Hello everyone, after reading so many threads that helped me a lot, I’d like to share my experience in case it helps at least one person 😊. I completed (summer 2024, sorry for the delay) an RTW (round the world, with Star Alliance) amazing trip and I want to share my experience. Please note this is my humble opinion and knowledge; there might be a few things not correct but they were my understanding at the time I did it.
Summary before you read the long post, we did during August 2024 the below route:
Dubai > Cairo > (Istanbul) > Hong Kong > Macau > Beijing > Shanghai > (Tokyo) > Sydney > Tahiti > Bora Bora > San Francisco > Las Vegas > Grand Canyon > Los Angeles > Chicago > (Munich) > Seville > Barcelona > Cairo > Dubai
RTW Business Class (2 tickets): EGP 673131.60 (around 6.000EUR per person at that time) - Economy would have cost around half
Stayed mostly in Marriott hotels (because I like them, I am Lifetime Gold, and also because I applied to Platinum Challenge (successfully)). My wife and I decided to make a once-in-a-lifetime journey, taking the opportunity that she quit her job and I had all annual leaves still pending. I asked my company for an exception approval and took around 4 weeks off (had to work some hours here and there, but it essentially allowed me to travel).
Our main goal was to visit Bora Bora (our failed honeymoon destination because Covid), so we already knew about the RTW ticket as a very good option in terms of cost and opportunity to visit a few more destinations on the way. Because of this, we used Star Alliance. I also checked Air New Zealand (economy tickets had a very good price, around 1500 €/pp) but the number of possible cities didn’t fit our wish list. I’ll try to cut to the chase and not give many details about what we visited; I want to keep this post informative about the key points.
First, write down your wish-city list. Then, use a website like FlightConnections to see the connections; I found this easier than the RTW website for an initial idea of where I can travel from/to and organise my head about the final selection of cities (especially when you want to narrow down to only direct flights).
Second, get used to the RTW website. It seems easy but if you have a challenging itinerary you will spend hours changing dates and cities to find the correct combination (there is a limited number of flights available compared to what you can see in FlightConnections). What I learnt using it:
- Main cost is your first city. I live in Dubai so I already knew starting from Cairo was the cheapest option (by far), but I also checked a few other countries (in Europe, for convenience). Second best was Norway and third France.
- Different cities/airports have different charges, so you can reduce the cost by looking for other alternatives.
- Miles and number of flights impact the cost (obviously), but I didn’t see a significant extra cost for adding a few more stops. Again, play around and check final prices.
- The RTW website gives you a price when you select all flights, but go to the next page where it adds up all additional charges; this helps you understand the real final price.
- Stopovers (understandable) and flights from different airports within the same city count as additional segments! I didn’t know this until the very end and it drove me crazy when the website was complaining “you reached maximum number of flights” and I thought I was clearly not taking that many.
- Some flights have an additional 620 USD fee! If you travel around Asia/Australia pay attention to which option you pick (easy to spot because it tells you).
- For a reason I still do not know, some flights appear only when I select specific dates in other flights on the list, so play around with dates, not only with the one you are specifically looking at but also the ones before and after.
- Read the Terms and Conditions; it gives valuable information.
- Save every search you do; it keeps changing and many times you are somehow not able to go back to a valid route. I ended up with around 12 “valid” searches.
- On the top right corner of the website, click the three lines, “Contact Us”; it will give you an email. This is very important as it’s essentially the only way to contact them in case of any doubt or booking modification.
Once you have a valid route, just complete the process. For me it worked well and I didn’t have any issue, but if you do, send an email to them with your problem and they will sort it out. I emailed them around 5 times; they replied in less than a day and usually within 4h. I asked them about “suggestion” or “help” trying to find a specific route and that was not very helpful; everything else they were responsive and I had a good experience (including changing one of my flights – although I had to specifically look for it as they initially said there was not).
First challenge: I received my booking via Lufthansa (not sure if it is standard or not), but the booking number only works for flights operated by them. How do you do the check-in for the rest? According to them, you have to do it at the airport, but I had various experiences. Most important advice: once you have the booking,
write them back asking for the booking codes for remaining airlines; they will send you one per airline so you can at least select seats and, in most cases, even do check-in (depends on visas etc.). My experience: Turkish: seat selection (app only). Air China: nothing, had to do at airport. ANA: seat selection (from Lufthansa website; didn’t try ANA). Air New Zealand: seat selection. United: seat selection. Lufthansa: seat selection.
Also, a quick business-class summary (obviously depends on aircraft): best overall, between Turkish and ANA; Turkish more modern but service better in ANA; both flat seats very comfortable (Turkish wins on the seat). United Polaris was the newest but the footwell is very narrow and I wasn’t comfortable (same with Lufthansa). Air China felt like premium economy (and very dated) but service was great. Air New Zealand had newer cabins but the setup is quirky (individual seats, less space) ,I liked it but not as much as the rest. Amenity kits: Turkish (Ferragamo) best; United fanny pack convenient for sightseeing; Lufthansa Porsche Design nice. You’ll usually find sockets, eye mask, ear buds, toothbrush, creams...
With so many flights and short stays in each city, I convinced my wife to carry only hand luggage, for a month, yes, it´s possible
. We both have Rimowa Cabin Plus — pricey, but I can’t recommend it enough. We also had an additional hand item each (backpack and LV Keepall 50) for cables, cameras, laptop, etc., and it was enough. Note: if you don’t travel business, you’ll need to weigh your carry-on at the airport (online check-in isn’t always possible) and depending on airline it’s either 7 or 10 kg, so they might check it even if it’s small (happened to us once).
We started our journey form Dubai. I will rate the flights, between 0-worst experience ever, 4-budget airline,7 – good premium economy or low business experience and 10-new First class cabin.
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Dubai > Cairo (EgyptAir, economy, not included in RTW ticket).
We flew in Airbus A330, economy. Not a better start than cancelling you the first flight, a day before departure 😊. They booked us in the next one same day, thankfully, but I had planned a solid 5h stop over to reduce any delay risk and was reduced to 2.5h, which was a bit stressful as I couldn´t do online checkin and missing first flight will be a pain (tbh not sure what would have happened if you miss a flight. Also note that you can only re-book via email, so not “urgent” request are possible (as far as I know). I would probably recommend now to flight a day earlier if possible). As I could´t check-in, and relatively short stop over, I went to Turkish office desk at Dubai airport and luckly there was a good guy who tried to help me as much as he could. He couldn´t give me the boarding pass and told me there was an issue with the ticket as they were not “lincked”, an easy issue to resolve he said but that was the reason I could check int, but my wife couldn´t check-in using Turkish App (NO website). He requested (email) internally to do the checkin and let them know we will be travelling with Egypt Air. He called me 20 minutes later, he confirmed checkin was done and to pick boarding pass in transfer desk at Cairo airport. If you flight to catch your first flight, I would recommend you do with airline that arrives to same terminal, it will smooth things and reduce times. We ended up arriving only 20 minutes late, got to transfer desk and after explaning the situation an airline person took us to checkin desk, got boarding pass and took us back inside terminal area skipping again all controls (I believe because we travelled in business, I doubt they will be so nice otherwise), in 10 minutes we were at the lounge with our boarding passes (finally some peace). As we didn´t check-in until very last minute, we didn´t get two seats together, but we managed to change them while seating (thanks to a friendly unknown person). I bit old aircraft, average food, overall 5/10.
Cairo > Istanbul > Hong Kong (Turkish Airlines, business). Date: 25 Jul 2024. Duration: 14:25 (+1 night).
CAI 21:40 → IST 00:05 — TK695 — Airbus A321.
We flew in Airbus A321, business class. I was expecting just to be sitting in front rows, but it had very comfortable seats (you can search in google “a321 business class turkish airlines”). Nice flight, including very nice meal. Overall 7/10.
IST 01:35 → HKG 17:05 — TK70 — Boeing 777-300ER.
We flew in Boeing 777, business class. Very nice seats (flat bed), super comfortable. It included, slippers and small Ferragamo toiletry bag, with socks, toothbrush and sleep eye mask (among others), very nice and convenient. Food and beverages were good but not excellent. Flight was about 11h, slept around 6h and I felt I could have done another 10h. Overall 8/10.
First important recommendations in China: install AliPay (extremely useful for payments and taxis, including DiDi (kind of Uber equivalent), remember when you enter the cab, they will ask for the last 2 digits of your register phone and to enter your pin at the end of the journey to pay (it´s not automatically)). In Trip.com you can buy eSim for China and cheap. Majority of people, including those ones working at hotel and airport, do NOT speak English, be patient and have a translator in your phone.
Hong Kong: Stayed at St Regis, probably top 3 hotels I´ve ever stayed. We booked via FHS (Amex Fine Hotels and Resorst). Got very nice upgrade to corner harbour views, breakfast, late check out at 4pm, 2 clothet pressing per person and day (convenient to prepare your night outfit), butler (bring coffee/tea twice a day, iced, and helped printing boat tickets). Hotel and room up to StRegis standard, totally recommended. Breakfast was good (not excellent) but a la carte. Gym was nice, pool is outdoor and was raining so did not use (but looked just okay). With 100$ credit we decided to use to reduce the bill at Run restaurant, 2 Michelin Stars… I would not recommend, use the credit for drinks u other restaurant. We enjoy both, street food and fine dining. We love eating and have been before in Michelin Start, I´m surprise this one had 2 stars. Also, food in Hong Kong is very cheap (10-20 USD $ per person), this one was 180USD for two, not worthy at all. I was a bit concerned about the location of the hotel, but considering that in one day you can do pretty much all relevant activities, spending 10 minutes more to walk to the metro (you will need to buy Octopus metro card with 200 cash/pp, there are ATMs and Revolut card worked well) was not a problem. I would recommend, pick the hotel you like because everything is well connected (easy to understand) and there are not many things to do, so that extra walk is actually good to see the city. If you don´t do the big Budha, 1 full day or 2 should be enough. When landed, immigration was quick, we took an Uber from airport (was told many taxis only accept cash + taxi charge you an extra for each extra bag), easy to find pick up area based on Uber indications, paid around 35 USD. To avoid jetlag we took melatonin pills 2h before going to bed (in Hong Kong) and it worked surprisingly well, considering that we slept in the flight around 6h (waking up like at mid day) and I daily issues for sleeping.
Hong Kong > Macau: we took a speed boat (7 minutes by taxi from St. Regis). You need to pick up the ticket from the office (printed copy didn’t work). Easy in/out.
Macau: Arrived and just at the exit you have both, Taxis (no uber nor DiDi) and buses. I read very bad taxis reviewed, so decided to take the bus (you need cash or Alipay), easy to find, pay and takes 10 minutes to arrive to Londoner area. We stayed at St Regis (didn´t book through FHS because there was high price different, no idea why), had an upgrade with Eiffel views. The hotel is dated, not very nice rooms but price is also low, didn´t try the breakfast but service was very good and overall the property was nice and well located. It was heavily raining so couldn´t visit old town, we just stayed at Londoner area. I´m not an expert but I would totally recommend this area (Londoner, you can find few hotels). You can spend hours walking around, many places for eat (big recommendation The North restaurant, bit tricky to find), you will see Big Ben, Eiffel tower, Venetian, among other main attractions). Also, it seems you get discounts in restaurants if you have kind of Player Casino card, investigate before you go. On our way back, we talked with St Regis manager about our travel and he had the kind details of providing complimentary transfer to airport on their car.
Macau > Beijing (China Southern, economy).We flew in a A321. This ticket was outside RTW as there was not availability to travel from Macau. Flew in economy, had lunch but the aircraft was dated. Normal experience. Business class was just wider seats (still dated). I´d probably give 6/10.
Beijing:
Arrival: We used DiDi (following e-Hailing signal, easy to find). As it is in the parking, it is a bit chaotic as many people are picking taxis at the same time. The App allow you to text in English and make translation to Chinese, so you can “communicate” with the driver. After a bit of confusion, we found him.
City: We tried the metro once (you need to pay with Alipay, for cash is asking you for ID) but we noticed the taxis were super cheap, 30 mint ride for 5 USD, so we ended up doing only DiDi. Important, take the passport always with you, it´s needed to enter pretty much anywhere. Also, the Forbidden City do NOT sell tickets same day, book in advance and if you do not find them, book with local tour, rest are okay. Great wall is a must and I do recommend private tour and avoid pick hours (super crowded). We stayed 3 days, in two you can visit the most popular places and another for Great Wall. Didn´t feel like wanting to be longer.
Hotel: We stayed at St Regis, booked via FHS, got an upgrade to bigger room, breakfast and 4pm check out. Very dated hotel and rooms. Service was very poor and didn´t like it at all. The only good thing was the breakfast. I would not stay here, worst St Regis I´ve ever been. Probably I should have picked (I´ve not stayed though) the Renaissance closer to Forbidden city or RC, at the end I was using taxi to go everywhere.
Beijing > Shanghai (Air China, business). Date: 01 Aug 2024. Duration: 2:15.
PEK 20:20 → PVG 22:35 — CA1883 — Airbus A320.
Second” flight and another problem, Air China said I couldn´t use the ticket. No one spoke English, so after arguing using a translation App, I had to showed evidences (tickets) from previous flight to somehow show them that I took previous flights (they said something about not taking a previous flight). After around 10 minutes a manger showed up and resolved it in another 10 minutes. Flight was delayed almost 3h and I did not received any notification, I only noticed when opened Lufthansa App before leaving the hotel.
We flew on A320. It was dated but still nice (recline seat only but enough for short flight), crew was very welcoming and had a very good overall experience, including nice dinner. 7/10.
Shanghai:
Arrival: We used DiDi (following e-Hailing signal, easy to find) but this time, for some reason, the App didn´t allow us to book the ride. There were many driver (in the e-Hailing area) asking if we needed a taxi, these guys usually give you a high fare but we used the DiDi App as way of negotiate the price at the same as it was showing in the App.
City: This time we didn´t even try the metro, DiDi for everything. I liked much more than Beijing, we spend 2 full days, visited most popular places but I could have spent more time just going around the city.
Hotel: I read St Regis was not well located and it was under renovation, so decided to book somewhere else, after some thoughts between RC Pudong and Edition, we stayed in the second. Booked via FHS, got upgraded to bigger room (not great views), breakfast (good), 4pm check out and 100USD credit that we used between the rooftop, super nice, has a minimum spend if you are in the sofa area but nothing if you are in the stalls., totally recommend a visit. And the YONE RESTAURANT & BAR , very nice and good value for money. I would recommend to book if possible (we were luckily seated there) the table closer to the window with bund views, absolutely amazing diner with bund views, book the table, have the dinner and thank me later 😊(note the bund is lighted until 11pm, after that the views are not that amazing).
Shanghai > Tokyo > Sydney (ANA, business). Date: 04 Aug 2024. Duration: 15:40.
PVG 01:35 → HND 05:30 — NH968 — Airbus A321.
HND 08:35 → SYD 19:15 — NH889 — Boeing 787-9.
I couldn´t find direct flight from Asia to Sydney, only option was with Singapore Airline but as it was with A380, it had a supplement of 620USD per person, I have flown many times with Emirates so didn´t want to pay the extra for just few hours saving. Stopping on Tokyo was the best of the options. Both flights were very good (bit dated, but good space and quality) and you could choose between Japanese or Western menu. Was one of the best, didn´t feel a long flight.
Sydney:
Arrival: Finally English-speaking country, much easier everything, we used Uber.
City: We used the train to get to city centre and then we walked around. There are not many things to see, we just spend one day including wales watching. Clearly Australia deserves a proper trip but I had to stop somewhere before arriving to Tahiti and although was winter in both, Sydney and Auckland, in New Zealand the whether forecast was terrible so decided to stop on Sydney although flight connections make more sense to go to Auckland.
Hotel: Stayed in a friend house, but the Sheraton was well located and I would probably have chosen that one.
Sydney > Auckland > Tahiti (Air New Zealand, business). Date: 07 Aug 2024. Duration: 10:40.
SYD 11:50 → AKL 16:50 — NZ104 — Airbus A321neo.
AKL 19:35 → PPT 02:30 (+1) — NZ902 — Boeing 787-9.
Airbus A321neo, plane are new cabins, they are nice, the set up is just individual seats with small space, the distribution is really good to maximise Business cabin (for them) but you get less comfort. Even though, I liked it but didn´t sleep nor try to put on flat seat (not sure if possible, didn´t see anyone totally flat). If you travel in this direction, be mindful you will have the weird experience of living the same day twice, which is important to correctly book your hotel. We left at XXX and arrive at XXX of the same day.
Tahiti:
Arrival: when I travel to remote island, with small airports and late nights, I like to book taxi in advance. I did it through the lodge (some basic to just stay over) we booked. I would recommend you do the same, airport is tiny and didn´t see many taxis around or if you are going to stay more than half day perhaps book a car and explore the island (I did it…not much to see TBH, perhaps better to go to Moorea. Where we rented it, allows you to take the ferry and go to Moorea).
Hotel: very simple lodge to spend two nights before my next flight. I liked it, simple but new, quiet and close to airport (although not enough to walk with luggage).
Tahiti > Bora Bora (local airline).
We took one of the first flight in the morning to make the most od the day, I would recommend you do the same if possible. It was a small plane, if you bring large luggage most likely you will need to check in, they also weight it (max 6kg), but airport is so small that everything was quick and so, it was to pick up the luggage (literally less than 10 mint). I´ve read in other blogs about alcohol. There is nothing to buy and when we passed security, they were checking liquids so not chances to hide it either.
Arrival: when you arrive to Bora Bora (tiny airport) can´t buy alcohol either, so will need to go to main island. Most likely your hotel will be there waiting for you, so they will take care of everything. I´ve been in Maldives, and although Bora Bora is better and incredible beatiuful, in my opinion there is not huge difference, and it would depend on your hotel but it is also more expensive. If you considering both and you are either stretching your budget or is very far, I would recommend to go to Maldives.
Hotel:
We stayed at the St Regis, with points. I did read so many bad reviews about the hotel that I was not expecting much, but it was very nice. The main complain is that is kind of outdated, and it is but overall is a very nice property and the butler service it has been the best one I´ve ever had (some minor issues but overall, very good). We booked a reef side villa, did not get upgraded (gold) upon check in, although few hours later (were waiting for room to be ready), butler showed up with good news, they offered an overwater villa. We have been in the St Regis Maldives, best hotel I´ve ever been, and it is much nicer (newer) than this one but still, although bit outdated, the scenery is so gorgeous that we did not care much. Also is bigger, has the lagoon, can go to another island and beach is nicer.
The most important advice, do NOT get the meal plan. I read in various forum it is a good deal but I can confirm it is NOT. If you compare by just paying cash: Breakfast is exactly same price and forces you to take it all days. Lunch: might be okay depending on what you choose but most likely you are not hungry after a buffet and having dinner at 6-7pm. Dinner, even if you choose the 3 more expensive dishes in the menu, you will not reach the target, so literally by paying cash you will save money. I choose the meal plan first day, on my second day I went to reception and complaint about it, they removed it and we continued a la carte. Best restaurant by bar is the French, we had 3 times dinner there. Italian was good and the Asian one…will not recommend. I asked in advance for the different activities and booked some of them (including free ones) but I noticed when we arrived, there were more that they ones shared, so I´d recommend you book in advance but also, when arrive go to concierge and ask about what is plan during you stay and book accordingly. Snorkel trip is a must, and considering you will need to pay for transfer to main island, is better to book directly with the hotel. Gym and tenis court are good. Spa looks nice although didn´t use it. There is free suncream and aloe vera at the beach area, so do not worry too much if you forget it. Overall amazing stay.
Bora Bora > Tahiti > San Francisco (United, business). Date: 13 Aug 2024. Duration: 08:10 (+1 night).
PPT 21:10 → SFO 08:20 — UA114 — Boeing 787-9.
We took last flight to Tahiti. Then to SF. Not sure for other, but if you fly on business with United there is a decent Lounge at the airport (what surprised me). I had large expectation on the United new cabins. They were good, but felt a bit narrow and when you put it totally flat, the feet area is very narrow, not very comfortable, couldn´t sleep much. Food and service was okay, nothing brilliant.
SF
Arrival: maybe we were lucky, but the security border took like 5 minutes. Then head out to take a Uber and directly to hotel.
Hotel: we stayed at the Palace. Very nice building, common areas were great. I booked through FHS, got 200USD credit (I used it on the restaurant), breakfast and they upgraded to a junior suite (I believe it was called). Big room, but kind of classy. Didn´t particularly like it. The location of the hotel was very good and I would stay again. Buses and metro just at the door, we used them to move around. The breakfast was excellent. It was time to clean again the clothes, I bought an US eSim just to get a number. They picked it and drop it efficiently. We visited all the tipical tourist places + walked a lot. I loved the city, and Alcatraz visit. Just note, SF is very windy and it was super cold even for August.
San Francisco > Las Vegas (United, “First” = really premium economy). Date: 16 Aug 2024. Duration: 1:42.
SFO 16:55 → LAS 18:37 — UA1995 — (RTW flight; scheduled aircraft 737-800). Short/regular.
Las Vegas:
We flew in “first” (was excited first time I saw it until I realise is how United call Business or I should say Premium Economy?). Short flight, regular plane, nothing worth it.
Arrival:
Directly took an Uber and directly to hotel.
Hotel:
Booked at Bellagio through FHS. We got 60$ credit for breakfast per day, 100$ credit (we used it at some restaurant in different hotel MGM chain) but we didn´t get upgrade upon check in as hotel was fully booked (I booked one of the room recently renewated). They kindly suggested to come next morning, we did and they offered another room "Spa Premier". Not sure if was that special room as they advertised, but it has been the most comfortable sleep of my whole stay (if not ever). The room was nice, nothing extraordinary but the bed was top notch. I was reading a lot about what to stay, first time in Vegas, Wynn, Bellagio, Cosmo, Palazzo…. For first time, if you are interested to move around a visit few hotels, etc, I totally recommend Bellagio because location and overall nice property. If you are planning to just chill out at your hotel and eventually go around, then pick something that fits you (Wynn seems to be more luxury although I didn´t have that impression when I visited). Cosmo is better for party vibe. Next time I might stay at Wynn but just for the sake of be able to compare, I really liked Bellagio (although I was playing poker at Aura). I notice there was a huge different room price between weekend and weekdays, if you do not mind, I´d recommend you check, you can save big bucks.
Las Vegas > Canyon
I rented a car at Hertz, didn´t have good experience with them. We drove to Canyon a visited few key points. We stayed at random hotel at Page, went very early in morning to Antilope Canyon and then to horseshoe bend. Absolutely amazing, one of the best things of the travel and totally recommend it.
Las Vegas > Los Angeles (United, first). Date: 20 Aug 2024. Duration: 1:17.
LAS 16:39 → LAX 17:56 — UA684 — (RTW flight; scheduled aircraft A320).
Flew with United, was okay.
Arrival:
We booked an Uber and directly to Hotel.
Hotel:
Booked at Sunset Tower through FHS. We got 60$ credit for breakfast, 100$ credit, minibar and parking are included, and not sure if we got upgrade it but room was not great. I read a lot about where to stay in LA, West Hollywood was the choice and I also read few recommendations about this hotel but I truly do not understand. The only thing I liked it, was the vibes and history of this hotel, besides that everything was poor. Restaurant was bad, really bad, but was full every night, cant get mi mind around it. Breakfast was average and low for a 5star. Service was poor and property is bad. The windows are single glass, which is very noisy. My bed was just below the air output of the AC, so I couldn´t sleep with the AC on. I would not recommend at all this property if you are looking for luxury stay. The only thing good were all the perks you got (minibar, parking, credits…). We went one day to Universal (recommend, although if freaking expensive, to take the skip the line tickets) and had time to ride and see everything. Second day we rented a car, was easy to drive, easy to park, I´d recommend as well.
Los Angeles > Chicago (United, first). Date: 23 Aug 2024. Duration: 4:15.
LAX 07:00 → ORD 13:15 — UA622 — (RTW flight; scheduled aircraft 737-900ER).
Flew with United, was okay.
Arrival:
We checked, and public transport was same time than taxi (and way cheaper), so decided to take the train and a bus, was in the morning and had previous good experience with public transport. Was okay, we actually did the same on the way back.
Hotel:
All hotels I looked were pretty much in the same area so I just picked one with good reviews, the EMC2. The breakfast was very good, a la carte, I´d recommend. The rest… was okay, just a normal hotel, I didn´t like as much as the rating. Next time I´ll likely choose something different. Location was good but if you can stay a bit closer to the canal, better.
Chicago > Munich > Seville (Lufthansa, business). Date: 25 Aug 2024. Duration: 14:00 (+1 night).
ORD 15:35 → MUC 07:20 — LH437 — (RTW flight; scheduled aircraft 787-9).
MUC 09:35 → SVQ 12:35 — LH1822 — (RTW flight; scheduled aircraft A320neo).
Was a dated plane, service and food was good. We couldn´t sleep much as we left at 5pm and arrive at 7am.
Arrival:
We took a taxi to our parent house, although we live in Dubai, we are from this beautiful city.
Hotel:
We were at our home but as I am from here, let me give you some recommendations. The best location is the closer you can stay to Cathedral. I stayed last year at Querencia and although room are very small, location, design, and rooftop make it one of my favourites. EME hotel, has a design that I´m not big fan, but it´s difficult to beat the location and the amazing views to the cathedral. There are plenty more, but those have the best location IMO. My favourite is the Alfonso XIII, amazing hotel, but maybe because I got married there. I´m from this city, so I´m not objective, but I have visited dozens of countries and cities around the world and I can tell it is difficult to beat Spain, what you get for what you pay, the weather, the culture, the food… I have not seen anything like it. If you have not visited Seville, I highly recommend it, avoid June – Sept as it gets very hot.
Seville > Barcelona (economy). Can’t remember airline, this was not RTW ticket.
Barcelona > Cairo (EgyptAir, business). Date: 05 Sep 2024. Duration: 04:10.
BCN 16:25 → CAI 21:35 — MS768 — (RTW flight; scheduled aircraft A320).
Cairo > Dubai (EgyptAir, economy). End of itinerary. This was not RTW ticket.
That’s it — hope this helps someone planning their own RTW adventure!
Summary:
