Eastbound OWE ex Europe suggestions?
May 14, 2002, 6:59 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Sweden
Posts: 195
Eastbound OWE ex Europe suggestions?
I'm a Oneworld newbie looking for some insights in planning a 6 continents OWE. Ex ARN, CDG or LHR. I gather that many of you has done a lot of OWE:s I was curious what routing you would suggest. I'm not necessarily looking for the ultimate mileage earning legs, since this is supposed to be a vacation as well. Currently statusless with all OW carriers.
May 14, 2002, 8:44 am
#2
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Circle City
Posts: 3,568
You need to tell a lot more about what you want to do. How long are you going to be gone for? What specific cities do you want to visit? Do you like cities or the countryside? Do you like to interact with locals or be pampered in a sterile environment? Are you physically able to do more adventureous activities? Do you even want to? Do you like mountains, islands, heat, snow, rain, beaches, lakes, rivers, etc.? Any other info you could give would help everyone here. Also answer taking in mind whether you are going with someone and what their likes and dislikes are, and for that matter, say if you are going with someone. It does matter, since some places are more friendly toward "single" people than others.
May 14, 2002, 9:41 am
#3
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: LAX
Posts: 3,639
Also be sure to d/l the "all OneWorld carriers" version of Cathay's Trip Planner. As a software product it's B- at best (seems to be an OAG product) but if you don't let the quirks bother you it's a useful planning tool as you can easily tell if you can get from "A" to "B" on OneWorld.
If eastbound isn't important to you, some of us think westbound leaves you less jet-lagged, btw.
If you've pretty much ignored FF programs on the basis of not being able to accumulate many miles - the million-milers here probably don't remember how useless those first few thousand miles are - be reminded that an rtw can get you a decent account and even some status - look into AA's Platinum Challenge if you haven't already.
And you realize that the price of the rtw varies by almost a factor of two depending on where you start? If I lived in Europe I'd whimper as pitifully as possible at the friendliest OW RTW desk I could find, about starting in Iceland (or is it Greenland?). No OW carrier, thus the common wisdom is you can't start there, but a very low price if you can convince them you're a native and they're being oppressive in making you pay more.
Be sure to check Fewmiles' excellent site for rules and fares, too.
Have fun!
If eastbound isn't important to you, some of us think westbound leaves you less jet-lagged, btw.
If you've pretty much ignored FF programs on the basis of not being able to accumulate many miles - the million-milers here probably don't remember how useless those first few thousand miles are - be reminded that an rtw can get you a decent account and even some status - look into AA's Platinum Challenge if you haven't already.
And you realize that the price of the rtw varies by almost a factor of two depending on where you start? If I lived in Europe I'd whimper as pitifully as possible at the friendliest OW RTW desk I could find, about starting in Iceland (or is it Greenland?). No OW carrier, thus the common wisdom is you can't start there, but a very low price if you can convince them you're a native and they're being oppressive in making you pay more.
Be sure to check Fewmiles' excellent site for rules and fares, too.
Have fun!
May 14, 2002, 9:49 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Sweden
Posts: 195
I will be travelling with my Wife, we are both around 25. Together we have been on long bus tours of about 4000 miles several times, logging most parts of Europe. Since then we've became a bit more fussy about how we travel. We don't need pampering, although we appreciate access to hot showers and have a safe roof over our heads.
We do enjoy nature and shorter hiking trips. We see this trip as a way to sample a little bit of everything, so we can return to the places we like to see more of at a later time.
Places we definately want to visit is:
HEL,HKG,NRT,SIN,SYD,AKL,SFO,SEA,CYYG (Not possible with Oneworld? Best I found was do a stop in CYYZ and take Air Canada for around $400 pp), a stop in EGPH on the way home would be nice.
Trip would be 45+/- days. Some of theese destinations is more of a "want to see" character rather than "want to live with the natives".
Africa and South America is sofar blank pages in our book, so any help here is appreciated. We would like to see the "Wild Africa", but perhaps from a safe vantage point.
We do enjoy nature and shorter hiking trips. We see this trip as a way to sample a little bit of everything, so we can return to the places we like to see more of at a later time.
Places we definately want to visit is:
HEL,HKG,NRT,SIN,SYD,AKL,SFO,SEA,CYYG (Not possible with Oneworld? Best I found was do a stop in CYYZ and take Air Canada for around $400 pp), a stop in EGPH on the way home would be nice.
Trip would be 45+/- days. Some of theese destinations is more of a "want to see" character rather than "want to live with the natives".
Africa and South America is sofar blank pages in our book, so any help here is appreciated. We would like to see the "Wild Africa", but perhaps from a safe vantage point.
May 14, 2002, 11:29 am
#6
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Circle City
Posts: 3,568
These are purely personal opinions, so take them with a grain of salt.
First of all, C and J are the same. Both are business class. Some carriers (AY) use C, and some (AA) use J. Actually, though, most of your bookings will be in D class with a business class ticket. Your main exception will be in the US, where domestic segments are booked in A. First class is booked in A, with a few exceptions here and there.
HEL: Not sure I would waste my time on Helsinki *IN YOUR CASE*. It was a nice city, but if you have only 45 days, spend it further away. You can always go to Helsinki from Sweden for a reasonable price at some other point.
HKG: Unless you are going to Macau or the true mainland, a few days will suffice. Not cheap, but not super-expensive.
NRT: Again, unless you are going to branch out of Tokyo, a few days is fine. VERY expensive. To take the train to the city, it's about $50 round trip.
SIN: Haven't been.
SYD: I am one of the 3 people on the planet who didn't like Sydney. Not even a little bit. Well...I did like the beaches. Certainly take the ferry out to Manly. It is cheap, and has some of the best views of the city. But in Australia, I liked Brisbane and Perth a lot more. Haven't been to Melbourne, but I have heard it is best of all.
AKL: Haven't been, but have been told that you can spend your whole 45 days in NZ and still not want to leave.
SFO: One of my favorite US cities. Good choice, especially if you haven't been to the US.
SEA: I have a bit of a biased opinion because I have been there a lot. I used to go to see my relatives, so I liked going, but the city had a sort of "hmmm....well, this is nice." San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and as much as I hate it there, even Miami were a lot more interesting and enjoyable to me. The exception is if you are going to get outside the city and do a lot of naturie stuff. If so, Washington has some of the more beautiful forests and natural land that I have ever seen.
CYYG: Winnipeg is that? Not been. I think Calgary is cheaper and closer, though, than Vancouver.
Only place in Africa I have been is Mauritius, which I liked a lot.
You completely left off South America. If you go, I would try to go to Macchu Picchu. Especially given your interests. I have not been to Easter Island or Rio, but I have been told they are really worth the trips.
6 continents in 45 days is a lot. Consider dropping to 4 or 5 somehow or leaving more time. Closer to 2 months would be more appropriate. Look at it this way. You have 9 destinations listed, with two continents missing. Lets assume you put two stops in each of the two, so 13 total. A fair assessment is one day of flying per destination, so you are down to 32 days of sightseeing time, or 2.5 days per location. The extra two weeks would give you another day to day and a half for each place. In any event, have fun.
First of all, C and J are the same. Both are business class. Some carriers (AY) use C, and some (AA) use J. Actually, though, most of your bookings will be in D class with a business class ticket. Your main exception will be in the US, where domestic segments are booked in A. First class is booked in A, with a few exceptions here and there.
HEL: Not sure I would waste my time on Helsinki *IN YOUR CASE*. It was a nice city, but if you have only 45 days, spend it further away. You can always go to Helsinki from Sweden for a reasonable price at some other point.
HKG: Unless you are going to Macau or the true mainland, a few days will suffice. Not cheap, but not super-expensive.
NRT: Again, unless you are going to branch out of Tokyo, a few days is fine. VERY expensive. To take the train to the city, it's about $50 round trip.
SIN: Haven't been.
SYD: I am one of the 3 people on the planet who didn't like Sydney. Not even a little bit. Well...I did like the beaches. Certainly take the ferry out to Manly. It is cheap, and has some of the best views of the city. But in Australia, I liked Brisbane and Perth a lot more. Haven't been to Melbourne, but I have heard it is best of all.
AKL: Haven't been, but have been told that you can spend your whole 45 days in NZ and still not want to leave.
SFO: One of my favorite US cities. Good choice, especially if you haven't been to the US.
SEA: I have a bit of a biased opinion because I have been there a lot. I used to go to see my relatives, so I liked going, but the city had a sort of "hmmm....well, this is nice." San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and as much as I hate it there, even Miami were a lot more interesting and enjoyable to me. The exception is if you are going to get outside the city and do a lot of naturie stuff. If so, Washington has some of the more beautiful forests and natural land that I have ever seen.
CYYG: Winnipeg is that? Not been. I think Calgary is cheaper and closer, though, than Vancouver.
Only place in Africa I have been is Mauritius, which I liked a lot.
You completely left off South America. If you go, I would try to go to Macchu Picchu. Especially given your interests. I have not been to Easter Island or Rio, but I have been told they are really worth the trips.
6 continents in 45 days is a lot. Consider dropping to 4 or 5 somehow or leaving more time. Closer to 2 months would be more appropriate. Look at it this way. You have 9 destinations listed, with two continents missing. Lets assume you put two stops in each of the two, so 13 total. A fair assessment is one day of flying per destination, so you are down to 32 days of sightseeing time, or 2.5 days per location. The extra two weeks would give you another day to day and a half for each place. In any event, have fun.
May 14, 2002, 12:22 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Sweden
Posts: 195
Airline typo, I meant HECA. 
CYYG is Prince Edwards Island. It's a lifelong dream of my Wife to visit the land of Anne of Greengables. Considering the long drive I think flight is the only option. I'm leaning towards opting out South America fttb, leaving AKL-SFO instead.
I've also read many different accounts on Sidney, and a TA recommended Perth-Sydney-Fiji-Auckland. I guess I can't go to Australia and not go to Sydney, even if it's just for a short stopover.
CYYG is Prince Edwards Island. It's a lifelong dream of my Wife to visit the land of Anne of Greengables. Considering the long drive I think flight is the only option. I'm leaning towards opting out South America fttb, leaving AKL-SFO instead.
I've also read many different accounts on Sidney, and a TA recommended Perth-Sydney-Fiji-Auckland. I guess I can't go to Australia and not go to Sydney, even if it's just for a short stopover.
May 14, 2002, 1:18 pm
#8
Join Date: May 2001
Programs: AA PLT 2MM, LH SEN *, HH Gold
Posts: 3,075
Current OWE prices ex Sweden are found here: http://www01.finnair.com/se/flights/...pristabell.asp
Any particular reason to go with a OWE? If you're not after miles and if you're going to cut a continent or two anyway you may want to also consider a Star RTW (where you can include Air Canada flights):
http://www.scandinavian.net/travel/s...arrtwfirst.asp
Any particular reason to go with a OWE? If you're not after miles and if you're going to cut a continent or two anyway you may want to also consider a Star RTW (where you can include Air Canada flights):
http://www.scandinavian.net/travel/s...arrtwfirst.asp
May 14, 2002, 2:48 pm
#9
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Circle City
Posts: 3,568
By no means do I want to discourage you from going to Sydney. A good friend of mine loves it there. I think that if his company would transfer him with the same salary, he would do it in a heartbeat. It just didn't gel with me. Even the Rocks area didn't impress me much, but to each their own. I found BNE to be the most comfortable of any of them. The city is smaller and easier to navigate, there is a really good cultural center across the river, and the people were generally friendlier to me. Like Perth, there were lots of pedestrian streets and a very convivial atmosphere. I didn't find any of this in Sydney. It seemed to have a bit of a Disneylandesque atmosphere. Sort of real, but with a really fake feel. I kept waiting for Mickey Mouse to jump out from behind a boomerang shop while riding a kangaroo. There are cities that I deplore. Sydney is not one of them. There are cities I love to death. Sydney is not one of them. It is like San Diego to me. It's there.
Now what I *do* want to do is go to the outback and see places like Alice Springs and Ayers Rock. Then get up to Darwin and Cairns area. But I decided a long while ago that I would wait until I had someone to do it with.
As I said, because people are *very* passionate about Australia, these are only *my* opinions. I mean no disrespect, and just like there are people that hate Los Angeles because they regard it as a smoggy, gang infested, cultural and culinary wasteland where the people drive down the people-sewers in their beemers, with a decaf, non-fat, soy milk, all organic cafe latte with a twist in one hand and a cell phone in another, all while trying to apply their makeup, everyone is entitled to their own opinions.
Now what I *do* want to do is go to the outback and see places like Alice Springs and Ayers Rock. Then get up to Darwin and Cairns area. But I decided a long while ago that I would wait until I had someone to do it with.
As I said, because people are *very* passionate about Australia, these are only *my* opinions. I mean no disrespect, and just like there are people that hate Los Angeles because they regard it as a smoggy, gang infested, cultural and culinary wasteland where the people drive down the people-sewers in their beemers, with a decaf, non-fat, soy milk, all organic cafe latte with a twist in one hand and a cell phone in another, all while trying to apply their makeup, everyone is entitled to their own opinions.
May 14, 2002, 5:42 pm
#10
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: LAX
Posts: 3,639
I try never to give travel advice because it's hard enough to know the likes and dislikes of your spouse and/or best buddy, much less an e-person. How-some-ever, I have got to say there's no reason to spend any time in Singapore, unless you're into touring hard-drive mfg plants. It's a fine city, but note it's never a tourist 'destination' - people may pass through and have a look, but no one ever says "hey, I'm going to Singapore on vacation."
Before embarking on global exploration, you must do a lot of reading. Not the likes of Fodor with all the details about every monument, and every place on the planet a "must see", but anecdotal stories, "My family trip around the world" kind of thing. We can't get to know you well enough to advise you, but in a couple of hundred pages you can get to know Fred Traveler, and see places through his eyes, and know if you really want to spend time there.
BTW if Bali makes your list, look here: http://www.balitravelforum.com/index.html for chatter by mostly young Aussies. The Lonely Planets people have a forum about a lot of places that attracts comments from young people. Search Google for Thorn Tree.
The Cathay travel planner is a largish download available free from their site. It includes timetables for all the OW carriers (if you get that version) and a fairly easy way to access them. Thus you can ask for a OW routing between HKG and Seychelles, and quickly learn that it entails a visit to LHR in the process, and thus may choose to rethink tht path.
Before embarking on global exploration, you must do a lot of reading. Not the likes of Fodor with all the details about every monument, and every place on the planet a "must see", but anecdotal stories, "My family trip around the world" kind of thing. We can't get to know you well enough to advise you, but in a couple of hundred pages you can get to know Fred Traveler, and see places through his eyes, and know if you really want to spend time there.
BTW if Bali makes your list, look here: http://www.balitravelforum.com/index.html for chatter by mostly young Aussies. The Lonely Planets people have a forum about a lot of places that attracts comments from young people. Search Google for Thorn Tree.
The Cathay travel planner is a largish download available free from their site. It includes timetables for all the OW carriers (if you get that version) and a fairly easy way to access them. Thus you can ask for a OW routing between HKG and Seychelles, and quickly learn that it entails a visit to LHR in the process, and thus may choose to rethink tht path.
May 14, 2002, 5:49 pm
#11
Join Date: Aug 2001
Programs: AA Plat & LTG; QF LTG
Posts: 9,837
As an international visitor, you must see Sydney. But you probably only need a few days in Sydney. There is so much more to see in Australia than just Sydney, so be a little adventurous. If you like tropical islands, try to get to the Whitsundays (QF fly direct Sydney to Hamilton Island (although I think is a single-class B717 flight, but only 2 hours - the BNE-HTI uses two-class 737).
Other places in Australia that are worth getting to if you have the sectors are Melbourne (great restaurants, thearte, shopping etc), Ayres Rock, Gold Coast.;
In New Zealand, don't hang around in Aukland too long. Its just another harbour city (much smaller than Sydney, and the harbour is not as large/good). Get out to The Bay of Islands, Rotorua etc and see the thermal activity that NZ is famous for.
An organised bus tour is a good way to see the highlights of NZ in a short time. If you have the time, get to the south island and into the mountains/glaciers (depending on the time of year - summer in NZ is great sightseeing, winter is good snow skiing).
By the way, the only OW flights eastbound from NZ are QF25 and QF93 to LAX, so SFO is going to be another sector. You can always do SYD-HNL on QF and then HNL-US Mainland on AA.
Other places in Australia that are worth getting to if you have the sectors are Melbourne (great restaurants, thearte, shopping etc), Ayres Rock, Gold Coast.;
In New Zealand, don't hang around in Aukland too long. Its just another harbour city (much smaller than Sydney, and the harbour is not as large/good). Get out to The Bay of Islands, Rotorua etc and see the thermal activity that NZ is famous for.
An organised bus tour is a good way to see the highlights of NZ in a short time. If you have the time, get to the south island and into the mountains/glaciers (depending on the time of year - summer in NZ is great sightseeing, winter is good snow skiing).
By the way, the only OW flights eastbound from NZ are QF25 and QF93 to LAX, so SFO is going to be another sector. You can always do SYD-HNL on QF and then HNL-US Mainland on AA.
May 16, 2002, 10:04 am
#13
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Long Island, NY, USA
Posts: 1,334
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by fredl:
This really is a jungle. The Cathay timetable program will help out alot.
Thank you all</font>
This really is a jungle. The Cathay timetable program will help out alot.
Thank you all</font>
May 16, 2002, 10:40 am
#14
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: SIN
Programs: OWEm (lifetime OWSapph x2), lifetime *G
Posts: 341