4 Awesome Summer Vacations to Plan With Your Roommates

By Chelsea Jackson on May 1, 2017

Who wouldn’t want to go on a summer vacation with their roommates? Okay, maybe college students who don’t have the most agreeable roommates. Regardless, if you and your roomies have bonded over the last few semesters, you’re probably ready to take this friendship to the next level.

While living with someone might seem like an incredible step for any kind of relationship, in reality going on a vacation with someone, like your roommate, is how you truly test your friendship. Let’s face it, spending time in enclosed quarters that you’re familiar with is one thing, but spending a week in enclosed quarters in unfamiliar settings is something entirely different.

Even on a college student’s budget, you can afford an enthralling summer vacation with your roommates. After all, what college student would want to go on a summer vacation without the whole family tagging along?

Image via pixabay.com

1. National Parks

National parks are an exceptional way to see some gorgeous natural attractions, without spending thousands of dollars to see them.

Even if you and your roommates aren’t ready to rough it in the wilderness during your stay at a national park, many national parks and state parks have cabins and lodging within the park’s perimeter or a short walk or trip outside of the park.

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) provides you with a gorgeous view of lakes, forests, canyons, cliffs, and native wildlife from the wild gray jay to the North American river otter. While the BWCA offers visitors inexpensive camping sites, there are also several affordable wilderness lodges in and near Grand Marais, Minnesota which is a short drive outside of the BWCA.

Plus, Grand Marais is home to the beautiful Artists Point, which is lovingly named after the many artists and photographers who have created artwork on a particular patch of land near the town’s pier.

If you’d rather spend time getting a golden glow on a beach during your vacation, there are a few protected parks in Florida that can help you get the best of both worlds. After all, who wouldn’t want to check off a few state and national parks from their bucket list while they soak in some vitamin D?

In Florida, there is a little-known state park called Caladesi Island State Park. Well, it’s little known by tourists and very well known by Clearwater and Largo residents. Because Caladesi Island is a protected beach, the water is nearly sublime and translucent which is perfect for swimming and boogie boarding.

Likewise, the Florida Keys are home to a scenic state park known as Bahia Honda State Park. This beach is a marine sanctuary and during the summer months, large schools of manta rays can be seen migrating through the waters of this gorgeous state park.

2. Concerts

Traveling to different concert venues and music festivals during the summer is an extraordinary way to spend some quality time with your roommates. I mean, the summer months are packed with various concerts and musical events so it would be virtually impossible not to be able to find a concert near you.

If you and your roommates don’t have similar tastes in music, maybe you all can compromise by going to a few concerts that each of you is interested in. After all, every friendship is built upon a healthy amount of compromises.

3. Road trip

Extended road trips are remarkable for seeing new sights that you may have never come across before, even in the most thorough Google search. Planning a road trip might seem simple; after all, you can just hop into a car and start driving, right? Technically this is true, but road trips require a significant amount of planning and research.

Once you and your roommates have determined the start and end point of your road trip, it’s important to figure out which route you want to take to get to your road trip’s destination. Your route can easily be centered around important landmarks or national parks that you and your roomies want to visit.

After driving several hundred miles, you wouldn’t want to discover that you were only two miles away from the world’s largest ball of twine when you drove through Kansas.

4. Volunteer

While volunteering in another part of the world might not seem like a vacation per say, this is an exceptional method to travel, experience a new culture, and give back to a community.

GoVolunteering is a comprehensive website that can match you with your interests and travel destination to find the perfect volunteering opportunity for you and your roommates. Often similar volunteer opportunities will also offer you a travel stipend, so you don’t have to use your own funds while you do good.

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