Either you don't have the money or you don't have the time to travel. Having both at the same time rarely happens. However, you have a big advantage when studying: you can use your flexibility. In addition to the everyday study routine of courses and exams, it is recommended to expand your horizons through travel, gain intercultural experience and expand your language skills. A trip doesn't always have to be expensive. In this article, we'll tell you about the various travel options you have as a student, what things you should consider when planning your trip and how you can save so that your next trip is a success!
What ways can you travel as a student?
There are not only many options, but also numerous different ways to travel. These depend on your personal preferences, the intention of your trip and the planned time frame.
Off on vacation: complete packages from the travel provider
If you are simply looking for a break from everyday study life and soothing relaxation after a stressful semester with lots of exams, then you could easily find a short trip or a package holiday from various online providers at reasonable prices without much organizational effort. Here is a selection as a basis for your research:
These platforms offer an extensive selection of last-minute offers, especially to undecided people who simply want to spontaneously fly somewhere warm or experience an adventure. With just a few clicks you have booked an entire holiday, so all you have to do is pack your suitcase, put on your sunglasses and head off on holiday!
Right destination, at the right time
Individual trips especially for students
If you want more on your trip than just lying on the beach with a cocktail, sizzling in the sun and getting up every now and then to go to the water, the bar or the buffet, then as a student you can choose from various options Individual forms of travel benefit. You can discover foreign countries and cultures, get in touch with locals, support local projects and brush up on your language skills. The travel agency STA Travel offers you a wide range of options to explore distant countries in a group of like-minded people. Well, does that sound more like the adventure you're looking for? We will tell you which different individual forms of travel await you as a student.
Work & Travel
You always wanted to have more time to travel to your dream country. But somehow you lacked the courage and usually didn't have the time or enough money to afford more than a short vacation. Up to the age of 35 you have the opportunity to apply for a “working holiday visa” in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore and to work and travel in one country for up to 12 months. If you don't want to go that far away, you can move through Europe without a visa, get to know people and new cultures and expand your soft skills. Alongside England, Iceland, Norway and Spain, France is an extremely popular destination. In addition to jobs in the catering industry or retail, you can also benefit from a huge WWOOFing network . You don't earn any money through WWOOFing, but for a small amount of work of just a few hours a day, you get free food and accommodation including pure nature and work in the open air away from street noise and lots of people. Doesn't that sound heavenly?
Stay abroad for a good cause
If you like traveling and want to do something good for others, then volunteering abroad is a good idea. In recent years the tendency to get involved in a good cause has increased. So why not support a charitable project in a country on your bucket list? The variety of projects in the areas of social and educational work, health, animals and environmental protection is so large that you are sure to find something that suits you.
Combine duty and pleasure with an internship abroad
In an internship abroad you can gain experience abroad, in your future professional field and on intercultural aspects. An internship abroad is not only valuable for your personal development, but also looks good on your resume. You can look into the working world and working methods of another country in order to gain lots of impressions and ideas for further studies and later professional life.
Language trips for students
The best way to learn a language is where it is spoken. Therefore, in addition to the language courses at university, the numerous language learning apps and watching films in the target language, it is advisable to complete a language course in the country of your target language. You can make huge progress in a period of two to eight weeks, as you not only train receptive skills such as listening and reading, but after the language courses you also use the target language intensively in the oral area during your explorations and leisure activities.
5 tips for your travel organization
Regardless of whether you are planning a short trip or a longer stay abroad, you should prepare your trip well. Especially if you take your travel planning into your own hands, we would like to give you a checklist with some tips. This will give you some guidance when planning.
1.) Flight
When it comes to flights, the most important tip for all bargain hunters among you is: be flexible! This applies to both the time (date and time) and the duration of the flight. Within Europe there is already lively competition between providers of low-cost flights such as Easyjet, Ryanair and Eurowings. Not only if your destination country is in Europe do you usually have the chance to get a cheap deal for students if you are flexible about the departure location and time, but also on long-haul flights.
Our tip: Choose different departure points in Germany or neighboring countries such as Belgium, Denmark or the Netherlands. Flights are usually cheaper at airports such as Paris, Frankfurt am Main, Brussels or Copenhagen, which are considered hubs. We'll tell you how to get to these airports cheaply in the next section.
2.) Be mobile - means of transportation to the airport
As we saw in the previous section, being flexible when choosing your departure location can be a huge financial benefit. But how do you actually get to an alternative departure point? On the one hand, you can use ride sharing with blablacar for a small budget. Another alternative is the Flixbus long-distance transport network. There you can buy bus or train tickets from €5. Flixbus is a cheap way to travel not only throughout Germany, but also for destinations within Europe. Last but not least, you can also rely on Deutsche Bahn 's well-developed long-distance transport network to get to your departure point or your destination within Europe. There is even a combination ticket that allows you to travel to several destinations in Europe at once.
While traveling with Flixbus or Deutsche Bahn, you can watch the changing landscapes, talk to other travelers or use the available WiFi. This means that even longer journeys can become an experience. We'll tell you what options you have to pass the time in the “Travel To-Go's for Students” section.
Our tip: Take a little more time when organizing your trip and compare different offers and different means of transport so that you can really save on this large and often most expensive item.
3.) Accommodation
In the last two sections we gave you some tips on how to get to your chosen travel destination on a budget. Once you get there, you still need a place to stay. If you decide to stay for a longer period of time, for example during work and travel, you can choose different options. In rural areas and with a little more time, you can live on a farm for a while and help out with room and board.
If you want to travel more quickly, you can use offers such as Couchsurfing, Airbnb or hostels as a cheaper alternative to hotels. Airbnb is a good way to get in touch with locals. This can be a real enrichment when traveling, not just culturally or in terms of your language skills. Another plus point is that you can often get a room for yourself on Airbnb for a comparatively reasonable price. With Couchsurfing you can even be lucky enough to sleep on someone's couch for free. Here too, contact with locals can be enriching. You can get good tips for your exploration tour. In addition, Couchsurfing is always an option for a night when everything else is too expensive or fully booked. Spontaneous adventurers should definitely have this option for inexpensive accommodation on their radar. Hostels offer another alternative for a place to sleep. You can choose between shared rooms or single rooms, some with their own bathroom. Basically: the more beds in the room, the cheaper. However, there are also promotions from individual hotel providers here. For example, you can get a card for individual hostel chains such as A&O Hostels , which allows you to check in in several major cities at a reduced price.
Of course, in hostels it is an advantage if you have a good deep sleeper or have earplugs with you, as a shared room like this can get very busy.
Our tip: For short trips to your destination country, it is always advisable to check Airbnb in addition to the classics such as hotels and hostels . You can often save a few euros. Also keep in mind that accommodation in the city center may be a little more expensive, but you should also take local public transport prices into account. Sometimes €20 more for accommodation in the city center is ultimately cheaper than additional costs for buses, subways, etc. For longer trips with several destinations, a combination of the types of accommodation listed above is often a good choice.
4.) Must haves for your trip
We have already talked about what options you have to get cheap flights and accommodation for your trip. Now it's about must-haves that shouldn't be missing from any luggage. In addition to international travel health insurance, this definitely includes a credit card. In addition, with an international student card you can take advantage of discounts and promotions for students abroad.
International travel health insurance
Costs for medication and medical treatment within Germany and the European Union are covered by your statutory or private health insurance company. However, medically sensible transport is not covered by your statutory health insurance. It is therefore necessary to take out international travel health insurance. It covers the costs of outpatient and inpatient treatment, such as pain-relieving dental treatment, anywhere in the world.
A credit card as a means of payment is essential abroad. Not only do you often need it to pay for your flight or as a deposit for your accommodation, but also as a reliable companion for all expenses during the trip. There are a variety of credit card providers. We recommend that you compare the offers from the credit institutions.
Our tip: Also pay attention to promotions where you not only get a credit card without a foreign transaction fee, but also a bonus. If you would like to find out more, take a look at our credit card comparison.
International student ID card ISIC
The ISIC offers up to 42,000 discounts, free services and up to 90% discounts for students all over the world, including in Germany. You can expect numerous discounts and services that you can use for free. With the ISIC you can prove your student status worldwide and benefit from many student discount campaigns. These include discounts on well-known brands, free drinks and language courses. So definitely a must have for every traveling student.
5.) Travel to-go's for students
In addition to a credit card and international travel health insurance, communication is also important. In some areas you will really appreciate it if you can at least know the basics of the target language. Shopping, asking for directions, and interacting with locals will be much easier with a little preparation. There are numerous ways to learn a new language. Try the Babbel app, LinguaTV or take a look at these e-learning offers .
Last but not least, we would of course also like to give you a few tips on how to have fun. We've seen that you can really save money on your trip by choosing different modes of transport and flexible duration. Unfortunately, this often involves long journeys by bus, train, etc. or long stays at airports. To make this time go by faster, you can add free newspaper subscriptions , audio books or music, as well as student subscriptions in the book summaries section to your packing list. This means the journey to your desired destination will fly by!
Our tip: Expedia.de offers a €10 discount on various activities at travel destinations worldwide until June 30, 2019.
For inspiration: Top 10 travel destinations 2019 from Loney Planet
Conclusion
No matter what form of travel you choose, the main thing is that you gather all your courage and take the plunge. There is so much to explore. We showed you how you can travel on a small student budget. With a little flexibility and openness, you can save money on the biggest items like flights and accommodation. When it comes to accommodation, in addition to hotels, you can also use cheaper alternatives such as Airbnb, hostels or Couchsurfing. Whether you decide to go on a trip planned by the agency or take the organization into your own hands, you should definitely not forget foreign travel health insurance, a credit card and your international student ID in your luggage.
When someone goes on a trip, they always have something to tell. With this in mind: Have fun traveling, exploring countries and other cultures and collecting unforgettable experiences.
You might also be interested in these articles:
- Work and Travel: Tips for travel planning
- Work and Travel: an unforgettable experience
- Work and Travel: Find suitable jobs abroad
- Financing a semester abroad
- Car rental offers for students
- How to travel around the world with little money
Even with a small budget, you can experience breathtaking trips as a student and broaden your horizons. We'll tell you how to do it in our blog post.
