I, once again, come to a point where I need advice and the only place I can think to ask for it is here. (That isn't bad, that means I love you guys!) So I'm going to San Francisco Pride, I'll be there 6/29 and 6/30. Problem is, I'm about 4-ish hours north and transportation is at least $100 and I basically only have $100 to my name. Where do you guys get cheap travel? Amtrak doesn't offer student discounts and Greyhound tickets are $100 one way.........
when i'm going distances like that, i usually try to hitch a ride with other people going to the same event/going to that area - i'll usually offer to cover like a tank of gas for the trip (that's typically been ~30$ ime, but that depends a lot on like car/gas prices) and some snacks - all in all that usually puts me out like 50$ one way? i'd stay through something like couchsurfing if i don't know anyone in the area. my go-to would be asking in like a local lgbt+ facebook group if anyone's going that way and can spare a seat (also: amtrak does, sorta, offer student discounts - there's this student discount club i was a part of through high school and college, and amtrak is partnered with them for discounts - however, it's like a student discount subscription service. last time i renewed, it was like 4 years for 60$? in any event, tl:dr, amtrak does "have" a student discount program, but using it is not something i'd recommend at this time for you)
i'd invest in that but i don't ride Amtrak enough for it to really make a huge impact. plus, isn't it a credit card? i have no credit history :(
oh! no it's not a credit card (or it wasn't when i had one?). it's called student advantage. it was worth it for me for the like 3 years i used it because i got a 15% discount on amtrak, was taking a trip by amtrak every three-ish weeks, and like i said, it had cost me about 60$ to pay for a 4-year subscription. that said, by the time it expired, i hadn't taken an amtrak or used it for a hotel in over 6 months, so i didn't feel any real need to renew it it also like partners with clothing stores and like a 1-800-flowers type thing? which i mention because the flowers i bought for prom were through that and i loved them fakedit: i looked at their website and it appears they no longer offer a 4-year subscription (at least easily findable) and a one year is 30$. eh.
i ended up finding a California student discount and used that on my purchase i feel like this thread now can/should be used as a general cheap travel advice thread for everyone for the future also, not just for my current poor planning lol (edit: my logic is that traveling is expensive and i'm sure a lot of other folks need cheap travel advice too)
Megabus is super cheap booked sufficiently in advance! Hostelling International is also very cheap, especially if you're a member (I'm a lifelong member). I prefer it to AirBNB because it's got minimum standards that are global. It's also dormitory style unless you pay extra for a private room, which might not be great for introverts but is a fun way to meet people, and sometimes occupancy is low enough that you end up with your own room anyway. Sometimes they're also in cool places - I stayed in a caboose once.