Are you looking for the best student travel companies?
Traveling as a student is a great way to see the world, make new friends, experience new cultures, and broaden your horizons.
I traveled as much as I could as a college student, including spending a semester studying abroad in Paris, visiting multiple countries in Europe, and traveling in Latin America.
One of the best ways to travel as a student is with a student travel company that specializes in group trips for young people.
If you’re worried about handling the logistics and planning of a trip yourself, taking a group trip is a great way to just relax and enjoy without having to do any of that. Or if you’re traveling solo, joining a group trip is the perfect way to make friends with other young travelers.
Group trips for young travelers are usually priced more affordably too, since most students are on a budget. They often aren’t as luxurious as other group tours, although you can certainly find higher-end trips targeted at younger travelers too if you’re willing to splurge.
Here are the best student travel companies to check out:
1. EF Ultimate Break
EF Ultimate Break is part of the wider EF travel brand, which runs educational trips and tours around the world. EF Ultimate Break is technically for anyone aged 18 to 35, but I can tell you that the average traveler skews younger, and there are lots of college students.
You can find EF Ultimate Break tours for destinations all around the globe: some of their most popular trips include Japan, Thailand, the Greek Isles, and Machu Picchu in Peru.
For college students, you can filter trips by spring break, winter break, and summer break. You can also search by length of trip, whether you’re looking for something for under 7 days or a month-long travel adventure for summer vacation.
You can also filter by budget-friendly trips if you’re looking to save as much money as possible.
2. G Adventures
G Adventures is another travel company that is great for students. While this company runs tours for all ages, they have a large collection of 18-to-30s tours that are designed for younger travelers (and are more affordable!)
I have personally traveled with G Adventures twice (to Morocco and to Costa Rica), and the average age of travelers was mid-twenties. However, depending on where you go (and when) you might have an even younger age range.
G Adventures has some off-the-beaten-path destinations as well as more popular destinations around the world, so there’s really something for everyone.
You can save even more money if you book a “Roamies” tour with G Adventures. These tours are even more budget-friendly because they utilize hostels instead of hotels.
3. Contiki
Another one of the best student travel companies is Contiki. I haven’t been on a Contiki trip myself, but I have heard a LOT about them from other travelers.
Namely, that this is the company to book with if you want to party. Contiki trips are known for putting a big emphasis on going out and having fun, so if that’s what you’re after, you know where to find it. And if that’s not the vibe you’re looking for, you may want to look elsewhere.
I have also heard that the crowd on Contiki tours tends to skew younger, even though they are technically open to anyone aged 18 to 35. You will mainly find people aged 18 to 22 on these tours making them ideal for college students.
Some of the most popular destinations for Contiki tours include Costa Rica, the Thai islands, Ireland, and Portugal.
4. Bus2Alps
Bus2Alps is a popular student travel company based in Europe. This company is designed for students who are studying abroad in Europe and want to explore more of the continent.
The age range for these trips is 18 to 29 but it will mainly be a younger crowd of college students aged 18 to 22. Tours depart from cities around Europe including Florence, Rome, Barcelona, Prague, London, and more.
What’s great about these tours is that many of them are short in duration (for example, Florence to the Amalfi Coast in 4 days) so you can do them on long weekends and breaks while you’re studying abroad in Europe.
Bus2Alps tours are also very affordable, making this one of the best ways to travel as a student without having to spend a ton of money.
5. Intrepid Travel
Another one of the best student travel companies is Intrepid Travel. This well-established group tour company offers tours for all ages, but similar to G Adventures, they also have a specific collection of trips for travelers aged 18 to 35.
I haven’t done one of these trips myself, so I can’t say what the actual age range is, but I would imagine it does skew younger like many of the others on this list.
You are likely to be traveling with other students in their early twenties on one of these trips, and you can explore exotic destinations all around the world.
These tours are budget-friendly because they are part of the “Basix” collection of tours from Intrepid Travel, meaning you might be staying in hostels or using a lot of local transportation. But it all adds to the authentic travel experience!
6. Semester at Sea
This final entry is a bit different from the other companies on this list, but I wanted to include it anyway because it’s such a cool opportunity.
Semester at Sea is a unique study abroad program for college students that allows you to live on a cruise ship and travel around the world for a semester! You’ll be sharing the ship with other students and taking your classes together onboard, while exploring countries all around the globe in your free time.
It doesn’t come cheap, but the price for Semester at Sea can actually be less than tuition alone at some private universities in the US — and it includes room and board too!
You can also use financial aid and scholarships to pay for Semester at Sea. Honestly, this is something I really wish I had done in college and I think this is one of the best ways to travel as a student which is why I’m including it on this list!
Best Student Travel Companies
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