There are all kinds of backpacking adventures, but the most common is a world trip that covers Asia, Australasia and the Americas.
Most travellers buy a round the world (RTW) flight, which allows for a certain number of stops for a set price and travels – you guessed it – around the world.
How to Buy a Round the World Flight
First of all, you’ll need to decide where you want to go.
You can either travel clockwise or anti-clockwise (stopping off in the USA and Pacific Islands first, or jumping in at the deep end and heading to SE Asia first).
Depending on the type of round the world flight you choose, you’ll have a set amount of ‘stops’, so make a list of the main places you’d like to visit, then find a flight that fits.
Facts and Figures
The more stops you want to make, the more expensive the ticket. The cheapest start from just under £1000, but you can easily spend £2500 so try not to get too carried away!
Costs vary for the time of year you fly out. It sounds obvious, but if you fly out in low season, you’ll pay less (and usually fly smack bang into monsoon season, somewhere). A compromise between the cheapest flight and best time to travel is sensible.
Most gap year travellers on small budgets generally depart at the end of January/February. The flights are cheap compared to other times of the year, and there’s decent weather, especially in SE Asia.
The Pros of Round the World Flights
• RTW tickets are good value for money
• They are perfect for first-time travellers, as there’s no need to book a separate flight for each leg of your journey
• They allow you to visit lots of different places in one trip
• They add structure to a trip, as there’s a rough itinerary in place
• If you book through an agency, they can answer any questions you have about routes, extra places you might want to visit (and how to fit them in) plus if anything goes wrong while you’re out there, you have somebody to call
The Cons of Round the World Flights
• They are quite inflexible; once you choose your route, you’re stuck with it (you can change your dates around a little, but you’ll usually incur an admin fee if you do so)
• You can’t go off the beaten track on a whim: to a certain degree a pre-planned RTW flight is constrictive (though to be fair, you’re flying around the world’s most exciting places – it’s not a bad compromise!)
How to Make a RTW Flight Work for You
It’s all in the planning. The ideal is to book a RTW flight that you don’t have to amend or change along the way; changes not only incur an admin charge, but have a knock-on effect on the rest of your trip. It can be a pain to juggle things around! Don’t rush and book the first ticket or itinerary you see, take time to research places to go. You might like to view my destination travel guides for ideas.
Need some more advice? Here are some of my most popular articles:
• Tips for nervous flyers
• Advice for long haul flights
• Most popular gap year destinations
• What to do on a gap year
