ROUND-THE-WORLD TICKETS
Long to follow in Magellan’s footsteps? Do not buy a slew of disparate tickets around the world. You can save thousands of dollars for your on-the-ground travels by purchasing a round-the-world ticket. Several companies, like Airtreks and Air Brokers International can help arrange complicated global itineraries, sometimes for discounted prices. Also try the airlines directly for their latest fares. The One World Alliance, a group of eight airlines, including American, British Airways, and Qantas, offers around-the-world tickets with up to 20 segments (geo-specific regions of travel). SkyTeam, an alliance of nine airlines, including Continental, Delta, Air France, and KLM, offers round-the-world fares with over 650 stops to choose from.

AIR PASSES
Okay, so you’re not planning on circumnavigating the earth anytime soon, but how about a little continental perambulation? There are plenty of smaller-scale deals with specific airlines and alliances that can save you tons on intra-continental travel. For example, the Star Alliance, a group of 16 airlines, including United, Lufthansa, Thai Airways, and Air Canada, offers discounted air passes for Europe, North America, Asia, and the South Pacific, among others. Passengers buy between three and ten coupons starting at $65 each, which are then redeemable for single-segment flights between any of the alliance’s destinations in the given region. Similar deals are also available within certain countries, with deals on international airfare and a set number of intra-country flights. For example, Qantas, in association with Tourism Australia, currently offers international airfare and three domestic flights for prices starting at $999, far cheaper than any other DIY pricing available. The best way to track down packages like this is to check the websites of the national airlines or the country’s tourism website, easily accessible via Google.