It can be hard to be a college student who loves to travel. Unless you plan your travels ahead of time during a major break, it can be difficult to travel without missing classes or falling behind on assignments assignments. On top of that, trips often come at a cost, which is difficult for students with a limited budget. Luckily, there’s a new travel trend that sounds perfect for college students who want to just pick up and travel whenever they have a couple days (and a few dollars) at their disposal.
The concept is called a “nanocation.” Essentially, they’re smaller trips that are often short in time frame, cost little, and are flexible if you want to change things up at the last minute. And these types of vacations are becoming more and more common. According to a report from the travel search engine KAYAK, roughly 63% of travelers plan to take several short trips this year. ” proving that you don’t need two weeks off to hit reset. “These mini escapes deliver the same refresh in half the time — and with way less planning,” KAYAK’s report said. “These vacations are becoming more of a trend online too; proof of this is being shown with more posts of weekend trips as travelers are searching for more quick getaways. “The share of hotel searches for 1-3 night stays has increased by 13% within a year, while the use of #weekendgetaway increased by 60% on TikTok. “Travelers want freedom to go when the mood hits, not when the calendar says so. Flexibility is key too. 49% want plans they can change at the last minute.”
With unpredictability that can come with the college lifestyle, this is great if you want to coordinate a small, last-minute trip by yourself, or even with friends who have busy schedules. And given that nanocations are convenient and budget-friendly, this allows students to do them more often and travel to even more places.
So, if you want to travel spontaneously in a way that combines accessibility and affordability, here are 10 ideas for nanocations that you can do as a college student with limited time and money.
Visit a friend at another college
If you have a friend who goes to a different college, you can use this time to visit them in their college town. Just because the two of you have parted ways for college, that doesn’t mean you can’t reconvene — and you don’t have to wait until both of you are in your hometown during a school break to do so. Going to your friend’s college will allow you to explore a whole new area, get a glimpse into their day-to-day life as a student, and see how much their college town differs from yours.
Take your college roommate to your hometown
If your roommate is the one looking to explore a new place, you can take the initiative and ask them to join you when visiting your hometown. You and your roommate might have gotten close while living together, and by bringing them to your hometown, they will be able to get to know you on a whole other level and meet the people and places most important to you. Not only can you show them your old stomping grounds, but it might also be a good opportunity to bond with your roommate, take a nice trip down memory lane, and retell a few stories while you’re at it.
Explore the next town over
If you want to travel, but not go too far away from your college town, you can just go to the next town over. Despite it being so close, if you’ve never been there before, there might be a lot of hidden gems you’re missing out on or didn’t know existed. You’d be surprised at how different the vibe of your neighboring community can be. And if you decide you want to go back home that same day, it’s not a far commute back.
Check out a grad school you might be interested in
Remember when you took college tours during high school in order to see which colleges you were interested in applying to? Well, those trips don’t need to stop at the undergraduate level. That’s right — if you’re planning to continue your education, you can and should be doing those recon missions for grad school. As you already know, there are a lot of factors that go into selecting a school, and going on a tour allows you to see the campus itself so you can learn a lot more about the program you’re looking to enter. By doing this, you can go on a fun nanocation that doubles as a productive learning opportunity.
Go to a real town from a novel based in your state
For any literary girlies who want to bring their favorite stories to life, consider going to a real town that’s featured, or even just mentioned, in a novel that’s based in your state. And don’t forget to take the book with you while you go — it can elevate your reading experience as you are literally physically immersed into the characters’ fictional world… or it’ll at least make for a good IG photo.
Go to The Setting of a movie or TV show Set in your state
Speaking of bringing stories to life, if you have a favorite TV series or film that was either filmed or depicted to be filmed in a certain state or town, you can go to that town! Think: the house shown in Full House located in San Francisco, the house from Drake and Josh located in Encino, California, the diner Tom’s Restaurant from Seinfeld in New York City, and more. Find a place from your favorite show or movie that takes place in your state, take a look for yourself, and grab a few pictures as a free souvenir.
Check out Your state capital
As a college student, you may spend most of your time staying within your college town and may never actually see the state capital. So ,if you want to travel small and consider yourself a history buff, go to the actual capital of your school’s state. You can learn more about the history of your state, as capitals tend to have government buildings, historical monuments, museums, attractions, and more.
Admire a regional landmark
Another thing you can do if you want a quick trip is to visit a local regional landmark. These are places that the state is most known for — this can be a bridge, a sign, a World’s Largest Whatever… you name it! These places are what outsiders might think of when thinking of the region you’re in. Sure, visiting these places might be touristy, but they can still be fun — and when people ask, “Did you ever see the [insert landmark] while in school?” you can say you have!
Go on a camping trip
Want to experience the great outdoors? A good idea for a nanocation is to go camping. It’s easy and something you can do last-minute. All you need is a form of transportation like a car and some necessary camping supplies. You don’t need a plane ticket or hotel room.
Visit as many local Attractions as you can
One thing you can do if you want to have some fun and give your trip a specific theme. You can stay in state or travel local — you would just need to do some research beforehand and plan out where everything is, for travel logistics. So for instance, if you like to read, you can visit as many libraries as you can in one weekend. If you like the outdoors, you can visit as many parks as you can. You can go to art galleries, farmers markets — the ideas are endless and can cater to your personal interests. This is also something that can be done in a single day, or you can make a weekend trip out of it. Happy nanocationing!