Solo student travel plans for summer

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ith the Easter holiday underway, it’s now getting to that time when students start thinking about where they will escape to over the summer. I like to travel alone, so where I want to go and what I want to do there is entirely my choice, but there are some other things I consider when picking my destination.

When I’m travelling, I like to go to places I’ve never been to before. I know people who go to the same destination and do the same thing every year, and I don’t see the point in it. Since I’ve started actually enjoying travel (by which I mean, since I’ve been able to go alone), I’ve been to New York, Berlin and Prague. I enjoyed them all because they were different to anything I had ever experienced before. I like to explore other cultures and see new things – what is travel if not a chance to broaden your horizons?

I like to explore other cultures and see new things – what is travel if not a chance to broaden your horizons?

Image: Reece Goodall

With this in mind, I know I need to go somewhere with things to explore and to see, which is probably why I prefer cities. Some people prefer to lie on a beach for a week because it’s hot – to me, that’s boring, and quite frankly a waste of the money. I like to see the iconic sights as well as the more obscure things that appeal to me. For example, I had to see the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty when in New York, but I also took time out for ‘Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!’, in which I saw a bunch of torture implements and a bisected human head. I can relax at home – so there’s no point in going abroad to sit around and do nothing.

Why not save money for the holiday itself, buying souvenirs, nice meals and experiences?

Which leads, then, to the question of funds. Being a very conservative spender, I’m a touch better off than the average student, but I still refuse to splash out massively on a holiday. I like flights and hotels as cheap as possible (I also like direct flights, although I know that’s off the table in some cases) – in the long run, they don’t matter at all, so why not save money for the holiday itself, buying souvenirs, nice meals and experiences? Even so, knowing I’m going away encourages me to be a bit stingier. I won’t buy as much as usual, and I may go to the casino a bit more to make a touch more spending money.

This year, the process of choosing a destination is leading me to Asia – I’m thinking of heading to Vietnam, as I’m inspired by the country’s history and images of its stunning scenery. All that remains, then, is a touch of research, compiling lists of things to do when I’m there and, if all goes smoothly, to book my tickets. It makes exam season all the more pleasurable when you know you have an exotic adventure waiting for you at its finish.