Me on the train to Nice, France admiring the beautiful sunset!
Studying abroad is expensive, but it doesn’t have to drain your entire savings. I survived a full semester in Milan, traveled to 10 countries, and 9 other Italian cities, ate well, explored deeply, and still kept my total spending under $10,000. The secret isn’t deprivation. It’s strategy.
These websites helped me stay on budget:
Trainline — discounted Trenitalia + Italo tickets
Omio — trains, buses, flights, and constant student discounts
Ryanair + EasyJet — cheap flights for spontaneous weekends
Google Flights — see where it’s cheapest to go
Student Beans — discounts on food, tech, clothes, transportation
Hostelworld — affordable stays with reviews that actually matter
FlixBus — the cheapest way to cross borders
Get Your Guide — activities with transparent reviews and pricing
Food is one of the easiest areas to overspend, but it’s also one of the easiest to control. Shopping at affordable grocery stores like Pam and Eurospin kept my weekly spending manageable, especially when my roommates and I split essentials. Some countries are simply too expensive to eat out in, so bringing food or grabbing meals from a supermarket becomes the smarter choice. Still, budgeting doesn’t mean avoiding restaurants altogether. Milan has countless affordable spots with incredible food, and treating yourself occasionally is part of the experience.
Souvenirs can quietly drain your budget if you’re not careful. When you’re traveling frequently, it’s easy to fall into the trap of buying something from every shop you pass. To avoid that, I set a personal rule: I only bought espresso mugs and postcards from each place I visited. It kept things meaningful, consistent, and inexpensive. One of my friends used her own pictures and is going to turn them into postcards once she returns home, that way when she displays them it will be more personal and geared towards her own travel experiences.
My friends Molly and Zoe on the train to Verona
One of the biggest lessons I learned was not to fall for TikTok tourist traps. Social media will convince you that every city has a “must‑try” restaurant or a viral photo spot, but most of these places are overpriced and overcrowded. The best experiences abroad come from wandering without a plan, walking down side streets, stumbling into local cafés, and discovering restaurants that aren’t curated for the algorithm. Trusting your instincts leads to more authentic, affordable, and memorable moments than anything you’ll find online.
While it’s tempting to spend every weekend hopping between countries, don’t forget to explore your host city. Milan has many layers, neighborhoods, markets, parks, museums, and cafés, and taking the time to discover them makes your semester feel like real life, not just a series of trips. Some of my favorite memories came from slow days in the city I actually lived in, not the ones I passed through for 48 hours. Studying abroad isn’t just about how many places you can check off a list; it’s about building a relationship with the place you call home for a few months.
Written by: Kamila, Spring 2026 Milan Student from Rochester Institute of Technology
