You wanna take a short trip or weekend trip with your friends in college but not sure where to go? Here are 10 unique weekend trip ideas for students!
These ideas can be applied to any country, whether you’re from the US, the UK, or other parts of the world.
I’m also gonna share some travel tips that I have learned on my trips during college. Let’s get started!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase via my link I may get a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend things I use and love, but for any questions, refer to my full disclosure here.
1. Next Big City
Check a map and see what big cities are closest to you!
Whether that’s New York City, Memphis, Tampa, Denver or San Francisco. If you live in Europe, you can visit Berlin, Copenhagen, Rome, Brussels, Paris, and many more!
The options are endless, and a city trip is always fun. There are tons of things to do in a big city, and it’s a great weekend trip for friends and couples.
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2. Go to the Beach
A beach is another amazing weekend activity, whether you live close to it or not.
Grab your friends or significant other, pack your beach bags, and let’s go!
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3. Water Sports
Ready for some action and adventure?
If you’re looking for something different than the basic weekend trip ideas for students that are cities or beaches, this is perfect for you!
There are tons of water sports and outdoorsy things to do, such as:
- Kayaking
- Stand Up Paddling
- Canoeing
- White Water Rafting
- Boating
- Fishing
- Water Skiing
- Surfing
- Wind Surfing
- Wake Boarding
- Snorkeling
- Diving
- Zipline above the sea
- and more!
You can also do other adventurous things on your weekend trip, such as visiting a treetop adventure park, going bungee jumping, or climbing.
If you’re interested in an adventurous weekend trip, check out GetYourGuide! They offer so many great activity bookings as well as tour tickets and more. I personally used them to book my Colosseum tickets in Rome and it worked pretty well. Check them out here!
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4. Camping
Related to water sports and adventurous trips, camping is a great option for students!
- it’s super affordable
- you can literally camp anywhere you want (almost)
- and it’s super fun and definitely a special weekend getaway!
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5. A Remote Location
How about trying something completely different and go to a remote location?
That could be a cabin in a national park/in the mountains, or a cute airbnb by a remote beach. I love that idea and can’t wait to take a weekend trip like that!
For this one, I would even recommend to check out AirBnb before Booking.com, since I think you can find more remote locations on AirBnb.
PSST! If you use my link you get $41 off your first trip!
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6. Party Away!
Next on our weekend trip ideas for students list is to go for a party trip!
These trips are most fun in spring and summer time, but whenever you go, look out for party locations.
Those are the typical spring break trips, such as Myrtle Beach, Miami, or Las Vegas.
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Related: 10 Spring Break Ideas for College Students
7. Festival Weekend
This idea is one of my favorites. Who doesn’t love a good concert or festival?
Look out for your favorite artists and plan your weekend trip around their performances.
Although festivals are mostly in summer, there are some great ones in spring and early fall, and concerts are all year round anyway.
If you found a great concert, you can spend 1-2 days in the city of the concert. Perfect short trip!
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Related: The Ultimate Summer Bucket List
8. A Conference Weekend
Believe it or not, there are actually great conferences for college students! Especially if you are part of a club at your university, there are usually always offers to attend a conference.
For example I was gonna go to a CEO conference in Chicago with my entrepreneurship club mates. (It got canceled due the pandemic though).
Another conference I planned on attending was one focused on climate change and sustainability in Washington D.C.
Those are just a few examples of conferences for college students that you might be able to attend.
They are not just fun trips, but also boost your resume and network.
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9. Roadtrip
One of the basic ideas, but a good one!
Road trips are great cause you can choose how long it should be and where to stop on the way.
If you see anything interesting along the road, you can always be spontaneous or go onto a surprise road trip from the start.
That would mean you just start driving and go where it takes you!
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10. Stay at a Unique Place
The last idea of these weekend trip ideas for students is to stay at a unique place.
That could be a tree house, a tepee, a cabin, a yourt, or one of those bubbles that you see on Instagram under the stars or northern lights.
While those kinds of stays are usually more expensive, they are such a great experience and make the best trips ever.
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Some Quick Budget Travel Tips
Now that you’ve heard of my weekend trip ideas for students, I wanted to share some tips on how to travel on a budget.
Cheap flights
Is the place you’re going too far to drive? The flight search engine Skyscanner has some great deals that are worth checking out!
I, for example, fly a lot between Budapest and Edinburgh for around $15 one way (sometimes even return), or I’ve gone to London for about $40.
Skyscanner is also available in the US and their flight options are great as well, I just haven’t gotten the chance to book it through them in the US yet.
PS: I always try to use websites that compensate CO2 from my flights. The money is supporting climate positive projects, which I think is necessary if you fly a lot! Here is the website I use.
Getting around on a budget
It can definitely save money to use your car if you have one, or take a bus.
Those 2 options are cheapest for getting around, although if you live in Europe and want to go between countries for a weekend, the interrail/eurail train pass is perfect!
So if you’re up for a Europe weekend adventure check out the train passes here!
Overnight stays on a budget
If you’re going on a weekend trip you gotta stay somewhere!
Personally, I always check booking.com for deals and cheap hotels, but you can try couchsurfing or staying with relatives as well.
Traveling Sustainably
Being sustainable while traveling is so important, even if it’s just taking little steps towards low waste and being conscious towards CO2.
Here are a few resources to get started with a more sustainable life, even as a student on a budget!
I hope you enjoyed this post with 10 weekend trip ideas for students! Let me know your favorite in the comments.
Until soon,
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