Whether you’re travelling to visit family back home, going on day trips with friends or enjoying a holiday, planning is your key to a successful trip. If you’re starting to think about your New Year travels, putting a proper plan in place can help you avoid running into issues.
Start Planning Your Travels Early
Last minute plans can be fun and make for a spontaneous day out. However, planning early means you can be prepared for any problems that get thrown your way. For example, you may decide last minute to go out for food, but find that no restaurants in the area have tables available. Planning ahead in this situation would include booking a table at a restaurant before the day.
Planning travels in advance is also useful to help you save money. If you book a plane ticket months before the day of your flight, it’s likely to be cheaper. If you’re travelling by train, keep an eye out for advance tickets. There’s a chance you may be able to buy one on or near the same day of travel, but getting one in advance means you’re more likely to secure one. As well as saving money, booking early means you have more choice of times to choose from.
Budget Planning For Travelling
Budgeting allows you to be careful about how much you’re spending. You might decide on one big budget or lots of small ones. For example, on a holiday, you might have separate budgets for different things like transport, food, accommodation and activities. For a day trip on the other hand, you might have one overall budget. Make sure you stick to the budgets you set yourself so you don’t end up overspending.
Identifying the Best Locations To Visit
Consider your interests, but also be realistic with costs. Going on a month-long trip to the Maldives whilst you’re studying is probably off the cards. Some people like a cultural trip to museums, others are thrill seekers, and some love the beauty of nature. Wherever you go, check if there are student discounts available, as these can make a huge difference.
Travelling Home or Abroad
When travelling anywhere, look out for student tickets and discounts. If your New Year travels involve lots of train journeys, then you’ll benefit from using a 16-25 Railcard. National Rail say that you could save an average of £192 in a year if you have one of these cards. Mature students in full-time study can get one of these if they tick all the requirements as well. Many airlines offer student discounts, so always check when booking flights.
If you do your food shop at Tesco, you can turn your club card points into vouchers for restaurants, travels and days out. For example, you can use your club card points to help buy a ferry ticket. If you shop there often, you might have more points than you think.
Will You be Working During Your Travels
Making money whilst at university is a great idea, but it can be inconsistent when travelling home for periods of time. If you work for a chain business at university, you may be able to transfer to work for the same company when you’re back home. This means you can keep making money when you’re home for the winter, summer or easter periods.
Some people decide to go travelling or move countries after they graduate. If you’re planning to move away for a while, you could consider getting a job abroad. Have a plan of what you want to do or secure a job beforehand to avoid running into financial problems.
Choosing the Best Time to Travel
Try to travel at off-peak times to get cheaper tickets. An early morning flight may be cheaper as there’s less demand for earlier times. National Rail’s off-peak hours generally begin at 9:30 am from Monday to Friday in large towns and cities and 9 am in other locations. Bank holidays and weekends are off-peak for the whole day. Taxis also have off-peak times which will vary for each company. When travelling, it’s a good plan to check these times to save yourself money.
More Top Tips and Advice From The Student Energy Group
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