Perhaps there’s just a bit more to see than Coventry
As reading week comes up and the winter break (somewhat) in sight, the favourite time for Warwick students is returning. It is when we choose our perceived closest group of friends and journey with them outside of campus.
This will give an overall idea of how you can make this more of a reality as opposed to just miserably sitting in your accommodation for the holidays. There are overall four parts to a holiday, and I think each part is complicated in its own nature. But we’ll look through these in a structured manner.
Question 1: Where do I go?
So the odd important question that people tend to struggle with is a decision of where to go? There are a few factors that you can consider.
What is your budget?
How much money are you willing to spend? My general advice for budget ranges are as such:
Around £100-£300: domestic UK travel
Around £300-£600: cheaper Eastern Europe travel options
Around £600-£1000: more expensive Western Europe travel options
Over a £1000 pounds: doesn’t matter – you are rich, go anywhere
What is your type of enjoyment?
This depends on the type of traveller you are. I usually focus on a few categories, which can be decently helpful in making some sort of decision. The three key distinctions are historical places, environmental places, and cultural places. All places should have aspects of these categories but in differing proportions and doing some form of research can help you get a better idea of whether you would be interested in those areas.
How many days are you going for?
Obviously, this will affect the price range you are working with above. However, suggestions for those categories previously listed are as such:
You will probably spend about 2-3 days in a UK city
You can spend around 2-3 days in an Eastern European city, but you would likely do some sort of country/city hopping in Eastern Europe travels, which could amount to a 5–7 days trip
You can spend around 3-4 days in a Western European city, and you would also do some sort of country/city hopping, which could amount to a 6-8 days trip
How easy is it to travel around?
More often than not, students tend to prefer travelling to cities in countries mainly because it is easier to get around, with increased accessibility to some form of public transport. The struggle is that some places are very ‘driving dependent’. This means that in order for you to get to some areas, you would need to have a car or you would be spending a lot of money on your Uber.
Some simple misconceptions people consider while choosing these places is that they tend to be afraid of going to countries because they fear a language barrier. In most touristy areas, this will not be the case as most people in these areas will possess English speaking capabilities at a decent level. However, Google Translate can always be your best friend in awkward circumstances.
Here is a list of places I recommend for each category during the Autumn/Winter season.
Domestic UK Travel // Kent, Bath, Cornwall Region
Eastern Europe Travel // Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic
Western Europe // Spain, Germany, Iceland
There are obviously a lot more places to consider – so do it. But here’s a quick pitch for some of the places I recommended. Skip through this part if you already have an idea of where you want to go
For domestic UK travel, it tends to be the trend where people travel South during the winter break, as it tends to be much colder when you go up North. There isn’t anything too special that differentiates most of the domestic UK places during the winter break - but if you want to enjoy Christmas markets, it is encouraged to go to the main cities (e.g. London, Manchester, Birmingham).
For my country recommendations, I’ll pitch to you a few of them so you can have something to work with.
Hungary is pretty neutral as an overall place, so it is not season dependent. But there are some nice things that go on around the area during the Winter. Hence, it is the cliche Eastern Europe consistent go-to place. And among all the other Eastern European states, I would go so far to argue that it has the fairest balance of all three categories of historical, environment, and cultural. The same can be applied to Poland, but there is a bit more of a historical bias towards it. Although, I think travelling in Poland is slightly more challenging as some of the historical places require you to travel slightly further to get to it. Czech Republic is something I would specifically suggest during the Christmas break, because if any Eastern European country knows how to do Christmas correctly, it’s Prague.
For my Western Europe suggestions, I believe Germany is one of the generic places you can go to celebrate Christmas and enjoy the more cultural aspects of the country. It is hard to go wrong, and it is traveller friendly if you are new to travelling yourself. Iceland is one of those places I can only recommend during winter break, because you will have the chance to experience an extreme winter cold, but also look out for the Northern Lights.
Question 2: How do I go?
Domestic Travel
Let us take a quick analysis on domestic travel first. There are two ways of getting around, but it is better to check Google Maps for some form of idea on how many transits.
First, it is taking a bus. The main option is National Express, for which you can get decently priced bus tickets. However, there are also regional coach services that might be able to get you around certain areas. Second, it is to use a train. My general recommendation is to just utilise the Trainline app to find out the best times and prices that are suited to you. Try getting a Railcard if you do want to do this. I am not really sure whether they will do this again this year – but last year they did a Black Friday sale for Railcard that led to a 50% off, so it might be worth waiting for that.
International Travel
Unless you are feeling wealthy and rich, most students stick to cheaper airline options, which tend to have significantly worse services and stuffy aeroplanes. However, it is also through those airlines that you can get a return ticket for 20 pounds to Italy. Examples of these airlines are EasyJet, Ryanair, and Wizz. You can check them easily online to see the prices at different dates.
For these companies, it might be better to read the fine print for the Terms and Conditions to avoid being prevented from boarding or paying more than you need to. The key mistake is that people tend to forget to print out their boarding pass beforehand, which might induce a cost twice as high as the flight ticket.
Most of these will probably be flying off from either London Stansted or London Luton airport, and the easiest way to get to these airports will be through the National Express coaches that depart from Pool Meadow station.
The alternative is to actually consider Eurostar if you are going to France, Belgium, or the Netherlands. Eurostar is a high speed train that allows you to travel internationally to those regions. The benefit of Eurostar is that you don’t have to go through security, and you can bring on a lot more baggage. Plus, you do not need to feel airsick. However, you should try to book early for Eurostar, as the prices tend to go up quite quickly.
Question 3: How do I plan my trip?
There are various ways to plan a trip when you travel. The most useful advice I’ve ever received is that part of your travels should be spontaneous, unexpected, and filled with discovery. Understandably, this may not be the easiest to achieve as we all feel better with some sort of structure.
Research
The first thing you should do is go do some sort of basic research about the place you want to go. I have three excellent sources for travel ideas:
Look up Google Trips. It gives you the key attractions around the regions that will help you decide what is cool around the area.
Look up YouTube travel vlogs. This gives you an idea of how people plan their itinerary when they travel around those places.
Look up Pinterest. No, Pinterest is not dead, and Pinterest gives you the niche unique information from travel blogs.
The Structure of a Plan
It might be worth considering the group you are part of, and how early/late you want to wake up. I separate my day into mornings, afternoons, and evenings. You then want to only set one single goal for each section. For example, I might say that I want to visit this museum for the morning, and then maybe I want to try a specific dish during the afternoon, and finally I want to go to a club in the evening.
Once you accomplish your goal, the rest of those times can be used for random shop hopping, or just popping into random historical churches or museums. The beauty of this is that it gives you a lot of leeway to discover the things you would never have been able to plan for.
What type of things should you put in your plan? Here are some ideas:
Trying out a specific dish or going to a specific restaurant
Visiting a certain place (e.g. a tourist attraction, a waterfall)
Doing some sort of activity (e.g. skydiving, partying)
Booking a location to stay in
This tends to be one of the greatest causes of stress, but also what contributes to the best trip experiences due to the shenanigans that you will be up to in your accommodations. In general, if you have a group of more than 3, definitely consider staying in an AirBnB. If not, it is better to book a hotel or hostel.
I think the best strategy when choosing the accommodation is not just the price, but the location too. You would want to stay somewhere decently central to the places you wish to see or is somewhat close to public transportation. Otherwise, it would be harder for you to travel within those regions. A helpful tip is to plot all the attractions and sights you wanna visit on Google Maps first, and then check out the accommodations most central to those plotted areas.
Question 4: How do I choose my friends to go?
There are two famous sayings in this world.
1. The more the merrier
2. Too many cooks spoil the broth
I have seen people do solo trips, trips with three, and trips with more than ten people. At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter. Smaller groups give you the benefit of having a bit more freedom since you do not necessarily have to accommodate to everyone, and you will have less problems when finding a restaurant.
Larger groups come with their own benefits. People that travel in large groups tend to be able to split and do activities that they enjoy in smaller groups. But they also yield the benefit of super cheap AirBnBs and significantly more chaos and memories.
At the end of the day, just make sure you go with people that are likely to share your interests, and have the same thirst for adventure as you do!
So what are you waiting for? Time to text your friends about the winter getaway so you can take a break from the university grind.
