itinerary to give you more for your money.

Rather than spending extra to hire a travel agent, the AirTreks experience also includes a one person consultant, who can provide the most inexpensive and convenient routes to choose for your journey. Many times, especially for complex and longer itineraries, a personal travel consultant who has experience and know-how can make all the difference to make your round the world trip easier.

Amanda Pressner, a member of the group nicknamed as the “Lost Girls,” was a 20-something New Yorker when she quit her job to travel around the world along with two girlfriends. Pressner consulted AirTreks for their adventure, which included eight destinations like Kenya, Dubai, Bangkok and Sydney for a low cost of $2300. From her personal experience, the benefits of planning your round the world trip with AirTreks include working one-on-one with a seasoned travel consultant for the duration of your trip from the planning process and until your return. In addition, AirTreks features “open job tickets,” which means you can change dates on your itinerary without the cost of fees. Pressner also found AirTreks’ list of major destinations comprehensive, along with their access to smaller budget airlines for city to city routes.

However, she also named some drawbacks when working with AirTreks, which includes not being able to fly in and out of the same city. By not backtracking, the traveler might save more time and money. Moreover, Pressner found AirTreks’ paper tickets fragile and preferred having a more sturdy kind. For more information on AirTreks, visit www.airtreks.com. Also, check out Peter Greenberg’s interview with Pressner to learn more about their remarkable trip.

Another company that specializes in around-the-world multi-stop itineraries is Air Brokers, International. AirBrokers provides discount international airfares to both individual travelers and agencies. The company boasts its ethnic diversity with professional and experienced consultants from various parts of the world.

Advantages with AirBrokers include an option to choose business class and low-cost set itineraries that can have up to nine destinations for under $2000. For example, their “Ultimate Circle Pacific” deal gets the traveler from San Francisco or Los Angeles to Honkong to Bangkok to Singapore to Bali to Melbourne or Sydney, out of Sydney to Honolulu to Los Angeles or San Francisco or Portland or Seattle.

In addition, AirBrokers features “surface sectors,” which helps the traveler save more time and money by not having to fly out of the city he or she flew into. Surface sectors can be combined to your flight routes to add more to your itinerary, not to mention it will be cheaper since it does not add to your flight stops. AirBrokers travel counselors will do all the work for the client to make sure that both their flight and overland routes are met. The counselors also offer discounted airfares based on your itinerary and may even suggest cheaper routes. They help in reserving destinations in advance or as you go, depending on timing and individual preferences.

However, with AirBrokers, you would have to work more with your personal consultant than with their website, which doesn’t provide an advanced trip planner. Counselors communicate with their clients mostly through email and faxes, which may be too accessible or user-friendly to some travelers. To learn more about the company, visit its website at www.airbrokers.com.

Airline Alliances

Since there is no airline company yet that truly offers worldwide travel, alliances have been formed between particular companies that provide the traveler access to more destinations within that alliance.

With 975 destinations in 162 countries, Star Alliance is one of the world’s major alliances offering Round the World fares in economy, business, and first class. The website’s easy-to-use Round the World Mileage Calculator helps customers begin their round the world planning by linking their desired destinations. After mapping out the itinerary, a list of different flights appear that allows the customer choose a preferred time schedule.

The website even includes historical weather lookup and airport finder to make planning efficient. With Star Alliance, you can have up to 16 destinations, including your return trip home. However, there are several conditions you need to be weary of before deciding your final itinerary with Star Alliance. First, as with many airline alliances, Star Alliance divides its countries into four sectors and applies conditions according to these sectors. For example, a Round the World fare is valid only if your travel lasts at least 10 days between the first and last international sector and up to 12 months after departure on your first flight. Some exceptions apply, such as when you when you originate in Australia, in which case the minimum stay required between the first and last international is 7 days.

Second, reservations for all flights are not necessary; only for the first flight and the first international sector are needed, but after that, you can make reservations at least 24 hours in advance.

Like many alliances, routing with Star has to start and end in the same country, but not necessarily in the same city. For example, I can start from Los Angeles, but return back from my trip to Seattle. In addition, Star Alliance offers a 25% children’s discount for kids 2-11. For more information, visit www.staralliance.com.

A little different from the pack is the One World Alliance experience, which has two types of Round the World fares, one of which bases its Round the World fare on the number of continents you visit and not the mileage you fly, making planning easier and cost cheaper. With the One World Explorer, you are charged for the class you fly, the number of One World continents on your itinerary, including your continent of origin and any continents you just pass through. A three-continent itinerary through economy class costs approximately $3900. This option may not be the least costly to those who want to go more continents, but may be suitable for routes that require more backtracking on bigger continents, such as from Europe to Africa.

One World also offers the standard mileage-based method to Round the World fares called the Global Explorer. The Global Explorer has more destinations particularly in the South and West Pacific because it includes Aer Lingus, Air Pacific, & Gulf Air. Here, fares are calculated based on the miles flown, which are divided into four tiers: up to 26,000 miles, 29,000 miles, 34,000 miles, and 39,000 miles.

In addition, One World is more flexible in changing flight plans. Any of the airlines can make changes to any of the other airlines’ flight, as opposed to AirTreks, which assembles all their flights on one ticket. Also, through AirTreks, which is not an alliance of airlines like One World, airline companies will insist that the original airline make the changes. This will be hard to deal with if you are in a country that doesn’t have a representation of the airline you want.

However, if you are thinking of going with One World, it is better to have your travel agent work with them than you, since most airlines under One World Alliance don’t really understand how Round the World tickets work, and will just get you confused. This is based off on a number of people have had bad experience with attendants working with the One World airline companies. Moreover, One World lacks the easy-to-use dynamic mapping to plan your itinerary. You would have to call the airlines themselves, which can sometimes be a hassle if you end up with an attendant who doesn’t know much about Round the World fares. For more information, visit www.oneworld.com.

With 840 destinations in 162 countries, SkyTeam World Alliance allows the traveler 3 to 15 stops in their itinerary. SkyTeam has the basic characteristics of airline alliances, with a minimum stay in a particular sector for 10 days and a maximum stay for 1 year. It also allows routes to start and end in different cities, though the same country. However, what differentiates SkyTeam from the rest of the alliances is that customers can simply book the first international flight of their itinerary and leave the remainder of their trip “open.” This means, they can book the following flights whenever they wish. This is convenient, especially when a last-minute change occurs during the trip. SkyTeam also allows backtracking on the same continent, which means you don’t have to keep traveling in the same direction. For more details, visit www.skyteam.com.

Travel Agencies

In reviewing travel agencies, many travelers found STA Travel the easiest to deal with in terms of customer service. The STA website also provides various itineraries based on a theme for those who don’t know exactly where they want to go, but know a few of the major destinations they want. Round the World fares start at a low $1356.

STA works with OneWorld and StarAlliance and may be easier to deal with since they will be the one to help customize your itinerary for you. The company has great deals for students or youth under 26 years and teachers. Their site also features a convenient trip planner. Visit them at www.statravel.com.

With all this information on Round the World tickets, it’s easy to see why it’s really important to start planning your trip as early as a full year in advance. However, as complicated as it may sound compared to the average round-trip or one-way flight, a well-planned Round the World trip is all worth it if it means having the adventure of a lifetime.