RTW - but for more than 12 months

m*pp*t

Hi all,
As the title suggests I'm trying to plan a round the world trip, but I know it's going to take longer than 12 months. The basic idea is a few months through India and SE Asia, onto Australia for a year to work/travel, visit New Zealand for a time (actually the last two are interchangeable - any advice would be very welcome!) and then come home via South America for a few months again.
I'm trying to suss out the flights situation, and all the RTW tickets that are offered have a 1 year limit attached, which isn't much use really. Surely everyone doesn't tie themselves down to exactly the year, so does anyone know the best (ie cheapest!) way of managing it?

Thanks for reading. Look forward to any replies.

Glacier

Finished College, worried about career?

Neamhshuntasach

Just buy your flights as you go along. If your going to be working for a year in Australia a RTW ticket isn't really an option best suited to your plans. Plus you should be able to save a few hundred to get the flight to Santiago.

I have a RTW ticket and i'm just not turning up for my final flight in Bangkok. So i'm getting all the value of the ticket and managing to extend it beyond a year. Maybe you could do something like that. Just use it to get you as far as Australia and don't turn up for the rest of your flights. But the only sense in doing that is if it works out cheaper than buying individual flights.

m*pp*t

I'll look into a cheapish RTW ticket to get me as far as Australia so. Sounds like a good plan. Thanks for the help.

(And yes I'm finished college, worked briefly in the financial sector, went back to do the Dip, taught for a year and am now running aawy from everything for a while!)

RATM

You could buy a one way to Oz which would give you a few stops on the way there. Then when you are in Oz buy another one way home- theres always good deals such as Sydney-Fiji-Buenos Aires-Rio-home and loads of other combinations that involve the States, Africa, etc.

Go to www.flightcenter.com.au and email them an itinerary of the route you want to take on the way home to get an idea of prices. When your actually in Oz you might find places like Student Uni Travel ( kinda like Oz USIT )have them even cheaper.

RATM

Actually just re-read your OP. If going to India first get a cheap one way from the likes of Biman Bangladesh airlines to Delhi, cost around 300 euro. Then from there consult www.attitudetravel.com for a myriad of budget airlines operating to the rest of Asia. After that you can use an airline like Jet Star Asia to get into Oz on the cheap. The whole thing should cost you less than a one way there but gives you the option of being flexible and booking flights as you need them.

Then when in Oz do as I said above coz as yet the budget airlines dont yet fly Oz-S.America or States -the furthest you can go is Oz-NZ and Fiji/Tonga with VirginPolynesia.

Hope this helps

Xavi6

I've started off in Australia. Been here over a year, gonna be here a few years more. I'm buying my RTW ticket to get me home. Driving from Perth to Sydney then flights from there to Fiji, down to New Zealand, over to Bangkok and some of Asia, the London then home. There's routes available for South America along those lines. Works out at less than $3000 per person for my route. All one ways.

dory

I had the exact same plan as you, except I went the other way. My plan was to see South America, work in Oz for a year then come home via Asia.
It's much easier doing it my way as flight from Australia to either north America or South America are really expensive. But from Aus - Asia and Asia to home aren't so bad.
I got a one way rtw ticket. Ireland - Oz for €1000, with a stop over in Brazil and then flew out of Chile.
Then got to Malaysia for €250 with Air Asia. My ticket home from India is €300.

m*pp*t

dory wrote: »

I had the exact same plan as you, except I went the other way. My plan was to see South America, work in Oz for a year then come home via Asia.
It's much easier doing it my way as flight from Australia to either north America or South America are really expensive. But from Aus - Asia and Asia to home aren't so bad.
I got a one way rtw ticket. Ireland - Oz for €1000, with a stop over in Brazil and then flew out of Chile.
Then got to Malaysia for €250 with Air Asia. My ticket home from India is €300.

I forgot to mention at the start that I actually have to go to Ethiopia first (going to a wedding) so that's kind of why I decided Asia first would make more sense.
Thanks for all the suggestions. Must cop on now and call to a few travel agenty places this weekend to get a proper idea.

m*pp*t

I finally went to Trailfinders today and got a quote for Cork - London (I think) - Addis Ababa - Mumbai (overland to) Delhi - Bangkok - Sydney of €1902 (very exact I know). I think the Ethiopia thing is pushing the cost up a bit but it still doesn't seem too bad.

A question I have for people who've been around SE Asia is whether it's feasible to overland all of Thailand/Vietnam/Cambodia and Laos, or would we go mad from bus journeys? I haven't looked into budget airlines over there yet but I presume that a flight or two over wouldn't be too extortionate. Any help would be great, thanks.

By the way thanks a million RATM for the link to the attitude travel site. It looks fierce handy.

dory

Yea it's totally possible. I'm going from Malaysia - Cambodia overland next week, I'll let you know if I survive. I hear some of the roads are crap, and I'll probably be sick of buses and trains but i want to see the countryside. Airasia and Tiger are both very cheap so if I get sick of the bus I'll catch a plane.

m*pp*t

Best of luck with that Dory. Hope it goes well. It's nice to know there's affordable flights to fall back on if the rear end can't take any more bus journeys!

RATM

m*pp*t wrote: »

I finally went to Trailfinders today and got a quote for Cork - London (I think) - Addis Ababa - Mumbai (overland to) Delhi - Bangkok - Sydney of €1902 (very exact I know). I think the Ethiopia thing is pushing the cost up a bit but it still doesn't seem too bad.

A question I have for people who've been around SE Asia is whether it's feasible to overland all of Thailand/Vietnam/Cambodia and Laos, or would we go mad from bus journeys? I haven't looked into budget airlines over there yet but I presume that a flight or two over wouldn't be too extortionate. Any help would be great, thanks.

By the way thanks a million RATM for the link to the attitude travel site. It looks fierce handy.

No probs, its a great site for budget airlines and they update it regularly. Another good one is www.skyscanner.net but its reach isnt quite worldwide just yet.

As regards SE Asia, it is indeed possible to bus all of it. When I did it in 2002 that was pretty much the only way it could be done as the likes of www.airasia.com weren't around then and flights were pricey. In saying that you can now get budget flights for 50-80 euro one way which could save you a lot of time. But it would be a shame to fly all the time, you'll miss some beautiful countryside by doing so.Bussing it isnt actually that bad, I know 12hrs on a bus sounds like a nightmare but when you are in a different country with different scenery the time tends to pass by. Just make sure to stock up with enough snacks and water before hand and you'll be fine.

ps whilst you are in Delhi I cant recommend taking a spin up to Nepal highly enough. For me its one of the highlights of Asia, friendly ppl, stunning scenery especially if you like mountains, they dont get any bigger than the Himalaya.

dory

If you're worried about buses, there's always trains. Just got off my first over night train journey there and it was great. Two english people I met agreed with me that it was the best nights sleep they got in Thailand. Had a bed, with clean sheets and a pillow, and curtains so no one could see us sleeping. I was sad to get off, could have slept another bit!

Ritchi

Has anyone over landed it from Delhi to Bangkok, or know if it's possible. I'd much rather go overland than take a flight.

Neamhshuntasach

Might be difficult to go overland from India to Thailand at present due to the situation in Burma. And going up through China would bring you through Tibet. The area is also really mountainous and doubt there's much roads. You could go as far as you can north-east in India and then fly from there to Bangkok or northern Thailand.

Ritchi

Neamhshuntasach wrote: »

Might be difficult to go overland from India to Thailand at present due to the situation in Burma. And going up through China would bring you through Tibet. The area is also really mountainous and doubt there's much roads. You could go as far as you can north-east in India and then fly from there to Bangkok or northern Thailand.

I've been looking about, and there's a trail from Kathmandu to Lhasa in Southern China that some people do. I'd have no problems going through Tibet, in fact that more I think about it the more I'd like to go. It just seems to still as expensive to get from there to Thailand though. Maybe I could just hop on a long train and spend a day or two travelling. to cut out a large portion of it.

Or would it just be more hassle than it's worth, and I should just pay the couple of hundred to get from India to Thailand by air....

irelandsown

I'm planning on going in October to SE Asia and then onto Oz for xmas. I'm looking at flying Dublin to Bangkok and then Bangkok to Sydney at xmas. Does anyone know if I'd have a problem with having my flight out of Thailand more than 30 days after I arrive there? I'll be travelling around SE Asia and make it back to Bangkok for the flight to Sydney.

TonyD79

was told u need to get a 2 month plus visa for Thialand if ur outgoing flight is after the 30 days.

Neamhshuntasach

Ritchi wrote: »

I've been looking about, and there's a trail from Kathmandu to Lhasa in Southern China that some people do. I'd have no problems going through Tibet, in fact that more I think about it the more I'd like to go. It just seems to still as expensive to get from there to Thailand though. Maybe I could just hop on a long train and spend a day or two travelling. to cut out a large portion of it.

Or would it just be more hassle than it's worth, and I should just pay the couple of hundred to get from India to Thailand by air....

Well the problem with trying to get into Tibet is that non Chinese nationals are banned from entering till possibly after the Olympics.

lemon_of_old

I just checked on the Irish Thai consulate website and it says you can get a 60 visa. I'll be in the same situation, will be flying into Bangkok, and flying out 2-3 mths later. At least a 60 day visa gives a little more leeway.

http://www.thaiconsulateireland.com/visafaq.htm