Tips and Tricks: The know before you go

By: Kayla Keats

Hello everybody! My name is Kayla, and I studied abroad in Madrid during the fall of 2023. Going abroad was one of the best choices I made, but before I went, I was overwhelmed with anxiety. I spent hours combing through tips and tricks articles and wanted to pay that advice forward. These are all the top 18 tips & tricks I wish I had known before I went abroad! 

Stay with a host family if you can

I promise this will make your experience so much more emotionally enriching. They know all about the area and can give you tips and tricks that tourists won’t know about. You’ll get homecooked meals every night and feel like you’re part of the family. My host parents Karlos and Marina made me feel like I was another one of their children and I will forever be grateful for the kindness and support they gave to me while I was so far from home. 

Bring less than you think you need

Seriously cannot stress this enough. If you really need it you can buy it there. You’ll be shocked by how little you truly need and will want to buy things from your host country. 

Bring extra travel converters

You’ll forget them places and they’re a pain in the butt to replace when you’re really in a pinch. I always brought two blocks with me when I went to school and travelled

Prep a little bit before you go

Do some research! Figure out what you really want to do and try, learn the public transportation system before you get there which will make travelling less stressful! Watch YouTube videos, read up on reddit. Ask a friend (read this guide which you’re already doing yay!)

Always have cash but not too much!

There are still a lot of places in the world that don’t take card so I always had a little bit of cash on hand but never more than €50 incase my wallet got stolen

Bring a 28-35L backpack for weekend trips

Continuing with the less is more mindset, make sure you layer up for weekend trips especially when it gets cold. Bring 2 more pairs of socks than you think you’ll need and 2 portable chargers. I found having a little bigger bag was helpful when I was flying back from weekend trips. 

Budget airlines are worth it but at a cost

You can get insanely cheap flights on Ryanair and EasyJet, but they will charge you for EVERYTHING they can. Whenever I flew these airlines, I got to the airport at least 30 minutes earlier than usual in case I needed to print my boarding pass since they wouldn’t let me have it on my phone. Sometimes you can get away with not paying for a bag, but I would honestly just recommend paying the $30 for a personal item and avoid the possible $60 fee. It happened to me once and that’s all it took for me to not do it again. 

Don’t bring your laptop on weekend trips

You think you’re going to do homework, but you won’t. Trust me. You’ll either be too busy commuting from city to city or just exhausted. Try and get it done before you leave to save yourself a headache when you come back.

You’re going to get sick. Expect it. 

It happens to everybody. I actually got the stomach bug and had to call a doctor to come visit my host family’s house. Got a shot on my butt. Not fun. You’re gonna get a cold or something so just be prepared for it and bring your meds from home. 

Invest in noise cancelling headphones

People snore in hostels. LOUDLY. This is a VERY worthwhile investment. Get some nice ones. It’s worth it. I used these and they never let me down.

Don’t travel with the same people each weekend

Your travel experience will vary a lot depending on who you’re with! Switch it up to keep things fresh

Check with your credit card company that there aren’t foreign transaction fees

Getting charged 3% on every purchase is not fun

Take a solo trip

You’ll probably hear a lot of people say this but it’s so true. Take that solo trip. I went to Dublin and learned SO much about myself and grew my personal confidence a lot. 

It’s so rare that we get to have unique experiences completely to ourselves. Go on an adventure and see what you can learn about yourself on the way. You’ll surprise yourself with how capable you are in the face of a challenge. Also, don’t be afraid to splurge a little bit on yourself. You got yourself to a new place! Celebrate that!

https://www.ciee.org/go-abroad/college-study-abroad/blog/take-solo-trip 

Say YES

As Shia LeBouf used to say “JUST DO IT!” and take lots of photos and videos

Listen to locals!

They know more than you. If you don’t know something, ask somebody in a bodega. 

Pay attention to the news

You would be shocked how much you can learn about a country and a people by looking at what’s on the news. People will respect you a lot more too if you do.

Explore the city you’re in

Don’t be scared to venture far and wide and go beyond the typical tourist stuff. Some of the best things I did were pretty far off the beaten path.

Find student discounts

The Erasmus students always find the best student discounts for clubs and stuff like that. Pretty much every government run facility will also have a student discount. Take advantage of it because saving a few Euros here and there adds up fast. 

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