Smart International Travel on a Student Budget

Congratulations if you are reading this you are either interested in traveling abroad or are getting ready to either way you are one step closer to a new adventure! While being an undergraduate student I have traveled to around 10 countries/ regions of the world (and counting) , and I would like to share how I did it and hopefully how you can do it with a bit more ease and without breaking the bank.

Timing is key! It is best to purchase your tickets at least a couple months in advance I normally aim for around 3 -4 months in advance. This not only gives you time to plan everything in the following months but it also helps you save a great deal of money since tickets are normally much cheaper if you get them in this time frame. I have purchased tickets that were only a few hundred and only a month later the ticket was a couple thousand. Now this isn't always the case and it is possible to find tickets that are only a couple hundred to go overseas only a couple weeks before your desired travel date. I'll go more into how to find tickets like this when we get to ticket purchasing.

Now for the important part! Research, this is arguably the most important step of every trip, before setting foot in an airport and eventually your dream destination a great deal of research has to take place. If you know where to start this process can be not only easier but can yield much better results in a shorter period of time.

This is normally the list of websites/resources I start with:

1. Student Universe -> If I'm looking for a quick get away or a cheap ticket this is always my first stop.

2. YouTube-> This seems to be one of our generations best resources, a one stop shop for everything from funny videos to ochem help and you guessed it travel advice.

3. Bloggers who have been where you are looking to go, this is one of my favorite resources not only do you get helpful information and on occasion a funny anecdote or two, you also get a friendly 1st person perspective of do's and don'ts as a newbie in an area or just as a curious fellow adventurer.

4. TripAdvisor.com -> This can be extremely helpful and doesn't hurt to see what others have to say.

5. The cities official website to learn about events and free days/ student discounts

6. Ask your friends, networking is arguably one of the best things you can do while organizing any new adventure and travel os no different.

7. Join a facebook group of travelers going to the same place. I did this when I went to Iceland and found out about amazing deals and locations that the other resources didn't provide. People will also provide their advice for other travelers based on their experience which is really helpful.

8. Airbnb, priceline and hostels.com; I would go with airbnb before any other website. Be careful with currency conversions, and always book with the option to cancel. believe me I made the mistake of not taking this advice once and I will never do it again. Also don't use booking.com, there are hidden fees you won't know about until later that are not upfront.

A couple extra tips:

9. If you have to pack light or prefer to, like I do, take a backpack (my preference) or small bag as a carry on and throw things away after the trip is over to make room for anything you would like to take back. Depending on the nature of the trip I normally not counting what I have on pack: 1 bottom, 2 tops, underwear, extra socks (believe me this can save you especially if you are going to be in the elements), a compact pair of extra shoes, dry shampoo, makeup essentials (I normally only have 3-4 small things), a couple protein bars and my eye mask and that is it. I normally clip my water bottle on the outside of my bag.

10. Take a couple of small care items such as tylenol, bandaids, salonopas, if you are a female take a couple fem. hygiene products just incase. I guarantee that you will use each of these items on your trip or someone you know will need one or more.

Bonus tip: Always keep at least $100 on your person in the currency of the country you are in as a safety net just incase. it doesn't need to be in your wallet but should be close to your person, somewhere someone wouldn't look if they took everything you had.

So there you have it 10 tips plus a bonus tip on how to travel smart and on a student budget as a student.

Best of luck on your new adventure!

-Esprit