Round the world ticket (well sort of!)

Duckling_2

Hi everyone,

First post so be gentle...

I'm looking at going travelling this December and list below the countries I'd like to visit and in that order:

South Africa (I'm guessing J'berg airport)
New Zealand
Australia
Thailand
Vietnam
Back to the UK

This list may well change as I'm well aware it's very "gap year", on which note if anyone has any suggestions for some amazing places to go see please shout!! Think I'm looking at going for 6 months or until the money runs out, so if anyone has any ideas on cheap flights please reply :-)

Thanks!!

G

danandjens_worldtravels

RTW tickets are good value if you have a time limit and fix where you are going, they can be changed but you will get charged. If you want more flexibility then one way tickets may work for you.

Air asia operate from Australia and around Asia, even to the UK. The are cheap and reliable, on time and easy to use. Just remember they are like Ryan air, you have to pay for extra bags, food, entertainment etc. Just take yourself one bag under 10K if you are backpacking you really don't want much more, remember you have to carry it!!

The earlier you book the cheaper. Air Asia may be a way of getting between hub airports and keeping the price of the RTW ticket cheap while still getting to lots of places e.g overland from Thailand to Hanoi then back via air asia to Bangkok for your RTW home.

Check visa regulations before you go, for NZ you may need a flight out before you can get in and if you want to go to Vietnam where are you going to get your visa,? you need to make time for this in your plans. In reality it only takes a few days in Bangkok but if you have flight deadlines then it could be annoying to miss out because you're not prepared.

Most important, have fun and don't take it too seriously. If your bus breaks down or your clothes are damaged at the laundry just smile, laugh and be glad you're not at home in the cold!!:D

alanrowell

1) Unless you intend flying to NZ from SA via South America it isn't a RTW
2) Getting from SA to NZ may be rather hard. There are few flights across both the South Atlantic and South Pacific.

As most of your itinerary is traditional RTW I'd be tempted to do UK / Thailand / Vietnam / Oz / NZ / US / UK as a straight forward RTW then do a separate trip to South Africa.

Have a word with STA Travel or Trailfinders as they are the experts in this sort of thing. Even if you don't buy their tickets their advice will be invaluable.

richardw

There are direct flights from Jo'burg to PERth in western Australia.

Moonchild

Most of your trip you could do under the old BA / Qantas World Discovery ticket which used to be amongst the cheapest. You would have to add your own Thailand - Vietnam tix which are cheap enough c/o Air Asia, and possibly swap NZ & Australia, but speak to the experts - i.e. STA, Trailfinders, Global Village, Travel Nation.

If possible do lots of open jaws - i.e. into Cape Town, out of Jo'Burg, into Perth out of Sydney, into Christchurch, out of Auckland, into Bali out of Bangkok etc.

Alan_Bowen

Departing December will be expensive, fares to South Africa, New Zealand or Australia are at their highest for the month between 10th December and mid January. If you can begin your journey in November and save a few hundred pounds! This is definately a ticket you need professional travel advice on, try Trailfinders who can suggest a decent routing for you and give you a real idea of prices

isplumm

Hi,

Have a look at http://www.roundtheworldexperts.co.uk/world-trips/under-one-thousand?gclid=CLjYjPfN5qICFVeZ2AodumvpYw

or

http://www.roundtheworldflights.com/default.aspx?gclid=CJTm9YXO5qICFVwK2godQXKRxw

or

http://www.roundtheworldflights.com/results.aspx?d1=11&d2=0&d3=0&d4=73&d5=0&d6=0&r1=3&r2=10&r3=11&r4=15&r5=0&r6=0&s=4

as others have said you need to think about your route - suggest you play around with the tools on this page, but go to Oz then NZ, not the other round (unless you goto States first).

Mark