Gggrrrrrrr! General TRIP PLANNING issues.
May 28, 2005 | 11:12 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 17
Gggrrrrrrr! General TRIP PLANNING issues.
So frustrated.
Trying to book a RTW trip. No alliance can satisfy our cravings, and all I want to do it get the "core" plan done so I can work on the parts. I really like the idea of getting a broker ticket for the main stops, and then get individual regional passes to hit all the places we want. But there's so many rules.
AKkk!!!
Is anyone out there really good at putting these puzzle pieces together?
I've tried to find a travel agent to help, to no avail.
What planning tricks do you have up your sleeve? Tips?
Same frustrations?
I need to walk away from it for a while, me thinks!
Trying to book a RTW trip. No alliance can satisfy our cravings, and all I want to do it get the "core" plan done so I can work on the parts. I really like the idea of getting a broker ticket for the main stops, and then get individual regional passes to hit all the places we want. But there's so many rules.
AKkk!!!
Is anyone out there really good at putting these puzzle pieces together?
I've tried to find a travel agent to help, to no avail.
What planning tricks do you have up your sleeve? Tips?
Same frustrations?
I need to walk away from it for a while, me thinks!
May 28, 2005 | 12:58 pm
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: ORD/MDW
Programs: BA/AA/AS/B6/WN/ UA/HH/MR and more like 'em but most felicitously & importantly MUCCI
Posts: 19,811
trixiebee, the itins you posed in every alliance forum were insanely complex... maybe you should lower your expectations.
May 28, 2005 | 3:23 pm
#6
Community Director Emerita
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Anywhere warm
Posts: 35,605
Here is some general reading that you can do re RTWs. It has a wealth of information. Then read Edward Hasbrouck on RTWs. He is the RTW guru on coach tickets, piecing together point to point tickets, rather than using alliances. You're going to spend a lot of money on your travels; it is worth investing in his book The Practical Nomad: How to Travel Around the World.
Alliance RTWs are amazing for those of us who want to fly in biz or first. You, as a coach traveler, with travel destinations not well met by any of the alliances, might be far better served by point to point tickets.
Laura Bly, USA Today, recently did an RTW in coach. She has a list of resources for helping plan, including a list of RTW travel agency specialists.
Round-the-world travel agencies
AirTreks, 877-247-8735; airtreks.com (Hasbrouck was associated with this firm)
Air Brokers International, 800-883-3273; airbrokers.com
Around the World Tickets, 800-627-0715; aroundtheworldtickets.com
Circle the Planet, 800-799-8888; circletheplanet.com
JustFares, 800-766-3601; justfares.com
World Travelers Club, 800-693-0411; around-the-world.com
If I were you, I'd study their sites and see if you can work with one of them to come up with an air package that makes sense for you.
Alliance RTWs are amazing for those of us who want to fly in biz or first. You, as a coach traveler, with travel destinations not well met by any of the alliances, might be far better served by point to point tickets.
Laura Bly, USA Today, recently did an RTW in coach. She has a list of resources for helping plan, including a list of RTW travel agency specialists.
Round-the-world travel agencies
AirTreks, 877-247-8735; airtreks.com (Hasbrouck was associated with this firm)
Air Brokers International, 800-883-3273; airbrokers.com
Around the World Tickets, 800-627-0715; aroundtheworldtickets.com
Circle the Planet, 800-799-8888; circletheplanet.com
JustFares, 800-766-3601; justfares.com
World Travelers Club, 800-693-0411; around-the-world.com
If I were you, I'd study their sites and see if you can work with one of them to come up with an air package that makes sense for you.
Last edited by SanDiego1K; May 28, 2005 at 3:32 pm
May 28, 2005 | 3:59 pm
#7
Community Director Emerita
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Anywhere warm
Posts: 35,605
Just for the heck of it, and because RTWs intrigue me, I priced your itinerary on the Airtreks route planner. It choked, so I went back and stripped out some cities, leaving in those that represented the geographic extremes in your trip. This time, it gave me a price of $4800-$5600 in coach.