Travel Within Your Budget in 2011

Maybe your uni costs will eat into your play money this year, or maybe there won’t be any play money this year. So La Tomatina and the Royal Wedding are out for you, but that doesn’t mean that your only trips will be to the library and the laundromat.

When you’re on a tight budget, your goal is to maximize your good times while minimizing your expenses, right?

Please meet the ISIC.

The International Student Identity Card is something most students pick up before a big trip overseas. Along with discounted student airfare and tour packages, you can flash it at:

• hostels
• museums
• bus stations
• amusement parks
• restaurants
• shops
• and lots of other places that offer discounts on purchases, tickets, admissions and other travel expenses

But the ISIC isn’t just for use around tourist destinations in Europe and Australia. There are places right near you that accept an ISIC, so you can save cash even if you’re going for pizza and a movie with friends. And maybe you’ll save enough to stretch your cash as far as the ski slopes for a weekend, or to an overnight trip to catch a summer music fest.

For a full list of ISIC discounts in Canada and the U.S., check out the ISIC website. Here’s a sample of where you can save.

• Ontario Science Centre, Toronto: 20% off general admission
• CN Tower, Toronto: 15% discount on Look Out and Glass Floor admission
• Madame Tussaud’s, Hollywood: $6 off price of admission
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: $10 USD admission with valid ISIC
• Greyhound buses, Canada: 25% off an adult ticket (one way or return)
• VIA Rail, Canada: Save 30% on the regular adult Economy class fares. Your discount can reach 50% with the VIA 6 pak – six one-way trip tickets between the same two cities.

Don’t have an ISIC yet? Get one now.

Get Your 2011 Student Travel Must-Haves

How many days did you spend traveling this year? Whether it was five or 50, you probably wish it had been more. Make it easier to get where you want to go in 2011 by being prepared to hit the road at a moment’s notice. Think of these things as a traveler’s kit of necessities, and put them on your holiday wish list:

Passport – Without it, you’re facing some serious delays in trip planning. Don’t let a lack of identification keep you from joining friends on a last-minute run across the border, or from passing up an unbeatble airfare to Paris or London or Tokyo. Passports are good for 10 years in the U.S. and five years in Canada, so once you have it in hand you won’t have to think about it again for a while. Visit the U.S. State Department’s passport website or the official Canadian passport website for the forms.

ISIC, IYTC, or ITIC – Whether you’re a full-time student, a teacher, or a youth under the age of 26, there are thousands of different types of identification out there. Only one is internationally recognized as proof of your student, teacher or youth status. Get this card at a Travel CUTS store or order online and start saving money on museums, bus, airline, and train tickets, restaurants, and activities in more than 90 countries (and in your home town).

Hostelling International Card – This card will get you:

• Discounts at more than 4,000 hostels worldwide
• Savings of up to 85% on international phone calls, free email access, voicemail and travel info through eKit
• Discounts at restaurants, stores, and attractions
• Discounts on bus transportation and tours
• Discounts on car rentals
• Worldwide, commission-free currency exchange
• Free seminars on traveling abroad

Luggage that won’t cause you pain – Find yourself a few different pieces (small carry-on, mid-size backpack, larger rolling duffel) that you can afford, that you won’t be devastated if they get lost or damaged, and that are comfortable to pack and carry. A good backpack is essential and one that has the ability to expand or shrink will work for weekends away or longer backpacking trips. You don’t have to spend a fortune on luggage. Check garage sales, thrift stores and discount shops for great deals.

A library card – Great travels require great planning. You don’t have to put together a daily itinerary, but a basic understanding of the region you’re visiting, the languages you’re going to encounter, and the major sights you want to see will help a lot.

Rather than spending your money on heavy books to lug with you, do your reading before you go for free, photocopy any maps or helpful language charts, and then buy a small pocket-sized guide to go with you. (Yes, there’s an app for that, but when your batter is dead you’ll be thankful for the backup plan.) If you’re an AAA member, take advantage of their free roadmaps and books.

With all of these things ready, 2011 could be your best travel year yet. Get out there!

Travel Canada for Cheap with Hostelling International

At this point in the summer you’re either back from vacation, getting ready to go, or you’re thinking that here’s another long, hot summer with nothing to do and nowhere to go and your friends are lame and you should have planned something but didn’t and you’ll definitely plan something for next year because no way are you going to work at a shoe store again while your friends are backpacking Southeast Asia.

If you’re that third, bored, long-winded person, then snap out of it! Summer isn’t over yet, and there’s plenty you can do, even on a budget and even if you only have a weekend.

Check out Hostelling International Canada. They’ll show you how you can:

• Hike through rainforests and see some whales in B.C.
• Hike, bike , horseback ride, kayak and canoe in the Algonquin Highlands
• Pretend you got to make that trip to Paris during a weekend in Montreal
• Experience 24 hours of daylight in the Yukon
  

Get an ISIC and a hostel membership from Travel CUTS and save $4 a night at a hostel and get discounts on lots of other things, too.

Find ISIC Discounts Across Canada and the U.S.

If your summer vacation is mostly a staycation, then your goal is to maximize your good times while minimizing your expenses, right?

Please meet the ISIC.

The International Student Identity Card is something most students pick up before a big trip overseas. Along with discounted student airfare and tour packages, you can flash it at:

• hostels
• museums
• bus stations
• amusement parks
• restaurants
• shops

And lots of other places to get discounts on purchases, tickets, admissions and other travel expenses.

But the ISIC isn’t just for use around tourist destinations in Europe and Australia. There are places right near you that accept an ISIC, so you can save cash even if you’re going for pizza and a movie with friends.

For a full list of ISIC discounts in Canada and the U.S., check out the ISIC website. Here’s a sample of where you can save.

• Ontario Science Centre, Toronto: 20% off general admission
• CN Tower, Toronto: 15% discount on Look Out and Glass Floor admission
• Madame Tussaud’s, Hollywood: $6 off price of admission
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: $10 USD admission with valid ISIC
• Greyhound buses, Canada: 25% off an adult ticket (one way or return)
• VIA Rail, Canada: Save 30% on the regular adult Economy class fares. Your discount can reach 50% with the VIA 6 pak – six one-way trip tickets between the same two cities.

Don’t have an ISIC yet? Get one now.

ISIC – Your Second Most Important Travel Document

How could I have written about passports last week and not included a bit about ISICs? They’re the student travel equivalent of chocolate and peanut butter; they make each other better.

A passport is essential for getting around, and an ISIC (International Student Identity Card) is essential for saving you money everywhere you go so that you can afford to keep going.

The ISIC is the only card recognized internationally as proof of student status. It will get you discounts on food, tours, bike rentals, museums, zoos, amusement parks, international phone calls, shows and shopping.

In Canada the card is valid for 16 months, from 1 September until 31 December of the following year. So get your card at the beginning of the school year to get the most value out of it.

If you’re an American buying your ISIC in the States, the ISIC is good for a year from the day you buy it, so you may want to wait until you have a trip planned to get one.

You should also check isic.org to see what kind of deals they have for the area where you live. You might be able to save enough money on lunch and coffee in a month to have the card pay for itself.

Get your ISIC now.

Hop On This Eurail Promotion

Travelling to Europe this summer?

If you are under 26 and have a valid ISIC card, you can purchase a Eurail Select Pass, which gives you eight days of travel to be used within two months, and you’ll automatically receive an additional two free days of travel!

Passes are valid for 3, 4 or 5 adjoining Eurail Select Pass countries.

If you don’t have an ISIC, now’s a great time to pick one up. It’s valid for a year and you can use it for discounts at hostels, amusement parks, museums and other attractions all over the world.

Stop by a Travel CUTS office or give them a call to learn more about these promotions.

Use Your ISIC for Free Microsoft Downloads

You’ve always been able to save money with an ISIC (International Student ID Card), but this deal is even better than the usual $3-off-museum-admission-type discounts you get.

The Microsoft DreamSpark program allows anyone with an ISIC to download free software, including Visual Studio 2008 and Expression Studio 2.

So you can develop world-class software, web applications, designs and games with these programs, and then go save on your museum admission. It’s a techonology and student travel windfall!

Learn more about this promotion at Travel CUTS and order your ISIC, or start downloading now if you already have a card. Just select “ISIC” as your school or organization when prompted to sign in, then enter your card number.

Happy creating!