Sitges, Mallorca, and More!
Hey Explorers! Its Kaity, and I wanted to talk to y’all about travelling during your study abroad trip. I know it seems kind of odd since you’re already travelling for the trip. But some programs offer time off for students. My program, though short, gave us a long weekend to do whatever we wanted. Me and a few friends decided to travel to Mallorca. This is an island off the coast of Spain. But, during the weekends we had free time to catch a train to somewhere new. So, we visited Sitges, a beach town, quite often. So, here are some tips for what I found helpful when travelling during my study abroad!
Plan Ahead
This one seems a little self-explanatory. But it doesn’t hurt to hear it again! My friends and I had our travel plans set and confirmed before we even left for our study abroad. We did the planning in advance, so we only had to show up and have fun when the time came. When you’re actually studying, it can be so hard to plan things and set time aside for trips. Doing it in advance made the whole process so easy.
Hostels are So In
I had never stayed in anything besides a hotel or an Airbnb. But when I travelled to Mallorca my friends and I stayed in a hostel. We were a little nervous at first. But we searched on multiple sites to see the reviews of the place we stayed. Once we all felt comfortable, we booked a stay in an all-woman’s bunk room. The hostel was wonderful. It was conveniently located close to the beach, it offered amenities a hotel wouldn’t, and we got a wonderful experience. We made friends with other people staying in the room as well. Staying at the hostel was one of the highlights for the trip to me. Just make sure you check the amenities and location of wherever you’re looking.
Tell Someone, Everyone
Before we left, we made sure our program heads knew where we were going. We gave them our flight information, an approximate itinerary, and much more. If anything were to have gone sideways, our program heads would have known where we were. They were very kind too. Our professors texted for updates while we were away. We always made sure to let them know what was going on. It was also fun to share our silly pictures with them.
Travelling Doesn’t Have to Be Far
On our regular weekends, my program had lots of time to wander around the city. We even had time to venture into cities outside of the one we stayed in. I recommend poking as far out as you can. We travelled to Sitges twice. It was an hour-long train ride to and from, but it was so worth it! Sitges was one of my favorite memories. You never know what events are going on in towns close to yours. That one-hour train ride showed us a completely different town than the city we were staying in.
Timing is Everything
When we went to Mallorca, we took our flight at seven in the morning. This meant that we had to wake up at four to catch the subway at five to walk into the airport at six for our flight at seven. We were able to sleep on the plane. But, we were exhausted upon arrival. We also miscalculate the timing for checking into our hostel. When we got to Mallorca we were too tired to wander and were not able to check in to sit in a bed. So, we found a spot on the beach and all knocked out. We didn’t bring much with us so we held what we had. But what I learned the most is that timing is everything. Don’t book the early flight unless you know you’re a morning person.
Those are all my tips off the top of my head. If y’all have any advice you’d like to share, head to our forum page! I would love to hear your best travelling tips!