It may feel like you only just finished looking around following your first day on campus but in reality, Christmas is just around the corner. But before turning your attention on which festive films to stick or how to win the yearly charade competition, it is worth considering how you are going to make that journey home.

Travelling is not always easy, particularly at Christmas, so preparing yourself as best you can should give you the best chance of a smooth journey ho-ho-home.

So please find below some tips to hopefully help you out:

TIP ONE – CHECK FOR ENGINEERING WORKS

Engineering works are an unavoidable hassle in life, and you really don’t want to get stuck in a random station when travelling home for some well-earned down time. We strongly recommend checking to see if your route will be impacted by any works before travelling. You can keep up to date using the following website: https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/travel-information/future-engineering-works/

TIP TWO – SAVE YOURSELF SOME MONEY

Whilst spending a little bit of money on a railcard can seem like a pain, if you haven’t already done so then now could be a good time to get one. If you are likely to use the train a lot, whether that is to go back home to visit family or friends for festive fun, or just to explore, a 16-25 railcard will save you plenty of coins.

We all know that trains aren’t cheap, so you need to do all you can to knock as much off the cost as you possibly can.

A 16-25 railcard costs £35 for one year or £80 for three years and you will get 1/3 off of rail travel each and every time you purchase a ticket. Despite the cards being named 16-25, mature students can also apply for them. You can see more about them here: https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/railcards/

TIP THREE – TIMING MATTERS

If you have the luxury to be a little more flexible with your travel times, it is worth comparing different days and different times. Travelling at peak hours can make your journey a lot more expensive, so it is always worth doing a little research and thinking about when you set off.

Aside from saving some much-needed Christmas funds, travelling outside peak times can also prove to be a less stressful operation when travelling with a fair amount of luggage. You never know, you might even find room for your case in a case rack, miracles do happen!

TIP FOUR – A SPLITTING HEADACHE

As ridiculous as it sounds, splitting your train ticket can actually be a much cheaper way to travel. Whilst you would hope we lived in a world where travelling from Plymouth to your destination would be the same price no matter how the ticket was purchased, alas, no such perfection exists. We would advise you look on the following website: https://www.splitmyfare.co.uk/

Splitting your ticket DOES NOT necessarily mean you have to change trains, although you are more likely to have to change seat. But what is a few steps if it saves you some money that can be spent on that last minute gift you need to grab for that relative your forgot was coming?

TIP FIVE – HIT THE ROAD

Whilst travelling by train can be quite a nice experience, it is certainly not always the cheapest. It is worth shopping around and considering other methods of transport, such as coaches.

Megabus can be a fairly cheap option, particularly if you are willing to travel at some less popular times. They also give a 10% discount with valid Student ID, which you can read more about here: https://www.megabus.co.uk/information-for-passengers/student-discount-and-promotions/

And if, like Chris Rea, you are driving home for Christmas then it is worth planning where you will stop for petrol, so you don’t have to pay astronomical service station prices. Topping up before you leave is always a good idea, but knowing where a few supermarket petrol stations are on your route can also save you a decent amount of cash.

For example, Morrisons at Cribbs Causeway, is only just off the M5 and can be a great place to refill and grab some refreshments that don’t require you to take out a loan!

We hope these tips help you and from everyone in the Advice Team at the SU, we wish you a fantastic and relaxing break. Merry Christmas!