How to be a boss at study abroad weekend trips

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As someone who loves to be constantly moving, the prospect and potential of weekend trips was a huge factor in deciding where I decided to study abroad. Originally, I had my eyes set on somewhere in South America, such as Santiagao, Chile, or Buenos Aires in Argentina. For some reason, I thought those who chose to study in Europe had no sense of adventure?? I was wrong okay don’t ask me why I thought that LOL

But when I realized that programs in South America cost more than double the price of programs in Spain, I was heartbroken. I’ve spent a lot of time in South America, and it felt like home to me. I was so excited to see more of it, but it just wasn’t in the budget. (I was studying abroad to save money, after all ).

So with a heavy heart, I put down my deposit for my Spanish adventures. (OMG I can’t believe how bad that sounds, lets just ignore it)

Man oh man, did my perspective change the second I got there.

When I was researching places to visit from the larger cities in South America, I was seeing long, expensive bus rides, pricey airline tickets, and not a lot of potential for easy access to new places. (That college budget is TRICKY to work around, let me tell ya). When I googled flights to Portugal from the small airport near my city in Spain, they popped up for 17 Euros.

17 EUROS. ROUND TRIP.

I about passed away and went to heaven. Not a single flight was over 100 dollars, and I was able to jet-set off to Portugal, Austria, The Netherlands, and Morocco.

I could’ve done even more, but here’s a pro-tip: don’t burn yourself out, even though it seems appealing. Leave enough weekends free for you to explore the city that you call home. I had a lot of friends leave every single weekend; they barely saw our city besides their walk to school every day, and they regretted it!

Weekend trips are some of the best parts of getting to study abroad. So, without further ado, let’s get into my 5 tips to being a boss at study abroad weekend trips.

Don’t come in with your heart set on any particular destination

First and foremost, the number one tip that I can give you regarding weekend trips while studying abroad, it is this: you have to be FLEXIBLE. If you’re dead set on one particular destination, you should plan ahead and budget accordingly.

If you’re more concerned with simply traveling around Europe with an open mind, however, you’ll be in a much better place. The minute you get there, I would advise hopping on skyscanner, typing in the closest airport to you (The bigger the airport, the better), and then just pressing the “Everywhere” button when it asks where you want to go. The flights will show up from cheapest to most expensive.

These results tend to vary depending on the weekend in question or even by the season, so be flexible with your time as well as your preferences. Click around, shift the departure date, see if missing a day of school could save you 50 dollars on flights (a sacrifice I will make LITERALLY any day, no questions asked). Maybe a bigger airport a little ways away has significantly cheaper flights, and even the added cost of a BlaBla Car or an uber split between 5 people still makes it a better deal.

I’ve definitely woken up at three in the morning to hike to a random part of the city with my friends to catch a ride with a stranger I found on BlaBla Car that would get us to the next city over in time to check in for our 7 am flight. I’ve left backpacks with a trusted bouncer at a pub and set an alarm on my phone to leave for the airport at 2. I slept on airport floors, showed up to a destination 96% sleep deprived, and helped drunk friends through security. We do what we have to do okay ITS ALL PART OF THE ADVENTURE

Literally TROLL for flights

Flight prices change all the time, and generally the earlier you book, the better. I tried to book a month in advance at the very least. The thing about trolling, though, is that the internet figures out exactly where you’re trying to go and will raise the prices, hoping that you’ll still pay the money if you’re really that set on that particular location (which is why being flexible is key!).

To avoid this, make sure you do all of your research on a private browser so that the search engines can’t track your footprints!

Secure accommodation early! hostels are your bff

What doesn’t change too frequently, unlike the price of flights, is the price of accommodation. The earlier you start looking into where you’re going to stay, the more options will be available. A lot of the cheaper places will get snatched up right away, and on our kind of budget, we need to grab one of those spots.

My favorite thing to do if i was traveling with one other person or even by myself was to search on Hostelworld.com. Read all the reviews, make sure its in a prime location, which will ultimately cut down on ubers or subway ticket expenses. The average amount I spend on a shared dorm was around 12 Euros a night.

So many people are afraid of hostels, but I can confidently say that I have never had a bad experience. The people who work there as well as the people who stay there (considering you find one that has lots of communal experiences, like group dinner or free tours or bar crawls) are some of the nicest, most genuine people I’ve ever met. You automatically know that you share a love of travel in common, and I’ve learned to never underestimate the amount of fun I can have with people who were complete strangers the day before.

If I’m traveling in a group of 5 or 6, I’ve found an airbnb or a Vrbo do be the most cost-effective option. So many times we booked an airbnb with two beds for pretty cheap and squeezed in together. Then we use the money we saved to go buy drinks or ice skate at the Christmas markets. Spend money on experiences, not the places you stay, you only sleep there, after all.

PLAN.

I know that winging it sounds like fun, and when you’re studying abroad life is like a whirlwind and meticulously planning is at the back of your mind, you will get so much more out of your limited time if you take the time to brush up on the best things to see and make a list of what your priorities are.

Weekend trips are such a blur, by the time you factor in time spent in transit, they typically boil down to 48 hours that you have to explore a new city, which is not enough time to dilly-dally around and waste time by trying to do research and decide where you should go next. I’m kind of a serial planner, so I was happy to do this, but all the others in my program wound up missing flights, going to attractions just to find out they were closed on that particular day, and finding accommodation for cheap but not realizing how far away it was from everything they wanted to do.

Not to toot my own horn, but when one of my friends came with me to Lisbon with me, we did SO much, stayed at the most fantastic hostel, made the best friends, and it changed our lives. She said it was the best weekend trip she had been on so far, thanks to my detailed itinerary which eliminated so much hassle and ensured that we used every second we had there wisely.

This is NOT vacation kinda weekend okay this is walk-a-marathon-in-a-weekend-see-everything-you-possibly-can-sleep-is-for-when-youre-dead kinda weekend.

Just do It

If you’ve never had to make travel plans on your own, dipping you toe into weekend trips can definitely give you imposter syndrome.

“Am I even allowed to do this?” “I’m going to mess something up” “since when have I been able to decide I want to go somewhere and then actually go?”

To this, I say — just pull the trigger.

Just do it! This is your time to shine. You’re bound to make mistakes, and thats okay! I left my passport on a train in Amsterdam. I got some cash stolen out of my locker once. I’ve missed a train and had to pay way too much for an Uber. It’s Okay! You’ll be okay, and those aren’t going to be the things you remember from that trip anyways. It’s worth the extra money, its worth all the planning and booking and coordinating with friends, its worth all the confusion while you navigate public transport in a foreign language.

I believe in you!!!

Rest and Repeat

Studying abroad will wear you out, period. Going to fun local hangouts with benefits like free club entry on Wednesdays and half priced shots on Tuesdays when you have an 8am class every day will do that to you. Factor in getting no sleep on the weekends as you tear through a new city in a little over 2 days and it’s just a recipe for exhaustion.

One time when I came back from my last weekend trip of my semester spent studying abroad, I slept through lunch, dinner, and breakfast the next day. My host mom said she came in a few times to make sure I was breathing LOL.

It definitely takes a toll, which is why I wouldn’t recommend more than two trips in a month. I would also discourage you from planning trips on back to back weekends. Take care of yourself so you can better experience all that a weekend trip can offer you. You’ll never be fully rested, but do your best to fit it in when you can. (I say that but like, if that’s when the cheapest flights are, power through. u got this.

I slept for more than 24 consecutive hours when I finally got back home in December. Study abroad is an experience that will FLY by. Make the most of it, sleep is for the WEAK.

I can’t for you to be a boss as study abroad trips.

What are your tips and tricks? Any I missed? Leave me a comment down below!

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