For Sabbatical / Career Break travelers
Sabbatical and Career Break Travel
Extended trips built for months, not weeks. Open-jaw routing, flexible return dates, and multi-stop tickets that cost less than booking each flight separately.
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Sample routes
Routes our specialists tag for sabbatical / career break travelers
Old World RTW: NYC → London → Rome → Cairo → Dubai → Bangkok → NYC
Five-region history-focused RTW under $2,100 economy. NYC → London → Rome → Cairo → Dubai → Bangkok → home. Each stop is a layered-history anchor (Roman, Egyptian, Islamic, Buddhist) with short hops between Europe + North Africa + Middle East before the long way home from Asia.
Estimated
$1,367–$2,086
Westbound Across Asia: NYC → Tokyo → Bangkok → Delhi → London → NYC
Westbound RTW with three Asian stops on a single ticket. NYC transpacific to Tokyo, south to Bangkok, west to Delhi, north to London, home. Star Alliance routing keeps one PNR throughout. Plan 5–10 weeks; October–December avoids the South Asia monsoon.
Estimated
$1,500–$2,289
Classic Eastbound RTW: Los Angeles → London → Bangkok → Sydney → LA
Four-region eastbound RTW with single-ticket Oneworld routing throughout. LA → London → Bangkok → Sydney → home, anchored by BA T5 and Qantas SYD-LAX direct. October–December is the lowest-friction season: shoulder pricing in Europe, dry season in Bangkok, spring in Sydney.
Estimated
$1,589–$2,425
Silk Road Crossing: NYC → Istanbul → Dubai → Delhi → Bangkok → Tokyo → NYC
Six-region eastbound RTW tracing the historical Silk Road by air. NYC → Istanbul → Dubai → Delhi → Bangkok → Tokyo → home. Turkish + Emirates handle the western half cleanly; Star Alliance picks up the eastern half through Bangkok to Tokyo and home via direct ANA NH8 to JFK. Best for travelers who want maximum cultural diversity per ticket.
Estimated
$1,651–$2,518
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
$1,669–$2,546
Five Continents: NYC → London → Cape Town → Bangkok → Sydney → NYC
The classic eastbound RTW with Africa inserted. JFK out to London, overnight to Cape Town, north through Bangkok, on to Sydney, transpac home. The CPT segment is the long pole — once-daily service from LHR and a forced one-stop transit to BKK via JNB or DXB. SYD→JFK is one-stop via LAX or DFW.
Estimated
$2,082–$3,176
South America Loop RTW: NYC → São Paulo → Buenos Aires → Auckland → Sydney → Bangkok → NYC
Southern-hemisphere-heavy RTW: New York to São Paulo, Buenos Aires, then across the South Pacific to Auckland, Sydney, Bangkok, home. The EZE→AKL transpacific is the routing pivot — only Air NZ and LATAM serve it, and frequency is low. BKK→JFK is one-stop via Asia.
Estimated
$2,162–$3,298
Africa & Azores Loop from Honolulu
A 9-stop loop from Honolulu covering the US mainland, Amsterdam, Cape Town, Lisbon, the Azores, and Toronto before returning via San Francisco. Routed via KLM, TAP Air Portugal, and Azores Airlines — the only RTW routing with a direct Azores-to-Canada transoceanic leg.
Estimated
$2,800–$4,200
Africa & Southeast Asia Grand Loop from Istanbul
A 10-stop RTW from Istanbul combining East Africa safari, Victoria Falls, Southern Africa, North America, and Southeast Asia. Routed via Ethiopian Airlines, Lufthansa, United, Singapore Airlines, and Turkish Airlines — predominantly Star Alliance metal. Efficient Africa connections hub through Addis Ababa.
Estimated
$3,800–$5,500
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
$4,500–$7,500
Planning reading
Flagship guides every traveler should read
How Much Does a 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 a 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