7 Travel Tips for Students on a Budget

Build budget-friendly travel habits now and keep exploration a lifelong priority

It seems that everyone tells us: “Travel when you’re young and free!”

But, it also seems that everyone forgets that being “young and free” usually involves limited income, student loans and tight budgets. Travelling while studying is a different beast— but it’s certainly not impossible.

At Premier Travel Media, we believe that travelling is a crucial learning tool for everyone, especially students and young adults. Travelling teaches critical lessons about independence, flexibility, patience and composure in unfamiliar situations. Plus— it’s unbelievably fun.

So: allow us to reveal our own tried-and-true travel secrets that keep the wallet happy.

Tip 1: Plan ahead

A successful adventure requires suitable preparation— look ahead at your calendar and mark your extended academic weekends, spring and fall breaks, and (obviously) winter and summer vacations. After you’ve chosen your ideal travel dates:

Use Google Flights and Skyscanner

After you input your destination and dates, these algorithms will scan through all available airlines to your destination and rank them by price. Before you jump into booking the lowest-cost option, however, consider marking Track Prices in Google Flights. When the price drops for a flight, you’ll receive an notification. This is a great way to keep track of price trends (and you can do this for several different dates, if you’re flexible!)

Consider your flexibility. If you’re super flexible, say, during summer break, try exploring destination flights for “Any dates”. Google will filter through your date grid and find the cheapest time of year to fly to your destination.

Tip 2: Choose your destination carefully

We can’t stress this enough. Whether you’re going abroad or staying in the States, cost of living is an important thing to consider. Important questions to ask about your destination:

What’s the average cost for a hostel? Hostels usually offer the cheapest accommodations and are great places to meet friends on the road. HostelWorld is a fantastic resource for finding the cheapest hostels in every city. Additionally, it allows you to explore different types of hostels—many sites offer group activities (like bar crawls and game nights), which are great for meeting fellow travelers on your journey.
How much is a public transit pass? And more importantly, is there public transit? Renting a car or Ubering everywhere will certainly increase your expenses. Most cities provide different levels of temporary passes differentiated by time length and type of access.
- For example, an unlimited 72-hour public transit pass in Prague, Czech Republic is only 330czk, or $15 USD.
How much will your itinerary activities cost? If you have specific activities in mind that require a permit, ticket, or guide, they’ll most likely cost extra. While you’re exploring these options, be sure to look for student discounts—many, many businesses offer discount rates for travelling students.

If you haven’t decided where you want to go yet, we’ve got good news! Check out our article 5 Destinations for an Educational Student Trip for some fantastic places to visit when you’re young and hungering for new experiences.

Tip 3: Travel off the beaten path

Highly sought-after places usually come with steep price tags, but locations just off-route are often significantly cheaper. Instead of booking 10 nights in the heart of San Francisco, look for places in Oakland, where the cost of living is nearly 11% less. Traveling to the big city is cheap and easy through Bay Area Rapid Transit’s Clipper Card, which can be loaded with as much credit as you’ll need and provides access to all of San Francisco’s public transportation.

Other great cities with easy public transport access to tourist hubs:

Reno — Las Vegas
Kamakura — Tokyo
Chantilly — Paris

Tip 4: Research off-season travelling for your destination

Certain times of year are less expensive for travelling, depending on where you’re going. For example, the cheapest time of year to visit Japan is between January–March. Tourism is at its lowest; not only will accommodations, food, transit and general expenses be at a bargain, there will also be less people thronging the most popular places. You’ll get a better feel for the local energy and have an opportunity to slow down and enjoy a more peaceful vacation.

Tip 5: Look for free activities

There’s something free (and fun) to do in every city— if you look in the right places. Most major cities provide free museums and galleries, local markets, walking tours, festivals and performances, parks and so much more. Chat with locals: they can be your best resource for finding actually interesting things to do (hotel receptionists are great!). While some sites like TripAdvisor can be helpful, look into local magazines and event pages when it comes to finding unique activities.

Tip 6: Create an Emergency Fund

After you’ve created an outline of your expected expenses, bank some funds for the unexpected. Regardless of whether you plan with exacting detail or not, traveling will always provide unforeseen challenges and opportunities. Injuries and illnesses are common in new places. Missed flights, scams, lost or stolen personal items, or hotel mix-ups aren’t off the table, either. Emergency funds help alleviate the strain of these problems without causing extreme financial angst. Set aside a few hundred dollars (that you can afford to spend if you absolutely have to).

Tip 7: Don’t get overwhelmed

(Save that for the inevitable night-before trip anxiety)

There are tons websites that provide tools for creating itineraries for your cost-efficient adventure. A fantastic resource that many travelers have been gushing over is ChatGPT’s itinerary-building capabilities. Find out how to use the AI system to your advantage:

How to Use ChatGPT to Build a Travel Itinerary

And, here’s some great resources for planning your trip and itinerary. Explore with curiosity and excitement— don’t get bogged down. Remember, you’ll want some time to relax, too.