Student Discounts

[Kelly]

What do I need to get student discounts? I don't fall under the under-26 umbrella.

I know policies vary from place to place and thing to thing, but do I just need to show a student ID? Other issue is that even though I will be enrolled in school, I won't have started until a few weeks after I return from my trip so I won't have an ID yet. I have my old one from undergrad - it is beat up but does not have an expiration date on it. Will that work? I'm not trying to cheat the system or anything but just trying to save some money in the few months between leaving my job and actually starting classes.

[WillTravel]

You could get an ISIC card, because many places have ISIC discounts. You'd have to check if that is worthwhile, because I think you have to pay for that card. Check with your local Travelcuts or STA office about this card.

[paint]

Kelly, I don't know if you've left already or not, but I'd consider an ISIC card, as a lot of the places I went to in Eastern Europe and Costa Rica didn't accept regular student ID's for discounts. If you're enrolled for an upcoming semester you're eligible, as long as you can prove that you're enrolled. I bought it for the basic travel insurance it came with... add on the discounts I got and it paid for itself in a week. I guess it depends on what you think of the insurance whether or not it would be worth it for you.

[Jules80]

i always have an isic card. it always pays for itself. its 16$ CDN and you need to bring a pic with you or they charge you to take one. even here just taking the train home to visit makes it worth while. often overseas they won't recognise foreign ID cards.

Jules

[uberbackpacker]

Discounts are great, but not all too common. I always managed to get discounts at the supermarket. I'd go to the "reduced" foods section and buy a lot of stuff from there. You'll find a lot of good food cheap and there is usually nothing wrong with it, just be sure to visually insect anything before you purchase it.

The best advice I can offer to save $$$ is to keep researching budget travel by reading forums like this one, read some magazines on travel like Budget Travel. I have a subscription to that one, but there are others out there. That one is done by Arthur Frommer. There is a good book that was written specifically with the budget traveler in mind and it outlines backpacking strategy basically (I guess) ....."ad removed" ..... I always got an ISIC card before I went traveling when I was still a student and you will find the odd discount with one.

Also, start watching travel shows and stuff like that, they are usually full of ideas.

Cheers

[paint]

If you go to www.myisic.com you can search ahead of time for ISIC discounts in the places you'll be travelling to - to see if it would be worth it for you. What I found last year though was lots of places not on the list also offered discounts... like at Pravicka Brana, and Syrhov Castle, etc.