<p>I'm finally going abroad! But I was so horrified at the prices. O_O Just the program fee is $3,000, plane ticket is about $1,500, and personal expenses and others will probably be about $2,000-$3,000, totaling to $6,500-7,500. That is for Rome. I'm going to China too, so double that. I'm really excited for a fun fun summer, but I just can't get over the prices!! Well, nothing is for free. But I'm sure there are ways that can probably be a little cheaper. What's the cheapest way to get to Rome and China from the Pacific Northwest? Plane! Which flight? Seems like no matter where I look, I'll just end up with having to pay about that much. There's always FA... or student loans. ><</p>
<p>Have you applied for an International Student Identification Card (ISIC)? Mine was very useful (along with my UK university ID) when I was traveling in the UK and Europe. Also, ask if there are student discounts ("concessions" as they are known in the UK); many times these are available but not listed. If you are traveling, look into the cheapest way to get to your destination (air, rail, coach). Also, look into "budget" travel options, like RyanAir in Ireland and UK. </p>
<p>Another piece of advice: many US students who are under the age of 21 tend to go crazy with alcohol while abroad. Not only is this an expensive pastime, you will also look like an idiot to the locals and open yourself up to be a victim of a crime. I saw many American students drink way too much and get into situations where they looked like idiots and got involved in altercations with the people of that country. This does NOT look good. It is important to remember that you are in that country as a guest and your behavior reflects upon ALL Americans.</p>
<p>i heard beer is cheaper than water in Europe? gah, i hate the taste of alcohol though. what should i do about water? bring a filter jug? what is the isic? what does it do? i'm only to go stay there for about a month. i probably won't apply if there's a fee, and if it's not worth it.</p>
<p>The dollar has tanked, under Bush's 'strong economy', and is very weak at the moment so everything in Europe will seem really expensive. In 2001 a Euro cost about 95 cents... today a Euro costs about $1.52</p>
<p>Beer is often cheaper than water (bottled) but you can still drink the tap water in most places... Europe's not a third world country ;-). Just buy yourself a water filter.</p>
<p>I'm actually looking for ways to make going abroad cheaper as well:</p>
<p>Has anybody done direct enrollment (to avoid the expensive program fees?)
-How did that work out?</p>
<p>how is direct enrollment different from the program fee? I don't know what the program fee is for. it doesn't really include anything, but field trips, excursions, etc. so if i do direct enrollment, it sounds like i'm just on my own?</p>
<p>For international flights my daughter used this website/search engine:</p>
<p>Cheap</a> Flights, Airline Tickets, Cheap Airfare & Discount Travel Deals - Kayak.com</p>
<p>She also used:</p>
<p>Cheap</a> Tickets for College Students and Faculty: Airfare, Rail and Hostel Deals</p>
<p>Have a great trip abroad.</p>
<p>You should ask the program director (or look on the website if there is one) of what the program fee includes. I get a round-trip plane ticket, a metro/bus pass for Paris for 1 month, demi-pension (2 meals/day 5 days/week), travel insurance, "cultural activities" (I guess required excursions and such), and housing all for the program fee of $5000. What I don't get is any optional excursions, lunch and weekend meals, personal expenses, or textbooks/materials.</p>
<p>To be honest, that's FREAKING CHEAP for an European program!!!! I see most of them at $10K or more but if that's for one month... well that's another story :p</p>
<p>You can get much cheaper flights- don't even book a flight that's more than $500 for Rome. I've seen it lower. Go at the most odd hours of the day when the demand isn't high.</p>
<p>Yes, you have to pay for water in Europe, every bottle you order. That's all Europeans will drink from -bottle water, not tap. Don't eat the bread, especially in Czech Republic- you're charged by the basket. Learn to cook and don't buy imported goods and food (like peanut butter). Eat locally. There are usually plenty of free events that you can attend and enjoy.</p>
<p>While it's all unbelievable expensive to you, it's definitely cheap. And doing direct enrollment won't save you money- there is usually good reason why programs charge a bit higher- you'll have support (which you will MOST definitely need) and somebody to take care of the pesty paperwork.</p>
<p>tickle me pink, are you kidding? the teachers told us to expect to pay about $1200-$1700 for the plane ticket. do you mean to go online at like 3am or so, and it'd be cheapest then? have any recs for sites? or any will do ... at odd hours?</p>
<p>I think she means that 3 am flights would be cheaper than if you flew in during the middle of a high-traffic time such as mid afternoon or early evening. I don't know exactly, but the flights I looked up for my flight to Paris (before I knew that my plane ticket was covered by the program fee) were $1600-1700 almost any time of day. The cheapest I could find was like $1300. If you're going for summer, you're looking at, at least, $1000 to Europe because it's high volume traffic time to Europe between June and August.</p>
<p>I think tickle me pink might have been talking about one way trip, not a round trip. but yea it'll cost you alot ^^;; i travel back home every summer to korea and its really expensive too;;</p>
<p>yeah... one way trip is around $450... i'm wondering if i could just buy two one way tickets... though when i tried to find a one way ticket from europe to come back here, it was around $2000!!!</p>
<p>Check out STA for student airfares; also look at airfare consolidators like Econmytravel or Airlineconsolidators. I know STA also offers travel insurance which you can purchase at the time you're ordering tickets...I'm not sure if airfare consolidators have that option or not.</p>
<p>I'm embarrassed to even admit that I've watched Eurotrip, but is it possible to travel as an air cargo transporter? (that's what the guys did in the movie to go to Europe)</p>
<p>No no no I mean going on airline and discounted ticket websites :) kayak.com is the best- it searches literally every site out there. I found an AirFrance ticket from JFK to Israel at 2 AM in October to go in beginning of January that was $200-$300 cheaper than the average price that most airlines were posting during the day. What's also cheap is the cost of your program :)</p>
<p>Also you really need to play around the dates. You'll be going in the fall semester right? You'll end up having to pay higher dollar if you're coming back to the US close to Christmas because so many people fly. You will have to fly a different airline from the national airline... sometimes. Not only that, you're flying in August- another very popular time to be in Europe.</p>
<p>But I'll guarantee you that as long you're a pretty modest spender, your airfaire will be the most expensive portion of your budget. Especially if you go to China- things are very reasonable over there. There's really no <em>cheap</em> way to go abroad except to forego the program and backpack.</p>
<p>Otherwise $1,500 on most international flight is pretty standard considering the oil price.</p>