Booking Procedure

View our terms and conditions

In order to make a booking you will need to know three things :

1) When you will leave the U.K
2) Where you are going.
3) The first and last names of each passenger as they are spelled in each traveller's passport.

On most round the world tickets it is also necessary to put in dates for each leg of your journey. These dates are almost always changeable either for free or for a nominal charge once you are travelling . The date change conditions that apply to your ticket will be detailed on the booking confirmation form we send you.

If you are going away for a short time or need to be in particular places in at particular times, the date you book each flight of your trip will of course be important. If you are planning a longer trip, and can't really say how long you'll be in each place, it isn't a problem to just make up dates and alter these as you are travelling. This is normally a straightforward procedure, though you will of course need to bear in mind that seat availability may be limited at certain times of the year.

The two things that tend to be harder to change once the ticket has been paid for and issued are the route and the date of your first flight.

Booking a round the world trip can get quite involved. In our experience, things are much simpler if you deal with the same person throughout. This is part of the service we offer.

At Travel Nation, not only do we specialise in putting together round the world trips, but every member of staff has had many years experience in this sector of the travel industry. See About Us for more details.

How to Book

By phone : This is the way that most people book. It is better if you don't attempt to do this on your mobile while you are doing your weekly shop in Tescos - even if you are a busy person !

The easy way for a travel agent to book a round the world trip is just to be an 'order taker' but this isn't our style. We think that the correct way to book a round the world trip is to concentrate on the details of your route with you, using our experience and knowledge to help you to hone it and get it exactly right. For us to do this properly, we will need you to have your full attention for half an hour or so. We also recommend that you have a world map and a calendar handy.

Come and see us : A decent cup of tea awaits those who pop in.

We get lots of visitors from all over the country - our record so far is a couple who did a 400 mile round trip from Lincoln because no one else could help them. Brighton is also of course a fine place to spend the day celebrating your round the world booking !

By email : When you book with us, you will be able to communicate directly with your travel consultant by email.

We know that lots of our customers have to plan their trips furtively at work and that it may not be quite appropriate for you to be overheard planning your big year off in the middle of the office !

Our advice re this form of communication is however is if possible to speak to us first. By talking to you we can get a much more accurate picture of your trip. Where email comes in to its own is in exchange of information during the course of you booking up to and even after your departure.

See Contact Us for details of our opening hours.

Payment

A non refundable deposit of £75 per person is payable for airline bookings.
A non refundable deposit of around 10% is normally required for hotels / tours / car hire.

Once a deposit has been paid, every booking is double checked by a manager or supervisor before we send out your confirmation. Among other things this will give details of each flight, airline, departure and arrival time and city. We will also give you your own log in code so you can view your flight booking on line via our website.

Our customers receive responsive and efficient service throughout the life of their booking . We even offer a date change service via email once you are travelling if you are having trouble contacting your airline.

Full payment is normally due 10 weeks prior to departure, or sooner on some ticket types.

Credit Card Surcharges

In order to keep our prices as competitive as possible, the prices that we quote are based on payments made using debit cards such as Switch, Delta or Solo, or by cheque.
If you choose to pay with by Visa or Mastercard, there is a 1.5% surcharge.
Payments with American Express are surcharged at 2%

Tickets

Tickets are issued (i.e. printed ) when final payment has been received.

Tickets are sent to you as soon as all of your travel documents have been issued.

What is meant by an 'E-ticket' or 'Electronic ticket'?

'E-tickets' or 'Electronic tickets' are a system which securely stores all airline ticket details in the relevant airlines computer system.

E-tickets eliminate the need issue a paper ticket . If you are booked on a flight for which you have an e ticket, all you need to check in is your passport and airline reservation number as the check-in staff will be able to access your reservation form your name. This information is provided on your Travel Nation booking form.

E-tickets are easy to use, they are designed to make your journey experience from booking to boarding as fast and hassle-free as possible.

The benefits:

- No need to wait for paper tickets to arrive in the post.
- E-tickets cannot be lost, damaged, forgotten or stolen
- Save time at selected airports by using a 'Self service check-in kiosk' and even 'Online check-in' on some routes.

The majority of airlines now see the benefits of E-ticketing and wherever possible we issue E tickets as opposed to paper ones.

It is planned by airlines that all tickets will be issued as e tickets by 01 June 2008, though this deadline has already been extended twice. Ironically, despite the fact that they are able to operate fleets of aircraft criss-crossing the globe, there are still some carriers who can't get it together to switch from paper tickets to e tickets !

How do I change my dates ?

Up to the time you pay for your tickets, we are happy to make changes for free for you (this is another reason to book with us as, lots of other travel agencies will charge you for this service).

Once you have set off, dates on round the world tickets can normally be changed for free or a small charge (e.g.around £5 - £10). Date change conditions will be stated on your Travel Nation booking form.

Reservation changes can made at any time, though just as with booking your round the world ticket in the first place, the further in advance you do this, the better your chances will be of getting the dates you want.

Date changes can be made by contacting airline locally. Click here to find links to the 'contact us' section of airlines' websites
If contacting an airline is difficult, or you prefer to deal with us, we may be able to assist.

If we can help you, we will make a small charge, in addition to any airline's fee, will be made for this service as follows : £10 per person per date, capped at £25 per person to change 3 or more dates if changed at the same time. These charges apply after tickets have been issued. Please note that changing the departure flight from the U.K. will entail additional charges. These are detailed on the booking form we send you.

Do I get new tickets when I change my dates?

Paper tickets:

On flights where date changes are allowed, when you change dates other than the first date, there is normally no need to get new tickets. i.e. though your ticket will show the original date, it will be valid for the new flight/s.

e-tickets:

Same as above, but you can print off a new e-ticket receipt showing new flight details via http://www.travel-nation.co.uk/viewtrip.htm

Changing the departure date after tickets have been issued :

Airline rules vary here. Sometimes this is not allowed at all (i.e. full cancellation conditions applying and a new ticket being purchased as a separate transaction). More usually it is possible to change the departure date by physically re-issuing tickets, though there is always a charge for this. When you book with us, details of any date change charges will always appear on your booking form.

Can I leave my dates open?

Sometimes. We will let you know if your ticket allows open dated flights.

Tickets where open dated sectors are not allowed are not necessarily more restricted though. As you would expect, when you are travelling, dates can subsequently be changed, usually either for free or for a small charge of around £5 - £10. There are also some tickets on which date change costs are higher. We will advise you of the particular date change conditions are on your ticket.

If you want to travel at a busy time - e.g. Rio for carnival (c. 04-09 Feb), anywhere in Asia for around the Chinese New year (c. 22 Jan) you will need to book well in advance. Christmas, New Year and Easter are also of course times when most flights will operate to capacity.

What happens if I lose my tickets?

Paper tickets:

Airlines usually charge between £50 and £100 to re -issue lost or stolen tickets, though sometimes you will have to pay the full cost of a replacement ticket (which may be more than you paid at time of purchase). We recommend that you have travel insurance which includes cover for replacement tickets. See www.roundtheworldinsurance.co.uk for more details.

Please note that airlines usually take several working days to re-issue tickets, so if you have lost them, get in touch with the airline as soon as you can.

As with your other travel documents, we recommend that you scan or photocopy them before you go. You will thank yourself a hundred times if you need to get replacements and you can provide copies !

e-tickets:

Lucky you. You can print off a new e ticket receipt from our website on http://www.travel-nation.co.uk/viewtrip.htm

Where airlines give us a choice, we always issue e tickets . Much less bother for all involved !

How far ahead can I book ?

It is possible to book airline seats up to 11 months in advance.

This means that is often not possible to book dates that you want when tickets are issued. On tickets where open dated flights are not allowed this may also mean that the dates towards the end of your itinerary may not necessarily the ones that you intend to travel on. You will need to change these dates at a later date.