I have…

RTW tickets vary by company. United and NWA both have RTW programs and both have different stops that they serve though their partners. We looked into both but went with AirTreks.com. They were able to put together all the destinations we wanted (the others could not accommodate all stops) for the same price as the big guys but we got more flights more the same amount. You usually have 1 year to complete your travels and the only confirmed date you need is your initial departure. With the big airlines you can only travel in one direction, no backtracking. They also have mileage levels…you’ll have to refer to the websites for those b/c they are probably different prices now. If you are going to be doing short flights in Asia like Bangkok to Ho Chi Mihn you can buy those locally…its cheaper than adding them to you RTW ticket.

It’s hard to say how long b/c I don’t know your stops in Asia. When you land will you be traveling around the areas? Let me know more on that and maybe I can provide a better suggestion for timing. Also as usual, money is an issue. Europe and Oz are alot more than Asia. We spent 3 months in Europe during our RTW and it made a bigger dent in our funds than we wanted(crappy exchange rate killed us!).

On packing, we were mostly in warm weather with the exception of Nepal where we bought warm weather stuff. When we were done we sent it home slow boat or you could just give it to someone who needs it. It’s cheap and expendable. Since you are starting with cold I would just send it home. For hot weather, knee length (or longer) skirts are indespensible and easy to wash…if you’re into them. Plan on acquiring some clothes along the way too.

Budget about 20 a day for Asia though many get by on less…especially in India and Nepal. If you like to drink and party, add $10/day. A low estimate for the others: Oz ~40 a day and Europe ~50. We did a blog while we were gone that may have some good information: www.amazingtravels.c…. Hope I have helped. Let me know if you have any other questions. Happy planning!

Thank you very much Amy. Your information had helped me alot. I do plan on going around asia a bit so I think Ill take your advice and plan my travels around asia when I get there. Im going to plan on being gone for about a year so Ill just take my time on my trip. I have seen most of Europe so I wont have to spend a ton of time there. Thank you very much and Ill keep you in mind if I have any more questions.