The original purpose of this trip was to visit Alice’s son and his family in Tokyo, Japan, and attend the EXPO 2025 World’s Fair in Osaka, Japan. The planning gradually increased until this trip became one of the most complex that I’ve ever taken. And it became, by far, the most extended and most extensive trip that Alice had ever taken.
Round-the-World Airfares
Route-the-World (RTW) airfares are a little-known airline rate. They involve going west until you get back home or, alternatively, going east until you get back home. Many other rules make them too complex for business travelers or occasional tourists.
The cost of a Round-the-World (RTW) airfare ticket is roughly the same as a non-stop, round-trip ticket from Boston to Japan. Two airline alliances offer RTW airfare: Star Alliance and Oneworld. Each serves more than a thousand different destinations on more than a dozen different airlines. Combining an RTW ticket with a few non-RTW side trips meant that we could travel to any country in the world for essentially no extra cost!
But where to go? What a fascinating subject to investigate! I spent two years pondering where to go on this trip.
Ever since I was a child watching the 1958 musical South Pacific, I’ve wanted to travel to an island in the South Pacific. But which one? Fiji, Tahiti, Bora Bora, Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Tonga, Vanuatu? So many choices for a romantic couple’s trip.
Just because a flight exists doesn’t mean it qualifies as part of an RTW airfare. The ticket restrictions are so complex that each alliance provides an online tool to determine whether or not a particular route qualifies. Over several months, I ran dozens of scenarios.
After extensive research, I concluded that only Tahiti can be reached without long side trips. United Airlines has five flights per week from San Francisco to Tahiti. Air New Zealand has three flights per week from Tahiti to Auckland, New Zealand. Both are members of Star Alliance. That meant we could travel west from the United States to Tahiti and then continue traveling west from Tahiti to New Zealand. Perfect for an around-the-world airfare.
Bora Bora isn’t far from Tahiti. Buying a separate airline ticket for the short flight got us a second South Pacific island.
In high school, I used to study to the soundtrack from the movie South Pacific. The music drowned out the sounds from the street and my other family members. The song Bali Ha’i from the movie always haunted me. I was able to add a stop in Bali to our itinerary.
It wasn’t until we got to Bali, that I learned that the song Bali Ha’i wasn’t actually about Bali. The song was based on Ambae in Vanuatu, an island visible from Espiritu Santo island, where author James Michener was stationed during World War II.
Other stops
We had already planned to spend a month in Florida. By adding Florida to our round-the-world itinerary, we avoided buying additional round-trip tickets from Boston to Florida.
Curiously, the cost of a Round-the-World ticket is significantly less when originating in Canada than when originating in the United States. By flying to Canada on a separate ticket, we saved considerable money. From the airline’s point of view, after Germany, we’ll be “stopping” in Boston for the summer before finishing our journey back to Canada.
To make this itinerary work, we had to take connecting flights. Spending time in these other cities makes more sense than just seeing their airports. To connect the dots, we also visited New Zealand, Thailand, and Germany.
Summary
The map at the top of this page shows our complete flight plan. Tahiti is location #5 on that map. Note that this is an active page, not just a photo. You can pan and zoom. The icons at the top allow you to bring up more details.
Our final itinerary was:
- Canada: 2 days (Toronto)
- Florida: 27 days (The Villages & Orlando)
- French Polynesia: 14 days (Tahiti, Tapu’ amu, and Bora Bora)
- New Zealand: 2 days (Auckland)
- Indonesia: 10 days (Ubud & Amed)
- Thailand: 7 days (Bangkok)
- Japan: 13 days. (Tokyo & Osaka)
- Germany: 4 days (Munich)
Total:
- 79 days (“Around the World in less than 80 days”)
- 15 flights to 8 countries; 30,000 miles on eight airlines.
Flight to Tahiti
The most challenging location to reach was Tahiti. United Airlines has five nonstop flights from San Francisco (SFO) to Tahiti (PPT) every week (one each on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday), but stopping in San Francisco can’t be part of an RTW. The only way to include it in an RTW fare was to change planes in San Francisco and not leave the airport. (This was an unfortunate restriction because Alice has never been to San Francisco and would have loved to do some sightseeing there.)
Missing that connection in San Francisco would ruin our entire trip. The next flight wouldn’t be for a day or two, and it might cost thousands of dollars extra or be full.
To guard against flight delays, I was able to find a connection with a three-hour layover in San Francisco. To guard against traffic delays causing us to miss our 6 am flight from Orlando, we had a friend drive us to an airport hotel in Orlando the day before.
On Friday, March 28, at 4:30 AM (Eastern Standard Time), we took the hotel shuttle to Orlando International Airport (MCO). We checked in with no line at the Business Class counter, then used our TSA precheck to pass through security quickly. Before boarding our flight, we had a light buffet breakfast at the business class lounge.
The plane departed on time at 6:28 AM. Shortly after takeoff, breakfast was served. I watched a movie, listened to music, and had a short nap on the reclining business class seat. A snack was served before landing. After a pleasant 6-hour flight, we arrived at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
Once we arrived, we were treated to a wonderful, relaxing stay at the United Polaris Lounge in San Francisco. We registered for free, spacious shower suites and quiet rooms for quick naps. We also made reservations for their included sit-down restaurant meal where we ordered off the menu.
We made it to our 2nd flight of the day with time to spare. They served a meal shortly after takeoff. I watched two movies and listened to two music channels. On this Polaris-class flight, the seat flipped upside down to create a truly flat bed with a mattress. I was able to get some much-needed sleep! They served another full meal shortly before landing. After an 8-hour flight, we arrived in Papeʻetē, the capital of French Polynesia. A quick taxi ride brought us to our resort, arriving after 9 pm Tahiti Time (GMT-10).
In summary, we had five meals that day. I watched three movies and sleep several times. The trip took 21 hours from hotel to hotel and crossed six time zones.
Lots of planning and lots of nervous waiting paid off!
