The around the world travel idea has been popping up a lot lately, and outside its admittedly tight-knit circles. More and more people are pushing the comfortable borders of Europe when not more than 20 years ago only the most adventurous American would consider traveling elsewhere. These days anywhere is fair game.

Yes, people are finally envisioning a vastly larger destination palate. Landscapes with hugely exotic sights and sounds are available without the extra effort that was formerly obligatory. The digital age has shown us just how small our world can be and our ability to get there is changing Disney World into Real World with an ease our parents would have been jealous of.

Last Friday, Andy Jarosz,  principle blogger at 501Places.com had an interesting idea. He wondered aloud how people would travel “around the world” if the world was indeed not round but flat. In his wondering he listed out three quintessential itineraries. After last week’s Bridge Lover’s RTW post, I’ve decided to take this idea a step farther and plug each one of these itineraries into TripPlanner to see how they’d measure up in terms of cost, preparation and practicality, perhaps to engender more interest in these kinds of crazy trips. Some people are just seeking more out of their travel experience.

Andy starts his trips in London, since that’s his hometown. I’m taking the liberty of using San Francisco as the departure point, since that’s our hometown—and we like it very much. Any of these trips can be started in London (or anywhere else for that matter) for roughly the same average price range.

* A word of note about these itineraries: Andy chose these circuitous routes to illustrate his point about how travel has changed in the modern era. Obviously it’s been awhile since the flat-planet naysayers were silenced by trusty science, but it must be noted that these are not necessarily the most cost effective ways to see the planet.

If you would like a trip that is more efficient, give a ring to one of our travel consultants, or price out a more straightforward line around the world.

Classic City Route: San Francisco – Los Angeles – New York –Rio – Cape Town – Sydney – Auckland – Tokyo – San Francisco

This trip incorporates some the world’s most cosmopolitan cities, most of which are quite common in today’s round the world trips, though not necessarily all in one trip.

• Cost: $4600 – $6200 (incl tax)

• Preparation: Since this takes you to some of the biggest cities in the world, you won’t need to remember to take everything you need. You should be able to pick up forgotten items on any block. Though the winter/summer combination will necessitate more clothing in your luggage.

• Practicality: There are a lot of miles on this trip but fortunately non-stop flights abound. Your travel days don’t have to be pockmarked by multiple layovers.

The Remote Explorer: San Francisco – Fairbanks – Easter Island – Torres del Paine – Madagascar – Papua New Guinea – Kamchatka – Lapland – Nuuk – San Francisco

This trip is fairly uncommon but will certainly appease the extreme adventurer in you. With the remote location of these towns, you’ll be paying a lot more to get there, since it follows that the more remote a place, the fewer inexpensive flight options there are to get there. This is one of the most expensive round the world itineraries out there, but for what you pay, you’ll get back in bragging rights and perhaps a complimentary pith helmet to go along with it.

*Note on this route: TripPlanner does not have most of these places in its database, simply because they’re not often needed. I’ve included the closest listed city. The somewhat seizure-inducing nature of this route is due to the tool using the most cost-effective route and flights currently available.

• Cost: This is an expensive trip, according to TripPlanner between $8700 – $11800. The extra legs from the listed city to the desired one could cost up to $500 each. Flights from Reykjavik to Nuuk and Sapporo to Kamchatka are summer only.

• Preparation: These are some of the least traveled, out of the way places in the world, so bring everything you’ll need with you, from parka to rain gear to buckets and buckets of mosquito repellent. Insurance might be handy too.

• Practicality: Figure that you’ll need to connect up to 3 and 4 times between locations with potential overnight stays. It’s common for flight service to be limited so watch for forced overnights and long layovers too. This will take a toll on your constitution and overall demeanor, but that pith helmet is going to look great on you!

The World Wonders Tour: San Francisco – Grand Canyon – Chichen Itza – Machu Picchu – Christ Redeemer Statue – Table Mountain – Ayers Rock – Angkor Wat – Taj Mahal – Petra – San Francisco

We’ve been promoting this trip for years — it’s fun to envision because of the grandeur, renown and spectacle of it all.

• Cost: $6500 – $8800. There are a few costly legs on this trip: South Africa – Australia and Jordan – USA, but because it skips northwestern Asia, the cost is kept down. (Note: this is NOT an RTW trip and the price is higher because of the backtracking.)

• Preparation: Be prepared for crowds of tourist and hundreds of thousands of camera lenses. And rightly so, how can you get through life without wanting to see these places in person? The reward is worth the expense.

• Practicality: A couple of these sites are not near major airports, so some extra ground transportation will be necessary to behold them firsthand.

Image credit: A Siegel