Some travelers turn to such agencies out of desperation. Last summer, Amanda Pressner, 29, a nutrition editor at a fitness magazine in New York City, and two of her girlfriends ditched their media jobs and set off on their own yearlong, 56,300km journey around the globe, which they, of course, blogged about at www.lostgirlsworld.blogspot.com. But two months into the jaunt, while touring South America, they realized that flying ticket-to-ticket created more frustration than it was worth. Some airline Web sites, for instance, wouldn't accept foreign credit cards and didn't provide customer service numbers.
So after making their way on their own to Nairobi, they turned to Airtreks, a travel agency based in San Francisco that specializes in round-the-world itineraries, and booked tickets from there to Sydney for US$2,300 each that took them to seven cities in Asia, New Zealand and Australia.
In addition, they were assigned an individual travel consultant who offered time- and money-saving tips. Instead of backtracking over land to fly out of the same city in New Zealand, for instance, when they had other cities in New Zealand on their list to see, they flew into Auckland, made their way down to Christchurch and flew out of that city.
"It would have ended up costing us money to get back to Auckland," said Pressner. The agent also informed them that in order to get in and out of New Zealand easily they needed visas for their next stop - Australia - saving them the hassle at immigration.
Whether you decide to use an alliance or an agency to get you across the globe, try starting your trip in Europe. Pressner learned that "because Europeans and Brits book more round-the-world tickets, they're actually cheaper to do from Europe," she said. "If you can get a budget flight to London and start your trip there, you can save money." Trailfinders, based in London, (www.trailfinders.com) was recently advertising a round-the-world ticket from London with stops in Los Angeles, Auckland and Hong Kong, flying on Virgin Atlantic Airways and Air New Zealand, from US$1,870.
It's also possible to book an open ticket, which lets you schedule flights as you go, instead of locking yourself into set dates. But with planes packed so full these days, last-minute seats may not be available. And if you're trying to see the world in three weeks or less, "travel westward," said Eimerd Evertsen, owner and president of Air Brokers International, based in San Francisco. "In general, it's easier on the body to travel with the rotation of the Earth."
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