round the world trip

Doshwaster

jackieblack wrote: »

I'm wondering if there is a particular reason why most people seem to go RTW travelling east.

I suppose it may be because the "interesting" places are East so people want to do them first then have a final stop-off in the US for a bit for shopping before flying home.

Everyone's experiences of jet lag are different. While I agree that going West is easier than going East it usually doesn't affect me that much. Flying for work is worse than for pleasure as you have to be awake for meetings and have business meals at unnatural times whereas on holiday you can eat and sleep whenever you want.

madtrekker

Having been round the world twice - once in each direction - I strongly suggest that you consider going west. As other posters have pointed out, you fare so much better in terms of jetlag (i.e there isn't really).

Check the flexibility of changing dates on different tickets available. My first RTW ticket (bought with "one world" carriers which includes BA, Qantas, Cathay etc.), was very flexible and valid for 1 year. You had to pay about £50 to change the UK departure flight, but thereafter, the dates / times of each onward leg could be changed as much as you liked without penalty. You could even adjust the routes for a small charge as long as you didn't exceed the total mile allowance (27,000 miles). This was a few years ago now so the rules may have changed but it was great meaning if I got somewhere and the weather was rubbish etc., I could move on quicker than originally planned. Likewise, some places were more interesting than I expected so I extended my stay. I was away for 12 months in total.

The second RTW trip I did was entirely with Air New Zealand, using their normal stopover destinations. There was no flexibility in the ticket (but it was very cheap), but as I only had 3 weeks to play with, that was fine as there wasn't time to alter my schedule much anyway.

Finally, do you have to go away in February? If money-saving is key, most airlines' RTW tickets are cheapest where your initial flight leaves the UK from late April until mid June.

sixtyplus

The main reason is for the weather. Sister in law lives in Christchurch (NZ), so want to be there when weather at its best. We should be there for the start of their summer, but anywhere else we go around that area should be nice, we hope.
Starting off in US and finishing off in eg Singapore seems a much better option than finishing off in US where it will probably be quite cool/cold depending on where we get to. Still in the planning stage, but thanks for the heads up on the pricing policy. Will definitely look at this.
This is our once in a lifetime trip and are unlikely to take on anything like it again (getting too long in the tooth), so we want to get it right.

signol

I did a RTW a few years ago. Route was London - Rio - overland - Buenos Aires - Auckland - overland - Sydney - overland - Cairns - Perth - Bali - Singapore - overland - Bangkok - London. Admittedly we had longer than you. I echo that it is best to travel West.

signol

madtrekker

sixtyplus wrote: »

The main reason is for the weather. Sister in law lives in Christchurch (NZ), so want to be there when weather at its best.

Christchurch is rarely super hot and sunny and would still be pleasant in April. Autumn in New Zealand (mid-late April) is truly beautiful with the colours of the trees etc. We were there in late April 2008 and had some pleasant warm, but not hot, days in Christchurch. We headed down to Queenstown as well which really was stunning and snow had just started to fall on the hills, again very beautiful.

You could always have a stopover in Fiji if you wanted a bit of sun.