After four years of all-nighters, endless internship applications, and mountains of work every semester, many college graduates find themselves in a strange in-between. When the graduation caps are thrown and the diplomas are handed out, the question becomes: What now? For many, the answer isn’t jumping straight into a new, full-time job, but instead, taking a quick moment to pause. Enter: the graduation honeymoon.
What is a graduation honeymoon, you ask? It’s a trip newly graduated students are taking, traveling somewhere after walking the stage at graduation but before starting a new job, internship, or grad school. These graduation honeymoon trips can range from a quick weekend getaway to a month of traveling abroad, taken with friends, family, partners, or even flying solo. As Izzy Farina — a soon-to-be graduate of the University of Georgia — puts it, the goal is simple: “One last thing together before we all graduate, move away, and live in different cities.”
While traveling after graduation isn’t an entirely new concept, the visibility of these grad honeymoon trips has grown. On TikTok FYPs and in Instagram feed posts, delaying your entrance into the “real world” to travel is becoming more normalized. And with social media shedding light on new places to explore and hacks to make it happen on a budget, plus with many students feeling burned out from college, these trips are becoming way more common.
Of course, not every graduate gets this kind of in-between moment. Some move straight into jobs, while others don’t have the financial flexibility to travel. But when the timing, resources, and opportunity align, the grad honeymoon becomes more than a trip — it’s a rare chance to take a breath before everything changes.
Graduation honeymoons are a break from the burnout.
According to Emma Topp, head of social media for EF Ultimate Break, these trips are growing in popularity in part because of how quickly graduates are expected to transition into the workforce. “You hear [about] people who are graduating in May, and they’re starting their jobs in June,” she tells Her Campus. “There’s no time to take a beat, celebrate your accomplishments, or really process that you’re entering a new phase of life.”
Topp adds that the demand is only growing, noting that these trips act as a “renovation of a gap-year trip” and a modern-day, coming-of-age experience. “Four years of school, especially these days, it’s a very intensive thing, and with hustle culture, everyone wants to do everything,” Topp says. “I think it’s a good reminder to take some time for yourself.”
They’re more than just a vacation.
For many graduates, these graduation honeymoons aren’t just a vacation — they’re about getting in a little more R&R before entering a world of spreadsheets and 9-to-5 routines. The trips function as both a celebration and a transition point, helping students celebrate this chapter while they prepare for the next.
Farina is planning a trip to Southeast Asia with six others, describing it as an intentional moment to share with her friends. “We definitely knew we wanted to do one last thing together before we all graduate and move away and live in different cities,” she says.
Meredith Stamm, a 2025 graduate of the University of Wisconsin who traveled to Europe with nine of her closest friends, had a similar mindset. “It felt like the perfect way to celebrate graduating, but also kind of a ‘last hoorah’ before everyone moved to new cities and started full-time jobs,” she says. “We knew it might be one of the last times all of our schedules aligned like that.”
Money and timing play a big part.
While these trips can feel aspirational, they often come with real financial and logistical considerations. Stamm notes that for many members of her travel party, planning ahead of time was a major help. “Since we had been planning for months, it gave everyone time to prepare financially,” she says. “While we were there, we covered our own spending for things like excursions, food, shopping, and transportation.”
Stamm says some financial help for the trip came as graduation gifts from their loved ones. “For many of us, they helped cover major expenses like flights and accommodations,” Meredith says. “We were all incredibly grateful for the support that made the trip possible.”
Farina says her trip will cost around $3,000, but notes that these trips — if you can make them work — are worth the price tag. “This experience is going to be something that we can never get back,” she says. “This is your final graduation expense, and then you’ll be working the rest of your life.”
But a big overseas trip isn’t your only option. Some grads can’t take a trip abroad — like Nathan Reed. The Northwestern graduate plans to take a trip from his school’s campus in Illinois to his family home in Florida. “With medical school applications and getting ready to start work, I wanted to save the big trip for another year,” Reed says. “I’ve had lots of chances to travel during college, so I don’t mind keeping this break short.”
A graduation honeymoon could help you prepare for the next chapter.
Sometimes, a graduation honeymoon has an added benefit of laying the foundation for the future. Topp says, “Putting your skills to the test in a unique environment, especially abroad — when you’re exposed to a variety of people and foods and cultures — you end up coming back an entirely different person.” She continues, “[Having] that worldview so early on into entering a career is incredibly important, and also just a good thing to embark on as you’re setting up for the future.”
From planning the flights to collecting the money for the Airbnb, there are a ton of opportunities to work on skills that are helpful after graduation, including communication, compromise, and flexibility.
Where are grads going?
Topp says the quintessential “Euro summer” trip will always remain “timeless,” with graduates drawn to seaside towns and iconic fun-in-the-sun experiences. Stamm and her friends, for example, hit classic spots in Europe, spending time in Paris, Santorini, Mykonos, and Athens. Topp also notes that Portugal has become an increasingly popular destination in Europe, and points to its food, beaches, and culture as reasons why the area is becoming a hot spot for graduates.
There’s also a growing interest in farther-flung destinations. Take Farina and her friends, who are going to Thailand, Vietnam, and Bali. “Most of us studied abroad sometime throughout our college journey in Europe,” Farina says. “We were like, ‘Let’s go somewhere new.’ So, we decided on Southeast Asia.”
With graduation around the corner, students aren’t just looking to figure out what’s next. Instead, they’re looking to find ways to pause before getting there — whether it’s domestic or international, a weekend getaway or a month-long excursion.
“Taking a moment to really appreciate that you’ve graduated, you’re in your 20s, and you’re exploring new places with people who have been part of your life for so long makes it incredibly special,” Stamm says. “That perspective is what turns it from just a trip into something you’ll remember forever.”