Tips for Student Travel

It is that time of the year when students start taking big spring break trips, and planning their summer getaways. Before you travel, do some travel planning - life on the road will be easier if you know what you need and at least a little about where you're going, what you're doing, how you'll get there and where you can stay.

Paperwork- it's not just for the classroom!

Before you start your student travel, you'll may need a passport, or you may need a tourist visa, an international work visa, immunizations records, an international health certificate, or an international driver's license. Learn what travel documents you may need for student travel, how and where to get them before you travel, what to do with travel document copies and how much they will cost. Check with the CIA Factbook for guidelines, or the local embassy.

Where to hang your hat?
Rather than just turning up hoping for the best, and realizing that all the cheap places in town are full, have a look around to find and book the cheapest accommodation out there.

• Youth hostels, of course, are great places to stay -- you'll meet other student travelers and hostels are just for you.

• Consider camping, too, or compare prices on pods, B&B's and budget hotels.

• Don't worry too much about lodging -- just use your accommodations as a place to hang your pack while you find adventure.

Living out of a suitcase/backpack/or worse

Hopping continents while hauling mounds of luggage is not all its cracked up to be. If you want to breeze through countries we strongly urge you to go through a packing tutorial. Five minutes on Google looking up tips can save you a lot of hassle.

Go wherever the wind blows, or exactly where you meant to go

You have the whole world in your hands. Europe has been student travel central forever, and for good reason. London, Paris and Rome remain the Big Three student travel cities-to-see, but consider less crowded student travel destinations, like Russia, as well. Mexico is moving on to student travelers' radar screens, and the US presents great student travel opportunities -- New York, for example. Spend some time looking up the best cheap airfares to make sure you get the biggest bang for your buck.

What to do, what to do

Want to do more than spend your summer in a pub swapping travel stories? Learn about the advantages of getting a job or volunteering as part of your student travel, or get the downlow on educational travel -- semester programs, student travel tour groups (like Explorica), TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language), exchange student travel programs or just plain study abroad. Organizations like Voluntourism.org have really taken off in the last few years.

Planes, trains, and automobiles

You can hop a plane, take the train or ride a bus -- and you can get student discounts while you're traveling with Amtrak, Greyhound, RailEurope, major airlines -- you name it. Drill down to in-country buses globally and tiny budget airlines -- even learn about taxis in specific countries.

Don't drink the water! Or should you?

Being fit and healthy is vital to student travelers. Traveling with care also means taking care of you. Make your health a priority at all times. A few wise steps can go a long way:

• Make sure routine vaccinations are up to date.
• Consult with a doctor who specializes in travel medicine to ensure you get the appropriate shots and vaccinations before you travel.
• If you are currently on medication remember to bring along an extra supply. Bring along a spare set of specs if you wear glasses.
• If you take medication according to a strict time schedule (e.g. insulin, contraceptive pill) and are traveling across time zones, find out from your doctor how to adjust your schedule.
• Bring basic first aid kit with medicines as prescribed by your family doctor.