A round-the-world (RTW) ticket bundles many flights into one booking. This guide covers the main ways to buy one in 2026. The options are airline alliance fares, travel agency tickets, and a do-it-yourself mix of one-way flights. The guide explains the rules, price ranges, and limits that matter when you work from the road for months. Rules and prices were checked in October 2026 and can change.
How Round-the-World Tickets Work
Most RTW tickets share a few rules. The seller changes the details, so the shared points come first.
- Direction: The route goes east or west without doubling back across oceans. Backtracking inside one continent is often allowed.
- Oceans: The trip crosses the Atlantic once and the Pacific once.
- Time limit: Alliance tickets stay valid for up to 12 months. oneworld Explorer also requires a trip of at least 10 days.
- Return point: oneworld needs the trip to end in the starting city. According to Afar, Star Alliance only needs a return to the starting country.
- Price: The fare depends on cabin class, plus the number of continents or the total miles.
The 12-month limit and the one-direction rule shape each choice in this guide.
oneworld Explorer and Global Explorer
oneworld sells two main RTW fares on oneworld.com. Explorer sets the price by the number of continents, while Global Explorer sets it by distance.
- Continents: Explorer trips include three to six continents, and the fare rises with each one.
- Flights: A trip needs between 3 and 16 flights.
- Trip length: The trip lasts from 10 days to 12 months and ends in the starting city.
- Cost: According to Afar, economy fares from the United States start near $3,500 for three continents. They reach about $7,000 for six continents.
- Baggage: oneworld lists two free checked bags of 23 kilos each.
- Points: Frequent flyer points cannot pay for the ticket. The flights do earn miles and tier credit.
Global Explorer uses mileage tiers from 26,000 to 39,000 miles. The fare also adds airlines such as Aer Lingus, Jetstar, and WestJet.
oneworld reports that solo travelers make up 66% of RTW trips. The typical trip covers about seven destinations over three months or more. Each added continent raises the fare, so a short side trip to a new continent can cost more than expected. The Novo Monde travel blog found that adding Central America raised its quote by a large amount. The route stayed in South America.
As of now, oneworld does not allow an itinerary to start through Doha on Qatar Airways.
Best for: travelers who want a fixed route across three to five continents and plan to earn miles.
Star Alliance Round the World
Star Alliance covers about 1,300 destinations and sells RTW fares through its Book and Fly tool.
- Pricing: The fare depends on total miles flown and cabin class, in tiers of 26,000, 29,000, 34,000, or 39,000 miles.
- Stops: The route needs at least two stopovers of 24 hours or more. The route can include up to 15 stops.
- Validity: Tickets stay valid for 12 months.
- Route: The trip crosses the Atlantic and the Pacific and returns to the starting country, though the end airport can differ.
- Cost: Afar puts the low end for economy at about $4,000.
The earth is about 24,900 miles around. A 29,000-mile tier leaves roughly 4,100 miles of spare distance, and routes that zigzag between continents use that distance quickly. Extra distance moves a trip into a higher tier.
Paying with miles has also become harder. ANA stopped issuing new Star Alliance RTW award tickets on June 23, 2025, and oneworld does not accept points for its RTW fares.
The tier and stop details above come from a 2018 Star Alliance fare announcement and an Afar guide updated in October 2026. Sources describe the cap as 15 stops or 16 flights, so the count is worth confirming in Book and Fly before paying.
Best for: travelers who want the widest choice of airlines and cities, with a route that stays within one mileage tier.
SkyTeam Has Closed Its RTW Program
SkyTeam closed its RTW ticket program. The alliance said traveler habits changed as point-to-point travel became easier. Some third-party pages still mention a SkyTeam RTW fare, so any quote that includes one deserves a second check.
- Status: Closed, according to SkyTeam’s own notice.
- Workaround: Travelers can build a trip from separate award flights or buy a ticket on another alliance.
RTW Tickets From Travel Agencies
Travel agencies that specialize in RTW trips build tickets from several alliances and airlines. AirTreks, Travel Nation, Trailfinders, and Flight Centre are well-known examples.
- Route freedom: AirTreks lists no mileage or segment limits. Afar says it also allows overland sections, such as flying into London and out of Paris.
- Price: AirTreks says most economy tickets cost $2,500 to $8,000 per person. A five-stop route often costs $3,500 to $5,000.
- Date changes: Changes on most segments usually carry an airline fee of $75 to $150 per flight, according to AirTreks.
- Fees: AirTreks adds a service fee and shows the full price before booking.
- Validity: Most tickets stay valid for up to one year from the first flight.
AirTreks says package pricing is often 40 to 60 percent below one-way fares. The Novo Monde blog ran its own comparison for an eight-month route from Paris through Asia, New Zealand, and South America. Alliance tools did not go below 4,000 euros. Agency quotes ranged from 3,900 to 6,000 euros, and separate flights added up to about 3,800 euros. The figures are older, so current prices may differ.
Best for: travelers with a complex route, overland sections, or a start and end point in different places.
One-Way and Multi-City Tickets
Booking each flight separately keeps the plan open. A multi-city booking on a flight search site sits in the middle.
- Price: International one-way fares often cost 60 to 80 percent of a round-trip fare, according to AirTreks. Six one-way flights can therefore cost more than one RTW ticket for the same cities.
- Flexibility: No 12-month limit and no direction rule apply.
- Multi-city tickets: One booking covers several legs, but Novo Monde notes that date changes are not free.
- Proof of onward travel: Some countries ask to see a flight out before entry, which is harder with one-way tickets. Our guide to one-way versus round-trip tickets covers the options.
Katy Nastro of Going told Afar that travelers should price a similar trip one flight at a time before buying an RTW ticket. Flexible-date tools make the work easier, and our comparison of flight search tools covers the main choices. You can also search each leg on FlyBibe and compare the total with an alliance quote.
Free stopover programs from some airlines can add a second city to a single long flight.
Best for: travelers with an open route, a trip longer than a year, or a plan to mix points and cash.
Which Option Fits Your Trip
The right choice depends on the shape of the trip.
- Five or more stops across three or more continents, within 12 months: AirTreks says an RTW ticket usually wins on value here. Pricing one alliance fare and one agency quote is worth the time.
- Three or four stops in one region: A multi-stop or multi-city ticket may cost less than a full RTW fare.
- Unclear route or a trip longer than a year: One-way tickets carry no time limit.
Remote workers often stay for weeks or months in each place, which changes the math. A 12-month ticket with three-month stays supports about four bases. Fast routes with many stops can also lead to travel burnout.
The time limit deserves extra attention. The Novo Monde bloggers extended their trip to 19 months, missed the final flight on a 12-month ticket, and bought a new ticket home.
Who Should Skip an RTW Ticket
An RTW ticket is a weaker fit in a few cases.
- Slow travelers: Two or three bases over a full year use few flights, so separate tickets may cost less.
- Frequent date changers: Agency tickets charge per flight for changes, and the fees add up.
- Travelers paying with points: oneworld does not accept points, and ANA closed new Star Alliance award RTW tickets.
- Nomads without a home base: Alliance tickets end where they began, in the same city for oneworld and the same country for Star Alliance.
Price Your Route Before You Commit
An RTW ticket suits a fixed, one-direction route of five or more stops within 12 months. Slower trips, frequent date changes, or a route with no end point often work better as separate flights. Pricing the plan both ways before paying shows whether a single ticket is worth the extra rules. Once the first long flight is clear, price that leg on FlyBibe and compare it with an alliance quote.