The Student Travel Tips You Need To Know

Travelling is one of life's great adventures, so buckle up for travel tips that will help you on your journey.

If you're someone who dreams of jet setting around the world, country-hopping in Europe or discovering more of the UK, then you're in the right place. When you're a student, travelling can seem out of reach, but with some budgeting and money management, the world can be your oyster.

So we've got this guide for you, full of our top travel tips, from solo travelling adventures to studying abroad and saving money for your next trip. Let's dive right in.

Need holiday inspo? We've got the top 12 student holiday destinations that might tickle your fancy.

Top travel tips

If you're someone that likes to be organised when it comes to travelling, then we've got you covered. Planning your adventures is an exciting time, but it's surprising how the costs can rack up, especially if you're headed on more than one trip. Our travel tips can help you plan your holidays and keep the costs to a minimum.

1. Research the best time of year to travel

This will depend on where in the world you want to travel to – but it's definitely a good idea to figure out the high and low seasons in different countries you want to explore. Some low seasons might include monsoon, hurricanes or other extreme weather, so bear this in mind when deciding where to go.

2. Package vs booking individually?

For just one trip, it's always worth finding out whether a package holiday (with flights, hotels and transfers included) is more cost effective than booking these individually. This might not be entirely helpful if you're planning to hop around countries, but a little bit of research can save you hundreds when you're travelling.

The benefits of a package holiday mean you have ATOL protection, which you won't usually have if you book individually. But for uber flexibility, like the free spirit you are, booking individually can help you get the holiday of your dreams.

3. Travel insurance

Speaking of ATOL protection (no, we've never said that before either), a boring but essential bit of kit for your travel plans should include a good travel insurance policy. It's easy to think it might never happen to you, but if you're a victim of theft, or your luggage goes missing, or a hotel cancels your stay, it's better to be protected. Without it, you could be left without a chunk of change that could help keep you afloat when you're abroad.

That's not to say you shouldn't shop around and find the best deal on a travel policy, or check out our student discounts for travel to get an excellent price. It'll keep you covered so you don't have to stress about it.

4. Think about packing your bags

Sometimes bags get lost when you're travelling. It's pretty inevitable unless you only ever travel with hand luggage – and there's no guarantee these won't get checked anyway. So think about this when you're packing your bags. Keep a phone charger, important travel documents, medication and maybe a spare pair of pants too in your hand luggage.

This just means that if your checked bag goes missing, you won't be without anything essential. If you want to carry medication in your hand luggage then you may need a doctor's note, but totally worth it if you don't want to be caught short.

5. Cancellation policies

We might sound like a broken record here. But cancellation policies are worth their weight in gold. If you're travelling around and booking as you go, then it's not so pressing – but for those bucket list trips that you want to book a year in advance, it's definitely worth making sure the hotel or holiday you're booking includes free cancellation.

Life happens sometimes, and if it does, you don't want to be out of pocket.

6. Give your family a heads up

If you're headed on your gap year on the adventure of a lifetime or you're planning a trip with your friends, it's easy to get caught up in how much fun you're having. But if you even have a rough itinerary of where you're going, flight times, hotel details, then share them with your parents or trusted friends. Your parents would probably really appreciate understanding even an inkling of your movements (but maybe leave out the finer details of the full moon parties…).

7. Tell your bank

Picture this: you step off the train in your first destination in Europe. Beautiful landscapes and an exciting buzz in the city awaits you. You go in search of coffee (because duh). But your card gets declined. For no reason. Now what?!

Don't let that be you. Most banks now won't block your card when you head abroad, but it's so quick and easy to give them a heads up that you're abroad – some banks even let you do this on their app.

Hacks once you've booked your holiday

Ok, so you've booked your holiday, parted with your money and you're counting down the days. The reality is, as a student the budgeting never stops, and even though you've booked the flight, you'll probably want to keep costs down when you're there. We've also got some good hacks for you to help make your holiday a little smoother and stress free too.

1. Collect your toiletries and skincare must-haves in the airport

We've all battled with the liquids limit at the airport. Although the rules have changed in some airports and you can now keep your liquids in your luggage bag to go through the scanners, there's still a limit on how much you can take. This is a nightmare if you're doing a budget hand luggage only trip.

So, we present to you the Boots hack. Simply order your travel must-haves (skincare, makeup, shampoo, SPF etc) and click and collect them from the airport once you've got through security. We'd recommend buying the travel size for toiletries, so that on the way back, you won't have to bring them all back with you, but you'll be able to buy as many travel-size products as you want without the liquid restriction.

The only downside is you'll have to pay the standard price and won't benefit from duty free, so if you have your eye on any expensive items like perfumes or luxury makeup, buy it once you're on the other side.

2. Bring a water bottle to the airport

While you can't bring water through the security scanners, you can bring an empty reusable bottle which you can fill up on the other side which will save you some money at the airport.

3. Use packing cubes

If you're doing hand luggage only, or have only checked in a small case but you're a chronic overpacker— packing cubes will change your life. They're super affordable to buy from Amazon, and allow you to organise your bag and cram more in.

4. Take advantage of airport lounges

Travel in style and relax before your flight in a lounge with this easy hack. We've got a whole article giving you tips and hacks on how to get airport lounge access (and how much they cost if you're feeling boujee) but we'll say the best hack is to keep an eye on perks from your bank account and sign up to cashback schemes ahead of your flight.

5. Use Monzo or Revolut when you're abroad

 We'd recommend opening an account as you won't have to pay any fees abroad, and the currency is converted effortlessly in the app. But another great feature of using a digital bank is that if you lose your bank card abroad, you'll be able to get another one instantly in your app. It's better to be safe than sorry!

6. Book your airport parking as soon as you book your holiday

If you're driving to the airport, make sure you've thought about how you'll be getting there and back in the early planning stages. Airport parking can be expensive, but the sooner you book the cheaper it will be, so don't leave it until the week before to sort out. You could also consider travelling to the airport via coach instead, as it's normally pretty affordable even when you book last minute.

7. Don't forget to download things before you get on the plane

Netflix, Disney+, Spotify and even TikTok will allow you to download content to watch or listen to offline. Make sure that all of your favourite Spotify playlists are pre-downloaded and you have a queue of things to watch before you take off.

Types of travelling and top travel tips

There's lots of different ways to explore and travel the world, so if you're thinking about heading out to take on a new adventure, we've got tips for lots of different styles of travel.

Solo travel tips

If you're a lone ranger and like to do things on your own terms, then solo travel is a great way to make sure you get the most out of your trips. For those who love the thought of country-hopping and exploring lots of different places, then have a look at interrailing.

Travelling by train around Europe is really accessible compared to a lot of places in the world, and it's a great way to squeeze a lot into a short time. We've got a guide on interrailing and how much it costs for all your questions.

If you're not sure about travelling to lots of different countries, but are keen to hop on a flight to Europe, then our best city breaks to travel to could offer a lot of inspiration.

Studying abroad travel tips

Sometimes, one trip is just not enough. If you've travelled a bit but have officially got the Itch – have you ever considered studying abroad?

From exchange programmes to semesters abroad, and even becoming an international student, there's a study abroad programme for everyone. We've got everything you need to know about studying abroad, from what you need to know, how much it costs and top tips from experts.

How to save money on your next holiday or trip

The one thing we can all agree on is that the costs can really add up when you're going abroad. From flights, to places to stay and even the cost of food and drink. It all adds up. But we're here to help you save money wherever you can.

From finding out the best way to change currency and spend money abroad to just general savings tips.

They might not be at the top of your priority list when you're getting ready for the adventure of a lifetime, but they can really help you when it comes to budgeting. If you can save money where you can, it gives you more spending for more exciting activities you'll be headed to on your trip.

Generally speaking, it's always a good idea to try and book ahead to take advantage of the best sales and deals when it comes to booking flights and holidays. But sometimes last minute breaks can come through with excellent prices too – so worth thinking about if you want to take that risk!

If you're headed to Europe, you might find that the cost of food and drink, especially in city centres, can be high. But you'll be glad to know that we're incredibly serious about finding the best deals, which includes where to find the cheapest pints in Europe. You can thank us later.

Is the UK your next destination?

Travelling the world and exploring different cultures is an incredible way to spend your time. But have you ever considered how much beauty and excitement is right on your doorstep? The UK is home to some of the best road trips, from the Jurassic Coast up to the North Coast 500, which makes it perfect for you and your uni besties to plan your summer, especially if you're spread across the country!

And it might not be the beaches of Thailand, but there are plenty of hidden gems tucked away in the UK that will give you vacay vibes without the stress of travelling. So if your budget is a bit tighter this year, you can still get the holiday feels.

And what's more – you can use Student Beans travel discounts to save money on public transport, flights, holidays and more.