Hi

This probably offends all sorts of RTW sensibilities, but I'll risk it anyway <G>.

Three years ago Julie and I discovered that we are good at winning money, so we've saved up for the 'holiday of a lifetime' - 3 weeks in Costa Rica next month, bird and wildlife watching.

Ok - we've still got some lifetime left, so we need a new target. We both work (I love my job, she hates hers) so 4 weeks is the very best we can expect. We both love travel and we can reasonably expect to save up to $10K US by this time 2005. So - is a RTW trip feasible in 4 weeks, or would it just be a nightmare of endless airports and delayed flights?

Has anyone else done something similar? Would anyone consider doing it again?

It takes me about 4 weeks on avarage to fully experience one country...and you want to travel around the world in 28 days? All you'll experience are airports...and let me tell you most of them look the same wherever you go. If I were you I would pick one country a year and travel there for more than a few hours. Experience the culture...see the sights...talk to the locals. That's what travel is all about...not endless hours waiting in airports for the next flight to wherever. All you'll see is a hotel room and the airport.

Just my opinion, though. If you want you can try.

Oddly enough I've done a bit of travelling over the years (6 trips last year, for pleasure, to five different countries, not including Scotland and Wales), and as I said I was risking offending sensibilities here - looks like I did.

I'm not really sure what 'experiencing' a country is - I'm uncertain that I've experienced the UK yet, after 45 years and I'm really not looking for something spiritual here. I'm thinking of maybe 4 or 5 stops in 4 weeks, which would allow me a few highlights in several countries that I haven't visited yet. So far the furthest I've got from the UK is either Turkey or Egypt, neither of which is too bad on red tape and last year our dozen or so flights ranged from 20 minutes early to 9.5 hours late - and believe me, all airports are not the same - Barcelona is a little more sophisticated than Dinard, where your luggage is brought to you on the back of a farm tractor.

So maybe I should have made myself a little clearer - I'm prepared to put up with 18 hours in airports and 30 more on aeroplanes, if I can safely guarantee 4 days in Bombay, 3 in Sydney etc. I think the previous reply was more about one persons idea of 'the right way' to 'travel' and doesn't really help me much. We quite like the way we travel, but we'd never suggest to someone that they should, for example, spend four days with us driving through the northern Sahara in search of rare larks and wheatears. It works for us.

So - I'll rephrase the question - assuming 4 or 5 stops, going eastwards, from the UK, and maybe two stops in Asia, one in Australia, and either one in NZ and the US, or two in the US, how much time will I spend mucking about, and will there be any time left for a holiday?

... I'm sure that your proposal is technically feasible, but contact a RTW specialist such as Trailfinders and they'll advise you.

My own RTW took just over six months. In retrospect, I feel I rushed it, and I would certainly take longer if I ever did it again. On that basis, I don't recommend such a brief tour as you're planning - but the choice, of course, is yours.

Good luck!

Pete

I have found you lose at least one whole day when flying from somewhere...and if you arrive at the next place at some ungodly time of the night you will lose a big chunk of the next day as well...unless ure an insomniac of course :-)
so simple maths tells me with 4 or 5 stopovers ure gonna lose anywhere from 5 to 10 days...and thats assuming it isnt a long haul flight which takes a day in itself !!..... RTW in 28 days.........ermmmmmmmmmm not for me........I recently went on a RTW ticket in 60 days....... with 5 stopovers and that was pushing things to the extreme I thought...

Thanks Peter and Felicity for your helpful replies.

It's looking like we either wait until retirement, which is still a fair way off,
or look at maybe only a few of stopovers, or find another way to spend our money.

Peru and Galapagos are appealing, so maybe that's what we'll look at. Two years to plan it and save up, so no hurry really.

Thanks again