England is a great base for studying abroad, as not only do you get the awesomeness of the UK, you are also so close to Europe; it's a great jumping off point for exploring all that the continent has to offer.
Here are my top four budget travel tips for exploring the UK and Europe:
1. Get yourself a 16-25 Railcard
The great little cards cost £30 for the year and allow you a one-third of rail journeys. One of the best things about the UK is the rail system that pretty much links all of the British Isles together. While buses are great and usually slightly cheaper than trains, they don't cover nearly as far or extensively as the rail system. You can buy one at your local train station or online.
2. Use the Megabus coach system
The Megabus coach system is a fantastic way to travel super cheap. However, you are limited in your destination; mainly the big cities. It pays to book as early in advance as you can. In some cases, you can tickets for just a pound! Also, they are aimed at students so a lot of the time they go directly from your host university so you don't need to even worry about a bus fare to the train station. It's super easy just to book online.
3. Book flights with the European budget airlines
It can be super cheap to fly to Europe from the UK. Again, best to book as early as possible and look out for flash sales (I got flights to Dublin for just £10!) If possible travel lightly, with just hand luggage and then you don't have to pay extra for that. Also, if you avoid the big airports like Heathrow you often get a better deal. Another idea is not to travel on the weekend, which includes Friday. The cheapest deals are always Tuesday through to Thursday. The cheapest airlines to use are Easyjet and Ryan Air.
4. Plan your trips using Trainline
Trainline is a website that I frequently use to book travel around the UK. You just plug in your destination, times and dates and it looks for the cheapest tickets available. When travelling by rail try to avoid peak times between 7am-9am and 4pm-7pm as these are peak traffic hours. The best priced train tickets are quite early in the morning and then quite late at night which is perfect for a sneaky day trip somewhere.
