In all cases, travel to and from your program is paid for by your program or by Swarthmore according to Swarthmore College guidelines or, sometimes, by both. In almost all cases, though, it will be your responsibility to make the arrangements, that is, to book the tickets. Rosa Bernard will work closely with you on this, including especially referring you to travel offices where you are likely to get the lowest prices for your trip. Since you will be provided with a fixed travel allowance that is sufficient to purchase a round trip ticket to your foreign study destination, and since the further in advance you buy your ticket the more likely you are to get a low price, it is important that you get going on this as soon as possible - which means as soon as you know which program you will attend, and this normally will be when you have your acceptance from your program. Don't delay, do this right away. If you shop wisely and book early and, as a result, spend less than the travel allowance provided by Swarthmore and/or your program, you get to keep the difference. If you delay and have to overspend the allowance, you are that amount out of pocket.
Further: a) For students who are abroad for one semester, the travel allowance provides for one round trip. For students who are abroad for two semesters, the allowance provides according to Swarthmore College guidelines for two round trips, so you can visit your home once during the year. But, please N.B.: for students who are abroad for two semesters, the allowance for the second round trip can only be used to go home and, if you receive an allowance for the second trip, you will be required to provide documentation that this is what you used it for. b) You may use your travel allowance to book direct round trip(s) to your foreign study destination. Alternately, you may wish to travel to your foreign study destination more circuitously, say, with a stop at Tierra Del Fuego. Either way, the amount of the travel allowance will be the same. Detours are on you.