How to Start Planning Your Summer Vacation

It might be cold, wet and windy outside the uni library, but it’s never too early to start planning your summer vacation.

One of the major perks of university life is the long summer breaks, and it’s important to take advantage of them before you enter the real world, whether that means backpacking around South America or lazing on the white sands of Ibiza.

Read on to discover our top tips for how to make the most of your summer vacation and plan the best trip ever.

Before you start planning for anything else, you should decide what kind of summer vacation you want to take – or even how many trips you want to take! As a student with a long summer vacation, the world is your oyster, provided you plan for it effectively.

If you’re the adventurous type, think about travelling with a company like Real Gap Experience, Outlook Expeditions or World Challenge. Group travel with a company takes away a lot of the hassle of planning an itinerary, with much of your trip organized by local experts.

This is particularly useful if you’re travelling to a far-flung, unfamiliar location as the company can advise you on visas, currency conversions and vaccinations.

Most of these companies base trips around helping local communities, whether through wildlife conservation, teaching English, or helping with building projects. Not only will this mean you’ll be giving back to the place you’re visiting, but it’ll also give you valuable life experience.

Groups are usually formed of about 10-20 people, meaning you’re likely to make lots of new friends. It’s also a great way of travelling independently but not alone.

If you’re living or studying in Europe, consider InterRailing. This is where you buy a ticket that allows you to travel around Europe via train for a set period. It’s more environmentally friendly than travelling via plane and allows you to see multiple countries in a much more scenic way.

InterRailing is budget-friendly - tickets start at €185 for travel to over 40,000 places in 33 countries, making it perfect for those of you who want to fit in as much sightseeing as possible. You have the freedom to customize your own itinerary and aren’t strictly bound by travel arrangements, provided you stick to the terms of your ticket (you can see more about various ticket types here).

You could also combine travelling with working and learning new skills. Workaway connects travelers with individuals, families and organizations around the world who provide bed and board in exchange for voluntary work. This can range from childcare in Italy, helping to run a surf hostel in Namibia, to farming in Nepal – there truly is something for everyone.