1. TIPS ABOUT TRAVELING ABROAD IN EUROPE BY JIM THOENNES

2. ABROAD IN EUROPE Studying abroad can be one of the most memorable experiences of a lifetime. Whether you are doing it to learn another language or just for the experience we all want to travel around and visit other countries and places. And because there are so many places to see, things to do, people to meet, and all in one semester (or summer) here is some tips from experience (and friends experiences) that will make that time running around Europe: cheaper easier and more enjoyable!

3. TRANSPORTATION THERE ARE 3 MAIN WAYS YOU CAN GET AROUND EUROPE: Planes (ironically enough) are the cheapest and fasted way around Europe. Trains however are the most relaxing and enjoyable way to travel. And buses aren't really worth your time unless your traveling within a city because they are neither.

4. PLANES ww.ryanair.com The Irish airline RYANAIR is by far the cheapest and quickest way to travel in Europe hands down! Perfect for poor traveling college students. There were times that tickets are as low as 7 euro!!! However things can be too good to be true: Ryanair is infamous for slapping extra charges on you for the smallest things such as bag size, checking in without your ticket, etc. etc. If your ticket does not exactly match your passport they will reject your passage (for example putting Jim rather than James) Many airports that they fly into are not usually the main airports but rather ones outside the city. They will try to sell you lotto tickets, jewelry, and so much more while flying.

5. However not to fear because there are simple things you can do to avoid these inconveniences: Make sure your name on your ticket matches that of your passport. REMEMBER YOUR TICKET AND PASSPORT! Print your ticket and weigh your bad before leaving your house. Check WHERE the airport you are flying into is exactly and what the bus services and times are from that airport to the city centers. Be at the airport 2 hrs. before your flight departs as they will stop accepting tickets 30 minutes before boarding. They will never hold a plane for anyone. When you are on the plane and not talking with a friend, do yourself a favor and put in your ear buds and listen to some music as their soliciting is annoying. However, if you do all this you will be able to enjoy the cheapest way of traveling that you will ever experience, allowing you to go more places than you thought you could afford!

6. TRAINS www.eurail.com Experiencing Europe by train is not just traveling, its an adventure itself watching small towns, huge mountains, and wonderful sites go by your window. If you want a slower yet relaxing way of traveling, riding the rails is the best option by far! The EuRail pass is what you want to get to make that happen. This is why: An average intercity express train ticket cost about 70-200 euro, and its only to one city. However for EuRail you can get a one country pass for as low as 50 euro or a 3 month long global pass good for anywhere, anytime, both day and night in the EU (except the UK and Albania/Macedonia) for 1000 euro. You can get up and go anytime and be certain of transportation! Side note: there will be some small reservation fees for high speed and night trains as well as ferries (yes you can use the EuRail pass for ferries)

8. LODGING WHERE TO STAY WHILE TRAVELING

9. HOSTELS Checking websites like hostelworld.com is a great place to find and book hostels for your trips. They are everywhere You can usually choose between having a private room which is more expensive or staying in a dorm (of up to 10 people). Its not a bad idea to get a group together and rent out an entire dorm. Hostels are typically very affordable, fun, and safe place to stay the night. Most of the time if you have other people staying in your room (if its a dorm) that you dont know they are all easy going, fun-loving, young people like yourself. However even though theft in hostels is fairly low its still a good idea not to travel with expensive items like apple laptops, and smart phones, just the bare necessities. And if you do rent a locker (which most hostels have) to put them into or at least make sure not to leave them lying around. Most hostels will usually do fun events for their guests such as pub crawls (which you can choose to do or not).

10. SOME GOOD ONES If you are going to Ireland you need to pass through the town of Wicklow near Dublin and see the Wicklow mountains. The local hostel there: Captain Halpins Bunkhouse is probably the most homely one you will ever encounter in Europe run by two of the nicest people in Ireland (that is saying a lot). Hostel One is a great one that has locations all over Europe. They are very clean and modern. Backpackers is another one similar to Hostel One.\ Travellers House in Lisbon, Portugal has been rated one of the best hostels in Europe (source: hostelworld.com)

11. BEST OF WISHES