It’s hard to believe CBS’s The Amazing Race is in its 20th season, transporting armchair travelers to some of the most seductive places on the planet, pitting their wits against those of the real, live contestants.
Makes you want to ditch the remote and pack a bag. To that end, here’s Cheapflights’ version of an around-the-world trip, one that’s entirely doable.
The first tip: stay with one, just one, of the big airline alliances. Book only their carriers during a given sojourn. That eases connections, speeds up bag transfers, and makes sure you can rack up some reciprocally-redeemable frequent flyer miles. In this case, we’re going to book the oneworld alliance, and Dallas/Fort Worth is our starting point. We’re heading east, on American Airlines. The trip from DFW to London is 4,741 miles as the Boeing 777 flies. We’re sure you can come up with something to do when you get there.
The second leg of the journey is the longest, a 5,986-mile flight aboard one of British Airways’ big Boeings from Heathrow to Hong Kong. Hand’s down, this is the most visually compelling city on the planet, a place where sea, mountains and skyscrapers combine to take your breath away. The best way to view it is from either Victoria Peak, or the sublime Star Ferry. See Hong Kong from both sides now, from mountain and sea.
The distance from Hong Kong on to Sydney aboard Cathay Pacific is a surprising 4,566 miles. Sydney too is a visual stunner. Scenery aside, it’s the Sydneysiders, the people of this Down Under metropolis, that render the city special. They are openly, legitimately friendly.
Out to Kingsford-Smith Airport, through passport control and out to your waiting Qantas jet for a 5,064-mile transpacific trek to Honolulu. From there, you can explore Oahu’s underappreciated beauties (especially the north shore), or take a quick trip top one of the Neighbor Islands.
Time to head home. Sorry ‘bout that. But you, like the folks on The Great Race, are on a budget. American will take you back to Dallas/Fort Worth on the shortest of you great adventure’s legs. This one is a mere 3,790 miles.
In all you’ve managed to wrack up 24,147 miles. Not bad, considering the circumference of the earth is an official 24,901.55 miles. All in all, the route was as efficient as it was exciting.
Now it’s time to plan your next round-the-worlder.
Story by Jerry Chandler
(Image: NASA Goddard Photo and Video)
