Posts from ‘Travel Planning’
There are a thousand routes around the world. Ask a different traveler and you’ll get a different answer about which route is the best, which region is the most beautiful and which curry will most quickly light your mouth on fire.
But even with these voices, you still need a little objective advice to help make your decision the best one when planning a route of your own, the opinion of someone who has seen what travelers do and why. To help dampen the noise of popular opinion, I’ve assembled a helpful list of 5 different routes that make sense in getting you around the world.
The following trips are compiled with a few things in mind: price (overall cost-effectiveness), efficiency (fewer hours in the air), value (getting more for your money) and overall amazingness of the destinations (based on common perceptions of what’s cool in the world to visit).
These are in no particular order and arbitrarily go in an easterly direction, even though prices are typically similar regardless of which direction you travel. They all start in New York, for lack of a better starting point. Yours can start from wherever you happen to be.
Here we go!
Getting to and around northern/northwestern Europe is a difficult to nearly impossible feat at the moment with inactive airports, train bottlenecks, unavailable rental cars and a traveler’s malaise darker than the ash cloud that threatens your plans. Even if you manage to get there, expensive hotels, crowds and unfavorable exchange rates will only push you closer to the brink. But if you simply adore Europe and don’t want to miss its charms simply because of unfortunate geography, I’ve assembled a few great alternatives to keep that European sizzle inside your veins.
Here are the 7 best Europe-like places in the world that won’t force you through a volcanic zone to get there:
Dream...
The travel consultants currently employed at AirTreks have a vast pool of travel experience. Today we start a new series entitled “Your Agent’s Dream Trip” conceived to bring the readers of this blog planning suggestions and possibly some dreams of their own.
The question was put to the travel consultants, “without having to state your reasons, and if cost was of no importance, what would be your dream around-the-world trip in 10 stops or less.”
Image credit: Ghost of Kuji
Working with travelers over the years helping set up their trips-of-a-lifetime, I’ve managed to pinpoint some of the more problematic issues they subject themselves to before they come to us. Most of the time their research is been spot on and the trip looks wonderful – they have realistic goals and are honest about their expectations. Other times a little work is needed to get a solid, cost-effective itinerary, one that won’t end up driving them crazy in the long run.
In order to avoid itinerary problems before they come to the fore, here are a few of common mistakes people make during their trip planning stages and how to see yourself out of them:
An around the world trip is quite possibly one of the most important thing you will do in your life. This may seem like an exaggeration, but even the mot cynical Washington insider can bet on a 
life-altering experience. It’s a proven way to change your attitude, your worldview and your karma forever.
What’s also true is that a big trip costs money — sometimes lots of it. But it doesn’t have to break you. So how do you cut yourself a piece of pie in the sky without having to settle for a life without an around-the-world experience? Make it cost less, that’s how. Here are the 10 best ways to make your trip more affordable without having to let go of the dream.
Image by d'n'c's
In his Jan 14 post, travel blogger Keith Jenkins from Velvet Escape listed a series of “10 Incredible Bridge Walks” around the world. Since I’m an admitted RTW-ophile, I couldn’t help but envision the bridges as a theme trip. These beautiful open-to-pedestrians bridges, when assembled in a series, would make one amazing round the world trip, and not necessarily just for bridge enthusiasts.
For continuity, I took the liberty of adding in a crazy bridge in Singapore that would fill in the South East Asia gap nicely.
So, starting in New York City here is Keith’s bridge-lover’s around the world trip. Check out his original post for lovely pictures of these bridges.
There’s a lot to be said for Number 2. It can even outshine Number 1 simply because it’s passed over by those looking for “the best”. Number 2 is your own private experience, the choice without the noise and chaos that comes from being on top.
Okay, the title of this post may be a little misleading. I certainly don’t mean to say that the common stops should be omitted because they’re popular. The reasons for going there leap out at you in full color from brochures and posters everywhere. But while the Number 1s may have time-tested reasons to visit, those looking for authenticity may end up disappointed. Expectations are tough to live up to when cutting through the masses of other travelers—the mobs and the industry built to accommodate them can taint your experience pretty quickly.
I’ve put together a list of commonly requested cities in RTW itineraries, followed by those you should visit as an alternative (or even an addition).
While these recommendations may be more expensive to have in your itinerary (major cities tend to have least impact on price) the experiences gained by visiting these alternatives can be priceless and should make any added expense completely worthwhile.
No one said planning a big trip was easy. It can be a nerve-racking endeavor, especially if you happen to be a
terminal procrastinator. A good way to manage the planning process is to set a timeline, thereby organizing your errands into time periods and setting up your launch in an practical and efficient manner. This post will give you that timeline, one that will hopefully engage you in the planning process and allow you to better organize your life all the way up until the day of your departure.
1 year – 6 months out:
- It’s still a bit too early to be purchasing tickets so use this time to decide upon your destinations, outline your itinerary and set a budget – in other words, dream.
Connect the dots on Trip Planner
While the idea of taking an around the world trip may seem complicated, the actual booking process isn’t nearly as daunting. It really is as simple as one-two-three.
Here are the are 3 simple steps in a standard AirTreks booking sequence. By the end, you should have an amazing trip you can be proud of.
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