The Bare Necessities

Passport

It is essential to have an active passport if you are studying abroad in a foreign country. If you already have a passport, it is important to make sure it is valid through your entire time abroad and six months after as well. The government has wonderful website.

An Adult Passport costs $135. The US Government has also begun to issue "Passport Cards."

"The Department of State has developed a Passport Card as a more portable and less expensive alternative to the traditional passport book." -(http://travel.state.gov)

The Passport Card is an additional $30 and is by no means necessary. I opted out of this as I didn't see the need to spend more money on something I wouldn't get much use out of.

ISIC Card

The best description of the ISIC (International Student Identity) Card can be found on their website:

"The ISIC card is the only internationally-recognised student ID and ISIC card holders are members of a truly global club. Every year more than 4.5 million students from 120 countries use their student card to take advantage of offers on travel, shopping, museums and more, worldwide." -(http://www.isic.org)

Basically, when you go to an attraction in another country, almost everything has a "student rate." From the research I've done on various museums, landmarks and transportation, the discounts are large and helpful. Attractions don't won't to dole these steep discounts to anyone, so a lot require more than a simple school ID--this is where the ISIC card comes in.

The ISIC card will only set you back $28. That's a small price for a LOT of discounts!


**More necessities will be added as I find more "must haves" for a successful trip to London.**


~Carson