Andrew has some interesting priorities for his round the world trip packing. Our latest STA Explorer, who will be using social media to share the tips and tales of his travels with us over the next 7 months, will be visiting India, Mongolia, China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Australia, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru - so some serious preparation is in order.

His first post outlines how he decided on his itinerary and sorted out his visas and insurance with help from the Kensington branch of STA Travel - useful reading for anyone considering a similar jaunt. However, he has also been stocking up on some essential equipment, and with 5 days before departure he decides to do a test run:

I took all of my new gear to Keswick at the weekend to test it out. The mosquito spray was useless, as was the penknife. I sprayed a badger and knifed a squirrel but they were never real threats to my safety. The best thing I took by far was the head torch. Mainly for the fun factor. You feel like you’re in a swot team, when all you’re really doing is annoying people.

Oh dear me. It sounds like this is going to be a very interesting trip indeed. May the outraged comments on his blog from the Squirrel Protection Society commence.

Positively Biblical floods of word of mouth concerning STA Travel insurance seem to be pouring forth at the moment, and there are always call-outs for more.

In The Student Room, CocoBean has been recommending their deals for single, simple journeys:

You can get pretty cheap insurance from STA travel where you can get insured for single trips which I found useful… This will leave you with more money for the fun part!!

And in this Lonely Planet thread about travel laptops, rakesh is considering investing in a new MacBook; although he’s worried ‘how much it will get beat up and the chance that it will get stolen’, thankfully ‘my STA Travel Insurance covers laptop/electronic theft.’

But the most frequent questions and comments relate to STA’s reputation for offering particularly comprehensive insurance, covering adventurous and even dangerous activities and countries that other agencies won’t touch. In this Lonely Planet thread, eyecreate asks:

I found that a company through STA travel do a policy which covers me upto a 125cc bike with crash helmet without a UK bike license - im going to email them as the price seemed to good to be true. Have you heard good or bad reports on using STA insurance?

In a similar vein, Lonely Planet member moore07 explains:

Hey guys I’m going on a 11 month gap year and have been quoted over £300 by STA Travel for the full insurance. I am planning on doing a wide range of dangerous activities and so I will need good insurance. Any suggestions on some good deals or good companies?

Head over to the threads if you’ve used STA Travel insurance, and speak up about what you think.

There are plenty of things I miss about being a student. Youth. (OK, I’m only 25, but it’s been a rough couple of years). Beauty (OK, well, that may have been a delusion, but enough cheap booze can make anyone feel like a pre-preggers Angelina). Cheap booze (sigh).

But, travel-loving lass that I am, the loss of my ISIC card has hit me pretty hard. It’s amazing how easily you can get ussed to assuming you can get discounts everywhere - for your flights, for hostels, in shops, museums and restaurants. My Youth Card still gets me plenty of bargains, but I’m only eligible for a few more months, and I’m already dreading my 26th birthday.

There’s always a decent stream of STA Travel word of mouth discussing the joys of ISIC and Youth cards (you can get them for about nine quid here). Just last week nomad blue was recommending them on this Cardiff City forums thread about budget travel. But has anyone got any more specific tips about great deals they’ve netted with their discount card - unexpected places you can use them or particularly good offers? Send us the links and help your fellow (poor but young and beautiful) travellers!

OK this might be a bit cheeky but the lovely stubbly Tom at STA Travel has given me the go-ahead to spread the love, so spread it I shall, like a great benign muck-spreader spreading droplets of joy to irrigate our parched lives.

Whatever. Basically, STA are offering a time-limited 15% friends and family discount on tours, accommodation and insurance this summer, and, as we’re all one big happy STA travelbuzz family, we’re sharing it with you here - and feel free to pass it on to any fellow travellers too.

Oh, really, stop. My clothes are getting soggy with your droplets of joy.

Talk about travel insurance and I’ll tend to stick my fingers in my ears, despite being an every-headache-is-a-tumour hypochondriac, so I assume that most hard-arsed, Ray Mears-style stoics barely give it a thought. However, I’m increasingly hearing tales from mishap-prone mates very grateful that they bothered to get some cover before they set off. So I’m calling out to bloggers and forum members to help the travel community by posting their top travel insurance do’s an don’ts, so I can collect all the links together to build a mighty tried-and-tested manifesto about just how much you need, for what, and from where.

Here’s a few STA-related examples I found across the web:

Vickersontour from Mansfield has been taking stock of the costs for planning his round the world trip to date on his TravBuddy blog. Having booked his flights and Australian visas with STA Travel, he also decided to go for their Worldwide insurance with winter sports included. Lasting for one year, it protects the cost of their flights (which he fervently hopes won’t need to be refunded!) and ‘cost us about £350 each, which seems pretty steep but we just wanted to be sure we were fully covered as this is our first major adventure.’

In his LiveJournal blog, Martin Hopley has found that STA put their money where there policy is. He’s flying to Japan and ‘I got my travel insurance from STA Travel on the basis I fractured my leg here once and they paid for the treatment so I know they work’.

At BackPackingAbroad.com, they’ve been asking just the same question - is travel insurance really necessary? - and all the replies give a resounding yes; Unhealthyman agrees that ‘it is seriously foolish not to have it.’ STA comes out well again, with the splendidly named Pompous Rhombus recommending: ‘try STA Travel if you haven’t already. If you’re eligible, you get some basic coverage with the $25 ISIC card that would probably be enough.’

Share your experiences and send us the links so we can create a great resource. I might even make you a badge or something. With stick-on stars, and glitter.