RTW planning - The Great Escapade

Just FYI, the Great Escapade website is down for redevelopment at the moment. I keep toying with this idea for 2006 or maybe 2007, as I think the business class fare at £3300+tax represents excellent value. Found this site that shows the fares and some pretty good itineraries - one I thought would be particularly brilliant is this:

London > Hong Kong > (surface) > Kunming > Singapore > Medan > (surface) > Bali > Sydney > Auckland > Western Samoa > Los Angeles > (surface) > San Francisco > London

A grand total of 28,759 miles taking in some fantastic places. This is really whetting my appetite now, so I reckon I've got some planning of time off & saving to do

Cheers

Michael

[mitchja]

That sounds a fantastic trip

Must admit I've been toying with a similar idea as well

Regards

[RichardMannion]

Hi Michael,

Don't forget the VSSQ only version of this ticket - slightly cheaper at £3150+taxes but is booked in D class so qualifies for the chauffeur driven car transfers (remember its not called limos anymore ) and will also therefore qualify for any running UC promo.

I have an action to write a new section for the V-Book in relation to RTW trips and fares etc - but thats on the long list of items Pix has given me to update/write.

Thanks,
Richard

[Nottingham Nick]

I will look forward to that, Richard.

I am 95% sure of a SIN - KUL run next year and 85% sure of a RTW in '07 ' cos that's the year I retire :D

I am avidly reading all tips and suggestions for both, whenever they are posted.

Nick

[fozzyo]

This is something we have discussed, but doubt it will be for a while yet. Money and time being the two big factors. Its one of those holidays I want to do but not have to worry about the expense too much, going round the world so I want to experience it properly.

Looking forward to seeing some TR's from ppl who have done it.

Foz )

Richard

Kewl, thanks for that - you get those from the same places? That would be great having "chauffeur driven transfers" (:D) when hopping on the VS legs [8D] Will look forward to your guide

Nick - retiring so soon? Had no idea you were that old
(Yeah, I know you guys retire earlier than the rest of us )

Cheers

Michael

Have been lucky enough to do it but sadly in Y but still a great experience. Only bit of advice i would give you Mcuth is do more in NZ- perhaps a tour of the north then take an internal to CHC and do the south island- having lived there i can personally say it is the most stunning place in the world (esp the south). To go all thta way and not visit the south island would be a real shame.

You can then either fly direct to Nadi from CHC and connect to the Air NZ Internal Pacific Flights to Samoa or fly via AKL.

Also remember from later this year you will have the pleasure of UCS and AVOD on Air NZ!

Thanks willd - I'll be sure to revisit this later on - for now it's still a pipe dream

Cheers

Michael

[Decker]

Any etymologists care to comment on "pipe dream" - is it drug related I wonder?

Michael,

How long would this venture take you, and what time of year are you looking at?

The "surface" trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco is a nice one. But not this time of year due to all the rain we get. We receive almost all of our yearly rain between November and March.

The drive along the coast is wonderful. May I make a suggestion???

Rent a motorhome in Los Angeles, you can drive and camp on your way to San Francisco. There are several State and Private owned RV campgrounds, some right on the beach.

One company here that does this is http://www.elmonte.com/ You can pick up in LA, and drop in San Francisco.

We own an RV and go out about once a month. During the summer I meet several folks from the UK and other countries that do this.

They also will travel from LA to Vegas, then Vegas to San Francisco.


Take care,

Mark

quote:Originally posted by mcuth
Just FYI, the Great Escapade website is down for redevelopment at the moment. I keep toying with this idea for 2006 or maybe 2007, as I think the business class fare at £3300+tax represents excellent value. Found this site that shows the fares and some pretty good itineraries - one I thought would be particularly brilliant is this:

London > Hong Kong > (surface) > Kunming > Singapore > Medan > (surface) > Bali > Sydney > Auckland > Western Samoa > Los Angeles > (surface) > San Francisco > London

A grand total of 28,759 miles taking in some fantastic places. This is really whetting my appetite now, so I reckon I've got some planning of time off & saving to do

Cheers

Michael

[HighFlyer]

Ive booked a Great Escapade that i will be doing this year!! I am so excited that i cant think of anything else!

Booked the Great Escapade as i didnt know of the VS/SQ option at the time but im happy to do it that way as i want to spend a proportion of my trip in Auz anyway so routing through AKL wasnt a problem.

Mcuth - plan it and book it. You wont regret it. Its something that my partner and i discussed for ages and finally thought that if we dont do it now we never will. Im sure we will both look on this trip as one of the best experiences we will ever have (until we do another LOL), after all its more than just a holiday, its a circum-navigation of the globe!

We are taking a month off to do ours which is really feasible even with work commitments, it just means taking it all at once. We booked the business class option for £3300 each plus tax (which was about £150), and its a bargain considering, plus the travelling element becomes a joy rather than a drag in J - especially if you enjoy flying like myself. We booked ours through Travelbag as we found it helpful to go and see them in the Strand and personally talk through all the details, they have been really good with giving us advice.

We chose our routing of:

LHR > HKG > SIN > BKK (surface) KUL > SIN > SYD > AKL > LAX (surface) SFO > LHR

While we are in SYD we are taking Qantas flights to AYQ and CNS also. We leave at the end of June and come back at the end of July. SYD will be pretty mild that time of year but Asia is going to be like an oven!!

I will post a report of my RTW when i return for anyone who interested in the experience. I tried searching the web for advice but all i could find was stuff about backpacking and gap-years, neither related to what im doing. I might put something on the web about my trip if it is sucessful as i cant be the only person out there to do a mad dash around the world - without a back pack in sight!

There is so much to plan for - and lots that we havent even started addressing yet, but we will get round to it one day. If anyone is considering going the RTW trip i would advise you to have a play with the route planner, sit down with an atlas and a few brochures, plan where you want to go and when - and seriously find a way to do it!!

Mark

quote:How long would this venture take you, and what time of year are you looking at?

I think I'd probably take 6 weeks off (some holiday leave, and some unpaid leave - hence the long look into the future, gonna take a while to save up ) and do it either around spring or autumn time - think it'd be best to avoid the summer months.

Not quite sure about the surface trip from LA to SF - I've gotta say the coastal drive has appealed, but the ease & speed of a quick plane hop tends to appeal more

Highflyer

quote:plan it and book it. You wont regret it.

Oh I'm intending to , just need to work out how long it's going to take to save up for the weeks missing work (I'm not going to take all 5 weeks paid allowance in one hit - would rather take some unpaid leave so I have some other leave to fall back on ). That's why I'm not realistically targetting this til 2006/07 (although the more I look at that routing, the more I'm tempted to try bring it forward [8D]).

Like you say, the idea of doing a RTW in comfort without a backpack is really quite attractive

Cheers

Michael

quote:Originally posted by Decker
Any etymologists care to comment on "pipe dream" - is it drug related I wonder?

Yes it is -- American slang from the late 1800's referring to opium hallucinations.

BC

[Decker]

Cheers BC suspected as much... funny how these things enter the language.

quote:Originally posted by mcuth

Not quite sure about the surface trip from LA to SF - I've gotta say the coastal drive has appealed, but the ease & speed of a quick plane hop tends to appeal more

We did it in September. Brilliant sunshine down to overnight at Monterey. Fog all the way down to San Luis Obispo on day 2 and not much better on day 3 to Ventura.

Mind you, you do go through the garlic capital of the world:D

The road has to be driven to be believed and I am told that the sea views are awesome;)


It may be worth bearing in mind that if you are D or J class, you are entitled to ground transfer to/from any address in California[^][^]

Sounds a great trip Michael.

One interesting alternative for LAX - SFO is the Amtrak train that runs LA to Seattle. It follows the coast road so you get the same views as driving but without having to watch the road! For a real UCS experience book yourself a sleeper car (LA to SF is all daytime) and get your own space, included meals and access to the first class lounge car...


Doesnt beat doing Highway 1 on the back of a motorbike though!!!

Erm I am not sure what you are all talking about? Are you flying around the world?

[RichardMannion]

Just remember that any surface sectors are taken into the allowance regardless of the fact that you won't be flying on the RTW ticket.

So if you fly into LAX and then out of JFK to LHR, even though you can't do a flight between LAX and JFK on the RTW ticket, the mileage between the two points is deducted from the 29,000 miles initial allowance. I say initial as you can buy extra miles in 1500 miels chunks, prices start at $100 for Economy.

Thanks,
Richard

quote:Originally posted by PatDavies
It may be worth bearing in mind that if you are D or J class, you are entitled to ground transfer to/from any address in California[^][^]

Now that is an idea
Shame that it'd be a non-VS flight into LAX though

Cheers

Michael

[RichardMannion]

But is it a non-VS flight taking you from LAX to home?

Thanks,
Richard

quote:Originally posted by RichardMannion
But is it a non-VS flight taking you from LAX to home?

Ahhhhh good point indeed - though I'd hate to go from LAX to SFO on the ground transport just to get a flight

Cheers

Michael

Guys i know i keep banging on about this but mcuth by the time u fly Air NZ will no longer be the weak link in the 3some!!!

You will have UCS- V Port (but Air NZ version)- and you will be on either a brand new 777 (likely if flying from Pacific ISlands) or on a brand new refitted 744. And the Air NZ service is out of this world- so friendly. I would go as far to say that on the whole service is better than with VS- whilst with VS we have a numebr of super staff we also seem to have some dud staff he let the rest down- not the case with nz- thats my pov anywya!

quote:The road has to be driven to be believed and I am told that the sea views are awesome

How true! I have done this route about 6 times since living here (12 years) and see something new everytime!

If you have the time, I highly suggest you take the time for it!

As for driving from LA to Vegas... well that is another story. Not much to see, unless you like open desert!

Mark

[honey lamb]

quote:Mind you, you do go through the garlic capital of the world

I went to the Garlic Festival a couple of years ago and among other things, had garlic ice cream!! [:0]

quote:Originally posted by RichardMannion
Hi Michael,

Don't forget the VSSQ only version of this ticket - slightly cheaper at £3150+taxes but is booked in D class so qualifies for the chauffeur driven car transfers (remember its not called limos anymore ) and will also therefore qualify for any running UC promo.


Thanks,
Richard

Sorry Richard, but the VS/SQ only version is now booked in Z class for VS and D class for SQ. Changed about 8 months ago I think