Traveling can be expensive, especially for students who are on a tight budget. But with a little bit of planning and creativity, it is possible to travel for free as a student. Here are some tips on how to do it:
Take advantage of student discounts
Many airlines, hotels, and other travel-related businesses offer discounts to students. Take the time to research and see what discounts are available to you. To help you with the research Open Travel Grants is an online database that regularly publishes grant opportunities for travelers. You can find the latest travel grants opportunities for funded traveling. Numerous student discount cards, including the Student Advantage Card, are offered both domestically and abroad. You should take your student identity card with you every time you travel. You can make the International Student’s Identity Card from ISIC to get student discounts globally. Do some research to see whether a particular card will serve you because the effectiveness of particular discount cards may vary by region. Student discounts can help you save money on travel costs such as airfare as well as on lodging, meals, and other items. From the student identity card, you might be able to buy passes or tickets at a student discount, depending on the activity you’re participating in. Bus routes, rail routes, plane fares, and other services are all covered by student passes.
Use student travel websites
You can there are a number of websites specifically designed for student travel. Travel Grants are the Students can receive discounts from some well-known booking companies’ websites. Depending on what you are booking, these savings could be in the range of a few dollars to hundreds. On popular booking portals, student discounts could only be offered during certain seasons. Verify each website’s seasonal discounts by visiting each one. These sites offer discounted flights, hotels, and other travel-related services. While some websites won’t have specialized student discounts, they might have student discount coupons or codes.
Some of the websites are:
- Open Travel Grants
- GoAbroad.com
- Fundmytravel
- Airbnb
- Couchsurfing
- Greyhound
- CoachUSA
- Rome2rio
- StudentUniverse
- STA Travels
Join a student travel group
There are a number of student travel groups that offer free or discounted trips to destinations around the world. Joining one of these groups can help you save money on travel expenses. Traveling in a group not only divides the travel expenses but is also good for the safety protocol. To get discounts you can also avoid the high season. Avoid high seasons as much as you can because your ideal vacation site is just as lovely during the low season, but it is also far less expensive and congested. It is not only the sharing expenses you can develop your leadership skills by participating in activities like a competitive scavenger hunt or helping the group negotiate a transportation schedule. Joining a travel group also implies that the planning and management of your trip will be handled to a considerable extent. Even if you join a more relaxed, informal group, it will still share the logistical load, which can be advantageous. Transport agencies that create groups will arrange everything from travel and lodging to meals and activities.
Utilize Couchsurfing
Couchsurfing is a great way to save money on accommodations. It’s a website that connects travelers with locals who offer up their homes for free. Couchsurfing is a program that links users to a large traveling community. Technically speaking, CouchSurfing is a social networking website that aims to bring together travelers with similar interests. You can connect with and even host other travelers using this site. Couchsurfing can be used to find accommodation and also to invite visitors into your house and neighborhood. As a student, you can go Couchsurfing and travel for free. It serves as the main social network and online meeting place for you to find hosts from all over the world.
Volunteer abroad
Many organizations offer volunteer programs abroad. These programs often cover the cost of your travel and accommodations, allowing you to explore a new country for free. It is about traveling the world with purpose or you can solve the world’s greatest challenge for free. Many non-profit organizations seek volunteers in many situations around the world. You just have to research the organization through which you can travel as a volunteer for free. You can find the opportunities on Give, Still I Rise.
Get Funding from your college
Some colleges/universities can fund their students to travel for study purposes. Your college or institution may have funding available if your travel is necessary for your studies, such as if you are undertaking research.
