Student Travel – Gen up on the best secrets

22 Oct, 2020

Student Travel – Gen up on the best secrets

Spread the love

As a student it can be a fantastic time to imagine new destinations, and student travel can take you beyond your usual horizons. But how can you make it an affordable experience? As many a housesitter will tell you there are many advantages to travelling on a budget. And housesitting offers a collaborative experience.

Free accommodation in exchange for free home and pet care.

student travel
Travelling in a group can be safer

Budget Traveling Secrets for Students

There is nothing impossible to a willing heart. Even if you are a student and have far from the best financial situation, you can still explore the world. All you need is a big desire and a little effort.

You cannot just set on the trip out of the blue surely. You’d better do some preparation. This will allow you to travel on a budget and get your plans implemented with the smallest possible time, money, and effort wasted.

So, decide where, when, and how to travel soon and get ready to gain a great experience for peanuts.

Top Tips make student travel a great experience

Travel Together

Find someone who has the same priorities as you do. Save and plan your trip together, it will have better and more interesting results.

Moreover, plans are not the only thing you can share with your travel partner. Share transport expenses, such as gas or car rental, get accommodation together, cook in turns if you can, and have more fun.

Maybe you have always dreamed about solo traveling, but it may turn out to be a dangerous and quite expensive option. Mind, that the bigger company you join for traveling, the less you will pay for some common things, and the more discounts you will be able to get the use of.

Student Travel in Off-season

Seeing all your friends going on vacations in the hottest travel period may tempt you to join them, but this is not the best idea.

It is more beneficial for student travel to go off-season. There is no difference when going sightseeing around Europe, so work in summer, and take a week-off in autumn and travel on. This way you will have lower prices on transportation, food, accommodation, and tours.

So, don’t stick to certain seasons, dates, events, travel in the period of best bargains and discounts and you will be able to save even more.

Pre-purchase and Pre-Book

The more prepared you are for the student travel, the less effort you will waste during the trip. Pre-purchase and pre-book everything you can. This counts transport tickets, yet sometimes you may buy the ticket at the last minute before the trip. Also, purchase tickets to visit famous sights and events online.

This will allow you to save time on queuing and money on discounts. Pre-book hostels, or B&Bs, so that you won’t sleep in the car due to lack of free places, and so on.

Search on the internet

The popular travel blogger Rebecca Maven says about her booking experience in her student travel days and looking for student travel discounts:

“I try to get most out of the Internet for everyday purposes and traveling as well. I buy resume online, I order food, book hostels, and catch flights discounts on the travel platforms. This all makes your life easier, so, why not exploit it.”

Stay at Friend’s House

Hotels are not the only option. There are also hostels, B&Bs, camping sites, and more. And if you know someone living in the place you are traveling to, it is even better.

Stay at your friend’s house or relative’s flat to save money on accommodation. You can do some housework or cook in return. Or if this suits both you and the host better, agree on a certain sum, you will pay for staying. As a result, it will cost you less, and bring more comforts.

Exchange your skills in pet care for free accommodation

Try Housesitting and Petsitting

Another very affordable way to try travel as a student is to try housesitting. There are many housesitting opportunities around the world and you can stay in a real home as opposed to a hostel or campsite. Housesitting is a growing trend in the sharing economy and allows you to exchange your pet and home care skills for free accommodation.

Stick to Daily Budget

Prevent some unnecessary waste and optimize your spending while traveling, by creating a student travel budget beforehand. And the top recommendation is setting a daily limit.

Explore the living conditions and prices of the places you are heading to and set the daily budget you will stick to. If you book accommodation and tours in advance, you will only spend on food and souvenirs daily.

It is also good to have some extra money for emergencies and unplanned needs. But it doesn’t mean that you have to waste them.

Try Out the Street Food

Eating in restaurants and popular cafes will lead you directly into poverty. Student travel is about being thrifty. In case you cannot cook yourself, which is the most affordable way, you’d better look for some other budget variants.

A good way to stay full during student travel is to explore local cuisine, and street food. Choose carefully if you can. Select stalls with bigger queues. This means that the food sold there is more delicious and fresh. Yet, this option is not advisable for people with problems with digestion since street food is usually well-spiced and deep-fried.

So, if you don’t want to spend your vacations coping with the health issues, go for some budget canteens instead.

Student travel offers the opportunity for fabulous new experiences

Try housesitting

How to start as an international housesitter

If you are thinking of housesitting as a fun thing to try, then you need to think carefully about your next steps. So here are my top 11 tips for getting started as an international housesitter:

  1. Join a small housesitting platform

Join one of the smaller housesitting sites such as HouseSitMatch. Posts on the larger sites can draw 30 or 40 applicants – daunting competition for a newbie!  But the smaller sites offer less competition and increased customer service that is often personalized.  Try a housesitting platform like HouseSit Match’s which has hands-on support.

Also consider the option to become a house sitter for free. It means you are volunteering and will exchange your services for free accommodation. The barrier is low to get started.

Other advantages of being with the right platform is they will have guidelines, templates and support documents to help you understand what best practice looks like. Make sure they have a responsive administration so you can ask questions about housesitting and petsitting. A good platform will support you in your endeavours.

  1. Start housesitting locally first – it will help you get started as a housesitter

get started as a housesitter
Look for local housesits to get started, whether it is for rabbit sitting or dog sitting ensure you are happy with your pet charges

While you might be asking yourself ‘ are house sitters in demand? ‘ you should start locally first.

Looking for local housesitting jobs or house sitting jobs near me gives you a chance to meet the homeowners and pets ahead of time. This gives you a “leg up” on sitters traveling from foreign countries. It is worth doing if you possibly can. Local housesitting is definitely a good way to get started as a housesitter.

Especially during these times when airlines are still regaining their footing following the pandemic, your proximity provides extra peace of mind for the homeowners that their sitters won’t get caught up in airline delays and cancellations.

Also, since you know your area, language and culture, a local housesit reduces the variety of new things you need to adjust to. It is one of the best ways to get started as a housesitter.

Go for New Experiences during Student Travel

If you want to travel on a budget and be happy with your choices, you should focus on a few good things. Money doesn’t need to be your only concern. Be flexible and open to possibilities that don’t need money at all.

There is no need to stay hungry for two days just so you can afford to visit the Louvre on the third day. instead why not explore nature on the outskirts of the city, or visit small cozy museums and cafes. Resist spending on souvenirs, instead create memories and enjoy stunning experiences.

All in all, student travel offers great pleasures. You can push yourself to discover the best in the world.

 

Click here to Join as a trusted house sitter

 

Further reading about housesitting and housesitters

At HouseSitMatch.com we like to share useful blogs and practical advice about housesitters, housesitting and pet sitting. We hope you find this small selection of our blogs on house sitters and house sitting in London useful.

How to travel on a budget

Cat sitting tourist sees London for free

Affordable travel for students – Exploring Mexican culture

What a housesitter does – Top 10 responsibilities


Spread the love
LamiaW

LamiaW

Founder and Director of HouseSitMatch - I'm a hands-on Admin on the site. Please ask any questions and as soon as I can I'll happily answer and assist where I can.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.