gettingthere

Getting there and around

This is one trip where traveling in style is not the way to go. "Bumming it" is actually necessary to attain the full benefits of the experience, said Kevin Brooks, 21, a communications major and veteran Europe explorer. The goal is to see and do as much as you can on a tight budget.

The first thing to take care of is a flight. When booked far enough in advance, flights to major European airport cities like London, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Milan can be very reasonable, as in the $400 to $600 range. One of the best resources for price-checking and buying tickets online is the site lowestfare.com.

Just enter the desired cities and travel dates, and it will show all available flights, in least expensive order. Graduating senior Barbara Young, 21, used the site to get a great deal on flights in and out of London for this summer.

"I got a 30-day round trip for $520.91, and that was only a month in advance. The quotes I was getting over the phone were a lot higher," Young said.

The key is to be flexible about travel dates and not to be picky about airports. Plan to buy tickets at least three months in advance, the farther ahead the better. Try all the major airlines such as United and Continental, but don't forget the lesser-known European airlines like Virgin, Lufthansa and Alitalia, which offer competitive prices.

Once the arrival and departure dates are set, adventurers can plan a tentative itinerary.

Europe is way ahead of the ole U.S. when it comes to public transportation, so the cheapest and easiest way to get around Europe is by train. Who wants to try driving on the wrong side of the road anyway? A Eurail pass can easily be purchased at a number of student-accessible places. On the Internet go to http://www.eurorail.com/eurail.htm, or call 1-800-660-5300, where passes are offered for as low as $388 for 15 days of travel. The passes cover travel by train in and between the countries of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. And because higher powers acknowledge the necessity for students to go abroad, there are special discounted prices for all students 25 and younger.

Also in the discount department, there is an International Studies Student ID card available at the graduate and international programs office on the second floor of Tehama Hall at Chico State. Jennie McMillen, a student assistant in the office said the $20 picture ID gets you discounts at hostels, hotels and museums in Europe.

"It's a really good idea for students, for only $20, you'll save a lot of money once (you're) over there," McMillen said. Just bring your driver's license, a passport-size photo of yourself and $20.

As for what to do about hostels and hotels, Andrea Six, a liberal studies major, traveled with her fiance for two months last summer. She said most times they were able to get same-day or one-day advance reservations at hotels and hostels. One thing to keep in mind, Six said, is that youth hostels aren't always cheaper than hotels.

"It can be misleading," she said. "Because sometimes the prices for hostels are listed per person, if you travel with anyone it's usually cheaper just to split a hotel room."

Six also said it's important to enjoy the places you like and not to get too caught up in sticking to a schedule. The best thing to do is make some reservations ahead of time, but to plan on changing your mind.

"Sometimes we got to a city and just loved it," she said. "Even if we'd planned to stay only two nights, if we really liked it, we'd stay longer." Sometimes they'd decide not to stay at all once they got some places because they just never knew until they got somewhere whether they were going to like it.

Gina Raiola, 22, another Chico State graduate, said one of her destinations was nothing like she and her friends had expected.

"We got off the train in Brussels (Belgium), got two blocks out of the station, turned around and went right back in to book the next train out," Raiola said. "We got stuck there for the night. We didn't even want to leave our hotel room to go eat."

Kevin Brooks, another European adventurer, agreed with going with the flow.

"We did what we wanted as we went along. It's all about the experience, you have to just go with it." Part of the fun of the adventure is taking it as it comes.

If you like things more structured, use http://www.frommers.com/destinations to find hotels and hostels at rock-bottom prices in all the main cities. Included are descriptions of the accommodations, distances from train stations, phone numbers and fax numbers. So it is possible to plan exactly where to stay ahead of time.

Once you're there, Todd Gitlin, Brooks' travel partner said, you have to do the different things. He said his most memorable experience was running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain.

"We were there to do this thing we heard so much about," Gitlin said, "and we're at the top of the hill where they let the bulls out at 8 a.m., after being up all night, and it came time to do it, and we thought, 'Are we crazy? What are we doing with these 2,000 people and crazy bulls?' It was scary, but it was like, man, we have to do this. So we just ran as fast as we could with these bulls chasing us. Six hours later, when we were leaving on the train, we sat there and were like, 'Damn, we really did that!' It opened my eyes to so many things."

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