If you are researching travel insurance for your round the world trip, but haven’t yet booked your round the world flights, here is some advice:

This can be a mind-boggling process, especially if you have either lots of time or have a healthy budget, as you literally have the whole world to choose from. Here are some tips that should help make the planning process part of the fun and less of a chore.

TIP 1: RESEARCH
First up is a bit of research. Chances are you’ve already done a fair bit of this by speaking to friends and family who have been away and devouring the travel supplements in the Sunday papers. There is a wealth of information out there in the form of specialist travel magazines, books, blogs and websites, all of which are great places to look for ideas and inspiration. Make the most of these resources as they will help you pick out the “must see” from the “might be nice to pop in while I’m in the area” places. It is handy to know which can be omitted if your ideal route comes in over budget.

TIP 2: WHERE?
With the aid of a world map, jot down the places you want to visit and sights you want to see and then arrange them into a rough geographic order. You can start your trip by heading either East or West and you don't have to keep going in the same direction. Some zig-zagging or back-tracking is OK (for example, London - Beijing overland to Hong Kong - Bangkok - Sydney is fine, whereas London - Bangkok - Cairo - Sydney wouldn't work so well).

Don't assume that you have to travel “Round the World”. You can go out and back to Australia via the same part of the world or out via Africa and back via Asia for example. While most RTW trips take in Australia and/or New Zealand, you don't have to go to these countries.

TIP 3: HOW?
If you’ve got the time then it makes sense to incorporate some overland travel (surface sectors) into your itinerary. If you travel overland from Bangkok to Singapore for example, you’ll get to see Southern Thailand and Malaysia en-route. Travelling from St. Petersburg through Mongolia to Beijing is another popular overland route as are Santiago to Lima, Sydney to Cairns and Auckland to Christchurch.

There are lots of fantastic transport passes and small group adventure tours that will help you make the most of your overland travel experience. Your travel agent will be able to recommend these and book them for you in conjunction with your flights and will often be able to do so at a discount.

TIP 4: WHEN?
Decide on when you want to depart and how long you want to be away for (Round the World tickets are valid for up to 12 months).

It’s usually cheapest to leave the UK from mid-April to the end of June.Lucky you if this is when you happen to want to set off but don't spend the winter shivering while you wait for the cheapest prices, as fares for departures from the UK in January/February/March or in September/October/November are only usually between £50 - £150 higher.

However, do try and avoid peak travel periods (Easter, July/early August and December/early January in the UK) if you can as fares tend to be even higher then. Probably the hardest flights to find availability on are those returning to the UK from anywhere warm in early January.

Check out the average weather in each place when you’re likely to be there. While it’s impossible to guarantee sunshine everywhere you go, it might be worth switching a few things around if you can avoid monsoons or get the best trekking season.

TIP 5: HOW MUCH?
If you live in Continental Europe, it’s usually cheapest to organise RTW flights from the UK and get a low-cost carrier or train here separately.

Including pre-payable taxes, prices for economy class round the world tickets range from well under £1,000 for basic routes up to £3,000 for massive ones. It is worth noting that unlike lots of other products, with round the world tickets, if you spend more, you tend to get proportionately more for your money – for example, a trip costing £2,000 will almost certainly have more than double the number of stops and will contain fewer compromises than one costing £1,000.

Don’t assume that what you really want to do isn't possible or will be too expensive. A specialist agency can give you a quote for any route and will also be able to tell you what changes need to be made to save you money if your ideal route is over budget.

Booking your Round the World trip
Now you’ve got an idea of the main structure of your trip it’s time to get in touch with a Round the World travel specialist as this type of itinerary needs a human touch; it’s not yet possible to book such complicated trips online.

Article written by Haydn Wrath at round the world flight specialist, Travel Nation – www.travelnation.co.uk

All of the staff at Travel Nation are especially well travelled and, thanks to the generosity of many of our suppliers and a staff travel fund, we all continue to get ‘out there’ every year. We also only recruit travel consultants with several years experience in the travel industry. This means that when you book your trip with us, you will be dealing with someone who has the skills and experience to help you get it right.