Why you should travel  as a student?

Benefits of Traveling as a Student 

I started traveling solo when I was 17 years old as a high school student, and now, four years later, I am still traveling, but as a university student. Other students that are in university may not be interested in traveling around the world and have the misconception that you must be filthy rich to travel.
However, I always try and urge my peers that this is the BEST time to go traveling and that you should absolutely travel as much as you can while you are still in university. Here are some important reasons to consider if you are struggling to decide if you should take the leap of faith and begin traveling around the world, or even around your own country, whether that be solo or with other students.

You will never get this much vacation time again 

Let us face reality, unless you become a digital nomad and make a career from traveling (of course a dream job but not likely for most people), then when you graduate university, you will most likely immediately start looking for a job.
It is hard to go from having several breaks and holidays throughout the school year such as Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Summer as well as all those public holidays to only a few weeks of vacation time a year.
My university gives students four full months for the summer break, in addition to a winter and spring break and public holidays so I try to take advantage of this time and explore the world. I know I will NEVER get this amount of off time again once I graduate and start my professional career. Most Americans are lucky if they get 3-4 weeks off a year, and depending on what country you live in and what job you have, some people even have less time off than this, unfortunately. It makes it incredible hard and time crunching to try and take a European, Asian, African, or Oceanian trip from somewhere far like the US when you only have 2 weeks off the entire year. Especially when you get to a continent like Europe, you can easily check dozens of countries off your list because of easy accessibly and transport as well as easy and friendly border crossings.

I am not saying that you MUST travel all summer for four months at a time, because let us be realistic, home sickness and broke bank accounts do exist. But you really should at least try and travel as much as you can during your school holidays while you have the opportunity and the time off to, whether that be a solo trip, a group tour, or a school organized trip.

The Young Globetrotters

Photograph by Dani De Leo

You do not have the commitments of a real adult

The fun part about being in university, is that you are more independent and have more responsibilities than while you were in high school and living with your family. However, if you are fortunate enough to still have your family’s financial support, your main job while as a student is doing well with your studies and earning good grades.
Many students may not yet be burdened with real adult responsibilities such as paying your rent, paying for insurance, paying for your car, student loans, or any other financial commitments. If you are working as a student, then you should 100% take advantage of your lack of adult- like responsibilities and put your savings towards an epic life changing trip. Another thing that most students do not have at this stage of their life, is their own children and family.
Having kids changes everything, and although of course you can travel with children, it changes the whole vibe and purpose of your trip. If you want a traditional travel experience and do things such as experiencing European night life, staying in hostels, and “trying to find yourself,” then it is best to do these things before you are traveling with your own children.

You can get student discounts

Some countries, depending on what region you are traveling to, may offer student discounts for things such as transportation tickets as well as tourist attractions. This can be a small discount or as much as 50% off sometimes! Everyone knows that most student travelers are usually on a tight and slim budget, so thankfully these discounts can really help to control your money but still allow you to experience some of the best things a country as to offer. When I was recently traveling in Dubrovnik, Croatia, I wanted to climb the famous city walls that surround the old town of the city.
However, it was a hefty price of $30 during the summer peak season, which is expensive for me as a student budget traveler. Luckily, they had a student discount available that made the entrance ticket only $7!!!
A lot more affordable and student budget friendly than $30. I could use the money saved to buy my lunch and dinner and even a beer! Make sure to ALWAYS ask whenever you buy tickets for things because you never truly know what discounts you can get! If you are traveling in Europe and do not go to university in Europe,
I recommend buying an ISIC card (International Student Identity Card) which you can purchase here. Unfortunately, some countries only accept their own countries student IDs or those from other European Union countries. For example, my university card from Dubai would not be eligible in most foreign countries. However, if you purchase this digital ISIC card for only $30,
you can have access to all the same discounts as well as promo codes for other things such as accommodations websites, movie ticket deals, and additional transport discounts. Because there are so many countries that accept this ISIC card, the $30 investment is well worth it as it will pay off quickly

Traveling is the best learning method

There is nothing like learning about Ancient Egyptian Mythology in history class and then actually going to Egypt and seeing the pyramids and century old historical sites in person!
It is scientifically proven that your brain is developing the most cognitively at this stage of your life, when you are learning SO much information every day, especially in school. University teaches you skills such as how to research, how to analyze, how to write, or find out certain information.
But it does not teach you certain life skills, such as how to communicate with someone who does not speak your language, how to find your hostel in a brand-new city, the best ways to get money in a foreign country or what to do if you are stuck somewhere without service or get lost. These are important life skills that can be learnt while traveling, not to mention the individual growth that comes with going outside of your comfort
zone

Take advantage of your youth

Realistically, if we all wait until we have enough money to travel and have the amount of vacation days that we had in school, we would all have to wait until retirement. I always say that the best time to travel financially might be after you have retired, but the best physical time to travel is when you are young! I am not saying you cannot do similar things once you are old, but honestly,
who knows what your health and physical abilities will be like decades from now, so why wait so long to do things such as trek to Everest Base camp, water white raft in Montenegro, or zipline across the desert in the UAE. I recently traveled with my grandma and I could SEE how much more effort you must make sometimes.
To tailor your trip to your abilities, and some things just are not as likely or safe to do at the standard retirement age. Plus, you will miss all the fun things you do specifically as a young traveler such as staying in hostels, going to the clubs in foreign cities, camping music festivals, and living as a young and free individual.

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