How to get from here to there…

When you are planning a trip that takes you all the way around the world you need to know how you are going to get there. This can seem overwhelming if you are planning to go too many different places on your adventure. However, there are some options made exactly for this sort of travel outside of just buying flights as you go. There are two major option for round the world itineraries - Airline Alliances, grouping of airlines who cooperate to provide access to each others flight options and Airtreks, a private company that helps organize complex air travel plans.

Airline Alliances

Airline alliances offer specific RTW ticket options. A RTW ticket is essentially a loyalty program with a group of airlines that network together to help you craft a limited time use itinerary to different locations traveling in a continuous direction around the world. There are three major airline alliance that offer RTW tickets: Star Alliance (including United Airlines and Air New Zealand), One World (including American Airlines, British Airways and Quantas), and SkyTeam (including Delta and AirFrance). Each one has their own parameters for creating an itinerary, but some common ground rules include only booking travel in one global direction (East or West), only crossing the Atlantic or Pacific once and a limited amount of mileage or legs of travel. If you have a basic travel plan then perhaps a RTW ticket option could prove useful to you. However, in my experience trying to determine if I could go to my 12 intended destinations across the world, I found the sites difficult and either had high prices or could not comply with the travel plan I wanted.

Airtreks

The alternative to airline alliances is to use a private company like, Airtreks, which can provide more flexibility and customization. AirTreks has been a leader in multi-stop international travel, especially complex routes with up to 25 stops, since 1987. I became intrigued by Airtreks and I emailed them to get more information. In the video and below I will share some of the information I learned about this company and why I plan to use them for my RTW trip.

• They have a personal travel consultants to help you create the best possible itinerary and who add valuable input based on their own experience. Once you have booked your route they have a support team available 24/7 who monitor if your flight is canceled or changed and reach out to make necessary adjustments.

• If you do want to go direct to the airline for an urgent change or to avoid Airtreks $100 change fee, you are welcome to do so. They even recommend this if you decide to make a change within 24 hours of departure, since the airline staff may have more power/flexibility to facilitate your change.

• You have the ability to know all of your final costs up front, so that you can pay once and know that you are set for your entire trip. The total fare includes everything - commission, fees, etc.

• Where possible, they include a checked luggage allowance for all flights. This amount may vary from airline to airline, but we will advise you of all luggage allowances prior to your booking so there are no surprises.  Also, where possible they will secure your preferred seating assignment. Airlines handle advance seat requests differently. Some allow it for free, others charge additional fees, others will not allow it until check-in. However, they will advise you of the seating selections possible for each airline prior to submitting payment.

The only downside, I found was that they cannot utilize airline miles themself. Although, they will work with you if there is a specific leg or a couple legs where you want to apply those miles yourself. Overall, the customization and counseling possible has me thinking Airtrek’s is the best possible RTW trip air travel option.

How to stay healthy while you are there…

Safety First!! Before you can take a trip around the world, like my RTW trip to 12 countries in six months, you've got to make sure you have the vaccines that you need to keep yourself from getting sick. I was not sure what vaccines I would need so I decided to visit Passport Health.

Passport Health is the largest provider of travel medicine services with travel clinics throughout the United States. Not only did they provide me with a ton of information about vaccines, they also gave me general tips, address to all the U.S. consulates in the countries I'm visiting and a lollipop (and I didn't even have to get the shots for it). Depending on the countries you are planning to go, your list of necessary vaccines might be entirely different, but my video includes the vaccines for 12 different countries as well as some general health advice for extended travel. I highly recommend you set up an appointment before your next adventure.