Doc Holiday: How to plan a round the world trip

Round-the-world tickets are a wonderful way to see multiple countries, here’s how to book one.

Escape's Doc Holiday, Dilvin Yasa, answers your travel-related questions.

I would like to plan a round-the-world trip with my wife to celebrate our 50th anniversary but I’m not sure how it works. We were thinking about New York, Paris, London and perhaps Germany.

What a wonderful idea. Round-the-world (RTW) tickets are essentially one-way, long-haul flights allowing between two and 15 stops within a certain time frame (usually 12 months). Three major alliances offer them, Star Alliance, Oneworld and Skyteam, and while they can be good value, they do come with a certain set of conditions that may not suit every traveller. You must, for example, travel in one direction (flying east or west) for the duration of your trip, you will need to leave and return to the same country and you will need to travel with the partner airlines within the alliance, which means no budget airlines are bookable.

Star Alliance is easily the largest airline alliance, with 28 members, allowing you to reach most destinations around the globe, but I urge you to take a look at each alliance site and consider the airlines within each fold.

Star Alliance also allows you to have five “surface” sections in your itinerary, which means you can travel from one destination to another five times within your travels. This allows you to fly to London, catch a train to Paris and then depart from Paris so you can shave a decent sum off the price of your RTW ticket.

I recommend having a play on each of the alliance “Book a round-the-world-ticket” websites to check pricing and see what works for you and then chat to a travel agent. They just might be able to magic something wonderful that the average person wouldn’t be able to achieve at home independently.

It’s also worth doing a price comparison at skyscanner.com.au to see what the difference would be if you booked the individual flights yourself. RTW tickets can be worth their weight in gold for those who like to travel on a set schedule, don’t care for budget airlines and want to rack up the frequent-flyer points, but it can often be cheaper booking flights yourself. It depends on whether you want the safety net of a travel agent. I would personally go for a travel agent in cases where the ticket is complicated.

France requires Australian drivers to hold an International Driving Permit as well as a valid Australian driver’s licence. Picture: iStock.

I’m planning to spend three months driving around the Loire Valley in France. Am I able to use my Australian licence or do I need to get a French permit?

Bonjour, mon amie. That sounds like a wonderful way to spend three months.

France requires Australian drivers to hold an International Driving Permit as well as a valid Australian driver’s licence and the permit must be obtained before leaving the country (you can’t get one if you’re already overseas).

The NRMA is an authorised sales agent of the Australian Automobile Association and you can buy one at mynrma.com.au for $49 plus postage. You will, of course, first need to check whether you meet the requirements and you can do this at the Australian Automobile Association website (aaa.asn.au). You’ll also need a recent passport-style photo.

Please note that the IDP is valid only for 12 months from the date of issue or the expiry date of your Australian driver’s licence, so it’s best to apply a month or so before you fly out.

Super-compact Hobart is the perfect size for a port visit. Picture: iStock.

Can you recommend some places to visit in Hobart to make the most of our port visit? Is there a cruise up the Derwent?

Super-compact Hobart is the perfect size for a port visit; you’ll leave feeling like you’ve done the destination justice. If you’d like to do a cruise up the Derwent, Hobart Yachts has a three-hour sailing aboard a luxury 62-foot ocean cruiser for $170 per person including catering. For something quick, Hobart Historic Cruises offers one-hour cruises in the morning and in the afternoon from $28 per adult, as well as a 90-minute lunch cruise from $55.

No visit to Hobart would be complete without a visit to Mona. And seeing Cascades Female Factory to discover the stories of some of the country’s female convicts is also high on the list. Shopping and eating in Salamanca Place is a highlight (particularly if you’re there on a Saturday when the markets are on), while the oysters at Pearl + Co are some of the best.

Since you’re organising your own shore excursions, take care to leave plenty of time to make your way back to the ship; it won’t wait for passengers who aren’t on tours booked through them.

Originally published as Doc Holiday: How to plan a round the world trip