For senior travelers
Round-the-World Trips for Seniors and Retirees
Retirement takes the fixed return date off the trip. Multi-stop tickets stay valid for up to a year, so you can spend a season in one place and move when you are ready. We build connections with real time between flights, and price business class on the long legs where it earns its cost.
Plan My TripSample routes
Routes our specialists tag for senior travelers
Old World RTW: NYC → London → Rome → Cairo → Dubai → Bangkok → NYC
Five-region history-focused RTW. 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
Down Under + Bali: LA → Auckland → Sydney → Bali → Bangkok → LA
Compact Pacific-first westbound RTW: no Europe, no Americas. LA out to Auckland, Sydney, Bali, Bangkok, home. Four intermediate stops in two regions, with single-ticket Star Alliance routing keeping the whole trip on one PNR. Ideal for travelers with 8–9 weeks and a beach priority.
Estimated
$1,406–$2,144
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
$2,894–$4,414
Boston to Lima, La Paz, Galapagos, Easter Island, Darwin & 6 more Multi-Stop
A 6-week economy round-the-world routing from Boston through South America, the Pacific, Australasia, Asia, Africa, and Europe, with 11 stopovers before returning to Boston.
Estimated
$8,676–$13,234
New York City to Asia, South Asia, Europe RTW
A business-class round-the-world routing from New York through the U.S. West Coast, Hawaii, East and Southeast Asia, South Asia, North Africa, and Europe before returning to New York.
Estimated
$15,280–$23,308
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 senior 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.
Is business class worth it for a round-the-world trip?
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.
Can seniors do a round-the-world trip?
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.
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.
What senior travelers say
Real senior travelers, real itineraries.
Special thanks to AirTreks for making our 5-month circumnavigation a reality. We captured 2,500 photos and praised the service to dozens of fellow travelers around the globe. At our age, having every flight handled professionally gave us the confidence to take on this adventure.
Brian Smith
2015