Originally Posted by
BrewerSEA
Thanks!
I've actually changed the trip a bit in that I decided to spring for an AONE6 because it's really only another 2-3k and you get to see so much more that way!
My planned routing is now:
Positioning: SEA-xDFW-xLHR-RUH and return
- Riyadh (RUH) - xLHR - Sydney (SYD)
- Sydney (SYD) - Bangkok (BKK)
- Bangkok (BKK) - Delhi (DEL)
- Delhi (DEL) - Tokyo (NRT)
- Tokyo (NRT) - Beijing (PEK)
- Beijing (PEK) - Hong Kong (HKG)
- Hong Kong (HKG) - New York (JFK)
- New York (JFK) - Santiago (SCL)
- Santiago (SCL) - Easter Island (IPC)
- Easter Island (IPC) - Lima (LIM)
- Lima (LIM) - xLAX - xLHR - Nairobi (NBO)
- Nairobi (NBO) - xLHR - Riyadh (RUH)
Prices out on the online tool at 48,835 SAR or ~$13,000.
Hopefully getting AA to ticket it might knock a couple hundred off that.
I'll ticket as taking the AA LAX-LHR flight but I'll probably change it to BA once they've ticketed.
Any advice on changes to this is appreciated.
Once I posted my original message I went on the OneWorld site and looked at the prices. I'm in the UK, and if I was to originate in Saudi instead of here, the price would be halved. OneWorld 6 continent in F looks to be $11500 on my conversion (SAR42800 straight to USD), much better than the $20000 priced from the US
I think BA New First is far superior to Flagship on AA but the real treat is HKG-JFK on CX F. I've only flown the Cathay First on one trip but it is incredible, the only superior flights I can remember are Emirates and Singapore in F (Or should that be R, they were suites). You have a long time to get hammered, eat and sleep, rinse and repeat.
I think this is a great itinerary because you hit the major cities and can do lots of side trips. In China I did a circle route of one way flights; Beijing, Xi'An, Chengdu, Lhasa, Shanghai, back to Beijing. Each flight was $100 or so and it was good fun, having done those cities I would say you have seen most of the big sights in China. Chengdu is home to the panda sanctuary as well as being a stepping stone to Tibet. If you're interested I booked my internal flights on ctrip.com, a lot of people use them. There is a competitor but I cannot remember the name right now
If you wanted to see Singapore and/or Taipei I would do these from Hong Kong, again in a circle of one-ways if possible. This is what I did when I did my first big tour of Asia, at age 19. Singapore is a fabulous city but you will run out of activities quickly, I would suggest more time in Taipei. Taipei 101 is what I went for initially but the various temples, museums and hot springs were a blast
Cambodia would be the obvious side trip from Bangkok. Angkor Wat is magnificent and something you really must see once in your lifetime
India is a problem as seeing the country properly would take a long, long time. While various areas have their sights and unique cultures, there are so many things to do and see that I'm sure it needs it's own trip. If you get the chance, Goa is a beautiful beach destination and very different to the rest of India
My mom is from Nairobi, so I must suggest a trip to Mombasa. Certain safety concerns in Kenya these days mean travelling extensively may not be the best idea but you should go see Mombasa
I would say Japan needs it's own trip to be seen properly but you can easily get the 7 day JR Rail Pass and travel the length of the country and take in Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Nara, Hiroshima, Kobe
Just some suggestions there. I don't know how long you intend on staying in each of these destinations but those would be the obvious side trips that I would want to book separately if I really wanted to explore
On a side note, Riyadh to Sydney via LHR sounds like a solid 30 hours of flying. You can't get QF F on that can you?