Itinerary

The following is a somewhat detailed itinerary of my trip around the world that started in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA, on 18 Feb 1997, and ended in the same town on 01 Aug 1997.

Date		Transportation	Company
18 Feb 1997	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA	Automobile
19 Feb 1997	Chicago, Illinois, USA	Train	AMTRAK ¹
20 Feb 1997	New Orleans, Louisiana, USA	Train	AMTRAK ¹
26 Feb 1997	Dallas, Texas, USA	Train	AMTRAK ¹
02 Mar 1997	Bristow, Oklahoma, USA	Automobile
04 Mar 1997	Greenville, Texas, USA	Automobile
06 Mar 1997	Tucson, Arizona, USA	Train	AMTRAK ¹
08 Mar 1997	Mesa, Arizona, USA	Automobile	Avis
09 Mar 1997	Flagstaff, Arizona, USA	Automobile	Avis
13 Mar 1997	Los Angeles, Califonria, USA	Train	AMTRAK ¹
15 Mar 1997	San Francisco, California, USA	Airplane	United Airlines
23 Mar 1997	Los Angeles, California, USA	Airplane	United Airlines
23 Mar 1997	Tokyo, Japan	Airplane	Singapore Airlines ²
27 Mar 1997	Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.	Airplane	Singapore Airlines ²
03 Apr 1997	Hualien, Taiwan, R.O.C.	Automobile
04 Apr 1997	Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.	Airplane
10 Apr 1997	Singapore	Airplane	Singapore Airlines ²
13 Apr 1997	Beijing, China	Airplane	Singapore Airlines ²
22 Apr 1997	Singapore	Airplane	Singapore Airlines ²
24 Apr 1997	Kathmandu, Nepal	Airplane	Singapore Airlines ²
02 May 1997	Mumbai, India	Airplane	Royal Nepal Airlines
03 May 1997	Panaji, Goa, India	Boat	Damania Shipping
05 May 1997	Bangalore, India	Bus	(unknown)
12 May 1997	Mysore, India	Train	India Railway, Shatabdi Express
14 May 1997	Bandipur National Park, India	Bus	(unknown)
16 May 1997	Coimbatore, India	Bus	(unknown)
20 May 1997	Madurai, India	Bus	(unknown)
23 May 1997	Trichy, India	Bus	(unknown)
24 May 1997	Bangalore, India	Bus	(unknown)
26 May 1997	Mumbai, India	Airplane	Jet Airways India Ltd
27 May 1997	Zurich, Switzerland	Airplane	Swissair ²
27 May 1997	Bern, Switzerland	Train	SBB/CFF
29 May 1997	Lausanne, Switzerland	Train	SBB/CFF
06 Jun 1997	Zurich, Switzerland	Train	SBB/CFF ³
06 Jun 1997	Stockholm, Sweden	Airplane	Swissair ²
08 Jun 1997	Gävle, Sweden	Train	SJ ³
10 Jun 1997	Björkliden, Sweden	Train	SJ ³
12 Jun 1997	Riksgränsen, Sweden	Bus	(hotel shuttle)
12 Jun 1997	Stockholm, Sweden	Train	SJ ³
14 Jun 1997	Copenahagen, Denmark	Train	SJ ³
17 Jun 1997	Hamburg, Germany	Train	DSB ³
21 Jun 1997	Amsterdam, TheNetherlands	Train	DB, ³
27 Jun 1997	Osnabruck, Germany	Train	NS ³
29 Jun 1997	Grenchen, Switzerland	Airplane	(private plane)
30 Jun 1997	Solothurn, Switzerland	Train	SBB/CFF
01 Jul 1997	Weissenstein, Switzerland	Automobile
02 Jul 1997	Buren, Switzerland	Train	SBB/CFF
03 Jul 1997	Lausanne, Switzerland	Train	SBB/CFF ³
04 Jul 1997	Jussat, France	Automobile
05 Jul 1997	Clermont-Ferrand, France	Automobile
06 Jul 1997	Grenoble, France	Automobile
11 Jul 1997	Barcelona, Spain	Train	SNCF ³
15 Jul 1997	Valencia, Spain	Train	RENFE ³
18 Jul 1997	Madrid, Spain	Train	RENFE ³
21 Jul 1997	Seville, Spain	Train	RENFE ³
24 Jul 1997	Lisbon, Portugal	Train	RENFE ³
28 Jul 1997	Coimbra, Portugal	Train	CP ³
31 Jul 1997	Lisbon, Portugal	Train	CP
01 Aug 1997	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA	Airplane	TAP Air Portugal, Delta Airlines ³

Notes

AMTRAK All Aboard America Pass. Promotional pass for (at the time) US$318.00 (including tax) that allowed one-way travel with 4 stops within the 4 zones designated in their brochure.
Round-TheWorld Fare. Special ticket offered (at the time) by Singapore Airlines for US$2566.00 (plus tax) that allowed up to 25,000 miles of travel on any flights offered by Singapore, Delta and SwissAir, restricted to one hemisphere. Other restrictions applied. This was a great deal since Singapore and SwissAir have very comfortable flights, even in economy class.
Eurail Flexipass. Pass for (at the time) US$894.00 (purchased on the spot, in Switzerland, not necessarily the best way to buy it) allowing first-class travel on 15 travel days within 2 months.

For travellers who are over 25 years of age, this is not such a good deal, but is practically your only deal. The reason why I find it to be less interesting is that you may only obtain the first-class pass. Though it eliminates some hassle of obtaining tickets, you must have a reservation for many popular train lines in Europe; in those cases, you still must wait in the lines at the station.

Furthermore, it is a mistake to think that having a first-class ticket will always increase your chances of getting a seat or reservation on busy trains or night trains. First of all, many night trains have few if any first-class cars. Secondly, when you must have one, first-class reservations usually cost more than second-class reservations, so you end up going by second class to save money on the reservation, not making use of your pass to the fullest extent.

The alternative to buying a pass like this is simply to buy the tickets as you go. The price difference including reservations may not be that different. Many countries offer special one-day passes that sell out fast, but are excellent deals. Also, the cost of rail travel varies greatly from country to country. Portugal is much cheaper than Sweden or Switzerland, for example. It all depends on where you'll be going. The logic in my decision was that I knew how much 15 days of travel would cost (minus the reservations), and was prepared to go with a semi-fixed price.