To give you an idea of fare pricing, a 35,000-mile itinerary will cost 160,000 miles in economy, 240,000 miles in business class, and 320,000 miles in first class. An itinerary ranging from 44,001 to 50,000 miles will cost 200,000 miles in economy, 300,000 in business class, and 450,000 in first class.

The Star Alliance Book and Fly planning tool is user-friendly, but it’s easy to make mistakes, go against the rules, and default to trial and error. The tool won’t let you continue with an itinerary that is invalid but it’s not always easy to determine why it’s invalid. You might want to start by reviewing some sample itineraries to become familiar with the process. After half an hour of trying different combinations of multi-city and one-way searches, the cheapest combination I could find for these dates was Accept youʼll be in some regions at the "wrong" time – though this might offer unexpected benefits. For example, Victoria Falls has a dry season each year, which means a slightly less thunderous cascade, but it does open up rafting opportunities and a chance to swim right up to the lip of the falls in The Devil’s Pool. Going to Venice in the winter might mean grayer skies but fewer crowds. Heading to Kenya and Tanzania in April is likely to mean fewer humans, but not fewer chances to spot wildlife, all while saving money on safari. Also keep in mind that mom-and-pop locations have their downtime and holiday seasons as well; don't be too surprised if your local bakery in Paris is closed for a holiday week or two in August. Where should I go on my round-the-world trip?

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A dedicated RTW agent such as AirTreks can save you a lot of time, with the added benefit of 24/7 support, having all of your flights in one place, established airlines with shorter routes, and over 32 years of experience in RTW planning. AirTreks tells us they're confident they could beat the other prices in this post, so if you find a cheaper fare yourself, let them know! The weather will never be ideal in all your stops, so focus on what you want to do most and research the conditions there. In general, city sightseeing can be done year-round (escape extreme heat, cold or rain in museums and cafes), but outdoor adventures are more reliant on – and enjoyable in – the right weather. Be warned: if you donʼt board one of your booked flights (say, on a whim, you decide to travel overland from Bangkok to Singapore rather than fly it) your airline is likely to cancel all subsequent flights. Airline alliances are groups of individual airlines with formal agreements in place that allow cooperation with each other. These alliances facilitate global travel for their customers by utilizing these partnerships to create a worldwide network that connects destinations. Hot Tip: The Star Alliance suggested itineraries are worth reviewing because they automatically apply the maximum mileage and stopover limitations that keep pricing under control. Maximizing these restrictions when building your own itinerary from scratch, even using the Book and Fly tool, is more challenging. Customizing the suggested itineraries may serve as a better starting point. Oneworld

Missing a flight in your itinerary could result in the remaining flights being cancelled, even if days or weeks away Flights usually must be within the same airline alliance. This can sometimes result in obscure stopovers to stay with partner alliances. Consider alternative means of transportation between cities to maximize your experience and reduce costs. Don’t have Aeromexico Premier Points? American Express Membership Rewards points can be transferred to the program at a ratio of 1:1.6. Don’t do this unless you’ve called and confirmed an itinerary with Aeromexico in advance. Adding sea or ground transport between cities can save you money on your RTW journey. Image Credit: RepositioningCruise.com

Round the world flights from £1,750 - £2,500 per person 

Restrictions on the direction of travel (e.g. East to West only) and/or requiring you to cross both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans at least once A lifelong fantasy for many travelers is to leave their everyday existence behind and take a trip around the world. Even if you’re fortunate enough to have an extended amount of free time to circumnavigate the world, putting together a round-the-world itinerary can be complicated and potentially expensive. As an example, let's find the best price for the following round the world trip: New York City > London > Paris > Prague > Beijing > Hong Kong > New York City. We want to go in April and May, and we are booking now in January. We'll start on Tuesday, April 10, and schedule each consecutive flight for the following Tuesday. Option 1: A round the world travel agent Be flexible: moving your departure date by a few days can save money. Mid-week flights are generally cheaper, as are flights on major holidays such as Christmas Day. Avoid days and times popular with business travelers to escape higher prices and more crowded cabins.

There are plenty of ways to earn Miles and More frequent flyer miles. Using Qantas Frequent Flyer Points OneWorld single-continent passes: available for Africa, Asia, Japan, Australia & New Zealand, Malaysia, South America, Europe, North America, Middle East, South Asian Sub-ContinentReasons to self-book include the abundance of available error/sale fares, budget airlines, the ease with which self-booking can be done, and that stopovers can easily be added to any trip Stops vs mileage: Some alliances will give you a maximum number of stops, while others only care about mileage. Today you’ll discover that it’s not only possible, but it’s probably less expensive than you thought — and of course, there are even ways to pay for it with miles or points. Accumulating Singapore KrisFlyer miles is made easier thanks to the number of transfer partners, including American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy. Using Lufthansa Miles and More You’ll need 180,000 miles for economy, 335,000 miles for business class, and 500,000 miles for first class.

Self-booking is usually the cheapest approach to a round the world trip, but can also be more tedious

Featured Itineraries for 2023/24

Booking a Star Alliance RTW world journey starts with understanding the rules that apply. Image Credit: Star Alliance OneWorld multi-continent passes: rather than flying all the way around the world, these passes let you fly in a circle around one smaller area of the world Experiment with the dates of each flight. This can be time consuming, but if you're dedicated, you can shave hundreds of dollars off your total cost by simply finding the cheapest dates for each flight. If you select all the places you want to visit in advance, you may end up with an expensive adventure. But if you start by allotting a time slot for this journey and are flexible with your destinations, you can begin your trip with an affordable flight and build from there.