meijboom.co.uk | travel / features: round the world travel: What ticket to buy, Star Alliance, One World, Navigator, World Journey, east or west: which is best, points to consider

Round-the-World tickets get more flexible every year as airlines are desperately trying to seek additional revenue streams, even if it does mean attracting more cutlery-pilfering students Most RTW tickets are still based on a combination of mileage and stops but some (such as the One World) are now based on regions offering a greater combination of destinations available. (Remember though, the best trips do not necessarily have to include the most stops that you and your travel agent can squeeze into a 12 month ticket! - less can be more). Do some research into each scheme. It was only half way through our trip that surface mileage was still incorporated into our ticket so it really didn’t matter if we travelled Denver to New Orleans by train or air.

RTW tickets have become considerably cheaper and it's now reached the stage where it may be cheaper to purchase a RTW ticket than say London to Sydney return! There are now a number of RTW schemes available. These include:

Below I have outlined the main features of the different round the world tickets. For more detailed or specific information, or if you have any further questions about these or any other fares please contact your nearest Trailfinders Travel Centre.

Current Round the World Best Buys

The Great Escapade fare offers excellent value for money with fares from under £900 plus taxes. It combines the services of high quality carriers; Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, SilkAir (a Singapore Airlines subsidiary) and Virgin Atlantic.

The Great Escapade ticket gives you access to the subcontinent, including exciting destinations like Kerala - as well as the rest of Asia.

Flights to the Pacific islands on Air New Zealand, include destinations like Tahiti, Fiji and the Cook Islands.

Unlimited stopovers within 29,000 flown miles with the option to purchase additional mileage. Ask your travel consultant for details.

www.thegreatescapade.com

Flexibility, with free date changes and the option to re route your ticket (for a fee paid locally) within the 1-year of leaving the UK.

Sample Route

London - Delhi - surface - Mumbai - Singapore - Hanoi - surface - Ho Chi Minh City - Sydney - Christchurch - surface - Auckland - The Cook Islands - Tahiti - Los Angeles - surface - San Francisco - London

from £998 inc taxes and charges*

£3425* in Business Class or £5075* in First Class

The One World Explorer gives you the ability to select the continents you wish to visit and take 4 flights within that continent (6 for North America). There is no limit to the number of miles you can fly. Couple this with the destinations offered by British Airways, Qantas, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberian, Lan Chile, Lan Peru and Aer Lingus and the hassle really is taken out of planning your trip.

So extensive it can include Cape Town, Sydney, Rio and Barcelona. Also offers the option of domestic flights within Australia.

www.oneworld.com

You can upgrade on British Airways to World Traveller Plus for a fee. Additional flights can be purchased in most continents to give an even greater number of stopovers.

Choose from a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 6 continents with between 4 and 6 flights in each one.

The inclusion of LAN Chile and LAN Peru means that you can visit some of the great wonders of South America and continue across the southern Pacific, even taking in Easter Island.

Sample Route

London - Chennai - surface - Mumbai - Bangkok - surface - Singapore - Hong Kong - Tokyo - Cairns - Darwin - Alice Springs - surface - Ayers Rock - Sydney - Christchurch - surface - Auckland - Santiago - Arica - La Paz - surface - Lima - Rio de Janeiro - London

from £1525 inc taxes and charges*

£4749* in Business Class or £6839* in First Class

The Star Alliance incorporates more airlines than any other alliance. Offering the choice of over 700 different airports, in 128 countries worldwide on the networks of Air Canada, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Austrian Airlines, bmi British Midland, Lauda Air, Lufthansa, Mexicana, SAS Scandinavian Airlines System, Singapore Airlines, Spanair, Thai Airways International, Tyrolean Airways, United Airlines and VARIG.

Basic 29,000-mile ticket is the same price year round. A unique feature.

With more airlines than any other alliance you really can choose from the likes of India, Tahiti, the Maldives, Perth and Las Vegas.

You can fly up to 39,000 miles for an additional premium which gives plenty of scope to maximize your travel experience with 15 different stopovers.

Comprehensive travel networks on virtually every continent give you the chance to really discover a destination you have always dreamt of visiting.

www.star-alliance.com

Sample Route

London - Vienna - Istanbul - surface - Cairo - Dubai - Ho Chi Minh City - Singapore - Auckland - Fiji - The Cook Islands - Los Angeles - Miami - Washington - London

from £1379 inc taxes and charges*

£3559* in Business Class or £5519* in First Class

other alliances to consider

The World Journey (or ‘Passport to the World’) www.klm.com
Continental / Northwest / KLM / Air Pacific / Alaskan Airlines / COPA / Emirates / Malaysian / South African / Jet Airways (India) / Braathens / Kenya Airways / Malev / North West Airlines / Air Europa.

Good value ticket for 'Northern Hemisphere' RTW's (i.e. not Australia). Excellent links between Africa and Asia and a fantastic link for a round the world ticket: Africa and South America! Very good for Central America and the India Sub Continent - 2 areas usually overlooked on other alliances. This flexible ticket offers travellers the chance to combine a wide range of stopovers which are not easily combined on many other joint airline Round The World fares.

The World Navigator www.klm.com
KLM / Emirates / Air New Zealand / South Africa Airways / NorthWest / Air UK / Kenyan Airlines + more
Good for RTW trips that link Africa and the Indian Sub Continent and those that have lots of stops in the Pacific.

The Global Explorer
BA / Qantas / Air Pacific / Cathay Pacific / American Airlines / Iberia / Gulf Air / Lan Chile + more
Good for RTW trips which include South America and those that link Africa and Asia.

The World Discovery
British Airways / Qantas / Cathay Pacific / Air Pacific
Good for trips to Oz/NZ with one or two stops en-route or internal flights in Oz.

The following agents come highly recommended when you come to book your round the world trip:

Plan your round-the-world trip here with Airtreks. US-based but useful for route info.

east or west: which is best?

This is a common question and it all depends on factors such as time, money, weather and obviously personal preference. Your routing may also have an influence but in the end it is basically a personal decision.

There is no right or wrong of ‘doing the world’. But you may want to consider the following:

· Western Europe, Japan, and North America can be the most expensive part of your trip. Eastern Europe can be both one of the cheapest and most rapidly changing parts of the world.

· Travelling West from Europe will mean that you hit expensive countries like the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia first, enabling you to have more spending power in cheaper Asia.

· Do not base your trip on expenses alone, or you might let many once-in-a-lifetime opportunities pass you by.

· If Europe is on your itinerary, consider that if you miss some countries, they may be the easiest countries to return to, especially when you are older.

· A major factor in deciding which direction you take can be the speed with which you plan to travel. If you are on a quick round-the-world trip, then going westward is important, because you do not have to keep getting up 'early' to catch the next plane.

· Travelling west is easier as far as jet lag goes. For taking reasonable length flights, such as LA to Hawaii, or NZ to Australia, you end up adding 3 or 4 hours to your day. For most people, this is much less disruptive to sleep patterns than trying to go to sleep 4 hours earlier than usual. More noticeable for the longer flights, of course.

· Travelling west to places such as New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific also means that you can tke advantage of the two piece luggage system (as your're travelling across the US). This means up to 64kg per person for the hold! Start packing your rock collection now!