Student card (ISIC) to travel in ITALY...Is it worth it?
 

I will be travelling to Italy...are tehre any benefits if I have an International Student Card (ISIC)? I hav eheard different things and wanted to get anyone's opinion..whether you have used it...whether it was worth...taht kind of stuff!!! <BR> <BR>Nicoletta

Nicoletta, <BR> <BR>I'm currently planning my first backpacking trip to Europe so I can't answer your question, but you should check out http://www.eurotrip.com. It is much more oriented to student & budget travel and you will easily find your answer there. They have a forum as well. <BR> <BR>

The question of whether an ISIC card is worth it depends on how many museums you plan on going to. I have had ISIC cards on two different occasions. The first time I probably saved about $5. The second time I got one because they give you a voice mail system so people can leave messages for you when you are traveling. This was a nice feature, but other than that the card saved me about $3

I had an ISIC the first time I traveled and found that it saved me very little money, definitely not as much as it cost to buy it. If you have a regular college ID, that should be enough. However, there is some medical and emergency insurance associated with the ISIC and as a college student, you may not have the best insurance in the world. This also depends on if you have any coverage with your parents. So the extra insurance may be a reason to consider the ID. Although it's hard to remember, I seem to recall that Italy was not very accommodating with student discounts in general and seemed to want to get all the money from the tourists that they could. Please keep in mind that this impression was made when I was a poor student on a tight budget and our exchange rate was only about 1100 lire to the dollar (in 1992) unlike 1829 Lire which is today's rate. <BR> <BR>The Hosteling International card seems to be another card which is not necessary. As you will see, it usually turns out that you do not end up staying in "official" HI hostels and therefore do not need the card. The couple of dollars that an "official" hostel may charge may not equal the amount of money it costs you to buy it. <BR> <BR>These things are all just another thing to carry in your moneybelt which can be quite uncomfortable. But if all these things will make you more comfortable just because you know you have them, go for it! What's $50 or $60 more when you're going to spend thousands?