4 June 2019
Travel

Sample study abroad travel plan

Spring Semester 2017 from Florence, Italy

My sister is headed to study abroad in the spring of 2020, so I am planning a lot of new content related to studying abroad for her and her friends! Many of the posts will also apply to those looking for advice on how to travel abroad affordably. I already have a few posts relating to study abroad and travel advice, but let me know if there are any specific topics you’d like me to cover!

In this post I’m breaking down all of my travel plans for the semester I studied abroad. I lived in Florence, Italy for a total of five months, and managed to fit in a lot of travel through my classes, with tour companies, and on my own with friends. I highly recommend using a student travel company for places that are hard to get to, or that require a lot of complicated transportation once you’re there (i.e. the Amalfi Coast).

If you’re studying in Florence (and often other locations), the best companies to go through are Smart Trip, Bus 2 Alps, Florence for Fun, and Euroadventures. There’s also Weekend Student Adventures which caters to many different cities. I’ve noted below which trips I went on with Smart Trips, as that was the company I liked to travel with the most! Florence for Fun also recently launched a website and app called Campus Florence, with discounts catered toward students.

The only airline I used while traveling within Europe was Ryanair, aside from my flights at the beginning and end of my program when I flew KLM. On my latest trip to Europe I noticed that Ryanair changed their baggage rules, so make sure you take a look at the fine print (and choose your seat as soon as possible). I’ll have another post on how I find cheap flights and what apps I like to use for travel.

*All Ryanair flights operate out of Pisa’s airport, which is about one hour from Florence. Options are to either take a train from Santa Maria Novella (Florence’s main train station) to Pisa, or to take a bus, such as Flix Bus. Typically buses pick up outside of SMN, in a specified location.

I was very lucky to travel with my class to different cities in Italy, and was fortunate to be able to plan other trips over the weekends. Some of my favorite weekends, though, were spent staying in Florence. It’s important to get to know the place you’re living, weekends included. Without further adieu, the following is a sample travel plan for study abroad, with helpful links to transportation, accommodation, and additional posts…

Verona, Italy

  • Date: January 21-22
  • Traveled with: friends
  • Transportation: Florence to Verona: Italo // Verona to Florence: Italo
  • Lodging: Airbnb

Interlaken, Switzerland

Rome, Italy

Siena, Italy

  • Date: February 17
  • Traveled with: school
  • Transportation: bus provided by school
  • Lodging: no lodging, day trip

Venice, Italy

  • Date: February 18
  • Traveled with: Florence for Fun
  • Transportation: bus provided by travel company
  • Lodging: no lodging, day trip
  • Carnevale celebrations

Barcelona, Spain

Verona and Venice, Italy

Prague, Czech Republic

Tuscany, Italy

  • Date: March 18
  • Traveled with: FlorenceTown
  • Transportation: bus provided by travel company
  • Lodging: no lodging, day trip
  • Horseback riding

Cinque Terre, Italy

  • Date: March 19
  • Traveled with: Smart Trip
  • Transportation: bus provided by travel company
  • Lodging: no lodging, day trip

SPRING BREAK

March 25-April 2

Paris, France

Budapest, Hungary

Vienna, Austria

Salzburg, Austria

  • Date: March 31
  • Transportation: Vienna to Salzburg: Wesbahn train
  • Lodging: no lodging, day trip

Munich, Germany

Nuremberg, Germany

  • Date: April 2
  • Transportation: Munich to Nuremberg: FlixBus, Nuremberg (NUE) to Verona (VRN): Ryanair, Verona to Florence: FlixBus

Milan, Italy

  • Date: April 7-9
  • Traveled with: school
  • Transportation: train purchased by school
  • Lodging: hotel purchased by school

Assisi

  • Date: April 14
  • Traveled with: solo
  • Transportation: Florence to Assisi: Trenitalia // Assisi to Florence: Trenitalia
  • Lodging: day trip

Cinque Terre

  • Date: April 15
  • Traveled with: solo
  • Transportation: Florence to La Spezia: Trenitalia, La Spezia to towns: regional trains // La Spezia to Florence: Trenitalia
  • Lodging: day trip

Amalfi Coast, Italy

Chianti, Tuscany, Italy

  • Date: May 9
  • Traveled with: friends
  • Transportation: bus provided by Viator Tours
  • Lodging: no lodging, day trip
  • Wine Tasting and Vineyard tours

Study abroad related posts you’d like to see? Leave them in the comments below!

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