STA Travel

So, where do I start?
I should have known better when two separate friends looked horrified when I told them I was booking an overseas holiday through STA travel. Sadly, after my experience I would be reluctant to travel through them again, even if we did kind of save a couple hundred bucks thanks to the student discount thing they have going on.
Well I guess alarm bells officially started when our (note: I travelled with friends) names became mixed up on our antennary sheet. Luckily we had made an effort to go through all information and alter accordingly. Mistakes happen in life, however the whole process was quite difficult, and there was a lot of self-​organizing involved. For instance we organized our own connecting flights. This almost defeated the purpose of having someone else who was suppose to do it for us. To top it off, my parents went overseas the same time, booked flights last minute through Hellenic Travel, did not organize a single thing themselves, and received cheaper flights. *Sigh*.
So then came the holiday. For the most part we didn’t have any significant issues, although there were some slight hiccups along the way as STA had organized various accommodation– perhaps don’t trust their judgement and if you hear the words «The Clink», stay away, far away. Nevertheless it was nothing too major… until… they ACCIDENTLY changed one of my friends final return flights to a later date. *Major alarm bells*.
My distraught friend ended up having to buy a ticket home out-​right at the airport– which let me tell you is not cheap! Luckily she was able to charge the flight costs onto her credit card, and there was actually spare seats available on the original flight. Otherwise we would have had no idea what to do. Alas, my thoughts went back to the fact that we had been warned about STA, and rightfully so.
In the end it was a semi happy story, with STA refunding the additional ticket that was purchased. Having said that, it would be a major worry if they didn’t.
Sorry STA because your deals are pretty good, and your team is totally chilled but… Seriously?

You don’t have to be a student to book through STA.
They also do special deals if you happen to be a teacher/​tutor, as well as being a regular travel agent. In fact, I choose STA every time over some of the travel agents out there.
Not only are they super low-​key (too many glossy pamphlets and corporate colour schemes just aren’t me), but they focus on more DIY, lower cost and adventure-​type holidays, which is definitely my bag.
The staff here are super lovely and friendly too and always make you feel welcome, talking about their own experiences and giving you honest advice without being fake or SELL SELL SELL. I found their service to be top notch and genuine, even when I had some problems getting stuck in London (thanks Qantas!).
I don’t normally use travel agents and this is the kind of place that respects that you want to do your own thing. They gave me a great deal on insurance as well as super competitive flights (though as always I recommend you do your research before hand to make sure you’re getting the best price out there, but you guise are smart enough to know that).
In all, will definitely use again for OS trips — it’s great to have that safety net out there and have someone else do the work for you sometimes, so you can just focus on having a rad time. Highly recommended!!!

As the name suggests, Student Travel Australia (STA) places much of its focus on — you guessed it — student travel. If you’re a student and you’re making plans to head overseas, or even travelling domestically, these guys will do their best to find you the cheapest flights available in a short amount of time. After all, travelling as a student means travelling on the cheap!
These days it’s pretty easy to cut out the middle man when booking flights, especially with the ease of buying tickets online through budget airlines, and not to mention sites like Webjet or Last Minute that essentially find the cheapest available flights for you. Nonetheless, having a professional does come in handy when you’re trying to make last minute plans to travel and you’ve found yourself up shit creek without a paddle.
Some years ago I went to STA to book a flight to Singapore after dismal attempts at finding cheap tickets online. As they’re able to see the availability of flights directly from the carriers through their system, they quickly made arrangements for me and secured me a ticket that happened to be much lower than the ones I’d seen online. The student discount I got also relieved some of the stress from my wallet, and they gave me good deals on travel insurance too. And they did it all with a smile.