Top tips for traveling on a college student budget that you absolutely have to know!
There’s a common refrain that you only start livin’ life in university. Yes, you may indeed be eating instant ramen in your college dorm room while stressing over assignments. However, you certainly can’t deny that college offers the first taste of freedom! You’re away from curfews, there’s no more asking mom or dad for permission to do things and go places, and you get to plan your time and activities like an adult. Journeying abroad during your student years can be the best opportunity to learn how to take responsibility for your finances and your schedules, while also having minimal other commitments that would deter you from experiencing unique destinations and cultures to the fullest.
But you probably already knew that if you’re googling this to begin with. By student travelers (both current and former), for student travelers, here are the recommendations we’ve got by personally asking around.
Pre-travel planning and budgeting is important!
Most of us– and not just students– only start rifling through our pockets and bank statements when we’re starting to plan out an itinerary. When you’re likely living off an allowance and/or doing side gigs to earn some money for ourselves, we often wonder how we can have enough money to even justify the expenditure on going overseas. There never seems to be enough to distribute among necessary expenditures like food, transportation and groceries, as well as for ‘going-out’ money.
In reality, you don’t need to skimp out on meals or walk a mile to class just so you can save each day. Often, universities offer many free resources for you to take advantage of for daily savings! Someone on our team said that during their college days, they joined a group chat listing all the locations on-campus that had a free-to-take buffet going on. Certain universities host food banks giving out free groceries for people to take– because they’re less well known, sometimes there’s even a surplus! Student societies hand out necessities and discount coupons in welfare packs. In reality, if you do your research on everyday expenditures and find out where to look on campus, you’ll likely have quite a bit you’ll save on that will add to your travel budget. So keep a tab on your expenses and start saving using student deals!
Travel during the college semester. Yes – don’t wait for breaks, or off-peak seasons!
To be clear, we’re not recommending that you skip class. And hey, we’ve all been students before– so we know you’ve done it for reasons less noble than travel. But we’re being very serious when we say it’s possible to travel during your semester! Again, this requires some careful planning of your classes and coursework, so you have to be ahead of time and intentional in creating your itinerary and coordinating with your travel buddies – unless you’re making it a solo trip. Depending on the flexibility of your course schedules, you can arrange your classes to have Fridays or Mondays free of any lectures, lessons or lab work, or opt to take full online classes if there are any offered in your university! If you’re able to block out a long weekend, you can certainly plan for a short trip across the border.
As we’re writing this, we’ve got yet another Team Jetpacker in Phuket, Thailand while she’s in the middle of her semester! Last week, she was in Bali, Indonesia, and she’s probably going somewhere soon in the region. In fact, most of what we’ve said here comes from her! This is her pictured below, hard at work writing her essay while on the road in a bus ride. She happens to be using Explorer by Jetpac travel eSIM to get uninterrupted, non-spotty access to data roaming connection while she’s in the zone. She didn’t have to hold anything up on the itinerary while looking for cafes with unreliable wifi to submit her assignments. With enough data that works across 5 beloved South East Asian destinations for 30 days, she’s been using the same eSIM without having to swap, install, or download another SIM card even once across her trips this month!
Caption: This is called a 0.5 angle selfie. It’s popular on TikTok right now
[Credit: Mika Sacdalan ]
Having instant data connectivity while traveling is absolutely essential, no matter at which point of the semester you’re going! As a student, you’d want to be on top of all your many assignments and due dates even on the go, so that you’re still getting those As. Having a travel eSIM like Jetpac will give you that stable data roaming you need, so you never have to go hunting for public wifi again.
Other than that, you can minimize your guilt and anxiety of traveling while you technically have school going on by setting aside some hours in your day to get some work done. Being on the go between train and road trips while on a trip are great ways to do this, though finding a nice spot on the beach or a balcony to romanticize the moment can also be a great motivation. After all, you’ve got to finish that assignment as fast as you can so that you can look up from the screen and admire your sunset!
Take advantage of overseas programmes that aren’t just study abroad semesters!
Everyone wants to do a study abroad semester. Doesn’t it sound like a dream to wake up, attend class, and then hit the pristine waters of a beach or explore historical avenues in iconic foreign streets and places? Well, we certainly would hope you attend your classes, because we have no doubt you’d be doing the latter. However, study-abroad programmes can sometimes be competitive to get into, and not everyone lucks out in that sense. We’d suggest for you to not limit yourself towards study abroad semesters, and instead try for other forms of student exchange programmes instead!
If you look around, you’ll definitely find internships hosted by your college and student clubs and societies that host trips to foreign shores. These can range across work-study programmes, cultural and language immersion trips, and volunteer work, but there’s usually some form of community involvement in it. Short trips to cultures much further away from your home country may be daunting and perhaps not originally on your radar, but you may find yourself pleasantly surprised and fulfilled with an experience that isn’t like a conventional holiday! The person writing this, for example, had grown a liiiittle tired of many previous trips to Bangkok and wasn’t keen on going to Thailand yet again– but a volunteer project hosted by a university Rotaract club that took them to Chiang Mai had truly shifted their perspective!
Depending on where you are, your destinations may differ, but all kinds of overseas programmes offer something different yet rewarding at discounted (or free) travel prices, with accommodations generally taken care of! For more freedom to plan on your structure and experience living independently, you could opt for overseas work-study attachments instead– that might help you clear some required classes as well, if your major allows for it. Chances are, there are more of these programmes than you think they are, and it’s often as simple as asking your neighbor in your lecture about what they’re up to, because they’d be happy to rope you in!
Pack light, and don’t be afraid to travel off the beaten path
With the advent of social media, we often find ourselves peering at the little windows on TikTok and Instagram to see other university students getting to plan grand adventures across glamorous locations. It’s important not to get caught up in these comparisons. Remember that the only travel standard you need to meet is your own, and as long as you’re going places you like and are being responsible about it, you’re having a great trip. You’ve got to resist the pressures to pack heavy and fill your suitcases with all the gadgets, picture-worthy outfits and trinkets so that your trips will look like those online. Pack light after making a list of essentials you would need for the trip – this will help you stay within budget as well! Taking walking tours across the cities and places you’re in can be a great way to explore sights and sceneries, and the guides leading you will often give you the scoop on where the locals go to eat if you ask.
Even with a set and decided itinerary, you may have to adapt and switch on the go. Be practical about your own expectations with yourself while you’re traveling. While at a new destination, you may often find yourself unsure on what to do, where to go, and how to ask for guidance (especially if there is a local language you do not speak). So don’t get frustrated! It helps like nothing else to have access to data the same way you would back home, so a reliable travel data roaming plan is an undeniable lifesaver. From experience, we’ve often been overwhelmed trying to look for a local physical SIM card to buy upon landing, and often settle for purchasing one at the airport kiosk. A travel eSIM like Jetpac gives you the same convenience as it can easily be installed prior to your travel, and you can activate it within seconds upon landing for instant data connectivity! You can also easily track your data usage with your app and repurchase another data roaming pack if need be. Check out the best roaming plans for your trip using Jetpac travel eSIM, which works in over 50 countries, and covers data roaming in regions including USA, Europe, South East Asia, and Asia Pacific.
As cliche as it sounds, your college years can be the best years of your life, and traveling during them is a dream. So follow these tips and go out to make your fondest memories during them, and get out there fearlessly when you can always stay connected!
