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A multi-continent trip can be more accessible than you think.
- Travel from continent to continent generally requires more time and money than a domestic vacation.
- However, if you plan your own layovers, take advantage of the International Date Line, and fly on small local airlines, multi-country trips can be more accessible than you think.
- Here are eight things you need to know if you're planning a multi-country travel itinerary with limited funds and time off.
Scrolling through Instagram, I saw my friend post a picture grinning from Morocco. What? I'd seen her post from the Blue Lagoon in Iceland a few days before, and from London before that. At this point, stopovers in Iceland on the way to Europe are pretty common. But to see my friend hop to Africa after Europe? That's another level of itinerary.
Multi-continent trips are more attainable now that there are travel resources to facilitate hitting several destinations. Airline alliances like OneWorld help you plan multi-continent trips, while the Kayak Explore feature allows you to pinpoint inexpensive flights to exotic destinations.
And there seems to be a growing interest in visiting more continents - Marriott's 2014 travel attitudes survey found that 37% of millennials surveyed had been to all seven continents, compared to 17% of travelers age 35 and up.
Solaire Atallah, an office manager based in Atlanta, Georgia, is no stranger to customized, multi-continent travel. She recently orchestrated an itinerary that hit Asia, Australia, and Hawaii, all in a matter of 10 days. Atallah had to be at a conference in Honolulu by Memorial Day weekend, so she set out to plan her itinerary backwards from Hawaii on May 25.
Atallah left from Atlanta on May 17 and managed to hit three Thailand destinations - Bangkok, Phuket, and Ko Phi Phi - then head to Sydney, Australia, before circling back to Hawaii. She booked each leg separately, and most of the flights were in the $100 and $200 range, with the exception of New York City to Bangkok for $499. To get home, she flew Phuket to Sydney ($164), Sydney to Honolulu ($244), Hawaii to Los Angeles ($250), and then back to Atlanta from Los Angeles ($160).
All told, Atallah spent about $1,400 on flights, but because she tacked on a work conference, she was reimbursed for $500, bringing her total to less than $1,000.
Here are eight things you need to know if you're planning a multi-continent trip with limited funds and days off: