You can cover almost 1/3 of the planets circumference for only about $600 if you ride this.

This family mortgaged their home to travel around the World....but they say it was worth it :)

Perhaps I should clarify. I'm started this thread as more of a travel voyeurist than in actual preparation for travel. I have my top five international destinations picked out, but it will be a while before I actually go anywhere (other than disney). International travel with a baby and two year old does not sound like my idea of a good time. We are going to start saving for our trip to Japan (first on the list), but it will probably be about five years before we get there. A big city should be manageable with a five and seven year old and by that time a long flight should be doable with enough distractions to occupy the kids.

I've read travel books and such, but I've had a really hard time finding international airfare quotes online. Travel within the states is so easy to research, but it's hard to know where to begin with a foreign country.

No way! Just go to any of the major plane booking sites - Expedia.com, Travelocity.com, etc - and toss in theoretical information. WHAM, you've got pricing.

We bought our Paris tix on Travelocity.

Really? It's been awhile since I've tried. I was also looking at tix to Africa, so maybe that's why I had a hard time.

If you want to go site-by-site (of individual airlines), start by looking at lax's website, look for the list of airlines that use the airport, then look them up.

And I still recommend those books... gives you a great idea of the experience in different places.

Airfares are an arcane science with bizzare pricing schemes that I doubt anyone really understands. A while back I was going to San Francisco and wanted to try to bring Lisa along - that $79 round trip flight, ultimately doubled, tripled, and was even selling as high as $800 by the time I left - leaving Lisa behind.

That said Europe now has some Jet Blue-ish airlines that make intra-European travel much more affordable.

From what I know, Africa is a bit dodgy and usually involves several connecting flights if you're not going to the major cities. We've been working on getting a speaker from Uganda to Chicago, we can get him from Nairobi on British Airways, but he has to figure out how to get there himself.

The other thing about international airfare is that it changes so rapidly. The differences can be immense. The more common your destination, the more options you will have and the more deals you are likely to find. For those destinations, check the travel sites. I usually use Orbitz, but I've used them all at one point or another.

Another way to check out flights is to find out what airlines fly into your destination city then look at booking through these airlines web sites. On the West Coast, LAX or SFO have most major airlines flying into these locations.

And what do you recommend to finance these world travel excursions? Is bank robbery still in vogue?

How's extortion nowadays? Or is it better to stick to traditional credit card fraud?

2 words. Sugardaddy.