For digital nomads
Multi-Stop Tickets for Remote Workers
Tickets stay valid for up to a year, so a three-month base in Lisbon still leaves the rest of your route open. Open-jaw routing means you fly out of the city you ended up in, not the one you arrived in.
Plan My TripSample routes
Routes our specialists tag for digital nomad travelers
Budget Three-Stop RTW: LA → Paris → Bangkok → LA
Lowest-cost RTW shape: two intermediate stops, three segments, full circumnavigation. LA → Paris → Bangkok → LA. Stable year-round pricing and a long Bangkok base for travelers who want to side-trip on local-budget tickets. Best for first-timers prioritising cost over coverage.
Estimated
$1,080–$1,648
New York City to Medellin & Buenos Aires Multi-Stop
An 8-week economy multi-stop routing from New York City with 28 nights in Medellin and 30 nights in Buenos Aires before returning to New York City.
Estimated
$1,362–$2,078
Marseille to Hanoi, Tokyo, New York City & Paris Multi-Stop
An economy multi-stop routing from Marseille through Hanoi and Tokyo to a long stay in New York City, finishing in Paris. This August itinerary combines short Asia stopovers with an extended final transatlantic segment.
Estimated
$1,404–$2,142
Chicago to Tokyo, Hong Kong, Bangkok, New Delhi & London Multi-Stop
Economy multi-stop routing from Chicago through East and Southeast Asia, onward to South Asia and Europe, then back to Chicago. This itinerary is built around several long stays with a few short connection-style city stops.
Estimated
$1,632–$2,490
Asia-Pacific Grand Tour: LA → Tokyo → Hong Kong → Bangkok → Singapore → Bali → Sydney → Auckland → LA
Eight-stop Asia-Pacific maximalist RTW. No Europe, no Americas south. Instead, deep coverage of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Australasia. Mixed alliance routing (Star + oneworld + some independents) means at least one self-transfer leg, but the price-per-stop ratio is unusually strong.
Estimated
$1,682–$2,566
Seattle to Tokyo, Taipei, Manila, Denpasar Bali, Singapore & 4 more Multi-Stop
Economy multi-stop routing from Seattle through East and Southeast Asia, with an overland break between Kuala Lumpur and Hanoi before flying onward via Ho Chi Minh City and Seoul back to Seattle.
Estimated
$1,915–$2,922
Los Angeles to East Asia, Southeast Asia & Europe RTW
A 37-week economy round-the-world routing from Los Angeles through five Asia stops, an extended stay in Seoul, overland gaps into Istanbul and London, then onward via Lisbon and Dublin back to Los Angeles.
Estimated
$2,476–$3,778
Asia & Europe Grand Tour from Tampa
A 17-stop westward grand tour from Tampa covering Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Bali, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Mumbai, Istanbul, Paris, and Madrid, with two surface sectors (KUL→SIN by bus, CDG→MAD by train). The most complex and comprehensive Asia-Europe RTW from the US Southeast.
Estimated
$2,589–$3,949
Pacific Rim & Iberia Loop from Philadelphia
A 9-stop westward loop from Philadelphia through LA, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Osaka, Singapore, Frankfurt, and Porto, finishing with a train to Lisbon and direct TAP flight home. Combines Oneworld and Star Alliance metal across the Pacific Rim and Iberia.
Estimated
$2,712–$4,137
Planning reading
Flagship guides every traveler should read
How Much Does an RTW Trip Cost?
What round-the-world flights actually cost: alliance RTW fares, custom multi-stop builds, business class options, and the pricing factors most travelers overlook.
Sean Keener · Customer Service and Managing Director
How to Plan a Round-the-World Trip
The logistics of planning an RTW trip: choosing destinations, picking ticket types, understanding hub routing, and booking in the right window. Not a destination guide; a how-to for the flight strategy.
Sean Keener · Customer Service and Managing Director
When to Buy RTW Tickets
The booking window that consistently produces the best RTW fares: when to lock in, when to wait, how to stage complex itineraries, and seasonal pricing patterns.
Sean Keener · Customer Service and Managing Director
Common questions
What digital nomad travelers actually ask
Do I need travel insurance for a round-the-world trip?
Yes. A multi-month, multi-country trip has too many variables to go without coverage. Look for a policy that covers trip interruption, medical evacuation, and missed connections. World Nomads and SafetyWing both offer plans built for long-term multi-country travel.
How much does AirTreks charge?
AirTreks charges a service fee on top of the airfare, scaled to how complex the itinerary is, and you see the total price upfront before committing. On a 6-stop multi-continent trip the fare construction difference alone can save $1,000 to $3,000. On a simple 3-stop trip it probably will not.
Is jet lag worse flying east or west?
Eastward is harder. Sleep research puts adjustment at roughly one day per time zone crossed going east, versus about two-thirds of a day going west. Flying west asks your body to stay up later; flying east asks it to fall asleep earlier, which most people find much harder.
Who is AirTreks?
AirTreks is a travel company based in White Salmon, WA that has been building custom round-the-world and multi-stop itineraries since 1987. Our staff is global. Each trip is routed by a human consultant using fare construction techniques that online booking tools can't book.
Are there airlines that do not work on round-the-world tickets?
Yes. Some alliance members look fine on paper but have almost no inventory in the fare classes RTW tickets require. Air India is a Star Alliance member with essentially no RTW fare class availability, and South African Airways is much the same. We route around them automatically.
Can I mix business and economy class on a round-the-world trip?
Not on an alliance RTW ticket, which prices the whole itinerary in one cabin. A custom multi-stop build lets you choose cabin leg by leg, so you can buy business on the overnight ultra-long-hauls and economy on the short daytime hops. For many travelers that is what makes business class affordable.
How many flights can an alliance round-the-world ticket include?
Both Star Alliance and oneworld cap you at 16 segments, and connections count against that total, not just the cities you stop in. Both also require you to cross the Atlantic and the Pacific exactly once each, so you cannot cross the same ocean twice even where it would make geographic sense.
How much time do I need between flights on separate tickets?
Leave 4 to 6 hours between a flight on your main ticket and one on a separate ticket at the same airport. On a single ticket 2 to 3 hours is fine because the airline rebooks you if you misconnect. On separate tickets you have no protection, so the buffer is yours to build.