- Plan, Plan, Plan
- There is a saying that “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Planning is key in making traveling while abroad a reality. And there is no set time to do it. When planning to go abroad, if you intend to travel during breaks, weekends, etc include it within your study abroad plan. It doesn’t have to be completely set in stone, but having a rough idea allows you to factor in extra costs that can be specifically for excursions.
- Traveling with friends or solo? An important thing to think about.
- Beware of the time that you are traveling. Is it around national holidays? If so do lots of research before because hotels can and will fill up quickly (speaking from experience).
- Student Discount
- Inquire with your university and even embassy or local community to see if they offer discounts on train tickets or even airfare.
- Re-Entry Precautions
- Very very very important. Countries will almost always let you leave, but returning is the difficult part. Make sure that if you plan to leave the country that you are studying in, you complete all necessary paperwork and notify all personnel of your time away. A slip-up with this can result in your visa being revoked, deportation, and sometimes banning from the country for a period of time.
- Do things that interest you
- Have fun and then more fun. Do not let the tourist spots trap you. You can do better. In my case, I visited Seoul, South Korea and had the opportunity to visit the Demilitarized Zone between North Korea and South Korea. The fee was close to $80 and would have taken almost a whole day. My friend and I were only there for 4 days and wanted to do many things, so we chose to skip out the DMZ tour and hiked the incredible Mt. Bukhansan since it fit our schedule.
These are some of the things I learned from my abroad-abroad travel and hope that they help!
