Rtw (Paris, price, flight, tickets)

[eling]

Anyone here go on an RTW trip? How was it?
I'm saving and planning for one in the long-term future so I can take a sabbatical, leave of absence or even switch careers afterward.

[jtur88]

Yes, but I didn't completely fulfill it. I bought a RTW trip, but got only as far as India, where I had to return home because of an illness in the family. I paid my own way home, and the got a partial (but substantial) refund from the unused portions of my ticket. The ticket was good for one year, and I was 8-months out when I got to India.

Often, RTW tickets do not fly across Europe. Assuming that most people who use it want to spend time touring Europe, so they book you into maybe Istanbul or Athens, and then out of London or Paris. You then would need to pay separately across Europe. They also do not usually start and end at the same spot. A westbound RTW might start out at Los Angels and terminate in New York. It assumes that you live somewhere else, and you have the responsibility to get to and from the gateways. The price rises according to how many stops. The minimum is about four.

For a very low price, I had quite a lot of stops, which were Los Angeles, Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Bombay, Istanbul, London, New York. I started from Tallahassee, and I think that flight to LA was included. I traveled overland HK/BKK, but did not try to get that leg refunded. I was very pleased with the price, but it was 15 years ago, so I don't remember the price, nor would it be relevant now. It was pretty close to $2,000.

There are several travel agents who specialize in packaging RTWs. The one I used specialized in student travel, but anyone is eligible to use their fares.

[rational1]

Did it once, in the course of a bit more than a week, in business class. It was pretty fine.

I went west, and still haven't figured out whether I gained or lost a day.