If you’re a student, you’re almost certainly living on a very tight budget. But students are also among the most enthusiastic travelers. It is when you are young, after all, that you experience life to the fullest and get the greatest amount of inspiration for things that you want to do. So you shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to travel.
However, traveling can be a challenge for those on a tight budget. The trick is to figure out ways that you can make your money stretch further without sacrificing the things you want to do. Let’s take a look at three tips that will help you do this.
Always Look For Student Deals
This might sound like a no-brainer, but these deals might not always be obvious. In pretty much every aspect of your travels, you can find student deals of some sort.
Accommodation
In terms of accommodation, getting a student deal more often involves choosing a particular type of place rather than getting a discount in a fancy hotel. In other words, you should be looking for hostels or cheap hotels rather than for deals at Sheridan.
Hostels themselves vary significantly in terms of price, quality, and convenience. In some places, such as Western Europe or the US, you might find yourself paying more for a hostel than you would a standard hotel in a cheaper country. And this might influence your overall travel plans in general.
As hostels are generally considered the cheapest option around, you usually won’t be able to get discounts beyond their usual prices. The only difference will lie in the number of beds in any given room, and how much privacy you’re willing to pay for. Be sure to do your research on the standards of the places you’re going to before you set off (this goes for every aspect of your trips, by the way).
Transportation
Transportation sites very often offer student discounts, in particular air and train travel. The amount of discount that you can expect to get will vary depending on the place, the prestige level of the company, and the number of students that tend to use the site. Student discounts are rarely available for buses as buses are considered a cheap form of transportation in general. However, it never hurts to ask.
In general, if you don’t see student discounts specifically listed on a company site, call customer service and ask about it. It would be that the option simply isn’t listed or isn’t obvious. You can also find student discounts for things like attractions and shows. Always keep an eye out for this possibility.
Make Your Plans In Advance, Yet Follow Up Close To Your Trip
Many countries have notoriously bad public transportation systems. Even if you find chat sites where people discuss “up-to-date” information about a place, you never know when you will arrive to discover that the workers have gone on strike, there has been a derailment, etc.
The best option is generally to get a rental car. If you are visiting Abu Dhabi, for example, you don’t want to sit around all day in the heat waiting for a bus to arrive. You can find great car rental options with reasonable prices for students in different parts of the country. You can find great rentals if you rent a car in Al Salam Street .
Also, you should always double-check the attractions that you will be visiting in advance. Attractions are very often seasonal and the owners might not have the same notion of “seasons” that you think. Be sure to check specific dates in advance and don’t just wing it. You could arrive in a place that has just closed. It’s great to try to hit the shoulder seasons in general as lines will be shorter and prices may be lower; just proceed with caution.
The same may be true of hotels. Not only do beachfront resorts shut down in the winter, they might do so as a result of a tropical storm, a local political problem, or for any number of other reasons. Particularly – but not only – if you are traveling in developing countries, you should be prepared for the unexpected. And this means keeping an eye on local developments at all times.
Be Prepared To Be Flexible
A lot of deals will only be available if you’re willing to make compromises in terms of time, location, etc. While this can be a challenge if you have finals or papers due at particular times, you’ll find that you can potentially save a ton of money if you’re willing to shift your plans around a little bit.
Have you ever noticed that when searching for plane tickets, you sometimes get an option at the top of the page for half of what any of the other flights cost? This is because many people cannot be flexible with their dates and the airlines get desperate. If you have some degree of flexibility in your plans, you should definitely take advantage of opportunities like this because they could save you a bundle.
The same may be true for other aspects of your trip. Perhaps you might need to alter your list of attractions to some extent, or go at different times of day or possibly even different times of year. Perhaps pass up spring break this year in favor of winter break? It might not be so bad. And you might save a bundle if you do so.
Plan Carefully, And Enjoy Your Trip
Even if you are on a budget, you can still enjoy the same quality of vacation that other people do. You might have to make some adjustments to make your budget work, but it will all be worth it in the end. And again, it’s when you’re young that you can enjoy life to the fullest. Take advantage while you can, and you should have the time of your life.
