Student travel has come a long way in the last few decades. It is no longer considered a rarity. Gap years, student electives abroad, and cheap summer vacations in distant places have become part of the generally enriching life experience now considered congruent with student status. (Frost F et al., 1999)
Today’s financial climate, in which many students have to rely on student loans, parental support, vacation jobs, or personal savings for financial fluidity, greatly dictates and limits what can be accomplished at this about it and there are a number of tricks and strategies that are commonly used to make money go further or, seen in another way, to allow the same money to go further for the student. (Reisinger Y et al., 2004)
We can start by taking an overview of the situation and dividing travel expenses into those that are necessary to reach a destination and those that are necessary to travel once the student has arrived.
Generally speaking, the preferred way to travel is by flying. It is often the fastest way to travel long distances and in these days of competitive pricing strategies many of the budget and low cost airlines offer very cheap flights throughout continental Europe. The unsuspecting student should note that the eye-catching prices quoted are exclusive of taxes and fuel surcharges, which can add anywhere from £30 to £200 to the quoted cost (depending on destination and distance).
As a general rule, the cheaper the flight, the greater the sacrifice of both flexibility and conditions. A flight that arrives or departs in the early hours of the morning, provides no meals, has minimal inflight entertainment, and a strict baggage allowance is clearly going to cost less than one that has extra amenities. A word of caution for these flights as well, as there are usually strict terms and conditions, limited ability to change, and minimal prospects for a refund if there is a problem.
Cheap flights are at the other end of the spectrum from cheap vacations. With vacations, the biggest savings are made by those who are willing to book last minute. With flights, the opposite is true. As flights are booked, prices tend to go up. (Bernstein J et al., 1999)
Two of the most used mechanisms to get cheap flights are flight-brokers and screen scrapers. Flight brokers make money by selling you a flight that earns them a commission. Therefore, there is a balance between the amount of commission an airline pays them to fill their seats and the student’s requirements. Screen scrapers are web-based tools like TravelSupermarket, TravelJungle, and SkyScanner. You effectively enter your requirements and these sites submit the details to dozens of airlines (and a few brokers) and display their findings with cheapest first. (Sheth A et al., 2002)
There are variations on this process with sites like Expedia and Travelocity specializing in long-haul flights and Expedia and Opodo allowing flights into one airport and then out of another. Direct Flights will specifically examine the charter market for occasional deals.
If you intend to fly on certain dates a few months from now, it’s worth signing up to the email lists of the relevant airlines. They will send details of short-term sales so you can buy them at the right time if they come up. British Airways, Opodo, American Airlines, and KLM are particularly good at this type of approach.
Once at the destination, the student must consider the best way to travel. Like airlines, a country for convenience, accessibility, and comfort: the cheapest forms of travel are often the slowest and least luxurious. It’s clearly impossible to generalize across the globe, but hitchhiking, once considered the cheapest form of travel, has a distinct element of personal safety risk and is clearly inappropriate for the solo female traveler. Many of the commercially available insurance policies specifically prohibit such practices. (Cullinan S., 2002)
Public transportation is usually the most reliable of the cheapest options. Local buses, long-distance coaches, or train services are generally safe and reliable. Many of the more developed countries offer student travel cards (or a variant) to reduce the costs of repeat travel and some bus companies (Australia Travel is a notable example) will sell an open ticket between two specific destinations that can be used with different segments. of the journey undertaken over a period of several weeks.
There are other travel-related considerations, such as how best to handle money. The traditional way of carrying traveler’s checks may no longer be popular as many students opt for the convenience of “plastic” money and credit cards. It should be noted that Mastercard will generally convert currency transactions at the best commercially available rate, but will then add around 2.75%. This varies between cards and therefore needs to be checked on an individual basis. Overseas cash withdrawals are also typically subject to an additional 2% fee (£2 minimum charge) on both credit and debit cards. On top of all this, some credit card companies will also add a transaction fee on foreign transactions. (Halifax is currently the worst, charging £1.75 on each transaction.) For the student, Post Office or Nationwide credit cards seem to be the best option. They do not have any tax on foreign purchases, but they do charge interest on all cash withdrawals.
As with all travel, insurance is not essential, but only the most reckless student would travel without it. Annual multi-trip insurance is rarely competitive, except in the US, where it can be cheaper than individual trip coverage (mainly due to the US medical element). Most will require you to stay in pre-booked spots that may not be appropriate for the student traveler.
Decide what coverage you need, what excess you need (the first part of each claim you have to pay yourself), then shop around. The classic insurance sales line is “why not upgrade to our platinum policy, with £30m worth of medical cover etc?” In real terms, the chances that you will ever need more than £2m of medical cover or repatriation to the UK are virtually negligible and therefore perhaps best avoided. A good plan is to include £1 million personal liability cover and also cover for ‘cancellations and restrictions’ along with cover for lost or delayed luggage and cash.
You should be aware that Europe-only coverage is cheaper than elsewhere, and therefore only select broader coverage if appropriate. Lastly, make sure the company you are dealing with is covered by FSA regulated underwriters.
Also note that the new EHIC card (free from http://www.dh.gov.uk/travellers) will provide free or discounted healthcare costs in the EU, but does not cover repatriation costs.
Useful sites for comparisons and costs are Travel-Insurance-Web for Europe-only travel and Insure For for worldwide travel.
References
Judith Bernstein, Susan C. Awe (1999) “Connected Travelers: Travel and Tourism”, Reference Services Review ISSN: 0090-7324 Dec 1999 Vol 27 (4) 364 – 375
Cullinane S (2002) “The relationship between car ownership and public transport provision: a Hong Kong case study” Transport Policy Vol 9, (1), Jan 2002, pp. 29-39(11)
Frost F, T Shanka (1999) “Travel Preferences of Asian Australian Students: An Empirical Study”, Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 1999
REISINGER Y, F MAVONDO (2004) “Determinants of youth travel market perceptions of tourist destinations” Page 1. Tourism Analysis, vol. 7 pp. 55-66 1083-5423/02 2004
Sheth, A. Bertram, C. Avant, D. Hammond, B. Kochut, K. Warke, Y. (2002) “Semantic Content Management for the Web”, Internet Computing IEEE Jul/Aug 2002 Vol: 6, ( 4) 80-87
