Hailey’s Guide to the Pros and Cons of IES Abroad Trips

Many IES Abroad programs offer optional trips to participate in with them, and if you’re debating on whether to sign up for some, here’s my thoughts on my two trips with IES Abroad! 

Pro: It’s cheaper! Because IES Abroad takes groups on these trips, and usually has done so multiple years in the past, they are able to offer many activities for lower prices (that are already included in your trip price). 

Con: It’s not out of the country. If you have big plans to travel outside of the country you’re studying in, at least in the Vienna program, your trips are within Austria. The two I went on took me to the Wachau and Styria regions (additionally a ski trip was offered in Austria as well, but I did not participate in that one - I have NO coordination whatsoever!). I had a great time getting to know the country a little better, but if you want to use your time to travel more of Europe these trips may not be for you.

Pro: It’s super easy to travel with your friends! You get to travel with friends without having to worry if everyone’s available that weekend, what everyone’s price limitations are, who wants to do what, etc.

Con: Sign ups happen early, like before you even get to your program, but the trips often happen later in the program. This makes it hard to plan for if you’re not studying abroad with friends (like me). Fortunately, it worked out for me, and a group of my friends was going so the four of us were able to do the activities together and stay together.

Pro: The activities are unique! IES Abroad is able to find activities that are unique to the regions you’re in, with both small local business and larger businesses that regularly work with tourists. It’s a great way to get to know the area you’re in and have some fun doing it!

Con: The activities may not all be of interest to you. But the nice thing is that they list out everything before you sign up, so students can decide if they think the trip is worth it for them or not.

Pro: Food costs are included!

Con: The food sometimes isn’t great and not always provided at the beginning or end of the trip (e.g. you have to eat breakfast and/or dinner on your own outside of the trip time). Often times here at IES Abroad Vienna, we are provided wraps by “Wrapstars” on both our optional and required trips. They’re not a fan favorite (though their sides are awesome) so sometimes students end up buying or bringing their own lunch. The buffets aren’t my favorite either, but that’s not specifically an IES Abroad thing, that’s just a general thing for me. Although I have found that the plated food we order from restaurants is always delicious!

Pro: You don’t have to plan a *thing*. My friends and I discussed this at length - we’re a little “planned out”, we didn’t want to take another trip if it meant we’d have to figure out where we were going, staging, eating, what we were doing, etc. So with IES Abroad it involves very minimal decision making, just where you want to wander in the admittedly small amount of time you’re given for free time, what activity you want to do (this for me was just on the weekend trip and I only had to choose between a museum and a slide) and usually what kind of food you want to eat(you don’t even have to choose the place!).

Con: I’ve found that sometimes the forms filled out aren’t accurate. I remember signing up for the aforementioned slide for my Sunday Activity, but when the time came I was on the museum list and was incredibly confused. For context: it was a modern art museum and I dislike bordering on despise modern art so it would be odd for me to have chosen that. Additionally, another student was notified that she “hadn’t signed up” for an activity but she said she had done so months before. Moral of the story: be prepared for mix-ups to happen.

Pro: The buses IES Abroad rents (at least here in Vienna) are SO nice! They rent coach buses to take us to all the far-away trips which are comfortable, have plenty of space if you have a bag, have a bathroom on board for emergencies, and the drivers often have coffee, water, soda, etc. to buy if you need something to drink. But the best part is, you get to see some beautiful scenes of the country-side from the huge windows.

Con: It’s a bus…and if you’re like me and get carsick super easily, the widening roads of Europe will definitely get to you. I always keep the Austrian Equivalent of Dramamine on hand, but then I end up falling asleep super quickly and miss out on the beautiful sights!

Pro: Staying in a hostel with your friends is like a fun sleepover! You get to hang out together but also do your own activities if different groups want to do different things!

Overall, I had a really fun time on the two trips I went on and would 100% suggest participating in at least one trip with IES Abroad. But I will also say it’s important to choose trips that you are interested in! That’s easily the most important part!