A Round the World Ticket - the easy way to circumnavigate the globe.
If you have dreamed of traveling round the world, but always felt that it was simply out of your reach, then you may like to think again, as it may well be possible with a reasonably priced Round the World ticket, or simply, an RTW ticket.
The tickets are subject to restrictions. The journey has to start and end in the same country. The Atlantic and the Pacific can each only be crossed once, and this must form part of the journey. From three to fifteen stops can be made, and any kind of backtracking is restricted.
An RTW ticket can cost around $3000-5000, which, considering the mileage involved, represents very good value for money. They are usually valid for a period of up to one year.
You can get an RTW ticket from an airline alliance which is a cooperation agreement between two or more airlines. The three largest alliances are the Star Alliance, Sky Team and OneWorld. Your RTW ticket is valid for travel with any airline that is part of the alliance.
Star Alliance covers an impressive 16 airlines, including big names such as United Airlines, Swiss International Airlines, Air Canada, and All Nippon Airways, and covers 139 countries. With over 800 possible destinations it is the best of the bunch for possibilites of where to go, and possible routes. Star Alliance offers a variety of RTW tickets based on the mileage covered – each ticket has a maximum mileage – and the class that you choose to travel.
Sky Team and OneWorld do similar good deals, and it is worth shopping around the specialist travel agents to see what is currently available.
A friend of mine used an RTW ticket to go from Sweden to Japan where she spent some time studying acupuncture and shiatsu. She then traveled on to Samoa, then to San Francisco and finally back to Sweden, taking about a year to do the whole trip. It was the journey of a lifetime before settling down. An RTW ticket could be the ideal option for people looking for a way to spend a gap year, or a career break. With an RTW ticket the world is truly your oyster.
