Travel Tips

Are you looking to participate in, volunteer, intern, study abroad, or learn a language abroad? Are you worried about all the preparing and planning for your trip? If so, Link to Diversity is a place where you can make connections, get information, and track down reliable bargains.

Travel can be comfortable and cheap with a little research and patience. We have answers to help you make decisions based on what you need most for your abroad experience. Should you get a travel phone or not? How about travel insurance or travel guides? Link to Diversity and our Partnering Organizations can help you plan, save, and pack for your program abroad destination!

Not only do we have information about international programs, we also provide a variety of travel resources for you to use. Read our informational pages about cheap airfare, luggage, travel insurance, and so much more to help you prepare before you go abroad. If you still have questions or feel overwhelmed, please feel free to contact us so we can help!

Airfare
When you are considering a trip, the cost of plane ticket is always the first stumbling point. The prices seem staggering and the process is long and confusing. We have a practical checklist of what to look for in a good airline and how to make your flight experience go smooth.

Travel Insurance
Once you arrive in another country, you have a brand new world to explore. There are many expected and unexpected experiences you will encounter while you are abroad. Preparation does not end once you arrive at the destination. Travel insurance can help you handle sudden mishaps.

Travel Phones
Your cell phone is most likely always in reach, but will it reach your friends and family when you are traveling abroad? When was the last time you used a payphone anywhere? Consider the option of an international phone to keep open a lifeline.

Money Transfers
While you were planning your trip, you paid for travel and transportation, and money was set aside for food and places to stay, but what is considered a safe amount to carry around? With money transfers, you can leave everything in your bank account or with your parents until you are ready to shop and spend.

Hotel Deals
Locating a place to stay will play a role in your travel experience. Aside from cost and location, the atmosphere of the accommodations will be important too. Traveling to another country is tense enough without having to worry about the funds to stay at an expensive hotel. Link to Diversity can provide cost-effective hotel finding strategies.

Currency Rates
Remember when you were a kid and you exchanged all your money for tokens at the arcade and were left with a bunch of useless coins? Remember being desperate for a candy bar at the vending machine, but you only had large bills and ended up with a pocket full of change? These life lessons taught us to never over exchange. A quick glance at currency exchange rates will help you avoid ending up with foreign money that only serves as souvenir keepsakes.

Visa Services
Before you buy your airline ticket or spend money on anything else costly, it is best to get your documents in place first! Remember that first you have to get a passport and possibly a visa before going abroad. It is in your best interest to contact your destination country’s embassy and learn everything you need to know about entering that country.

World News
While you are considering which items should be picked up for souvenirs, you should also pick up on the latest happenings in the country you will visit. Trinkets and postcards only represent a tourist stay, but understanding how the country functions and interacting with the inhabitants will create an individual experience. Staying on top of the country's current events will help you understand the country and its place in the world.

Travel Guides
Purchasing a travel guide can be almost as overwhelming as planning the trip itself. You have books, maps, blogs, and apps to help you make the trip organized and memorable, but the question is where do you start looking? We have four practical tips under the travel guide section to help!

Luggage

 No travel experience would be complete without luggage. With that being said, luggage is also one of the biggest hassles. Over packing and under packing is a constant worry when planning trips.  Remember it is simply a container for your clothes and does not have to be newly purchased. If you do want to purchase new luggage, try to shop for it in person so you can feel the weight and size.

Online Language Classes

Before you arrive at your program abroad destination, an online language course can help you become more proficient in speaking. Your international program provider might provide options, but you can also do your own research and compare prices.

Student Deals
Have a student ID? When planning a trip, the first thought is always about cost.  It is a little known fact that students can travel for discounted airfare.  Usually an official student identification card will be sufficient and simply asking the person behind the counter could result in a reduced price.

Discount cards
Plastic cards are all not useless. A discount card is not the same as a credit card, and some are only available to students. No matter what program abroad, trip, or adventure you are planning overseas, make sure to get at least some kind of discount card to receive all the benefits and saving opportunities you can get!