Itinerary Changes: RTW Ticket Issues

I figured there would be issues with possible round the world itineraries when it came to getting plane tickets put together. The major issue with most continent based itineraries is that they count layovers (less than 24 hours) in the count as well. So if a connecting flight happened to be on a continent with no stopover then the airfare cost would increase to the next level up, or $500 more plus taxes. The problem that I am finding out is that there are no direct flights from South America to Asia that do not have a lay over in North America. Since my flights will originate from North America this is not allowed. The only way to make it over to Asia otherwise is through the South Pacific, Africa (with only one or two direct flights on airlines not in the alliance), or through Europe. There is much thinking that is needed to be done on this now.

I am budgeting for large expenses for airfare, which would likely cover this additional continent addition. My problem is that if I am going to be in a specific region I will want to stop off in a few countries to visit. If it were the South Pacific/Australia region I'd want to stop in Tahetee (conveniently on Lan airlines crossing with Easter Island), Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia and if it were in Europe I would have to go to Ireland and Scotland or somewhere in Eastern Europe like Croatia, Hungary, and Romania. While my budget will allow for additional expenses in airfare, it does not have much room for additional stops without cutting out in other places.

I have contacted some of the larger round the world ticket companies to ask about this situation but I expect their response is going to be what I mentioned above. I think it will require a lot of thinking on what to do, however at this moment I am leaning in to looking into the South Pacific option but avoiding New Zealand and Australia all together. I would get by cheaper and would have a solid month and a half of beach breaks on semi-isolated islands after jumping around from easter island to tahetee to fiji, and to any other included countries in the region. Since I would be on a stretched budget I would not be able to do New Zealand and Australia justice without being there for a long period of time (and the same for Europe). This is, of course, all dependent on whether or not I can reach my savings goal. At this point in time I am on track.

After I get responses back from the airfare companies, and seek out alternative airfare prices, I will put an updated itinerary based on the current outlook. I am thinking the cities that are likely to go will include Santiago (but I will see if I can swing a long layover before heading to Easter Island), Ecuador, Amazon in Peru, and possibly Mumbai and Kolkata due to likely arriving at the onset of Monsoon Season. Of course with the cities in India being at the end of the trip those can be determined much easier with the left over budget. I'd still like to overland in Peru and from Rio de Janeiro to Buenos Aires. And sadly, the dream of doing Bhutan is probably all but dissolved at this point. One day though.

Posted in: Commitment,Plane Tickets,Planning