About.com Student Travel

Blog Carnival: Christmas Markets

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:44:46 +0000

Christmas markets are a wonderful holiday tradition dating from the 14th century and originating in Germany, which is still home to the world's best (and, of course, oldest) European Christmas markets; the festive fun, shopping, caroling and consumption can be found in communities across Europe and even the USA today, and kicks off around the end of November. About.com's European, UK and US Guides have assembled an awesome list of where to sample seasonal sweets and cider, buy nutcrackers and crafts, and generally enjoy good cheer on a December winter's eve:

Blog Carnival: Christmas Markets Light Winter Nights

Blog Carnival: Christmas Markets Light Winter Nights

See All 17 Recent About.com Travel Blog Carnivals

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Blog Carnival: Christmas Markets originally appeared on About.com Student Travel on Saturday, November 7th, 2009 at 01:44:46.

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Flying With the Flu

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:00:49 +0000

I've got a ticket to fly on Friday, and I'm getting sick -- in fact, I'm fearing the flu. What to do? Don't want to lose my tickets; don't want to invite uncool health karma by carelessly handing fellow flyers a contagious bug. I've found facts on flying with the flu (Fear One: can I change my ticket if I'm sick?); if this sucky scenario becomes yours, too, see some of the flying with flu answers:

Can I Fly With the Flu?

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Flying With the Flu originally appeared on About.com Student Travel on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 16:00:49.

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World Toilet Day November 19

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:25:21 +0000

November 19 is World Toilet Day. You think the next part involves a sailor walking into a bar. It's a deadly serious affair, though -- among other statistics it has to share, the World Toilet Organization says, "Over a billion of the 6 billion people in the world are served by sewerage systems but much of this sewerage is discharged into rivers, lakes and the sea with little or no treatment." And the World Health Organization (WHO) tells us that 1.6 million children die each year from diarrhea.

World Toilet Day is an opportunity to shed some light on the world's sewage situations that should be of concern to global-thinking citizens; you can get involved with a myriad of field projects through the World Toilet Organization. Learn more:

World Toilet Organization and WTO volunteer projects

Speaking of toilets:

Toilets Around the World for Travelers - Going Worldwide
The Bathroom Diaries - "True Tales of Tawdry Toilets" (Nominations for the Golden Plunger Award!)
MizPee.com - Find Toilets in the US on Cell Phone
Crappers Quarterly - Submit Reviews of Best and Crappiest Toilets

Related Reading: Travel Health | Avoiding Waterborne Illnesses Abroad | Volunteer Travel

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World Toilet Day November 19 originally appeared on About.com Student Travel on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 11:25:21.

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UK Fires Up for Guy Fawkes Day 11/5

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:45:07 +0000

On November 5, 1605, a gang of conspirators including a guy named Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up the English Houses of Parliament, using barrels of gunpowder; it didn't work out so well, and Guy came to an untimely end instead. Today, Guy Fawkes' and friends' failure and the botched bombing is celebrated as Bonfire Night in the UK. So why would a botched bombing be the cause for such a long-running celebration/event in the UK? Learn more about Guy Fawkes Night, and about what happens in the UK on November 5th (lots o' fun, fires, and fireworks):

Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night -- What it is and where to find the fires

More on UK travel for backpackers and students: UK Student Travel | UK Transportation | Student Work in the UK

Start your UK travel in London: London Student Travel Guide 101 | Top Free Things to Do in London | How to Use the London Tube | Top London Hostels

Oh, yeah: and what's up with the whole Guy Fawkes connection to V for Vendetta? Get the story: "Who is Guy Fawkes, and what is his relation to V for Vendetta?"

Guy Fawkes Mask Screenshot courtesy Warner Bros | Student Travel blog home | Share on Facebook |

UK Fires Up for Guy Fawkes Day 11/5 originally appeared on About.com Student Travel on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 09:45:07.

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EF Tours Reality Travel Show in Season Two

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:10:27 +0000

Want to see what it's really like to be on an EF Tours European trip, live and practically in person? It's possible with EF's "Life on Tour," a reality travel show from the producers of The Real World airing Tuesdays on Teen.com, and currently filming high school students Becca, Matty, Brooke, Haseena, Britton, Mason and Jeru journeying through Morocco and Spain (the first season, available on vid, followed a trip to France, Italy and Switzerland). See for yourself:

Want to star in season three of Life on Tour? Click "Casting Call" on Life on Tour's Facebook page and submit a vid by December 31, 2009. Good luck!

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EF Tours Reality Travel Show in Season Two originally appeared on About.com Student Travel on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 19:10:27.

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Mexico's Day of the Dead

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:33:29 +0000

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), a time around which Mexicans honor those who've traveled on from this mortal coil, is happening October 31-November 2nd in Mexico: gatherings and events go on country-wide and the decorations are beautiful -- you've seen the skulls and skeletons? This is what that's all about. Check out some photos from Day of the Dead events in Mexico, and find some Day of the Dead event destinations from About.com's Guide to Mexico, Suzanne Barbezat:

Photo © Kathleen Crislip | Student Travel blog home | Share on Facebook | |

Mexico's Day of the Dead originally appeared on About.com Student Travel on Sunday, October 25th, 2009 at 21:33:29.

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International Halloween Parties

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:08:20 +0000

The whole trick or treat, costume, fun time thing is primarily a Western tradition, but American travelers can see some familiar Halloween fun and frolic, don masks, drink some spirited brews and even carve pumpkins internationally on Halloween. Suss the spooky scenes on home soil in Salem and New Orleans and abroad in spots like Bangkok, Derry and Limoges: Ireland has quite the rockin Halloween happenings, and Bangkok's Silom Soi 4, a street of bars, restaurants and clubs, is the scene for a hot Halloween street party in Thailand. Find a few Halloween parties, learn a bit about Halloween traditions and history, and get some other ideas for seasonally appropriate terrifying travel:

Related Reading: Day of the Dead, Mexico | Mexico's Accidental Mummies | Creepy Places

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International Halloween Parties originally appeared on About.com Student Travel on Sunday, October 25th, 2009 at 02:08:20.

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STA Special: One Way Student Airfares from $50

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:59:45 +0000

Want to hop home for a few days? Or book Thanksgiving or even spring break flights now? (Good ideas, actually.) Check out STA's current student airfare deal: one way domestic U.S. tickets from $50 plus taxes and fees of $20-$25 (the $50 special is Chicago - Minneapolis; Newark - Miami's $67+, Dallas - Chicago $98+, and Chicago - Denver from $88). Fares can be doubled for round trips; book by 11/15/09 and fly by 3/31/10, and watch out for potential weekend surcharges of up to $40 for travel on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Get the skinny on more of this week's student airfare specials:

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STA Special: One Way Student Airfares from $50 originally appeared on About.com Student Travel on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 23:59:45.

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Key West Fantasy Fest

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:59:48 +0000

It's a fine time to be in sunny Florida if the weather's chillin' down where you are, and it's an especially craaazy time to be in Key West: semi-lunatics and mere eccentrics, students on extremely extended breaks and sailors on sorta-permanent shore leave, straights and not, and your basic pure partiers (worth noting that all of these folk are merely among Key West's average citizenry) are welcoming 70,000 visitors looking for the ultimate thing through October 31 -- Key West Fantasy Fest.

Fantasy Fest has evolved from a fairly small-but-sensational weekend event to the too-too whackiness going on this minute in Key West -- ten days of almost anything goes (per usual for Key West, but times ten, ten times) including a final, fabulous parade on Saturday, when the wheels really come off and one can see some things and think some thoughts. Key West's live and let live legacy, which includes a shady pirate past, really shows itself during free-for-all Fantasy Fest, though travelers from every walk of life are always and have long been welcomed without question to this island at the very and literal end of the road. Get on down there if you've nothing planned for the weekend (or if what you've got planned isn't quite this... insane). If you go, bring your most fantastical costume idea ever, and do plan to Read more...

Key West Fantasy Fest originally appeared on About.com Student Travel on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 23:59:48.

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Haunted Hostels

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:36:35 +0000

Lots o' hostels host rumors of odd stuff, sometimes even of otherwordly ectoplasm, going bump in the night, but that stands to reason: hostels are often in aged buildings in the old centers of ancient towns, and things do happen (and perhaps leave cosmic traces) as years go by. A few hostels, though, really do lay claim to haints haunting the halls -- if you truly want to share some space with the supposedly supernatural (at least certainly strange), check out the spooky scene at five (ostensibly truly) haunted hostels in the US, Mexico, Ireland and Canada... even if you don't see the light(s) or get grabbed by a ghost, you're bound to be in for a howlingly good Halloween party:

Haunted Hostels

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Haunted Hostels originally appeared on About.com Student Travel on Friday, October 16th, 2009 at 07:36:35.

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