Jetsetter Student: Making the Most of Your Weekend Trips

Hello, hello! Welcome or welcome back. Today I’m discussing something that was honestly a little bit of a struggle for me and I wish I had more guidance on when I set off for study abroad. You have two (and maybe a half) days to experience an entire city. There’s a lot of pressure on how you’ll spend your time. But this isn’t something I considered before I went on my first weekend trip. I hope in this post I can inform you of the struggles that I faced during my weekend trips and how to prepare for them! 

Plan!

I won’t lie, I got to some places and was like, “Well, what now?” But this certainly isn’t the best way to weekend travel. When you want to experience a place in one weekend you should come into it knowing what the best things to do are. Truthfully, all it takes is a really quick Google search. All you have to do is put in “What to do in ___” and you will get a list of the most important things to do. As my weekend trips went on, I got much better at this and noticed that I felt much more satisfied with how I was spending my time. With this, most museums need to be scheduled ahead of time and this is the same with restaurant reservations. There are some places I didn’t get to experience because I didn’t reserve them in time. Taking just a little bit of time to plan things out will make all the difference when you weekend travel. 

I also found that I wished I read a short book or article about the history of the place I was visiting. Another guilty confession: there were probably two places I visited and didn’t know what language was spoken there until I arrived. Doing a little bit of research beforehand goes a long way and will help you feel much more informed about the place. 

You want to experience a new city fully. But what does this look like to you?

This was an interesting thing for me to balance. Because of my blog, I felt like I had to cram in all of the museums, food, and other crucial experiences. It stressed me out. But the thing is, sitting on a bench by the canal in Amsterdam and people-watching is also a way to experience the city. Weekend traveling is hard for this reason. You want to do a lot in a little bit of time and doing it weekend after weekend gets exhausting. Having an open mind and inviting new perspectives and experiences is the best way to understand a new city. Making sure you are doing what you can while protecting yourself is important.

LIVE IN THE MOMENT 

This is pretty obvious and it’s advice for all the time, not just when traveling, but it’s so true. Especially when abroad, you will shy far away from your regular routine as I mentioned in my post about creating a routine while abroad. You probably won’t really develop a new routine either. But this is why it’s imperative just to keep living in the moment during this time. 

To experience a city to the best of your ability you need to be open to new things. Leave anything holding you back in your host city and give the new city your full, undivided attention. Say yes to new opportunities.

Be careful about bed bugs

When coming back from a trip, let your bag sit outside for 24 hours and wash all of your clothing right away. If anything you get an excuse to procrastinate unpacking. 

You are not comparing each new city to your host city

This is something that I did for a while until I realized that it kept me from fully acknowledging the beauty of different cities and what makes them so special. Barcelona was held on such a high pedestal for me and I wouldn’t let any other place be better in my mind. Specifically in Porto, I recognized that I was doing this. I was failing to see all of the beauty that Porto has to offer because I didn’t want to let it top Barcelona in my mind. But the reality is that Barcelona and Porto are completely different places and each has so much to offer. 

With that being said, embrace each city for its uniqueness and what makes them special. Even if you do find a city you like better than the one you’re living in, then great! You found somewhere that you really love and hopefully you get a chance to visit again in the future, maybe for a longer time. Planning and setting realistic expectations for what you can get done in one weekend is key.

Weekend trips are a HUGE part of studying abroad and if you’re going to do it, you might as well do it right. I hope these tips help set you up for the best short trips of your life.

Sending virtual hugs and high-fives,

Chlo