Traveling is an exciting part of our lives. It broadens our outlook, gives valuable experience, helps to meet like-minded people, and distract ourselves from routines. Exploring the world is especially important when you are a student. It’s the best time to travel, as you are free from family duties, full of energy, curious about life, and eager to meet compatible people.
Personally, I started traveling around the world in college. I didn’t know much about how to do it in the right way at that moment. But over some years of regular traveling, I’ve learned a lot from my numerous journeys. I wish there was somebody to tell me more about how to organize trips in a proper way but I needed to get to know everything from my own experience. Luckily, now I can share my insights on traveling for students.
Take care of travel insurance
As you can read on State Department website, most U.S. policies on health insurance don’t offer their benefits overseas and don’t cover expenses incurred abroad. It means that if you get ill or injured in a foreign country, you will have to pay for treatment out of your pocket.
Besides, most students don’t know about medical evacuation insurance (medevac). Medevac insurance can cover hospitalizations and medical care, as well as the flight back home if there is a need for that. Typically medical evacuation costs $50,000 to $100,000 if you don’t have insurance, but with medevac, it’s absolutely free.
Think about at least a few alternative types of communications and financial access
Before you depart, check with the provider of your cell phone to verify a new international calling plan. Also, buy an international card for calls to have a backup. The same works with your credit cards and access to cash. Have some contingency items for payment in case of an incident. In addition, while organizing your journey, research the information on how to save money while traveling if you are a student. This way you’ll be able to cover some extra expenses if needed.
Make online registration with the US Embassy in the country that you are going to visit
According to Ian Kelly, former State Department spokesman, most Americans don’t do it. Registration is needed because in case of emergencies, like political protests or natural disasters, the Embassy can contact travelers for emergency notification or evacuation. Moreover, if you need Embassy to help with communication with loved ones who stay at home or some other types of assistance, Embassy workers can help you faster if your data is already in the system.
Contact student-focused tour agencies
It helps to get the cheapest tickets as great experts who can find affordable tours work there.
Find an academic assistant
Sometimes study takes too much time and effort. It doesn’t leave a chance to have a full life and travel around the world. In this case, a great solution could be to find someone whom you can delegate a part of your academic work. It can be a peer from college or a professional service that will write a perfect essay for you. It doesn’t matter what kind of help you prefer, the most important is that you get some free time to explore other sides of life.
Put Copies of Passport in a separate location
Sign the copies of the passport and write down the emergency information. Having a spare copy of your passport to a different location can be very helpful if your wallet or a backpack is stolen. Ideally, keep one more copy in your home country and give your friends or family access to it. In addition, it would be good to leave at home a copy of other documents, like a driver’s license and credit cards.
Befriend local people
Locals can really help you out while you are abroad. Making friends overseas gives a chance to practice a foreign language and provides the opportunity to visit places off the ‘tourist path’. This way you can take a deeper dive into a new culture and get the inside scoop of different places. But be careful and try to check the identity of your friends, preferably through Facebook or other social media. Remember, that safety is first.
Traveling fulfills life with bright emotions and unforgettable experiences. To make it more enjoyable and get the most out of college years, follow the tips described above. Being a student means getting not only academic knowledge but exploring the world too.
Author’s Bio
Robert Everett a college graduate who is keen on traveling. He is into exploring different cultures and learning foreign languages. Robert believes that traveling is the best teacher in life.
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