Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
When I first went around the world in 2006, I didn't buy a RTW ticket. Instead, I spent $3,100 USD to
fly from Boston to Boston. My first journey around the world in 2006-2007 broke down this way:
Boston, Massachusetts, to Oslo, Norway:
free with miles earned on my Citi Thank You
points card
Oslo, Norway, to Athens, Greece:
$600 USD on flights, buses, and trains I used to get
around Europe for three months
Athens, Greece, to Bangkok, Thailand:
$500 USD on Thai Airways (major airline)
Bangkok, Thailand, to Perth, Australia:
$200 USD on Tiger Airways (budget airline)
Perth, Australia, to Sydney, Australia:
$800 USD in buses
Sydney, Australia, to Los Angeles, California:
$800 USD on Qantas (major airline)
Los Angeles, California, to Boston, Massachusetts:
$200 USD on American Airlines
(major airline)
TOTAL:
$3,100 USD
Looking back at the prices listed earlier for round-the-world tickets, you can see my cost was much
lower than the cost of a RTW ticket of equal destinations because I used airline miles for free flights and
used budget airlines to get cheap flight deals.
Unlike Steve, I didn't know what my plans were or where I was going, and getting a RTW ticket would
have reduced my flexibility. Since I never know exactly what I am going to be doing when I travel, having
such a rigid schedule is not for me.
I don't think RTW tickets are bad. They are perfect for people who have a set route and set time frame.
But I don't think people with a really flexible itinerary or fluid travel plans should buy a RTW ticket. If
you're such a person, you'll likely be able to price out a cheaper ticket by using budget airlines, applying
frequent-flier points, and waiting for fare sales.
With so many ways to get free and cheap flights (see the next section), anyone with even a little flexib-
ility should consider avoiding a round-the-world ticket.
How to Find Cheap Point-to-Point Flights
If you decide a RTW ticket might not suit your needs, you'll need to find another way to fly around the
world. One way is buying single point-to-point tickets. This is the method I use when I travel. I find I can
save more money flying point to point for three reasons:
For starters, I never know my plans until the last minute and I am notoriously fickle. I'll change plans a
hundred times before I finally decide on a destination. I once bought a flight from Moldova to Ukraine only
to wake up and decide to head to Romania instead. I canceled a ticket to Singapore so I could go to Malay-
sia. I can never make up my mind. That doesn't always work out well with a RTW ticket because changing
your route costs $125 USD each time.
And, as you read earlier, I get a lot of free flights by using the frequent-flier points from travel credit
cards. In fact, the reason I strong-arm people into getting travel credit cards is because after the sign-up bo-
