The information here is provided by expert longhaul travel consultants with years of planning tailor-made trips for travellers. It is designed to give you the opportunity of getting the most out of your flight ticket and to hopefully encourage you to get off the beaten track.

We are not going to attempt to explain all the complex rulings of longhaul tickets but if you take these following points into consideration your trip will be a lot more cost effective. We will give you invaluable insider advice on route planning so you can go armed and ready to book the best trip available to you!

The best way to start is to make a list of your preferred destinations - your dream route! -  and then, with an atlas in front of you, try and put them in some kind of sensible order. Remember your plans will change a hundred times but you will need a basic starting structure to take to your travel agent.

There are a number of ways to keep the price down when planning your trip but the main point is stay as much as you can with one airline or one airline alliance. Another main point is plan your trip in a continuous global direction. This means you should try to avoid any unnecessary backtracking on a round the world ticket. For example, this is fine:

• London - Bangkok - Sydney - Fiji - New York - London

But even though the following route can be done, it will raise the fare considerably:

• London - Bangkok - New York - Fiji - Sydney - London

Most RTW tickets are still based on a combination of mileage and stops but some (such as the ONEWorld) are now based on regions offering a greater combination of destinations available. (Remember though, the best trips do not necessarily have to include the most stops that you and your travel agent can squeeze into a 12 month ticket! - less can be more).

Do not worry too much about the weather at this stage -even though it plays a major role in what you see and do in certain areas you will no doubt have to make some sacrifices if price is an issue.

When you book your flight ticket, you do not have to fly in and out from the same city in every country you visit. In fact it can sometimes even work out cheaper if you do not. Travelling independently overland comes extremely recommended if you have the time. You get to see far more of the country and really get a sense of travelling. A list of classic overland routes are detailed below as well as some unusual or demanding journeys. Here are the two terms explained:

Surface sector is when you travel independently between two flight points en-route to your final destination, e.g., London - Bangkok surface to Singapore - Sydney - Los Angeles - London

Open Jaw is a surface sector at your final point of turnaround - or furthest point from where you started, e.g., London - Singapore - Perth surface to Sydney - Los Angeles - London

These two can be combined in most RTW tickets to create some very interesting routings and also do not add to the cost of the ticket as they count as one stop - not two.

Classic Overland routes

• Bangkok surface to Singapore

• Sydney surface to Cairns

• Auckland surface to Christchurch

• New York surface to Los Angeles

More adventurous surface sectors

• Moscow surface to Beijing (Trans-Siberian)
• Rio de Janeiro - Lima
• Saigon surface to Hanoi, Vietnam
• Nairobi surface to Jo'burg
• Islamabad surface to Beijing (Silk Road)
• Cairo surface to Istanbul
• New York surface to Santiago
• Bangkok surface to Hanoi

The Ultimate surface sector!

• London surface to Sydney: London (EuroStar) Paris (EuroRail) Moscow (Trans Siberian) Beijing surface  to Hanoi (Re-Unification Express) Saigon surface via Bangkok to Bali (Boat) Darwin surface to Sydney

...but whatever part of your trip you choose to overland it will be an incredibly valuable experience!

When to Leave

The most fundamental factor that will determine the fare is the time of year you take your first flight as almost all fares are based on your first departure date. Currently, the UK is just about the cheapest place to start your trip from and most tickets are now common-rated in price from Manchester as well as from London airports.

Here is a guide to the typical seasons. (These do vary from time to time and from airline to airline).

So this means that no matter what route you end up taking the cheapest single way to knock hundreds of pounds off your airfare is to leave at another time!

This obviously isn't always possible as you may want to be in certain areas at certain times for things like best trekking season, avoiding monsoons, carnivals etc. but if price is an issue you must learn to be flexible to save those pennies. Often the worst experiences become the best stories and the most exciting memories....

How long to travel for?

No ticket will last for more than 12 months so if you are planning to stay for longer you will have to buy a one-way ticket out and then purchase a separate ticket home from wherever you get to. (A more expensive option but you don't have many to choose from!). If you do end up doing this you must check your visa and onward ticket requirements directly with the relevant embassies (for addresses see Interesting Websites)

On the subject of trying to stay away for longer it can be done all from the UK in one certain way. Travel agents in the UK can only really sell you discounted tickets that start with travel from the UK except for tickets coming back from Australia via the States. This means that you can take up to 1 year travelling out through Asia and working in Australia and then spend another year travelling back through NZ, the Pacific Islands, the USA & Canada. Air New Zealand and United Airlines are the only airlines at present to be able to do this and they keep withdrawing this privilege from time to time so double-check with your travel agent.

If you do not have the time, or indeed the money, to stay away for longer it really depends on 4 factors with regards to how long you stay in each place:

• Your visa situation

• The weather

• How expensive the place is

• What you are interested in

You will have checked your visa requirements before you arrive in each country to see how long you can stay for in order to plan a rough route. This normally determines your movements. For example, in Indonesia, British passport holders are granted a 60 day tourist visa which can restrict your island hopping attempts quite drastically if you have not planned carefully. 

The weather is most people's main reason for travelling to somewhere at a certain time but if you do arrive when the guidebooks tell you not to you could find yourself sitting in glorious sunshine on a tropical beach with room to move! For example moving from the west coast of Malaysia to the east coast can take you from monsoon conditions to clear skies.

Developed countries usually mean short stays as they tend to be too expensive for travellers who are not planning to work. Countries like Japan and Hong Kong though are well worth including in your ticket as stopovers if they are easily built into your particular routing.

If you are interested in a particular area - be it for cultural/historic reasons, or just because the beach is nice then you will always find a way of staying longer. Remember that your plans will change a million times when you are on the road so all the pre-trip planning may go straight out of the window as soon as you find your dream beach hut in the middle of nowhere!

Most people aim to stay for about a month in most places they visit on their trip - anything else is just a bonus. Remember not to cram too many destinations into your ticket - you may be getting those stamps in your passport but you are almost certainly missing the real feel of the places you pass through.

Your travel agent will be able to give you a rough idea for each place you go to but it is really not that important at your planning stage as all round the world tickets are fully date changeable to ensure that your trip is as flexible and changeable as your mind!

RTW myths broken!

To help you speed up your planning process, here are some of the RTW myths shattered:

1. Backtracking is allowed - but only on certain tickets. This is normally for transiting purposes but can be included on such tickets as the OneWorld, Star Alliance and World Navigator if it keeps within the mileage or permitted number of stops rulings. This only means that you can backtrack within certain regions though, e.g.:

London - Tokyo - Hong Kong - Bangkok - Bombay - Singapore - Sydney and so on....

2. Flying from the Americas to OZ/NZ is a common problem when it comes to putting people's plans into reality. So far there are only 4 major 'gateways' (or flight access points). These are as follows:

• Los Angeles - Sydney/Auckland

• Vancouver - Sydney/Auckland (via Hawaii)

• Santiago - Sydney/Auckland (via Tahiti)

• Buenos Aries - Sydney/Auckland

This means that if your planned destination is Central America or northern South America you will either have to pay for an extra internal flight or make your own way overland.

3. Linking Africa and India/SE Asia is only feasible on certain tickets such as the Star Alliance, Navigator and the Global Explorer ticket. This is due to the airline's networks or flight routes. Access points are as follows:

• Nairobi - Asia (via Dubai or direct to Bombay)

• Jo'burg - Asia

• Harare - Asia (limited)

4. Open tickets are not really as open as you think. All RTW tickets must have the route sorted before you depart and will also have specific dates printed. This doesn't mean, however, that you will not be able to change these en-route. Dates are usually totally flexible but changes to the route usually incur a small charge (about £50)

5. Changing the name on the ticket is NOT allowed. If you decide you do not want to complete the trip you can not change the name on the ticket to someone else's which means you are unable to sell it.

Extra Charges

Once you have been quoted the best price for your chosen ticket, how do you know if everything is included? Here are the things to look out for:

• Taxes  Almost every country in the world levies airport taxes. These are not VAT as airline tickets are so far exempt. These are levied by either the airport themselves or the local government. 

Some taxes are pre-paid (i.e. paid at the same time as your ticket). This is not a choice - or a choice of your travel agent. This has been decided by a higher force! Pre-paid airport taxes are based on exchange rates and so may vary so do not worry too much if you get quoted slightly different figures each time you phone! 

Other taxes are paid locally so remember to keep back a little cash when you leave the country - or else you'll have a bit of a mission on your hands!

• PSC Passenger Service Charges. More and more countries are starting to include pre-paid PSC's which are in addition to airport taxes. There has been a lot of debating about whether these relatively nominal charges will remain being charged but at the moment they seem to be here to stay and will be included with your taxes.

• SAF Scheduled Airline Failure Insurance. This is a nominal fee levied by the Civil Aviation Authority to protect you if your airline goes into liquidation. Some companies include it in their airfares but others like to show you that you have it.

• Weekend Surcharge These are normally for one-way or return flights to and from the States and Africa, and include Friday as well as Saturday and Sunday. This should be included in the fare at the time of booking - not later.

• Credit Card Surcharge Most travel agencies will pass this on to you. This is because surprisingly little money is made on airline tickets (As little as £17 on a return to Bangkok!). The fee is normally 1% so shouldn't break the bank too much but this can be avoided by paying in advance by cheque or using your Switch or Delta card - and of course good ol' cash!

• Travel Insurance Not really an excess charge but worth getting (see our section on travel insurance). Do not be pressured into getting your insurance from the agents that sell you your flights. Take your time - look around and get the best deal that fits your trip.

Glossary of travel terms

... to help you understand 'travel agent talk'!

• Online Stops. An Online stop is a stopover to your final destination which is in a continuous direction to your main route. Good carriers for online stops are Air New Zealand who have a variety of Pacific Island stops to choose from and also Emirates who offer some more off the beaten track online stops in Asia such as Male, Colombo & Karachi.

• Open Jaw is a surface sector at your final point of turnaround - or furthest point from where you started, e.g., London - Singapore - Perth surface to Sydney - Los Angeles - London

• Published fares are non-discounted tickets and are based on exchange rates so may fluctuate until final payment. It is worth noting that some RTW tickets are in fact published fares. This means that they will be the same price wherever you buy them from as your travel agent can not change the fare. You can often tell if your ticket is a published fare as it will be booked in either Y, J or F class but this is not a totally water tight guide. Your travel agent should warn you.

• RTW - Round The World ticket. Most RTW's route via Australia or New Zealand and consist of on-line stops en-route. It is possible to purchase tickets that do not go via OZ/NZ but these do tend to be a little more expensive.

• Surface sector is when you travel independently between two flight points en-route to your final destination, e.g., London - Bangkok surface to Singapore - Sydney - Los Angeles - London

• Touchdowns can occur on direct flights! This means that your plane will land but will only land for re-fuel or to let passengers on and off. You will NOT have to change planes and it should not affect you at all.

Summary

So, by now you should have the information you require to book yourself an exciting and cost effective round the world ticket. Here are the main points you should remember:

• Keep travelling in a continuous global direction

• Avoid too many stops - they can add to the fare and also limit your experiences in each country

• Do not try to include all continents - it may be more cost effective to consider one stop as a separate trip

• Do not change your mind after you have paid in full - amendment fees may be applicable before you leave the UK. It may be worth waiting until you are on the road

• Check all your visa requirements before you go

• Check all your vaccination requirements at least 6 weeks before you travel

• It may be worth paying a little bit extra if your travel consultant has that extra knowledge and experience needed to help you in all aspects of your trip.

For more information on tripplanning, go to: Choose the right Airline Tickets