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In your suitcase

Going on holiday is great and if you are planning on travelling for longer, then it’s even better. However, one of the age old dilemmas that travellers have been facing since the first passport was issued is ‘what to pack?’ Don’t fear, as we are here to help with a few handy hints and pointers:

Know your destination: It may sound obvious but think about where it is you are actually going. There’s probably no point packing your flip-flops if you are going skiing in the Alps. Also, consider where you are staying. Have you got a hotel booked or are you camping? Are you going to stay in the one place or move around? If you are planning on staying in just one hotel, then perhaps you can afford to bring that little extra luggage for luxury. However, if you are planning on trekking from hostel to hostel in tropical heat, then it will probably make sense to leave the hair straighteners at home and travel light.

If where you are going is blessed with sun, sea and sand then you probably can’t wait to strip down to your shorts or bikinis and cook yourself to a golden brown…or lobster red! However, be sure to do your research and find out if the location you are going to has any local customs, beliefs or regulations that may mean that your bare skin will cause offence. For example, in a lot of Arabic destinations it is respectful to keep yourself covered up and in many locations around the world it is illegal for women to go topless on the beach – the last souvenir you want to be taking back from your holiday is a hefty fine!

Hot or Cold?

It may sound ridiculously obvious but check the weather reports before you go away – you would be surprised by the amount of people who pack woolly jumpers for a beach holiday in Thailand and bikinis for a trip to see the northern lights in Norway…”you never know” people say! You could save yourself a lot of space by selecting your clothes sensibly and by really thinking about what you will use.

Past Experiences

There’s nothing more valuable than prior knowledge – whether it’s yours or someone else’s. If you have been away before, think about what it is that you discovered you needed and didn’t need. Did you take too many jumpers? Not enough t-shirts? You only ever wore one pair of jeans? Live and learn…you’re a student after all! If this is your first time going away or your first time in a particular place, then try and find some people who have already been there and done that. Ask, ask, ask and you could save yourself a lot of agro.

Money

You’ve been saving your pennies for as long as you can remember and it’s time to bust open the porcelain pig; but how much money should you take with you and how much should you leave behind – if any? Well, obviously the answer to this depends heavily on where you are going, for how long you are going and what type of holiday you are looking for. There are certain factors that you can take into consideration when planning your budget for your trip:

Where are you going?

If you have had a certain destination in mind for a while then you are probably not going to change you mind. However, if you are choosing your location based on your budget then you should do some research on which destinations are expensive and which are cheap. You shouldn’t simply take into consideration the cost of living, you should also think about how much it costs to reach your desired place. For example, if you are flying from the United Kingdom to Switzerland, it will probably cost you only £40 or so on a budget airline. However, once you get there your money could slide out of your fingers quickly as it is not a cheap country to eat, drink, sleep or buy things from. On the other hand, you could fork out between £200-£600 for a flight to Thailand but once you get there your money will go a lot further as you can sleep for as little as £1 a night. So, it comes back to thinking about how long you plan to be away for. If you are going for one or two weeks then maybe it’s better to fly cheap and live slightly more expensive but if you are going for four or five months then perhaps you should spend a little extra on the flight and live comfortably on a shoestring.

Work it out

Do your research! There are plenty of blogs and websites online where you can find a wealth of information on how much things cost in particular countries. Work out a rough daily budget for yourself based on accommodation, food, drink, travel and fun. Multiply that daily amount by the amount of days you are staying for and there you have it…your complete travel budget. However, add on between 10% and 15% to cover any unexpected expenses.

Discount Card

The ISIC card gives students loads of discounts which includes travel discounts. You can get discounts on “flights, trains, hostels & hotels, phone calls, luggage, accessories, restaurants, guidebooks, carbon offsetting, and all the best attractions, galleries & museums.” It is probably worth checking out!

Keep your money safe

Never carry all of your hard earned money on your person. Tourist destinations have an unfortunate reputation for breeding petit thieves and carrying a wallet full of cash is just asking for trouble. Instead, put your money into a bank account that you can access from where you are going. This way you can simply take out what you need when you need it and your money should be safe and sound in the bank’s vaults. However, be aware that many and indeed most banks will charge you a flat rate fee for every time you draw out cash in a foreign country. Nationwide have scrapped foreign usage charges which means you could save yourself a lot of money while on your travels.

Backup

You may have money burning a hole in your pocket but you need to be careful with how you spend it and how quickly. Try not to do all of your skydiving, swimming with dolphins, romantic dinners and island cruises on the first day – spend your money wisely and stick to your budget! You should also always be sure to have some reserve funds, which will guarantee you a flight home in case you should need it – you never know!

Passports

So you’ve been planning your trip for months now, telling everyone about it and getting yourself psyched-up for the big event – but a day before your flight is due you realise your passport is out-of-date and you’re not going anywhere! Don’t let this happen to you; try following a few of our passport handy hints:

• When you first start planning your trip – way before you start packing – check that your passport is in date. Also, check that your passport will remain valid for your entire trip. You may find that a few of your destinations may require your passport to be valid for 6 months from arrival.

• Did your passport accidentally go swimming with dolphins on your last holiday? If so it probably isn’t in great shape. If your passport is looking a bit shabby (especially if the photo or any information is damaged) then you may need to get yourself a new one. It is unlikely that you will get through immigration control if no one can read your passport.

• It’s always a good precaution to photocopy the information and photo pages of your passport. If anything happens to your passport then at least you have the important information to help you find it.

• When travelling don’t rely on your passport for identification. Always bring a second form of photo ID in case something happens to your passport and you need to prove who you are.

• Your passport should be looked after as if it were the Crown Jewels. However, if anything does go wrong and your passport is lost or stolen then get in contact with your local embassy straight away. If your passport has been stolen then also be sure to get straight down to the nearest police station, report it and get a crime number.

Visas

Many countries require any person coming in as a tourist, even if just for a short while, to have a visa. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have all of the relevant visas and paperwork before you enter the country. If you don’t have the required documents then I’m afraid it probably means home time. Be sure to do your research and check up on which countries require you to have a visa – for more information on your destinations, including whether or not it is safe to travel, go to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Here are a few things you should keep in mind when organising your visas:

• First, find out if the country you’re going to require you to have a visa. If you are a UK citizen then you wont need a special visa to enter into other countries in the EU, which makes things a lot easier. However, if you are travelling to places such as India, China and many African countries, then you will need a visa before you arrive. To see if where you’re going needs a visa, check out The Traveller’s Lounge.

• You may have to pay a fee for your visa so be prepared for this. Costs are not usually extortionate but are worth planning into your budget before you leave.

• Don’t tell yourself that you have plenty of time to get your visas sorted out. Some countries really do take their time at issuing visas out to tourists and the last thing you want is not to have your paperwork ready for when you leave. As soon as you start planning your trip, start planning your visas!

• If you are planning on funding your travel by working while abroad then you will need a different type of visa. As a tourist, you will need a tourist visa, which allows you to enter and stay in the country. However, to work legally in the country you need to apply for a working visa. For more information on visas, visit Trailfinders or STA Travel’s working abroad pages.

Stay Healthy

In the Western world we are extremely lucky to have a reliable and stable healthcare system that can help us if our health is compromised. Unfortunately, not all countries have such reliable help when it comes to your health. For this reason it is extremely important that you take all possible precautions to prevent anything going wrong, and if something does go wrong, you should be prepared. Below are a few handy hints on how to stay safe and healthy while abroad:

• Go for a check-up with your GP before you leave for your travels. This will not only give you peace of mind but will also give you a chance to ask your doctor for any advice that you may feel you need, for example, “can I take aspirins with alcohol?”

• Make sure you are stocked up. If you wear contact lenses, use an inhaler, take tablets or even need to rub a special kind of cream on your feet everyday then make sure you have enough to take with you.

• Buy a travel first aid kit. These can be bought from most camping and hiking shops and are usually no bigger than a TV remote control so can easily fit into your bag. Travel first aid kits have everything from plasters, antiseptic wipes, bandages and syringe needles so you can give less equipped hospitals your own to use.

• Get travel insurance! You may think that you could save a few pounds by skipping the whole travel insurance thing but just think how much out of pocket you will be if anything does go wrong. If you need any kind of hospital treatment when you are away, it is very likely that you will foot the bill. Go to MoneySuperMarket to see who will give you the best deal on travel insurance.

• Depending on where you are travelling to, you may need to get some jabs. Even if you are afraid of needles I’m afraid that this is something you simply can’t afford not to do. To find out if where you are going requires you to have a jab, visit The Travel Doctor, which has a helpful interactive map. You can also go to your doctors and speak to a nurse who will usually be able to tell you if you need a jab for the countries you are visiting – remember to take your itinerary with you.

• Even if you have had certain jabs before, you may still need a ‘booster’, which is basically a top-up of your previous jab. Visit your GP and ask if this is needed and they should be able to point you in the right direction.

Gap Year

You may be thinking to yourself that there is more chance of peas and carrots running the world than you being able to afford a travelling trip. However, all is not lost. There are many options for you to self-fund your excursion by working as you go. I know, I know, ‘work’ is a dirty word. Working abroad can be fun and exciting and will allow you to make lots of new friends – also, if it’s your only option then it’s better than spending all of your time at home watching Trisha while your friends are off having the time of their lives! Below are a few options for funding your way around the world:

• If you are a UK citizen and you are planning on travelling to other EU countries then you don’t need to apply for a work visa. This means that you are free to walk the streets looking for ‘staff wanted’ notices in bar and restaurant windows. If you are travelling in the tourist seasons (i.e. summer), then you should find plenty of bar work. Not everywhere has a minimum wage system as the UK does so don’t be surprised if you are offered a less impressive pay packet. That said if it pays your way and allows you to travel, it’s probably worth it!

• Fruit picking has long been a popular method of making money while travelling. This is most common in the wine producing countries like France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and New Zealand etc. This work can be monotonous and back-breaking (not literally but it can hurt!) Sometimes you will not even be paid for this type of work and instead will be offered a place to stay and some food as payment. This can be good for a few days or a week while you are deciding what to do next but we wouldn’t recommend it for too long. If you are travelling to New Zealand then check out WWOOF – as a member you can work across New Zealand on organic farms.

• A hugely growing industry is teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL). If you become a TEFL teacher, you can teach nearly anywhere in the world and get paid good rates. The amount you get paid depends on the country you teach and the demand for your skills. This is a great way to earn money while abroad and to gain a qualification in the process. You will have to spend around £1000 initially to gain your TEFL qualification but once you have this, you become quite a desirable employee. The best thing is, you do not need to be able to speak the native language of the students you are teaching as the concept works by immersing the students with English. Below are a few links to different TEFL schools:

ITC – get your TEFL qualification before you go abroad.

Cactus TEFL – Courses all over the world and advice for new TEFLers.

i-to-i – Information on TEFL courses and other volunteer abroad activities.

• Another popular ‘work abroad’ option is Camp America. This is great for enthusiastic people who love kids. You will go out and work for around 9 weeks in a summer camp helping kids to enjoy themselves. You could find yourself singing around a campfire, swimming in lakes, riding through forests or a whole wealth of other activities. Usually you will have to pay some administration and insurance costs but you will have your flights paid for and some pocket money once you are out there so you can do some exploring after camp is over.

If you are looking to earn lots of money and live in swanky apartments then the gap year options are probably not for you. You will never get rich doing any of these activities but you will be able to fund your way around the world if you so wish. It’s not always about the money though; doing a gap year is a great way to meet new people and explore new places. Check out STA Travel’s pages on gap years for more information.

Useful Links

STA Travel – STA is one of the leading student and young person’s travel agencies and is great for gap year bookings and cheap flights.

Trailfinders – This travel agency will help you book your ideal trip away.

Ace Student Insurance – Get cheap student travel insurance deals here.

Hostel Bookers – Book your hostel for your trip away on this website.

YHA – The YHA is a hostel association with hostels in many destinations.

ISIC Card – The ISIC card will get you discounts in a variety of different places.

Ryanair – This budget airline flies to multiple destinations.

Easyjet – Another budget airline that flies to many great locations.

InterRail – Buy your European rail pass here.

XE – A universal currency converter so you know where you are with your money.

Travelex – Foreign currency exchange website.

Travel health – Information about your travel health.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office – Have a look here before you travel anywhere. You can find out the latest information about the country you are visiting, including whether or not it is safe.

Lonely Planet – Get all the travel guide books that you need here.

Jobs 4 Students is a great place to advertise your job oportunity.

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