Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Grab some beer and wine. Head down to the river and enjoy. It's perfectly legal!
Discount Cards, Museum Passes, and Student Dis-
counts
he
International Student Identity Card
(ISIC) is the only internationally recognized stu-
dent ID for full-time students and it costs $25. The card gives you thousands of discounts all
across Europe on things like tours, restaurants, shops, and other attractions. It also includes
some basic travel insurance for your trip. However, 99% of the discounts are to places you'd
probably never go in the first place. There are a few decent discounts like no booking fees at
Hostelworld.com
that will save you $2 per booking. Some hostels might give you 5% to 10%
off.
Visit
Isic.org
to see which discounts you can get based on where you're going to visit.
The main benefit of the card is to prove to museums that you're a student and that usually
means you'll get free or reduced entry. Many students have used their
student IDs
from back
home with success, but I have been turned away from using my student ID because it didn't
have a date on it. The card is only $25 so even if it gets you into two museums for free, it has
already paid for itself.
London, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, and most other major cities sell some sort of
tourist
card
that gives you unlimited access to museums, monuments, and public transportation.
These cards lure you in with the prospect of free entry into dozens of museums and they tell
you that you'll save hundreds of dollars. In reality, the cards may not be such a hot deal—it all
depends on your travel style.
The problem with these cards is that you typically need to visit a lot of attractions to get
your value out of the card. Sometimes you need to visit two or three museums/attractions a
day to break even. Personally, I can only spend so much time at a museum before I start go-
