What are Round the World Tickets?

Round the world tickets, also known as RTW or around the world tickets, are a series of individual airplane tickets that are put together to create a complete itinerary, and are purchased at the same time at a substantial discount.

These tickets are a great way to save a lot of money if you have ever wanted to fly around the world or maybe visit a certain region of the world. You can purchase a set package from a company that specializes in these types of tickets, or create a customer itinerary.

At the time of this writing, you can fly around the world from San Francisco for $1549 + taxes. Your trip would take to from San Francisco - Hong Kong - Bangkok - Bombay / Mumbai - Bangalore - Singapore - San Francisco

If you wanted to add a stop in another city it would not be a problem, but obviously the price would change.

We have considered using these types of tickets, but up until now have not. The primary reason is that they are a little restrictive for the type of traveling we are doing. For example, some of the tickets you purchase via an RTW agent can’t be changed or only with significant penalties. Our current method of travel has us staying in places we like and heading to another destination if an area is not agreeing with us.

Still, I expect that soon enough we will take advantage of these tickets to travel around the world or travel to a specific area that we are interested in. We will take a stab at planning an itinerary and just roll with the punches.

There are a number of agencies that specialize in these types of tickets, and our research indicates that utilizing a broker that specializes in these complex itineraries is the best method to use.

http://www.airtreks.com/Default.aspx is a nice site that includes articles about how to plan for your trip as well as general information about RTW tickets. They also provide an area where you can view Specials, and get an idea of what different itineraries would cost.

http://www.hobotraveler.com/ this is a fun sight with lots of different kinds of information, although a little unorganized, and he shares a lot of information about traveling around the world. Entertaining and informative.

We have met a number of travelers that were using RTW tickets during our travels in Latin America, and many of the Traveling Families on our Blogroll have used them to take their families on trips around the world. Gina and I are looking closely at these tickets as a way to start a new journey…

Want to read more from Sean?  He also writes for AffordableCallingCards.net where he blogs about his life as an expat.   Come by both blogs and share a comment!

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