As far as a travel companion goes STA Travel has served Marianne (Escaping The Grind) well, from backpacking around Europe to her current Australian adventure, they’ve always been able to help out.

Her latest post sees her reminiscing about her past travels and the different ways in which the STA Travel brand has been involved. As I mentioned already, the first time Marianne used them was to organise a trip around Europe. It wasn’t just about sorting the Euro Rail pass, Euro Tunnel tickets and travel insurance; there was also the advice,

“I was able to talk to someone about what was actually a realistic trip for me – where I could go, how long I would need, how I would get there. Just like any traveling trip, nothing went exactly as planned, but it calmed a lot of my worries being able to talk to someone who actually knew what they were talking about!”

After that there was a jaunt to Barcelona, Marrakech and Madrid before the chance arose for Marianne to become an STA Travel 2009 £10 Pom. It was a chance she wasn’t going to miss, queuing for three days to ensure her place! It was at this point we met Marianne and the ‘wonderful Cam’ signed her up for the STA Explorer programme – we haven’t looked back since!

To read the full post and find out what she’s currently getting herself into in Oz, click through to Filling the Pages – she’ll be more than happy to make your acquaintance.

If you’d like to become an STA Explorer or just want some more information just drop an email to Cam.

pandora205 in Money Saving Expert Forums is an anxious mum. Her 19 year old daughter and boyfriend have booked a long-term working trip to New Zealand with STA Travel, and she’s not sure what they need in terms of visas, bank accounts, insurance and so on.

The thread has turned into a nice little resource, with a particularly useful post from madtrekker, who took a NZ working holiday in 2003-4 and advises on the best bank accounts in the UK and abroad, as well as IRD tax forms. So if you’ve had a career break with the Kiwis, go and add your own pearls of wisdom. While it’s always advisable to double check things with STA Travel and the relevant Embassy, there’s nothing like getting a bit of advice first hand from people who’ve been through it.

STA travel (and the work of yours truly) has been setting tongues a-wagging for all the right reasons!

In the Overclockers forum, responsing to Ripper’s question about the best way to kill a couple of summer months, the conversation is all about getting away. As price and service enters the conversation Volcs steps in and name checks STA. He also suggests setting up a travel blog – now that really is a good idea!

STA gets a second mention from a satisfied customer on Yahoo Answers, who suggests when it comes to sorting travel insurance:

“I’ve had great luck with STA’s travel insurance. I have claimed on it and been paid out 100% with no fuss”

Finally, this very site was mentioned by Darren Cronian writing at Travel Rants in a post discussing the travel industry getting to grips with Social Media. STA travelbuzz features under the sub heading of case studies, and has, Darren believes,

“[...] grasped social media and blogging. From reading their blogs and following them on the internet they give out the message that they are specialists in their niche, and are trusted companies.”

Good news indeed!

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.