Firstly, as tempting as it is, don’t use your entire student maintenance loan on booking flights and hostels. Trust me, you actually need that for uni. Below are 5 OTHER tips for travelling as a uni student to help you keep costs down and see the world while you can.
Flight Times and Dates
One of the best things you have at your disposal is your flexibility – whether that’s with being able to get a 6am flight and still make your 9am (like I did when travelling to Copenhagen) or being able to jet off on the longer winter break or when you have a break for exams that doesn’t align with school holidays. Flights and hostels are usually a lot cheaper at this point – take advantage of them! Skyscanner is a great app for this to be able to assess where your cheapest flights are – I managed a £35 return flight to Copenhagen in January.
Hostels
Okay, firstly I have a lot to say about to hostels, including an article coming up about hostel culture vs local culture. HOWEVER, I do love hostels. They’re sociable, cheap, basic and often have cheap bars attached too (another key element for uni students). They’re pretty much perfect for uni students and you’ll meet so many people – some people I’ve actually met who were studying at the same uni as me while in a different country.
Use Your Student Card
Check for student discounts literally wherever. Especially when booking online, check things through sites like UNiDAYS to see if you can book anything cheaper. Asking in person at places like museums can also be really useful – I’ve gotten so many student discounts simply for asking and carrying my university card with me while I travel.
Find Student Districts
Especially in major cities, look at where student bars/cafes/restaurants are. It may be worth going to these or finding student districts for safety, price and meeting people a similar age.
Don’t be Afraid to Go Alone
I mean this is kind of one for someone of any age. But I think it can be really hard to make the decision to just go if you’re with loads of friends at uni and not being sure how you’d manage solo travelling. Generally – you’ll be absolutely fine! You can read loads more about solo travelling here: Is Solo Travel Worth the Social Media Hype?. But just a reminder that if you’ve moved to uni you’ve taken a massive step in independence and trust me you’ll be fine solo travelling!
