We are taking our 2 youngest to Germany, Austria, and Italy for Easter weeks this March. They are 15 and 10 years old. We will be visiting museums and doing tours in Munich, castles, Vienna, and Rome. Should we order Student ID cards? Will they be worth using?
Many thanks
Chris
Some of the sights grant youth discount up to the age of 12 but quite a view also offer discounted tickets to students and in this case a student ID is required. Assume you save €2 per ticket per attraction and do your own maths ;-)
Two things:
I'm not sure about Germany, Austria and Italy, but I was in Paris just over a year ago with my 20-year-old daughter who had left her student ID at home and had no problem getting discounts at museums.
Greetings
The majority of student deals are open to ALL students, regardless of residency or citizenship. The more common restriction is that student/concession rates are limited to people under age 26. Or that all citizens, regardless of age, get a discount. The only time I've ever run into citizenship/residency limitations is for transport and that's because the regional/national government is subsidizing the cheaper fares.
The best form of student ID is an ISIC Card, because it's recognised just about everywhere, so there's no confusion.
I think your 10 year old should be fun unless he/she looks quite old, and then proof of age might be good for under-12 or similar discounts. The 15 year old might want to get an ISIC card if he/she looks old because not all 16+ year olds are in school in Europe.
Kate
Very good points, and many thanks.
Our two youngest children are 15 and 10. We will try to do the math as suggested, assuming that most venues will offer a discount for children under 12, but that the student ID card may be useful for the 15 year old.
Are there any other suggestions from experienced travelers out there?
The Student ID will be useful for the older one. Have a proof of age for the younger one, just in case.
My 15-yr-old didn't have a student ID from her high school, so last year [trips to England and Germany/Austria/Neth/Belgium] I just brought a copy of her report card in case we needed to prove she was a student. It was an easy fix - and no one ever asked for the proof. Have a wonderful time!
The ISIC Card is of use for students of all ages, though it's not practical for those young enough to be getting children's discounts.
For the record, I've traveled or lived in the UK, Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden, and never encountered a EU only discount. Discounts tend to be for everyone or limited by age, except as I said, for transport.
A passport will do just fine, but an ISIC Card is less hassle if lost and gives you additional discount plus some trip insurance which can come in handy. You can see details at www.isic.org
Kate
We often encountered EUR only discounts in Italy and Spain. It was very noticeable to us since we were traveling with a Spanish family whose kids often paid considerably less than ours. When they came to America, the Spanish girls paid the same as my American girls everywhere. When student discounts were offered in America, everyone took the Spanish girls at their word with no special student ID. We never went anywhere in Spain, France or Italy where a student ID card would have helped us. It was strictly age based, sometimes with with a EUR citizenship requirement, but certainly not always.
The only thing we have ever brought is passports showing the kids age. Even my 17 year old daughter who traveled by herself post high school was able to get discounted tickets just by showing her age. I think the student discounts were mostly for college age students with 17 & under getting in at "child" prices - at least in some of the countries.
Often the reduction will be based on age so no card needed.
Other times the discounts are only for EU members, so a card won't help. It may depend on the ticket sellers mood that day. One ticket seller said the U.S. should offer discounts to EU members. I thought it was odd because I've never seen EU kids here being denied the kids price and most museums are free to everyone in DC. It wasn't worth arguing about. In retrospect the ticket seller may have been pocketing the difference.
I doubt a student ID card for non-college age kids will help.
