One of the things, if not the thing, everyone most looks forward to when studying abroad is traveling. And trust me, you can get a lot of it while studying in London. London is one of the travel hubs of the world which means that you can get just about anywhere you choose from it. More importantly for those wanting to travel through Europe, this means cheap flights, trains, and busses. With enough time in advance you can find roundtrip flights to Dublin and Edinburgh for under $70, to Paris for under $80, and to Venice and Budapest for under $100. As you will learn while planning travels, the best deals you can find are those you sit down to look for with at least a few weeks ahead of time. Finding a good traveling group early on during your time abroad can save you a lot of work and money. Specifically, because the tasks and costs of looking for transportation, housing, and activities can be significantly easier and cheaper the more people you have in your group. However, it is always important to remember that smaller groups are easier to manage than larger ones. I found that groups between four and eight people were the best to travel with. The reason was that no matter the type of housing you decided to use, no one would have to stay in a room alone and oftentimes you could find Airbnbs at great prices for groups between those sizes.
Planning trips can both be a lot of work and a lot of fun. However, it is a task that not everyone is keen on taking on. If this is the case, don’t worry. Oftentimes universities plan trips for students to take during the weekends. For example, UCL planned a variety of trips that included transportation, housing, and itineraries for set prices. All you had to do was pay for your ticket and show up at the given meeting point at the given time. That’s it. Some of the places UCL visited were Salisbury, Stonehenge, Oxford, Cambridge, Bath and many more. No matter your planning skills or financial background, traveling while in London is very attainable and definitely a must.
