How to plan a round-the-world trip
(Lonely Planet) -- It's the ultimate trip: circumnavigating the planet, and stopping off wherever takes your fancy. Great for travelers 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. Here's our guide to getting started.
How to do it
The most economical way to circumnavigate is to buy a round-the-world 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 (verbal sentence). 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 you 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 -- still a breathless romp. 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 (non verbal sentence). So, focus on what you want to do most and research conditions there: if a Himalaya trek is your highlight, don't land in Nepal mid-monsoon; if you want to swim with whale sharks off Western Australia, be there April-July. Then accept you'll be in some regions at the "wrong" time (non verbal sentence) -- 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.
Where to go
The classic (and cheapest) RTW tickets flit between a few big cities, for example London -- Bangkok -- Singapore -- Sydney -- LA. If you want to link more offbeat hubs (Baku -- Kinshasa -- Paramaribo, anyone?), prices will climb considerably (verbal sentence). The cost of the ticket is based on the total distance covered or the number of countries visited.
Remember, you don't 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.
Pick some personal highlights and string the rest of your itinerary around those. For instance, if you're a keen trekker, flesh out a Peru (Inca Trail), New Zealand (Milford Track) and Nepal (Everest Base Camp) itinerary with Brazil (Rio's a good access point for South America), Australia and North India.
If budget's an issue, spend more time in less expensive countries. Your daily outgoings will be far higher (non verbal sentence) in Western Europe and North America than South-East Asia; Indonesia, Bolivia and India are particularly cheap.
Tips, tricks & pitfalls
-- Talk to an expert before you book: you may have an itinerary in mind but an experienced RTW flight booker will know which routings work best and cost least (non verbal sentence)-- a few tweaks could mean big savings.
-- 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 don't 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.
Private Tour: Your Personal Hong Kong Connection
Our private walking and food tours of Hong Kong are designed for a special kind of traveler.
You've come to Hong Kong. You've read all the guidebooks already, thank you. What you are looking for is not in the guidebooks. You are looking for something--and someone--to help you get straight to the heart of the place.
You want to eat at the best Cantonese restaurants. Not the over-hyped and pricey hotel restaurants that everybody knows, but the ones that locals cherish. You want an on the ground insight into the history, architecture and politics of China, and Asia's most multi-cultural and cosmopolitan city.
You'd like to visit the authentic and out of the way places that tourists haven't overrun, get the inside lowdown on Hong Kong's society, arts, culture and politics.You want to get to know Hong Kong's modern architectural gems, and walk through ancient walled Chinese villages that remain standing among groves of urban high-rise apartments.
Maybe you just want to find out, for once and for all, what are all those strange dried things on sale in the Chinese market.
You've come to Hong Kong. You've read all the guidebooks already, thank you. What you are looking for is not in the guidebooks. You are looking for something--and someone--to help you get straight to the heart of the place.
You want to eat at the best Cantonese restaurants. Not the over-hyped and pricey hotel restaurants that everybody knows, but the ones that locals cherish. You want an on the ground insight into the history, architecture and politics of China, and Asia's most multi-cultural and cosmopolitan city.
You'd like to visit the authentic and out of the way places that tourists haven't overrun, get the inside lowdown on Hong Kong's society, arts, culture and politics.You want to get to know Hong Kong's modern architectural gems, and walk through ancient walled Chinese villages that remain standing among groves of urban high-rise apartments.
Maybe you just want to find out, for once and for all, what are all those strange dried things on sale in the Chinese market.
Well, you've just found your local connection.
Here's why we're different:
There are lots of private tour guides and companies in Hong Kong. But only at Little Adventures in Hong Kong can you explore Hong Kong personally with an internationally respected travel journalist. Our director, Daisann McLane, has spent more than 7 years writing award winning articles about Hong Kong's politics, culture and food. Daisann doesn't just show you Hong Kong--she explains it to you. How it works. Why it is the way it is. With a sense of magic and wonder and enchantment that's earned her loyal readers worldwide.
With Daisann, you'll enter a Hong Kong you'd never find on your own (verbal sentence). She'll take you to a politicial demonstration (verbal sentence) or a visit to the only courtrooms in China where the judges and barristers wear horsehair wigs. Shop for Chinese porcelain dishes and ebony chopsticks in Hong Kong's oldest department store. Slip past a touristy market into the authentic village hiding behind its facade.
Hong Kong has an endless variety of amazing food that you'd have a hard time ordering on your own if you don't speak or read Chinese. Everything from braised goose webs (they are yummy!) to a cake made of a "thousand" delicate layers of tofu skin.
There are secret trails, high above Hong Kong's skyscrapers, cut by Chinese pirates in the 1800s who would sit up there and watch the comings and goings of the boats in the harbour. There are mountain paths leading to splendid Buddhist temples. Little ferry boats that head off to tiny, off-the map islands. Old coffee shops straight out of a Wong Kar-wai movie, and hidden restaurants that sell the best borscht this side of Moscow.
With Daisann, you'll enter a Hong Kong you'd never find on your own (verbal sentence). She'll take you to a politicial demonstration (verbal sentence) or a visit to the only courtrooms in China where the judges and barristers wear horsehair wigs. Shop for Chinese porcelain dishes and ebony chopsticks in Hong Kong's oldest department store. Slip past a touristy market into the authentic village hiding behind its facade.
Hong Kong has an endless variety of amazing food that you'd have a hard time ordering on your own if you don't speak or read Chinese. Everything from braised goose webs (they are yummy!) to a cake made of a "thousand" delicate layers of tofu skin.
There are secret trails, high above Hong Kong's skyscrapers, cut by Chinese pirates in the 1800s who would sit up there and watch the comings and goings of the boats in the harbour. There are mountain paths leading to splendid Buddhist temples. Little ferry boats that head off to tiny, off-the map islands. Old coffee shops straight out of a Wong Kar-wai movie, and hidden restaurants that sell the best borscht this side of Moscow.
