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It seems like a pretty good idea if you have certain places you want to go...
say for instance I wanted to head from SF to NZ, then Bali, then Hong Kong, then Sweden then back to SF in a two month span.
I've checked out airtreks, sta, and some other sites that specialize in this, but any firsthand experience is appreciated.
Last time I did this it cost around AUD$2000 for SYD-GVA-LHR-SFO-HNL-NAN-SYDQuote:
Originally Posted by hop
Find a budget travel specialist (e.g. STA) and let them do the legwork
I flew around the world a couple months ago, but that was thru the gubberment. Yay for me!
I could have probably finagled something through the gubberment with a little advance warning/creativity since that's how I got halfway around the world, but as it was I just got on the plane.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jumper Bones
It sucks wanting to visit friends all over the world AND surf AND ski AND deal with work stuff............ yeah, it's such a drag.
Check out the staralliance website. they've got a program you can install that has all the schedules and you can plan a route and they'll tell you what it costs and all that. They have flat fares for around the world.
British Airways and their Oneworld Alliance also has tickets. Both alliances are approx. 3000 for most round the world tickets with 9 flight segments in each continent. South America usually jacks the price up though b/c it's so out of the way
STA has good deals on this kind of stuff..
bummer I'm no longer in STA's 26 or under bracket. Aging sucks.
hmm.. but they still have good deals.
Hop, check out http://www.staralliance.com/en/trave...alculator.html
The cool thing about this program is that it has all SCHEDULES AND FLIGHTS from each airport you want to visit up to a year in advance... so you can actually plan stuff (instead of saying I want to go to city XYZ you can plan to go to city XYZ on Airline B at this time blah blah blah....) and can figure out stopover times as well as add any ground segments...
Did it 5 years ago. You have to figure out where you want to go, which airlines fly there, and which alliance they are a part of. Star or Oneworld are by far the two biggest although there is at least one possibly 3 other round the world programs. STA has access to a bunch of them, but if I remember right, not all.
The programs operate differently depending on the alliance if I remember right. You need to figure out how many segments you want to do and also the total mileage flown, and in how long a time period. If I'm remembering correctly those are the 3 variables that jack up the price. STA is definitely a good place to start, and its nice because there are STA offices around the world to help you should you decide to change the plan midtrip, but I would also look around at other round the world websites / companies.
Its damn fun! Jealous. Wish I could go again. We went London-Delhi-Bangkok-(overland through Cambodia to Saigon and then Hanoi)- Tokyo- Sapporo-Hawaii - LAX.
so is sta the same as star alliance?Quote:
Originally Posted by gamma
i went through there, made my ittenirary and it come out to be around 4,000. is there anyway to make it cheaper?
hop
so what if i am under 26, is there some kind of deal? i cant find it on the website?
how much was it if ya dont mind me asking?Quote:
Originally Posted by comish
My round the world trip was 8 years ago. It cost less than $2000, and I used Star alliance airlines for the trip. Booked through my local travel agent. Total travel time was just under 2 months. I didn't stick to my original travel schedule at all. Thank god that was before big change fees!
I was older than 26 at the time, just barely.
Chicago - Frankfurt - Rome - Bangkok - Jakarta - Singapore - Tokyo - Chicago.
Did the Singapore-Tokyo-Chicago leg in one fell swoop. BRUTAL!!!
how did you get it so cheap? i cant get mine to go any lower than 3,950$. Any helpfull suggestions?Quote:
Originally Posted by whorehey
:confused: :confused: :confused:
Sorry, my experience and price I paid was 8 YEARS AGO, end of 1998.
I don't think that price is doable now.
You might want to check with a travel agent. That's what I did.
It's a suggestion, but not terribly helpful, Good luck.
thanks whorehey
Done this a few times in the last few years. Sometimes the Star Alliance/One World deals are the best you can get, but you can often get better deals through travel agents. As an example, look at www.bestflights.com.au It is an Australian website, so it prob isn't a huge help, but it should show you what kind of deals there are. Last one I got was Sydney-Tokyo-Hamburg-Vancouver-Sydney, it cost about A$1600, which is I guess about US$1200.
I have never used one, but I know tons of people who have, and they've all had good experiences. Lots of positive stories and I can't recall any complaints.
Do it.
STA will still sell you cheap tickets, even if you're over 26. I used them for the first time last year, and I'm past 30. They put you in a different category, but still totally got me the best deal on an Air New Zealand flight. Be careful, though - Their employees aren't too smart, double check everything.
I traveled for 8 months on an around the worlder with about 20 flights and some overland travel for under 2000$ in 2000. The US dollar was much stronger back then. Check out AirTreks.com out of san fran, they do all the leg work and should be able to get you all your visas electronically. They are super well informed and seem to be able to get insanely low fares, especially if you are a little flexible. STA is clueless about multi stop fares and travel agents in general too. However if you are afraid of stops in places like turkmenistan, you may not be able to get a cheap rate.
It also depends on time of year. You get boned if you want to do it in the summer. I'm thinking ours was somewhere between $2000 and $3000/ticket, but I can't really remember...
Keep looking, searching, etc.
STA is definitely not the same as any of the alliances. Its basically a travel agency for students, but you can buy tickets from them if you are >26years old.
Check out the forums on the Lonely Planet's website, the Thorntree, there are a lot of people there doing the around the world thing and cave give better, more up to date advice than anything I have at the moment.
If you're gonna do it... do it in style.
http://www.stripclubairlines.com/