Tips for Students on Travelling Across Europe

Traveling the world as a college student is important for so many reasons. With our world becoming more and more connected, it is not unreasonable to have friends from all over the planet who speak several different languages. As a student, your responsibilities are fairly minimal; aside from classes and internships, you have numerous school breaks which allow you time. Why not use that time to travel the world ?

You can choose any time to travel , but as a student it is wise picking a cheap time of the year to travel – avoid major holidays and summertime!.Please also note that Fridays and Sundays are very expensive days to travel. And as far as Europe is concerned Train are cheaper than flights while travelling across Europe .

Chart out the cities you would like to visit to determine how many long-distance train rides you need to take and research the fares for each journey. Calculate whether a Eurorail pass is the most economic option for your travel plans. Divide the cost per day of using a Eurail pass, add the reservation fees for each journey and compare that number to the online ticket price for each train journey. If you plan on traveling for several days in a smaller country like Austria or Switzerland, where you don’t need to take a lot of high-speed trains, a single country rail pass can be the best deal.

Buy your long-distance rail travel online in advance. Purchasing long-distance train tickets online in advance can get you fares 25 percent off the standard ticket pricing. Take regional trains, which are slower but much lower priced, for shorter train journeys between cities in the same country. You can visit most well-known Italian mountain towns this way. Consider taking regional trains through scenic areas, such as the Swiss or Austria Alps, for a low-priced combination of transportation and sightseeing. Buy these tickets the day you plan to travel, as the rates don’t change.

Book overnight trains to save on both train fares and hotel prices. Watch the sales on European train websites. You can often book an overnight long-distance train on sale for little more than the price of a night in a hostel, even when the standard day-time fare is $200. This is one of the most cost-effective ways to cover long distances, such as Paris to Berlin or Vienna to Florence. Check the City Night Line map for routes by the German Deutsche Bahn or look on the state railway website for your desired country of arrival or departure.

Reserve accommodations in advance, if your travel plans allow. The best quality and lowest-price hostels typically fill up in advance, even outside of peak season. Some hotels only accept walk-up reservations or hold a certain number of rooms for walk-ups, but you need to show up right at check-in time — typically 2 p.m. or 3 p.m. — to snag a room and they sell out quickly. Buy a Hostelling International membership for discounted access to some of the cleanest and most convenient hostels.

Find out where and when the locals eat.Talk to local people, they might have cool ideas for smaller, inexpensive restaurants.If you try to find something for lunch in Italy at 11 a.m. — or even noon in a smaller town — everything will be closed except for overpriced places catering to tourists. Visit a local cafe for breakfast and have a large latte, juice and some breakfast pasties if you don’t have free breakfast with your lodging. A large breakfast in a European neighborhood cafe won’t cost more than $5 to $6. Take advantage of lunch specials, typically called “menu of the day” in the local language, for filling, multicourse lunches for $10 or less. Shop in local markets and grocery stores for snacks or ingredients to cook at your hotel for the best prices and savings. If you want to have a quick beer it is better to go to fast food joint than pub. Because typically beers cost less at fast food joints.

Try new things, the whole point of traveling is to experience the world. Just go. Every penny spent today can be earned tomorrow.