Booking your Flights, Part 3

So now convinced to go around the world and knowing where I want to go, how do I now book my flights?

My experience has provided me many options. There’s a story behind each one, which if you don’t mind I’d like to share to see if this option is for you. This is Part 3. You can find Part 1 here, which focuses on buying a Round the World ticket via SkyTeam in the Philippines (spoiler alert: not recommended) and Part 2 here, which is buying a Round the World ticket via Star Alliance (spoiler alert: great, but expensive)

If you want to know my recommendation,  just jump to the end of this series.

So Star Alliance looked good, with a great site, and an immediate price quote, but also looked expensive! After all Singapore Airlines is part of the list, as well as other premium airlines.

Is there a cheaper option?

ATTEMPT #3 – AirTreks

I discovered AirTreks as I continued to do google searches for Round The World Trips. I saw it mentioned in a lot of forums and blogs, and figured I’d check it out. Airtreks seems to be a US Based company and it’s been featured in Yahoo, BBC News, and National Geographic.

AirTreks seems well praised! This was interesting.

Booking your Flights, Part 2

So now convinced to go around the world and knowing where I want to go, how do I now book my flights?

My experience has provided me many options. There’s a story behind each one, which if you don’t mind I’d like to share to see if this option is for you. This is Part 2. You can find Part 1 here, which focuses on buying a Round the World ticket via SkyTeam in the Philippines (spoiler alert: not recommended).

If you want to know my recommendation,  just jump to the end of this series.

So with Skyteam a bust, lets’s try another Airline Partnership that offers round the world tickets:

ATTEMPT #2 – Star Alliance

Star Alliance is actually a bigger network than SkyTeam. This includes Singapore Airlines, United, Lufthansa, EgyptAir, ANA, etc.

Booking your Flights, Part 1

So now convinced to go around the world and knowing where I want to go, how do I now book my flights?

My experience has provided me many options. There’s a story behind each one, which if you don’t mind I’d like to share to see if this option is for you. If you want to know my recommendation,  just jump to the end of this series.

ATTEMPT #1 – SkyTeam

My initial option was to look for something that the Airline Partnerships offer. Airlines are usually affiliated with other airlines, where you can even share miles, and they carry special “round the world” tickets that is serviced by their partners.

The first Airline Partnership I looked at was Skyteam. Skyteam is composed of Delta, KLM, Air France, China Airlines, AeroMexico, Alitalia, etc.

Choosing the Countries

So a Pinoy wants to go around the world eh?

Don’t you need a VISA?

Haha, believe it or not, that was a MAJOR consideration when i decided to take this trip. As many Pinoys know, getting a visa is such a hassle! Filling up those forms, going through those lines, preparing your supportings docs, and don’t forgot the expensive visa application fees…  plus, you don’t even know if you’ll get approved!

So when I decided to take the trip around the world, the first thing I looked at was which countries did not require a visa.

You’ll be surprised there’s quite a lot!!! 

And so it begins!

Hi folks!

My name is Leo Castillo, and I’m from Manila, Philippines. I work here with three hats: as a freelance OD/Training Consultant (I work often with Management Strategies  and Next Step), a photographer (www.leocastillo.com), and a photography instructor (Photoworks Academy).

I’m turning 40 this year, and my wife keeps reminding me to do something special. Nothing is coming to mind until I saw something that looked improbable but the more I looked at it, it became possible.

After weeks of research and seeing that it looked more real everyday, I finally pulled the trigger and made it happen. So what did I finally decide to do?

Magellan did it in 1082 Days.
Phineas Fogg did it in 80 Days.
Nellie Bly did it in 78 days.

Yes folks, I am circumnavigating the globe!