When was the last time you got to travel? And no, I don’t mean your grandmama’s house in southern Louisiana. Or, the family trips your mom takes you on to see your distant relatives. I’m talking about a real trip. I’m talking about a vacation where you get to feel the rich blue waters in the Maldives that are so clear you can see the earth beneath it or the great cold frigid waters of Niagara Falls, the bright city lights and faces passing in the busy streets of New York or the sweltering hot sun that melts your skin in Las Vegas.
As college students, we already have a lot on our plate. We stress every single day. And this is why you need to take a trip at least once a year. Grab a couple of your friends that are down to have a good vacation and you’re all set. Vacations can relax your body and clear your head. We all need this after enduring so many years of school. Although it seems easy enough, here are some tips to travel as a broke student.
1. Set up a savings account that you’ll use strictly for traveling purposes.
It is important to have multiple savings accounts because you for sure have multiple things to save for! If you set aside money each month SPECIFICALLY for traveling then it be long before you can fully fund a trip for yourself.
2. Find a Place to stay
The first thing you should do before booking your travel is find a place to stay. Figuring out the living arrangements isn’t an easy task, especially for those of you who plan on taking trips overseas. There are a network of websites that offer you a variety of hotels at a cheaper price than what is listed on the hotel’s site, like Expedia and Hotels.com. If you’re the type of person who hates hotels, Airbnb offers pretty much whatever kind of living you’re looking for – apartments, duplexes, trailers, and even tentsThere are also websites like and .
3. Book Your Flight (EARLY)
To prevent prices from going book your air travel as fast as you get your travel plans. Airlines will almost always fluctuate flights, especially during high traveling seasons. The most popular method most people use to find flights is through the airline companies like Southwest, Delta, Virgin Airlines, Intercontinental, Jet Blue and more. To combat price hikes on airline sites, I downloaded the Hopper app which lets you know when your flight is the cheapest. It can predict price rises as well, and if they think it’s going to go up more, they’ll alert you to book now.
4. Food
Eating out for breakfast lunch and dinner can get pricey when you’re traveling. Don’t forget to research cheap eats before your trip. Places like Tokyo, Nigeria, and NYC are known for their legendary street food vendors.
If you’re staying at an Airbnb you can go buy some groceries and cook to cut down the cost of eating out. You can even balance out the cost by alternating eating in and out. If the place you are staying at doesn’t have a kitchen, you can still get a couple of groceries that don’t need extensive prep and cooking.
Of course, the main part of a vacation is to indulge in everything the city offers. To combat high rates you can use apps like Groupon and Living Social. There are 2 meals for the price of one for food. They also have deals on activities. Once took an archer class that was worth $100 for only $35.
5. Travel With Broke Friends
No matter how much it pains you to admit it, you know who your broke friends are. You know those friends The ones who refuse to tip because “they college students and they broke too”. Those friends who want you to take them on errands, booty calls, and whatever else but have never you any gas. Those are not the friends you should travel with. You want to be able to travel with people who don’t mind spending money to see attractions or view entertainment.
This would is ours and it is fun to be adventurous. Did you know that to this day, humans have only explored 5% of the ocean? Did you also know that there are still unexplored regions too? Now I’m not saying go off and be Indiana Jones, traveling the world and facing myths and demons. But I am asking you to get out and travel more. It doesn’t have to be out of the country. Let’s take baby steps. There are many places that aren’t expensive to go to and are pretty fun.
The original story was written by Endía and adapted by Felicia Kebreau.