Round the world flights

drunkenfool

Ive been into trailfinders several times, and id say ill be booking with them. Ive done a bit of searching around on the net ie www.oneworld.com, but before I book, I was wondering where everyone else booked their tickets, as I dont want to be ripped off.

Cheers for your time

PCros

Booked mine with Trailfinders, heading off in two weeks. Usit are rubbish from my experience.

Everyone in trailfinders has been on a world trip/ or knows alot about what where you want to go etc.

One Cold Hand

Yes, Usit are rubbish....
Trailfinder are very good.

youcancallmeal

Going to be booking myself soon. Are Trailfinders and USIT the only options?

Neamhshuntasach

i think so. They are use the same airline alliance so the only difference between is the interface. I was quoted the same in usit as i was in trailfinders. I just found trailfinders more knowledgeable on the places i'll be going to and not once did they rush me. I was sitting down for almost an hour last week with them. I looked on the Internet with the one world and some other place, forget the name. i found the net ones more expensive.

gkec

If it were me, I would get a quote for your ticket from both USIT and Trailfinders.

I did this last week with a Great Escapade ticket. I was pretty shocked when Trailfinders were calculating my mileage at about 2000 miles more than I had estimated from the Great Escapade website. I was panicking that the website was inaccurate and our route was out the window.

Anyhow, when I checked the exact same route with USIT it matched my mileage exactly and USIT quoted 300 euro cheaper than at Trailfinders :eek:

I'm very dubious about the mileage discrepancy at Trailfinders. They wouldn't give me any explanation for it.

Anyhow the ticketes are now booked and I suppose the moral of this story is 'shop around' as mary harney would say.......

lady_j

be wary of the RTW ticket, the prices they quote for ticket changes are inaccurate (they vary from country to country) and make any changes you need as soon as possible esp for south american flights.

I visited USIT and trailfinders several times before purchasing the ticket. The staff in trailfinders more knowledgeable but there was one or two duds we talked to. USIT from my experience were useless.

langerdan79

anyone else have this problem with usit, my gf booked her rtw tickets with usit and was told they can only book 9 or 11 months in advance, can't remember which. so she asked would she have to pay to change the dates before the dummy dates booked for our return occur. she was told by usit she wouldn't have to pay anything but after calling into qantas in sydney yesterday she was told that there is a fee to change the tickets and that it is standard. so i'm wondering if usit just don't tell you about this fee to keep their end down or is it just qantas who do this???

sioda

In the middle of a RTW trip and used Airtreks.com coz they could give any flights not just a set route. Give them a mail you won't be dissappointed.

Plus you can pay in Dollars saving money via the strong euro

JæKæ

Use trailfinders for advice, they know their stuff. But they charge for this knowledge. So take their advice and book the recommended route with USIT. Voila, saving of a few hundred

Flynn

langerdan79 wrote: »

anyone else have this problem with usit, my gf booked her rtw tickets with usit and was told they can only book 9 or 11 months in advance, can't remember which.

surely this is bollox?! they can't be serious?

lady_j

Flynn wrote: »

surely this is bollox?! they can't be serious?

you can book your route but will have to change the dates for the last few months as you can only book flights for exactly a year in advance on this ticket. Most people book a few months in advance and this is where the problem is.

On another note, you definately have to pay a fee to change the dates of your flight and the cost depends on which country you change your tickets from. There is a whopping fee if you have to change the route....

sioda

The flight change charge was one of the reasons I didn't go with USIT or trailfinders. I had my tickets already for each individual flight so quick email or call was all that was usually needed to change a flight direct with the airlines and haven't been charged once

Flynn

sioda wrote: »

The flight change charge was one of the reasons I didn't go with USIT or trailfinders. I had my tickets already for each individual flight so quick email or call was all that was usually needed to change a flight direct with the airlines and haven't been charged once

Hey, just checked out that site there.. Had you known anyone who had gone this route before you? Seems to be a bit for the advanced user.. not very user friendly... think i'd need the advice from a travel agent...

dory

I wanted to book a year ahead with USIT and I was told I coouldn't. Then the lady working there checked the computer and I could. But in the end I didn't want to leave South America then so I changed and they said I'd just have to pay a small charge.
I'm not paying this til March so I'll let you know then what a 'small charge' means to USIT.

Also, USIT routes are very limiting.

sioda

Flynn wrote: »

Hey, just checked out that site there.. Had you known anyone who had gone this route before you? Seems to be a bit for the advanced user.. not very user friendly... think i'd need the advice from a travel agent...

Nope used the site after researching it on the net.

It is a little advanced but once you are in contact with a travel advisor via email they will be exceptionally helpful even calling me on my mobile from the states.

Email them any queries and you will get a personal reply

LFC5Times

Is there any time limit in which to book RTW flights with Trailfinders/USIT ?

For example do you have to book them 9 months in advance ? or can you go in around 3-6 months beforehand and just book RTW flights ?

Cheers

listermint

i found trailfinders far too expensive, good for info but i went and booked with usit. saved near 6-700.

Flynn

LFC5Times wrote: »

Is there any time limit in which to book RTW flights with Trailfinders/USIT ?

For example do you have to book them 9 months in advance ? or can you go in around 3-6 months beforehand and just book RTW flights ?

Cheers

i hope not.. i plan on goin in 7 weeks!! and havn't booked.. is that too soon to get my jabs fitted in etc? i'll be in america for at least a month before heading to SA so if i get them next week would i be ok?

listermint

Jabs have to be done at least 4 weeks in advance. hop to it!

Flynn

listermint wrote: »

Jabs have to be done at least 4 weeks in advance. hop to it!

ok cheers.. that's a relief.. I'm kind of freaking out here i've so much **** to do and i havn't even booked the thing yet.. Im def gonna have to avail of the flight changes as i have no idea how long i'm going to be in america.. :eek:

ps. anyone know where trailfinders is in cork? i could only find SAYIT (which were closed)
anyway better get back to my michel thomas..

ksir

does anyone know the cost of a date change on a round the world ticket? does it vary a lot? deciding between USIT and Trailfinders is impossable. I really don't want to give my money to USIT but they are cheaper

Flynn

Hey I booked with Trailfinders and they said roughly 10 - 20 Ozzie Dollars.
She also said sometimes there will be no charge, And if you change flights with a travel agent (ie. find a Quantas TA on your travels) they will charge you $30 - $40 (0n top of the 20)

Best bet is to ring up and pay the 20 ( if necessary )

Oh btw for anyone who has changed flights is it just a case of ringing the airline and giving your flight details? Easy to do?

Neamhshuntasach

I was in trailfinders the other day with a friend paying off the remainder of their money he asked how much it will cost to change flights. The girl said it will now be 75 euros to change each flight. I told her that i was told it would only be around 15 AU dollars when i was in with them before and thats why i was going with a RTW package. She said that one world alliance or whatever they are called has changed their policy. She didn't seem the most knowledgeable with other questions and i didn't want to queue back up to talk with someone else. So it's worth checking up yourself Flynn. I'll be going back in when i get a chance.

Oh and i've never done a RTW ticket but i have bought open tickets in the past and it's just a simple visit to the airlines desk and handing them the ticket or whatever you get in this case

drunkenfool

i ended up booking mine through trailfinders, with the one world tickets i believe.

anyhoo, there seems to be a problem with my passport that i just noticed the other day, and i went in to trailfinders today to see if i could put back my first flight leaving dublin by a week, and to my shock they siad this is the only flight i CANNOT change. Anyone else have any experience of this...
they told me id have to cancel all my flights losing 10% and then book them all again subject to availability.

Flynn

Neamhshuntasach wrote: »

I was in trailfinders the other day with a friend paying off the remainder of their money he asked how much it will cost to change flights. The girl said it will now be 75 euros to change each flight. I told her that i was told it would only be around 15 AU dollars when i was in with them before and thats why i was going with a RTW package. She said that one world alliance or whatever they are called has changed their policy. She didn't seem the most knowledgeable with other questions and i didn't want to queue back up to talk with someone else. So it's worth checking up yourself Flynn. I'll be going back in when i get a chance.

Oh and i've never done a RTW ticket but i have bought open tickets in the past and it's just a simple visit to the airlines desk and handing them the ticket or whatever you get in this case

B@stards.. 75 is a bit steep. i already know for a fact i'll be changing 2 flights..

Neamh - did trailfinders book your onward flight from Santiago 90 days after you land in Central or S.America - with the intention of changing your flight when you got there ya?

This is the only way to do it ya? As in, prove you are leaving within 90 days but just move on to another country and then change flight?

Still not fully sure of the flight change / visa rules for S.Am.

Neamhshuntasach

Flynn wrote: »

B@stards.. 75 is a bit steep. i already know for a fact i'll be changing 2 flights..

Neamh - did trailfinders book your onward flight from Santiago 90 days after you land in Central or S.America - with the intention of changing your flight when you got there ya?

This is the only way to do it ya? As in, prove you are leaving within 90 days but just move on to another country and then change flight?

Still not fully sure of the flight change / visa rules for S.Am.

damn straight 75 is steep. Yeah i'll have to change all my flights except for my first one. I booked in January and i'm going in August so they put all my flights for November which was the furthest they could go at the time so i was told. They told me to just change them when on the road. But if that girl was right about the new charge that's 300 feckin euro. I could have bought flights as i went along if i had of known it would cost an extra 300 as i only really need 3 flights. I just took an extra domestic one in Australia cause it was available.

The 90 days thing should really only matter with the likes of America. Just to prove you will leave the country. Central and South American countries may ask for proof of onward travel but it's a lot easier to get in. The person on the border usually suggests a bribe. But don't offer money to him or even mention the word bride. You have to do it in a clever way, like say to him:

Puedo pagar la multa ahora? (Can i pay a fine now)

or

En mi país podemos pagar una multa en el acto. Seria posible pagar la multa ahora? (In my country we can pay a fine on the spot. Would it be possible to pay the fine now?)


That sets up the bribe without offending the police officer. A bit of Spanish will come in well handy in Central and South America

Flynn

Ya, currently on my second run through Michel Thomas' Spanish for beginners.. have the advanced course too, won;t start that yet though....
It's a great course.. Teaches you how to construct sentences rather than say them and why things are the way they are rather than just phrases (pimsluer works like this) Hopefully by memorising the grammar techniques i'll pick up my vocab on the road and be able to get around that way.. I'm hoping anyway.. gonna speak it as often as i can..

supermouse

Flight changes depend on the same class of the fare being available for the new date. As in, if you have booked the cheapest fare in M class and M is no longer available when you go to do a date change, then you pay the upgrade difference between M and the next cheapest class. Sometimes it can be literally just €20 or so but if the flights are very heavily booked, youre the one gonna be slapped with the fine! Your best bet is book the date change as soon as you know the date you would like to change it to - dont dilly dally, flights will be booked!!
It doesnt matter what travel agent you book with, they both use the same airlines so change fees wont be different from one and the other.
Airlines only let you reserve 330 days in advance, so 99.9% of RTW tickets will have a dummy return. Again this isnt just specific to USIT or Trailfinders - its throughout the world with every airline!

Neamhshuntasach

Flynn wrote: »

Ya, currently on my second run through Michel Thomas' Spanish for beginners.. have the advanced course too, won;t start that yet though....
It's a great course.. Teaches you how to construct sentences rather than say them and why things are the way they are rather than just phrases (pimsluer works like this) Hopefully by memorising the grammar techniques i'll pick up my vocab on the road and be able to get around that way.. I'm hoping anyway.. gonna speak it as often as i can..

You'll definitely pick it up on the road. You'll have no choice at times when you are in a small town and nobody speaks English. The way the Latinos i knew told me to learn was like how a baby would learn a language. Learn phrases and vocab first. Over the course of a day i would write down English words i spoke and then look up the Spanish word for them. Study and memorize them and then everytime i used the English word from that point on i would think of the Spanish word. Objects and all sorts of nouns and adjectives became second nature to me. Everytime i'd pick up a pen i'd think of it's Spanish equivilent, bolígrafo. At the same time i was learning phrases. So because i had built up my vocab i could subsititute words in the phrases i learned off. I was able to communicate in Spanish and although i was grammatically incorrect at times (and still am) i still managed to get my point across. I began learning the rules then. So don't skim on the vocab beforehand. Even just to be able to point and say the word is enough to be understood. If you don't know the word but know all the grammar, you'll struggle to be understood.