Top 5 Travel Experiences for College Students

Going off to college is a big step for all young adults. Being on your own means a chance at newfound freedom and an opportunity to discover who you are out from under your parents’ protective wing. Traveling while you’re in college is one of the best ways to further that discovery. It gets you out of your comfort zone and into new situations that test what you’re capable of. Whether it’s going on a solo trip in the United States or jumping on a plane to go overseas, there are endless travel ideas perfect for college students. Here are the top five of them. 

Cruises

Cruises provide one of the safest and effortless ways to travel to multiple destinations. These are great for college students who are just trying their first hand at traveling, or who are trying traveling on their own. By going on a transatlantic cruise, you’ll have the chance to stop and see some epic countries along with the coast and experience different cultures. At the same time, you’ll still have many of the comforts of home available at your fingertips, and you won’t have to worry about any of the planning since it’s done for you by the cruise line. 

Study Abroad

Study abroad is an amazing way to completely immerse yourself in a different culture. This can be for any college student, no matter what they are studying. If you want to get significantly better at a foreign language, challenge yourself by taking classes at a university in a different country where only the local language is spoken. If you want to learn and understand about a culture that is completely different than your own, consider traveling east to places in Asia. There are amazing study abroad programs available if your own university doesn’t offer what you want, and you can choose the one that best aligns with your goals. 

Spring Break Road Trips

Spring break is one of the best times to travel. The weather is starting to improve as spring flourishes and you’re given an entire week to get away from lectures and homework. Since many of your friends may have it off too, you can get a group together and head out on the open road. To start planning your road trip, consider places you’ve always wanted to visit but have never gotten around to. Create your route based on those destinations, use Google Maps to plan driving times and research things to do once you arrive. You can stay in hotels along the way or bring a tent to camp. Road trips are an excellent way to learn how to use your resources and enhance your planning skills.

A Month in Europe

Traveling to Europe is one of the most popular college trips for a reason. Whether you’re celebrating graduating, taking a gap year or taking advantage of your summer between semesters, traveling around Europe is an experience you can’t pass up. Europe offers enough comforts of the U.S. to feel relatively at home while still throwing you into new and different cultures. You can choose to spend your time exploring a specific area in one country, which is a great option for really getting to know a place, or jump between countries. Flights in Europe are cheap because the countries are so small and close together, and you’d be surprised at how many you can see in just a month.

A Month in Southeast Asia

If you’ve already traveled some and you want a bit more of a challenge, aim for Southeast Asia instead of Europe. Southeast Asia is extremely traveler friendly, especially for young people, with tons of fun activities and scenes to explore. It can open your eyes to different religions and ways of life. You can travel fairly easily across borders by bus, and the ancient sites are something truly worth seeing. It’s a great way to test your traveling abilities.