{"id":15620,"date":"2023-03-01T11:36:57","date_gmt":"2023-03-01T11:36:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/?p=15620"},"modified":"2023-03-01T11:36:57","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T11:36:57","slug":"practical-hacks-for-backpacking-europe-as-a-cardiff-university-student","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/practical-hacks-for-backpacking-europe-as-a-cardiff-university-student\/","title":{"rendered":"Practical hacks for backpacking Europe as a Cardiff University student"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reflecting on an earlier blog of mine on how to travel cheaply while being a Cardiff University Student<\/span><\/a>, I thought that it would be a great opportunity to share the practical hacks that I used to backpack around Europe as a Cardiff University student. Having always wanted a gap year to travel, I was disappointed when it finally came to the end of my A levels and there were still many travel restrictions from the Covid pandemic, making travelling much more complicated. As an 18-year-old who had only been abroad once on a 5-day school trip to Italy, I really didn\u2019t have the confidence or knowledge to take my dream trip. So, I opted for the safe option of university, but little did I know that I would figure out a way to still enjoy my independence while working towards my degree. There are some of the hacks that I used to make my travels more accessible as a student. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Get creative and do the maths<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My top tip for travelling is to look at a <\/span>map<\/span> <\/a>and get creative. Think about where you want to go, then check <\/span>Skyscanner<\/span> <\/a>to find the cheapest deals (though make sure to book directly with the airline). Once you know your first destination, look at different train and bus routes (in Europe, check <\/span>Flixbus<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>BlaBlaCar <\/span><\/a>and <\/span>Trainline<\/span><\/a>). To save money, this more time-consuming but creative approach is better. I was planning to book my Europe trip when there was a 50% sale last year for <\/span>Interail\u2019s <\/span><\/a>anniversary, however, I worked out that (when you include seat reservations), I would still be saving \u00a3400 by booking trains and buses myself. Obviously, this varies with different deals. There is also an environmental consideration, I still prefer trains over buses, but I couldn\u2019t justify spending that much more at the time. That\u2019s up to you to choose.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

Sch\u00f6nbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria<\/p>\n

Getting an <\/b>ISIC student card<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

This is something that I didn\u2019t hear about until a European exchange student that I worked with last year told me how it has saved her hundreds, this student card is definitely worth a look. With a print card option and a useful app that tells you all the discounts and deals you have access to in your location, this student card provides a great way to save money while travelling, from museum discounts to flights, accommodation, food, shopping, and international phone calls. Last year I managed to secure 20% off National Express journeys, which was really handy. This card verifies your student status in over 230 countries and is a great way to find extra deals for your backpacking trip.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Work, work, work\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Working part-time is really helpful for gaining life experience and saving to travel. Getting a job, earning money and cutting down when you can is the essence of affording travel. You need to be determined enough to get up for an early morning shift, even when you\u2019re not feeling like it, and set a practical budget to save as much as you can. That\u2019s not to say that these other tips aren\u2019t important too, but this is the first step. Although, we are not encompassing the energy of the dozen travellers, who commented on my Facebook post in a popular travel group asking for tips to travel with \u201cyou actually need to work and not post on Facebook groups asking for help\u201d. It\u2019s not as easy as that, but work is a big part. There are so many employment opportunities at university, take a look at <\/span>Jobshop<\/span><\/a> or just hand your CV out in the city centre.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I hope this helped give you some practical tips to travel as a student. Clearly, it is important to prioritise university, but there is plenty of free time in the evenings and over weekends to plan that exciting summer trip.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Reflecting on an earlier blog of mine on how to travel cheaply while being a Cardiff University Student, I thought that it would be a great opportunity to share the […]","protected":false},"author":6948,"featured_media":15623,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[696,20],"tags":[21,358,84,133,612],"class_list":["post-15620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice-for-students","category-travelling","tag-cardiffuniversity","tag-advice","tag-first-year","tag-opportunities","tag-travel"],"meta_box":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6948"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15620"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15726,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15620\/revisions\/15726"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/insiders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}