Plan, book, fly. Answered straight.

Not always. A direct flight that departs at 6am or lands at midnight can be harder than a one-stop routing with a civilized departure time and a 4-hour connection at a hub with a quiet space. Compare the whole travel day, not just the time in the air.

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.

Start with the two or three places you both have to see, then build the routing around them. Most honeymooners do 4 to 8 stops over 2 to 5 weeks, and booking 3 to 6 months ahead gets the best fares and two seats on the same flights.

A round-the-world ticket is a single booking for flights across multiple continents, traveling in one direction with an Alliance, or any direction with AirTreks. Alliance RTW tickets work when the traveler has flexibility on timing and books 6 to 9 months in advance.

An RTW ticket circles the globe. A multi-stop covers several cities without circling the globe, though often multi-continent. One-ways are single flights. RTW and multi-stop tickets are priced as packages - often 40-60% cheaper than buying the same flights as one-ways.

As few as 3, to as many as 50 or more. Alliance-based RTW tickets cap you at 5-16 segments depending on the fare. AirTreks builds custom routes with no fixed stop limit - your budget and routing logic set the boundaries, not airline rules.

Westbound (Americas to Asia to Europe) and eastbound both work. The best direction depends on seasons at your destinations, jet lag preferences, and fare availability. Eastbound routes from the US often price lower because of transpacific fare structures.

Book 3-11 months before departure for the best fare availability. You can book as close as 2-3 weeks out, but popular routes and business class seats disappear fast. Peak season travel (June-August, December) needs more lead time.

Yes. A 2-3 week RTW works with 4-5 stops and 3-4 days per city. Focus on hubs with good flight connections - London, Bangkok, Tokyo, Sydney. You'll move fast, but it beats burning vacation days on separate trips over several years.

There's no single best month - it depends on your route and where you are starting from. January departures catch summer in the Southern Hemisphere. September works for Southeast Asia's dry season. Avoid starting in June-August if budget matters - peak northern summer pricing affects transatlantic and transpacific fares.

Yes. Families fly RTW every year with AirTreks. Kids over 2 need their own seat. Key adjustments: fewer stops, longer stays in each city, stick to family-friendly destinations with good healthcare. Many families do 4-6 stops over 4-8 weeks.

Solo female travelers are one of AirTreks' largest booking segments. The key is route selection - Southeast Asia, Japan, Portugal, New Zealand, and much of South America rate high for solo female safety. Your consultant can flag stops that need extra planning.

Yes. Many AirTreks travelers are in their 60s and 70s. Priorities shift: business class on long legs, longer stays per stop, destinations with strong medical infrastructure. The flexibility of a custom itinerary matters more as you get older, not less.

An RTW ticket is one of the most cost-effective ways to structure gap year travel. Buying flights as you go costs more and limits your options. A planned route with open-jaw segments lets you fly between regions cheaply and travel overland in between.

Yes, and couples are AirTreks' most common booking type. Two people on the same itinerary book together for the same per-person price. The main couple-specific consideration: agree on pace before you plan. One slow traveler and one city-a-day person need to find middle ground early.

A wish list of cities, a rough timeframe and a budget range is enough. Three things genuinely improve the result: which cities are must-haves versus nice-to-haves, how flexible your dates are, and why you are taking the trip. You do not need to know fare classes or routing rules.

Start with the TripPlanner on airtreks.com - enter your cities and exact or rough dates, class of travel, and flexibility on travel dates. An AirTreks travel consultant builds a custom route and quote. You revise together until it's right, then book. The whole process takes anywhere from an hour to a few weeks, depending on how much you want to collaborate with friends, family, and groups.

Yes. AirTreks tickets allow date changes on most segments for an airline change fee (typically $75-150 per flight). Adding or removing cities is possible but may require rebooking segments. Your consultant handles most changes.

You don't need to circle the globe. AirTreks builds multi-stop itineraries of any shape - a triangle through South America, a loop through Asia, or a one-way from New York to Bangkok with three stops in between. RTW is just one option.

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.

British Airways adds carrier-imposed surcharges on long-haul flights, sometimes $300 to $500 per leg, and those are baked into your fare if your routing uses BA metal through Heathrow. Routing via Frankfurt on Lufthansa or Helsinki on Finnair can cut that cost significantly.

On short regional hops. Budget carriers in Southeast Asia (AirAsia, Scoot, VietJet) and Europe (Ryanair, Wizz Air, easyJet) price one-ways at or near half the round-trip fare, so there is no penalty for buying them standalone. That logic does not carry over to full-service long-haul.

Often, yes. A multi-stop ticket priced as one through-fare frequently beats stitching together separate round-trips or one-ways to the same cities. Separate one-ways can win for short-haul hops, but multi-stop pulls ahead once you add long-haul legs and multiple continents.

Fewer, well-chosen stops and flexible dates cut the fare fastest. A lean itinerary that keeps moving in one direction, in economy, in shoulder season, is the cheapest way to see several continents. Some sample routes here start under $500 per person.

The sample honeymoon routes here start from around $1,400 per person in economy for 4 to 5 stops, with the longer routes running into the low thousands. Two travelers on the same itinerary pay the same per-person fare, so double it for the couple's flight budget.

Most AirTreks round-the-world tickets cost between $2,500 and $8,000 per person in economy. Business class runs $8,000 to $18,000+. Price depends on the number of stops, distance, routing direction, and how far ahead you book.

Four things drive RTW price: number of stops, total distance, cabin class, and timing. More stops and more distance cost more. Business class adds 2-3x. Peak season (June-August, December) runs higher than shoulder months. Booking 3-11 months out gets better fares.

On flights over 8 hours, business class transforms the experience - lie-flat seats, lounge access, better sleep. On short hops (under 4 hours), the premium buys you little. A common approach: business class on long-haul legs, economy on the short ones.

Your ticket includes all flights, airport taxes, and fuel surcharges. AirTreks also provides a dedicated travel consultant who handles routing, booking, and any changes. Hotels, travel insurance, and ground transport are not included but your consultant can and enjoy advising.

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.

On one ticket your bags check through, the airline is responsible for protecting your connection, and your assistance requests carry across the whole trip. On separate tickets you collect bags, re-check them, clear security again at each stop, and rebook at your own cost if a flight runs late.

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.

Because transpacific flights from US East Coast cities are close to unbookable in the fare classes RTW tickets need. Sydney to JFK direct came back at 0% bookability across 235 tested samples. Sydney to LAX is 80%. Fly domestically to LAX or SFO first, then cross the Pacific.

Alliance RTW tickets require you to keep moving in one direction - no backtracking allowed. AirTreks custom tickets have no such rule. You can fly Bangkok to Tokyo, back to Bangkok, then on to Sydney if the routing makes sense for your trip.

Most AirTreks RTW tickets are valid for up to one year from the first departure. Travelers typically spend 3 weeks to 6 months on the road. Two to three weeks works for a fast lap with 4-5 stops. Three months or more lets you slow down and go deeper. We know people who take years to do the trip and almost never stop.

AirTreks tickets are revenue fares, not award tickets, so you can't pay with miles. But you will earn miles on every flight. Each segment credits to the operating airline's program or a partner program. Long RTW trips can earn enough miles for a free domestic flight or upgrade.

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.

DPNA is the IATA special service request code for a passenger with an intellectual or developmental disability needing assistance. It sits in your booking record so check-in, gate and cabin crew all see it without you explaining anything at the airport. Add it at least 48 hours before departure.

Rarely. Qantas Sydney to Heathrow direct books at about 6% on RTW fare classes. Split it instead: Sydney to Singapore, then Singapore onward to Europe. Both legs book cleanly, and Singapore makes a good 2 to 3 day stopover on the way.

AirTreks books across all major airline alliances and independent carriers - Star Alliance, oneworld, SkyTeam, plus airlines like Emirates, Singapore Airlines, and regional carriers. No alliance lock-in means your route gets the best combination of price, schedule, and comfort.

Dublin, Singapore Changi, Atlanta, Miami, Pittsburgh and Hong Kong all have dedicated sensory spaces, and the list grows every year. Access rules differ, so check the airport’s own accessibility page before you fly. Dublin, for example, takes bookings only and caps sessions at 60 minutes.

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.

Plan 3 to 4 hours at a connecting hub rather than the published minimum connection time, which can be as short as 60 to 90 minutes. On a multi-stop fare the longer connection usually costs nothing extra, because both segments are already priced into the itinerary.

Each airline sets its own baggage allowance. Most long-haul carriers include one checked bag (23kg). Low-cost carriers charge extra. Your luggage won't transfer between separate tickets - you'll collect and recheck at connection points. Pack for the strictest airline on your route.

It depends on your passport and your stops. US passport holders can visit most of Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia visa-free. Countries like India, China, Australia, and many African nations require visas in advance. Check each country as you build your route.

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.

A missed flight can void the rest of that airline's segments. Contact AirTreks immediately - your consultant can rebook you, though rebooking fees and fare differences apply. Travel insurance that covers missed connections is worth having for this reason.

The operating airline is responsible for rebooking you on the next available flight. Contact AirTreks as well - your consultant can coordinate across airlines if the cancellation affects connecting segments. Having travel insurance with trip interruption coverage protects against added costs.

Simple trips. A round-trip to London, a one-way New York to Tokyo, or a 3-city European itinerary have no routing complexity for expertise to work on, and other tools handle them well. The number of stops matters less than the geographic spread and how many oceans you cross.

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.

Alliance tickets (Star Alliance, oneworld) restrict you to one airline group, limit stops, and ban backtracking. AirTreks builds routes across all airlines with no alliance restrictions, no stop caps, and full flexibility to backtrack or add surface segments.