By: Miriam Bribiesca
Some of the best experiences on earth can cost little to absolutely nothing.* When you think about it, the mountains don’t charge admission, oceans don’t have a cover, and the view that changes your entire perspective on what life could look like… absolutely FREE. The only thing standing between you and an adventure that fills your camera roll, your journal, and your soul is a flight and maybe a cheap place to sleep it off after.
This is the guide for the college student who thinks traveling the world means spending loads of money they don’t have. It doesn’t. It means picking a hobby and showing up no matter where you are.
Hiking
Nearly free everywhere on earth and somehow still the most slept on travel activity. In the US, the America the Beautiful Student Pass gets you into every national park for $80 a year, that means you can visit Zion, the Grand Canyon, and all the other ones for a fraction of the cost. And before you say “but I want the Swiss Alps” respectfully, have you seen Zion? The US has world class hiking trails in plain sight, and the people who’ve actually done it will tell you it holds up! The fact here is that the trails are waiting, the view is free, and the only excuse left is the flight.
Fishing
Picture it. You’re on a dock in the Florida Keys at sunrise, completely off your phone, watching your surroundings and feeling a sense of calm no screen could ever replicate. A basic fishing setup doesn’t have to cost much, plus a one day US license runs for around $10–$20, and rivers abroad like in New Zealand, Iceland, and Southeast Asia are largely open access. Now this is a hobby that is genuinely therapeutic in ways a resort pool will never be.
Music and Dancing
Every city has a different pulse, you just have to go outside to experience it. New Orleans beams with jazz at all hours, Nashville often has free concerts, and Spain or Latin America’s plaza culture means free music, dancing, and community building almost every evening. If dancing and music is in your veins and you’ve been meaning to show off your new steps to that person that lights you up, this is your sign to stop overthinking and let the city of your dreams perform for you.
Foraging
Forget basic food tours, foraging is part treasure hunt, part survival skill, AND completely free. Foraging is that hobby you thought you only saw in TV shows, but it is so much more than that! You can learn to identify wild berries in the Pacific Northwest, hunt mushrooms in Eastern Europe, or even find sea vegetables along Japan’s coastline!
How cool is that?! In our opinion, foraging connects you to a place in a way no tour ever could. If this sounds exciting for you, we recommend grabbing the app iNaturalist or Seek, finding a local foraging walk, and joining in on their next hike because who doesn’t want a snack at the end of their hike? YUM!
Birdwatching
Let us be the first to say that it is genuinely okay to have a boomer moment every so often, especially when it’s free, can be done everywhere, and scratches the same itch as that app on your phone where you have to “catch them all.”
The Florida Everglades, Costa Rica’s rainforests, and the Scottish Highlands are world class bird watching destinations that charge nothing to enter. Now if that all sounds too far, not to worry! There is literally an entire bird ecosystem right outside your door.
The only two things you need to worry about is 1) finding a decent pair of binoculars, and 2) figuring out what to say when your whole personality becomes birds. Sorry not sorry!
Kayaking and Paddleboarding
Water is free, and rentals at most beaches or lake destinations run anywhere between $20–$35. Whether it’s paddleboarding at a glassy morning lake in the U.S, kayaking a sea cave in Portugal’s Algarve, or floating a river in Costa Rica, being on the water changes the entire pace of a trip in the best possible way. No experience needed aside from swimming, no expensive gear required, just a water bottle for hydration, some sunscreen, a little snack and a good night’s rest.
As you can see, the trip you’ve been telling yourself you can’t afford is almost certainly cheaper than you think when you stop looking at what everyone else is doing and start focusing on what YOU want to do. The thing that’s actually stopping you isn’t money, it’s being too indecisive and not booking the flight.
Talking about booking, finding a flight that doesn’t eat your entire hobby budget before you even leave is the one piece of the puzzle that actually requires help. That’s exactly what ScholarTrip is for, we built it specifically for college students like you who want to get somewhere without the flight being the financial event of the semester. The world’s free events, trails, rivers, and cities are ready. Are you?
