9 Great Summer Vacation Ideas

Summer Vacation

            It’s that time of year again—barbeques, beach days, pool parties, and (most importantly) no school! That is…. Until college starts. But until then, let’s focus on the positive! It’s summer vacation! Which means fun, relaxation, adventure, and new memories. Need some summer vacation ideas to get the ball rolling? We’re here to help.

            Not everyone can afford to go to Paris to see the Eiffel tower or to Italy to gorge on the World’s best pizza for the summer. So, what are the options for those of us who operate on a smaller budget, and more in the spur of the moment? Not every trip has to break the bank, and not every experience needs to be far away. A lot of great options are just around the corner or a short drive away from you.

9 Summer Vacation Ideas

            Whether you’re looking for a weekend getaway or a quick and spontaneous day trip, there are plenty of affordable summer vacation ideas to make this summer unforgettable without breaking the bank. So, let’s get right into it; here are 9 great ideas to make your summer vacation one to remember before you head off to college…

1.    Take a trip to a National Park (or several of them)

National Parks have so much to offer, from scenic beauty to historical significance to plenty of outdoor activities. Most National Parks include trails for hiking and exploring. Some also have guided tours, museums, and souvenir shops or restaurants. Many National Parks also include camping or overnight options; in case you want to stay more than one day.

Additionally, National Parks tend to be relatively cheap. The entrance fee for one car usually ranges from $20-35, which gives you access to the park for the day (sometimes several days). National Parks give you a taste of the wonders that the United States has to offer, from all parts of the country. It’s almost guaranteed that wherever you are, there is a National Park somewhere nearby (close enough for a day trip).

2.    Browse some Historical Cities

For those history-buffs out there (or patriots), historical cities are a great idea for summer vacation. Historical cities often have beautiful architecture that comes with a story. You can take walking tours through the steps of key figures in history, you can visit museums, you can dive into the history behind the city, and you can eat at themed restaurants that often provide little historical facts on their menus or as part of their decorations.

There are historical cities all over the US and they boast of plenty of activities and fun things to do, making them well worth the trip. Even if you aren’t super interested in history, the look and feel of the towns is unique and makes quite an impression. If there is an old town or historical city near you, I promise it’s worth the trip to peak into a slice of American history.

3.    Visit a Big City

Maybe your preference is the hustle and bustle of traffic and busy sidewalks, boxed in by skyscrapers and apartment complexes. Who doesn’t love a big city? New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and others like it are such incredible cultural centers. Big cities often house multiple cultures that make them what they are. This means that you can visit different parts of these cities and find vastly different cultural influences. From China Town to Little Havana, there’s so much to learn about and experience of diverse cultures in big cities.

Not only are there many cultures, but there’s also so much to do! Restaurants, hotels, arcades, parks, coffee shops, malls, and theaters are just some of the examples of common place activities in big cities. Museums, for both art and history, are also often found in big cities. Whatever your “cup of tea” is, you’ll likely be able to find some venue or activity for it in a big city.

While it may not cost anything just to enter a city, be aware that you may need to pay for parking, and because of that, you may want to consider finding a parking garage rather than paying for parking every time you want to visit a new spot. Visiting a big city is a great summer vacation idea, even if you can only take a day. With plenty to do and see, you won’t have time to be bored.  

4.    Do a Beach Day

Grab your friends, grab your speaker, make a pit stop for some snacks and sunscreen, and spend a day surrounded by sand, sun, and surf. There’s just something freeing about being by the ocean and soaking up the sun. You can relax, swim, play games, or just listen to music together, enjoying the time and freedom you have.

Depending on how far you are from a beach, this may be more than a day trip. So, you may have to plan to split the cost of a hotel room or Airbnb, which requires a little more planning. But, it is possible to find places for less than $100 a night, they just may not be the nicest places. You should also anticipate having to pay for parking. This is pretty common at beach towns, especially during the summer months as that is the high season for visitors.

Even if you can’t stay for long, I highly recommend taking a beach trip and getting out into the sunshine.

5.    Go To an Amusement Park

Go ride some rollercoasters. Feel the wind whipping through your hair and pulling the skin on your face back while you’re strapped into a metal cart zipping on a track at 90 miles an hour (or higher). Eat a $5 corndog, or something deep fried while walking around a hot, crowded park. Amusement parks are like a guaranteed day full of fun and good memories.

That said, they aren’t exactly the cheapest option, with tickets often costing around $100 per person for just a day pass. Additionally, the food in amusement parks can be overpriced, since you’re kind of a captive audience once you’re there. But, the rush of adrenaline from the rollercoasters, the fun shows, the readily available snacks, and the characters walking around make for a great day full of things to do for you and your friends.

6.    Visit a College Town

You’re about to go off to college (or you’ve already begun and are curious about life in different places), so why not take a day in the summer to see what it’s like? Of course, if you go during the summer, the town will probably not be as busy and populated as it usually it because classes are out.

But, you’ll get to see what sort of businesses are around, what the streets are like, how walkable things are or are not, and what some of the popular pastimes are. And, even though classes are out, there are bound to still be some students or college-aged adults around, so you’ll see some of what the inhabitants are like.

Visiting a college town, especially for just a day, shouldn’t cost very much (aside from the gas it took to get there). You may have to pay for parking, but that depends on the city. If there is a college town nearby you, this is a great summer vacation idea for a quick, fun, and spontaneous trip.

7.    Go to a Concert

Even if you barely know the artists that are performing near you, and even if it’s not one of the big summer events in one of the biggest venues around, I still encourage you to go to a concert or some sort of live music event. Concerts are great ways to enjoy music, company, and just vibe with other people.

You can find plenty of concerts, cover bands, or live music events for relatively cheap, or even free, going on all over the place. Dance with friends, even if you don’t know the song. Make new friends. Choose a cover band of a band you really like, and listen to the music you like to belt the lyrics to for cheap.

Big concerts can cost around $140, which is not exactly cheap. But, if your favorite band is coming around this summer, maybe prioritize that experience and go see them with your friends. After all, when is the next time you’ll all be together, and this band/artist will be coming through?

8.    Go Watch “The Game” In-Person

Sporting events are so fun in-person. The energy that you get from being in a stadium full of people cheering on their team is infectious. Plus, it’s so fun to be able to get dressed in your team colors and jersey, do the face paint, make signs, and go all out for cheering on your team or favorite players. Be invested in it and have a great time, because everyone else there is doing the same thing.

Tickets for sports games, especially professional sports, can be expensive. They can range anywhere from $40 to well over $500. However, the average is around $100, and you can easily find cheaper tickets for seats that are further from the action, but you’ll still be in the stadium, getting the full experience. Going to a sports game is a great way to spend a day with your friends during summer vacation (or really anytime).

9.    Camping

The great outdoors does not call to all of us…. But smores, scary stories, and quality time with our friends and family does. Camping is such a great way to bond, make memories, and see if you would be able to survive an apocalypse. As far as summer vacation ideas go, this is a fantastic one.

You don’t have to go far from home to find a campsite either. There are campgrounds and parks all over the country, in every state, that have designated areas for camping and some even provide amenities. It does cost money to go camping, aside from just buying the tent and sleeping bags. Staying at a campsite can cost anywhere from $20-60 per night, and that’s without hookups. So, unless you have a trailer or RV, that’s probably the fee you’d pay.

Camping is a great idea for summer vacation, providing you with a unique way to spend time with your friends and family away from technology and work and school and all the usual things. If you can handle the outdoors, I highly recommend going camping this summer.

Resources

            These summer vacation ideas are, for the most part, away from home. Taking these trips is a great way to enjoy the freedom that you have over summer and be spontaneous, do something out of the ordinary. And all of these are easier to do with money and a car. Now, for both of those issues, I have some resources that may help.

            To find some great deals on experiences, whether that be in a city or for tickets to events, I highly recommend using Groupon. Groupon offers great packages for events, trips, experiences, dining, tickets, and more. For groups, you can usually find great deals on Groupon, so when you’re planning these little adventures, I recommend checking to see what kind of savings you can find on Groupon.

            For travel, it’s a little more difficult. If you have a car, most of these trips become very easy. If you don’t, you can try Amtrak. They offer a small discount on their rates for students, but you do need to be able to prove that you are a student somewhere.

Greyhound also offers students discounts, and they have buses going pretty much everywhere. Buses are a great and relatively cheap way to travel when cars aren’t an option. They may take a little longer to get somewhere than a car would, but they’re much cheaper than uber.

Cheap Summer Trips

            Summer vacation doesn’t have to be spent all at home. It also doesn’t have to be filled with a Europe trip that you can’t afford. There are plenty of cheap summer trips that you can take, whether for a day, a weekend, or a week.

This summer, especially if it’s your last summer vacation at home before college, prioritize spending time with your friends, enjoying your freedom, and being spontaneous. It may be the last time that you and this group of friends is all together, and it may be the last time you can be free and silly and young before college and jobs and relationships and adulting happen. Enjoy this time, take some cheap summer trips, and make some memories!

For information on Christian colleges and universities, or to be entered into one of our scholarship drawings, visit us at The Christian Connector.