Round the World Cheap and Flexible

I was poking around planning my epic round the world venture and I was shocked to discover that a one-way flight from the Philippines to Indonesia costs almost as much as a one-way ticket to from San Francisco to the Philippines - at least using my favorite flight aggregator, kayak.

At these rates, it would cost a fortune making your way around the globe spontaneously, as I’m planning to do.

I did some searches on round the world tickets, but it appears (after a very casual examination) that these things tend either be very expensive of they lock you into a relatively limited itinerary.

Then I found this page on Wikitravel about discount airlines, many of which will not show up in a search on expedia, orbitz, etc. Or even a meta-aggregator like Kayak. I also found a very helpful site listing discount air carriers.

While I was getting quotes at US$700-$800 for a one-way from the Manila to Jakarta on Kayak, I found this gem: Jestar Airways, a cheap Australian outfit with a well-designed website, offers the same one-way route for US$89. They fly to quite a few destinations in Southeast Asia in addition to the stops you’d expect Australia and New Zealand.

It looks like the key to making your way around the world in a cheap, highly flexible manner is to get to know these airlines, where they fly, and what their bargains are. Which is a pretty gargantuan task, considering the huge number of carriers, their limited routings, and their often poor websites.