Student Discounts
I was going to purchase an unlimited weekly pass for the underground, but I didn't think I'd be riding the train enough. I didn't realize there was a student rate, and I have spent more without the unlimited cards. Students, ALWAYS ask if there is a student rate. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Still the single best-value sentence on this site, and still true. What has changed is what proves it.
A home university card is worth less than it used to be outside its own country. The card that travels is the ISIC, which is recognised more or less everywhere and is the one to have if you are studying outside Europe.
Two things worth knowing before you count on a discount:
- Age often beats status. Most European rail operators discount on being under 26 rather than on being enrolled anywhere, and rail passes have a youth price on the same basis. That is a better deal than the student rate and it does not need a card.
- Museums increasingly want residency, not studenthood. The free and reduced entry at a lot of major national museums in France, Italy and Spain is now for EU residents under 26, and a non-EU student card will not open it. Ask, but do not build the budget on it.
City transport is where the original advice pays best. Most systems have a concession the machine does not advertise, and the difference between a weekly pass and a pocketful of singles is usually larger than you would guess. Ask at the window, not the machine.
Posted 13 June 2005 by Cherie in Eurail Planning