When there’s no fixed price and you’ve got to negotiate, what’s the best way of going about it? David Whitley explains his own blundering haggling techniques.

For someone who has grown up in green and drizzly Britain, there are few things more intimidating than not knowing what the price of something is. The way it works is that you go into a shop, the price is there and you buy it for that price, yes?  Well, not everywhere it isn’t. This fixed price concept is very much a Western thing. And while we may think it’s the only sane thing to do, people elsewhere work on very different principles.

The Real Skinny

Okay here's the real skinny. The big airline alliances now sell RTWs online. You can design an RTW for you. Plot it out. You can spend time working out the quirks. And working out the complex ticketing rules. Then you can work out how to max it out. How to get airmiles maybe. And for that you can pay up to £1000+ for that privilage. Alternatively you could call a specialist such as roundtheworldflights.com on 020 7704 5700.

When planning a round the world trip one of the first things you need to consider is how long you’re going to be away for. While there may be a job or a university place that provides you with a fixed end date to your travels, more likely than not it’s how long you money will last that will be the single most important factor in determining the length of your trip.

Working out the cost of a RTW trip is for many people little more than an exercise in guesswork. There are so many unknowns about a trip that it’s easy to give up on budgeting before you start. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be that way. There are a few simple steps to help you work out roughly how much you’re likely to spend before you go.