Travelling while you’re still in college is a great option. Once you move past college, however, your career could tie you down — not to mention a potential marriage and family. Travelling while you’re young and single is ideal, even though money may be tight and you may feel a bit nervous about facing the world on your own. Luckily, for every problem you face as a young traveler, you can find a solution.
Work Your Way Around the World
Image via Flickr by wilderness.webmaster
Don’t have enough money for lodging and food? Many travelers use websites such as helpx.net or workaway.info to find volunteer gigs around the world. The work can range from farming to painting murals and tutoring children, and you generally volunteer 25 hours per week in exchange for food and lodging.
Volunteering to work at the front desk of a hostel is another great way to pay your bills, especially if you have language skills and experience working with customers. If you’re interested in organic farming or you enjoy working outdoors, consider getting involved with WWOOF (Worldwide Opportunities On Organic Farms), which is especially popular in Europe.
Study Abroad
Your university may be able to connect you with a semester abroad program. Many students go to Europe to study, where cheap airfare and good train connections allow you to easily visit a new country every weekend. The Semester at Sea program puts you on a cruise ship campus for a semester and makes the world your classroom.
Travel Smart
If you’re travelling on your own savings, you can find ways to keep costs down. Instead of paying top dollar for hotel rooms in major tourist destinations, choose nearby neighbourhoods to stay in. When you explore options for Pacific Beach hotels with Hotel Planner, for example, you could be able to affordably access both San Diego and La Jolla, California.
Airfare will be one of your largest expenses, so learn how to find the best flight prices. Flexibility is the key to great airfare — choose your destination based on flight deals rather than the other way around. Use flexible tools such as kiwi.com or flights.google.com to find the best times and places to fly, then build your itinerary accordingly.
Stay Fed and Healthy
For many vacationers, travel means eating in luxurious restaurants every night. A college student travelling long term on a budget needs to find other solutions. Look for a hotel with shared kitchen facilities so that you can prepare at least some of your meals yourself.
Street food can be super cheap, but you need to be careful what you eat so that you won’t get sick. Look for street food stalls that are busy, so the food isn’t sitting too long. Choose foods that are cooked in front of you and served piping hot. Avoid raw fruits and vegetables that may have been washed in tap water, including salads and garnishes. Fruits that you can peel, such as bananas or oranges, are good choices.
Worldwide travel is a great adventure for a student. If you have the opportunity to travel while you’re young, grab it — even if it means travelling on a tight budget.
