When you are young and full of energy, you have an irresistible desire to visit different parts of the world, to get acquainted with different cultures and people. The only thing that prevents students from traveling is the lack of money. However, do not be discouraged. We’ve prepared a load of suggestions, resources, and programs for you to help you learn to travel without being a wealthy student. This process takes a lot of time to find out all the necessary information about the programs, their conditions, the search for cheap air tickets and other things. However, if you are determined, then nothing will stop you.
What is the best time to book plane tickets
1) Tuesday is the best day to find cheap flights. Coming to work on Monday, airline employees analyse the tickets sold. They analyse how many tickets have been sold and how many are still left. To maximise the sale of tickets for flights, on Tuesday new offers are formed, the most loyal, so that a larger number of those who wish could find a suitable option. Towards the end of weekdays, mid-Friday, prices for flights skyrocket, as more people start looking for tickets starting this day. Airlines, in turn, are trying to make the most of the tickets sold on weekends.
2) The number of seats available and the demand for certain flights increase the cost of tickets. Everyone understands that closer to the holidays and vacations, more people begin to plan their trips or flights home. In this regard, airlines set rather inflated prices. If you want to fly somewhere during the holidays, try to buy tickets for the flight in advance, about six months in advance. Closer to the holidays, prices will increase.
Advantageous offers of bank cards for travel and loyalty systems
Many famous travellers are constantly finding new loopholes and ways to save money on airline tickets. The following points will help you discover new methods:
1) Come up with a clear plan of action, where you want to fly, and what goals you will pursue. For example, you want to visit countries in Europe to explore different cultures. Or you are dreaming of moving to another country and want to discover new countries, look for the purchase of property in Turkey, Dubai, France. Start exploring the offers of various airlines or bank cards that offer the best conditions. For instance, this could be a flight points accumulation system that provides discounts on future trips. Or, many offers of banks form a system of refunding money to your bank card for fulfilling certain conditions.
2) Analyse the loyalty programs of several banks and choose the one that offers the most profitable plan.
Services that help you find better air tickets for your desired flights
In today’s world, there are many opportunities for students to travel without spending large sums of money. We will tell you about services that can help you find cheap tickets, and can also notify you if the prices for your desired flight decrease.
– Google provides the ability to track airfare prices across different airlines. You just need to indicate the date of the flight and the place where you would like to go and this service will inform you about the most advantageous offers. Also, this service shows the full cost of tickets without any concealment and unnecessary surcharges.
– A mobile application from StudentUniverse helps to track online the most unique offers for finding flights, last-minute tours for students, as well as the possibility of booking the best and most profitable hotels.
– As mentioned earlier, the most profitable option is to book tickets a few months before the trip. The Skyscanner app will send you notifications about the best time of year to fly to a particular country and show you the cheapest tickets or notify you when ticket prices are falling.
Volunteering as a way to get to know different cultures, educate and help those in need
By choosing to volunteer, many students get the opportunity to minimise their travel expenses. Volunteering organisations provide an opportunity for students to travel abroad, cut costs and see the world, and also help.
The Peace Corps provides a wide range of opportunities for learning for students, to improve their education, develop in various spheres of life, meet new people, and travel. You can choose the sphere of activity that suits you, in which you would like to try yourself and help. This could be agriculture, economic improvement, health care, or environmental improvement. Unfortunately, at the moment due to COVID-19, the Peace Corps international programs are not active. Still, you can apply to any available position, and once the conditions of the pandemic change, you will get an invitation for about 2-4 months in advance.
The United Nations Volunteers is a platform designed to guide students to different countries. Fundraising for volunteers is open at the site. Such a program will allow you to either travel for free with a volunteer organisation to countries such as Thailand, New Zealand, Australia. Or a part of the money will be paid for your trips. This program responds to needy countries, which face difficult coronavirus situations. Currently, you can apply to programs and give your helping hand to those in need.
As part of the work of this organisation, students can participate in the main program of this organisation, which includes a month of residence in another country. Half of the month you will be doing volunteer work, and the other half you will be traveling around the country.
Services for finding a place to live in different countries
Not every student can afford to book a hotel room. In this case, services were created that help find motels or hostels, as well as apartments.
If you understand that booking a hostel is expensive for you, then CouchSurfing is a great option for you. By choosing this service, you can live with one of the families in their house. In addition to living, you have the opportunity to meet new people who can help you explore the desired host country.
Hostelworld is a service that helps you find a hostel without paying for a room reservation. On the site you will find a huge number of reviews from users who have already used this service, and based on these reviews, you can find the most suitable place for you.
Airbnb is an internationally renowned service that offers a wide range of apartments and accommodations. For students, the service offers additional discounts.
Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have a lot of money to travel the world. There are many opportunities for students in the modern world on how to find the most profitable deals for flights, search for hotels and hostels, as well as loyalty systems from airlines and banks.
