At the origin of this trip around the world, made in the company of my friend Jean-Francois, a crazy bet:
Would you dare to go away for a week by stopping every day in a new city… and completing a complete tour of the globe? Jean-Maximilien
Would you dare to go away for a week by stopping every day in a new city… and completing a complete tour of the globe?
Jean-Maximilien
With the changes made on the Aeroplan program,the mini-round the world as we know it (with 3 stops of more than 24 hours) no longer exists since September 1, 2019.
We wanted to make one last one (even if it is not really a mini-round the world since we stopped only twice more than 24 hours, which is still achievable today).
So we booked this trip only a few days before departure!
Jean-Francois and I both have:
What’s more, mine are still very young (2 and 4 years), so “experiences” of this type are more difficult than being single / childless.
In addition, being able to tell yourself to have:
… and all this in 1 week, is for us, the experience of a lifetime.
milesopedia is my small business, founded 5 years ago.
This is a site on:
But also, a site with:
In short, it is above all a site of “content” that we create from real-life experiences, not “stock photos”.
While our members’ testimonials play a major role on the site, our reviews and photo reports help our readers and members in their choice of destinations, hotels, airport lounges and airlines.
This experiment was also done to demonstrate that:
For example, we used:
The Aeroplan loyalty program allowed us to book our multi-stop airfare.
For 150,000 Aeroplan miles and $250 in taxes,we were initially able to book a airline ticket, in business class between:
Thanks to our knowledge of the program, we were able to avoid all carrier surcharge and pay only $250 in taxes!
But as in all travel, unexpected events can happen!
A flight delay from Istanbul influenced a flight change (in our favour): Turkish Airlines placed us on the direct flight between Istanbul and Kuala Lumpur (avoiding a 2-hour stopover in Bangkok).
And as the situation deteriorated in Hong Kong with major protests, we decided to call Aeroplan the day before our flight to that city, to change and be placed on a Singapore-Tokyo-Osaka flight. Thanks to our knowledge of the program, this change was made free of charge!
Marriott Bonvoy is our favorite hotel program for two reasons:
Thanks to all this, we make it a priority to stay in one of the 9,000+ hotels in the Marriott Bonvoy group in order to:
Discover our ultimate guide to Marriott Bonvoy to save on your next hotel stay.
We’ve taken advantage of all these benefits on several occasions: it’s practical to get your hotel room as early as 10 a.m. when arriving in a city at 7 a.m., or on the contrary to keep it until 4 p.m. for a flight around 8 p.m. after a day on the run in a city.
And what about free breakfasts or access to the lounges for glasses of wine and free evening meals.
What’s more, by paying for our Marriott hotels with the Marriott BonvoyTM American ExpressMD Card, I enjoyed an accumulation of 5 points per dollar.
And I was even able to use a 35,000-point free night certificate offered with the renewal of my Marriott BonvoyTM Business American ExpressMD Card.
In some cities, the Best Western Rewards program can also be very attractive.
It happened, for example, that Marriott hotels were too expensive in points / money for the need we had. Why spend more when Best Western Rewards offers a more economical solution.
Especially when we also have a very high elite status obtained through the equivalence of statutes!
By travelling in business class, we had access to all airline airport lounges, which were known to be of the highest standard than other lounges.
On several occasions, however, we preferred to visit a lounge linked to Priority Pass / DragonPass.
This was the case in Copenhagen, for example, where the lounge was much closer to our boarding gate and much less busy than the SAS airline lounge.
With a card like the Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card that has access to DragonPass via its Visa Airport Companion program, we get 6 free airport lounge accesses.
Having to deal with 6 different currencies on our trip, and having only 15 to 24 hours in each city, it wasn’t appropriate to exchange Canadian dollars for these currencies.
So I used a credit card with no conversion fees for the majority of our expenses, the Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card. That’s a saving of 2.5% on each foreign currency transaction.
Yet another advantage for the Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card !
Thanks to its accelerated accumulation of 2x points per dollar for restaurants / bars / grocery stores – even abroad – this makes it the card of choice for these specific expenses!
In the space of a week, we visited 7 destinations, which will be the subject of many articles in the coming weeks.
Those who follow us on Instagram,could have a preview via our stories!
Here is a mini-summary of my experience in each of them:
We stayed 15 hours in Boston. We both knew this city and decided to start with a 15-kilometre jog mainly along the Freedom Trail.
In my opinion, it is an ideal city to visit for a weekend,especially with family because of its proximity to Quebec.
In addition, there are many Marriott Bonvoy hotels!
If you stop there, the airport is really very close and easy accessible. As long as your stopover lasts more than 12 hours, you’ll have no problem seeing the main attractions the city has to offer.
We spent exactly 23:55 in Copenhagen.
Jean-Francois knew the city well, having been there several times, and this destination seems to be “in” with Quebecers, given the number of tourists from La Belle Province we met on the street.
In one day, it is feasible to discover the majority of points of interest. If you’re visiting with children, you’ll need at least 48 hours, especially with the famous Tivoli Park on your agenda.
We had a stopover of just under 15 hours in Istanbul and we didn’t know the city.
At first, we chose to be guided by the free tour offered by Turkish Airlines. Unfortunately, this one didn’t take us to visit the points of interest that we absolutely wanted to see!
So we decided to leave the tour short: during the afternoon and evening we were able to visit Istanbul’s main attractions.
With a direct flight from Istanbul instead of the original one with a connection in Bangkok, we arrived at 5pm instead of 8pm, leaving us exactly 24 hours on site.
The airport is far from the city center (about 1 hour of public transport), it is a city not recommended for short stops.
Allow a minimum of 24 hours for your visit.
Arriving in the evening from Kuala Lumpur, we went directly to the famous Gardens by the Bay to see them at night!
With 24 hours on site, we were able to travel the entire city center, including a 15-kilometre jog! However, it would have taken more time to see, for example, the Singapore Zoo, unique in the world (especially with the night “safari”).
I therefore recommend a minimum of 48 hours on site to enjoy the city.
Surprise stop of our world tour: Osaka.
Coming to replace Hong Kong – which we both already knew – Osaka conquered us.
For me, it was a first time in Japan and I can’t wait to go back with Audrey and the kids next spring.
Airports are far from the city center (count between 45 and 60 minutes of public transport). So I recommend a minimum of 48 hours on site. But who’s left in Japan for less time than that?!
San Francisco, which we both knew, was mainly there to make one more stopover on our return – and cut off the long journey from Japan.
Arriving at 11am and leaving at 11pm, we rented a car to go and re-discover the main points of interest and visit friends!
It’s a city I love and therefore recommends you to devote at least 48 hours, or to integrate it in a circuit from a week to 10 days (in order to discover the surroundings!).
This trip allowed us to write a lot of content. Here are the various photo reports on:
So to answer the question of the article: yes, it is possible to travel around the world in a week! The proof, we did it thanks to the points and miles!
A lot of people will think we’re crazy. maybe!
Still, in a week, we have:
This has especially given us the desire to go back and visit some of them more deeply with our respective families!
Savings are here:
