What adventures await you in life? These 25 study abroad adventures will take you somewhere you’ve never been, let you do something you’ve never done and experience something you’ll remember for the rest of your life. Why not check a few off your bucket list this year?

 

1. Paddle the glow worm caves in New Zealand

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list

Photo by Shaun Jeffers

Slip into a kayak and paddle through the Waitomo Cave in Otorohanga, New Zealand where the roof looks like a sky full of stars. Except those aren’t stars—they’re glow worms (Arachnocampa luminosa) clinging to the ceiling of the 30-million-year-old limestone caves.

Explore New Zealand

 

2. Play muggle quidditch in the land of Harry Potter

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list

Photo by casinouk.com

Mount your broom and get ready to chase the snitch, lob the quaffle through the hoop or protect your team from bludgers. Muggle quidditch is a full contact sport played at many English universities complete with teams, scrimmages and tournaments.

Explore England

 

3. Float in the Dead Sea in Israel

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list
Never learned to swim? No worries. The unusually high salt concentration of the Dead Sea makes sinking impossible. So lie back, relax and enjoy the lifting sensation of effortlessly floating atop the blue-green, healing waters of the Dead Sea.

Explore Israel

 

4. Dive the Great Barrier Reef in Australia

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list
Swim with dolphins, turtles and starfish and explore hundreds of other fascinating marine creatures in a coral reef system so expansive it can be seen from outer space! The experience is a colorful explosion to the senses and a field study opportunity unlike any other on earth.

Explore Australia

 

5. Go camel trekking in Morocco

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list
Follow the ancient caravan routes that brought people and goods across the vast, orange sands of the Sahara desert for centuries. (Think Indiana Jones, but real!) Climb aboard a camel and start your adventure with excursions to the beaches of Tangier or the cultural capital of Fez.

Explore Morocco

 

6. Eat tasty fried food on a stick in Korea

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list
Seoul is a foodie’s paradise, particularly for snackers on the go. Everywhere you look there are food carts and tents offering delectables fried on a skewer and delicious tasters of seafood, dumplings, noodles and pancakes. Connect with your local, UCEAP student buddy for an insider tour of the best spots.

Explore South Korea

 

7. Hike Torres del Paine of Patagonia in Chile

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list
Get ready for muscle and photo-taking fatigue as you encounter the Torres del Paine Towers, the rocky Cuernos, and the glittering Grey Glacier—all natural highlights of the breathtaking Patagonia region of southernmost Chile.

Explore Chile

 

8. Intern with Members of Parliament in the UK

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list
Get firsthand experience with the political machinery of Ireland or Scotland. Work with a Member of Parliament researching issues and analyzing bills, writing speeches and press releases, tracking legislation and attending committee meetings.

The sense of contribution and accomplishment I felt was very fulfilling. This experience is a highlight of my résumé, and something that only a few people back home can say they have done.

Anastasia Nevyakina (UCSB)

Edinburgh, Scotland

Explore Scotland and Ireland

 

9. Witness baby sea turtles hatch in Costa Rica

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list
After a night hike, settle on the beach to watch tiny sea turtles dig their way out of the sand and race to the ocean in Monteverde, Costa Rica. It’s all part of the Tropical Biology program.

Explore Costa Rica

 

10. Tango in Argentina

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list
Dancing lets you feel at home in any culture without having to know the local language. Learn this twisting, elegant form of dance where it all began, in the port neighborhoods of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Explore Argentina

 

11. Get up close with an active volcano in Italy

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list

Stromboli crater

If you’re in for a thrill, try volcanology field work on Stromboli, a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the north coast of Sicily. On the University of Bologna program, you can map the distribution of the rocks, collect samples and perform chemical and dating analysis.

My first time doing field research gave me a real taste of volcanology field work. That has helped me make important decisions for my career path.

Cassidy Meehan (UCSB)

Bologna, Italy

Explore Italy

 

12. Camp at Emerald Lake in Canada’s Rocky Mountains

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list
Spend a weekend camping deep in the northern Rocky Mountains by the largest lake in British Columbia. The deep emerald green occurs in early summer, when the glacial silt filters down from the surrounding mountains.

Bonus: Canada has waived all national park fees for 2017!

Explore Canada

 

13. Volunteer in a health clinic in rural Santiago

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list
Take your love of medicine and desire to help people into the field with a clinical rotation in the Dominican Republic. Learn local traditions, brush up on professional Spanish skills and gain valuable public healthcare experience.

Explore Dominican Republic

 

14. Watch the sunrise from Mount Fuji in Japan

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list
Test your athletic abilities by climbing Mount Fuji, Japan’s highest mountain at 12,388 feet. A sacred site for the Shinto, the indigenous faith of Japan, and a now dormant volcano (it last erupted in 1707), this holy mountain is climbed by approximately 300,000 people every year.

Explore Japan

 

15. Join the world’s largest tomato fight in Spain

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list

Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images

When 175 tons of ripe tomatoes are left in piles on the streets of the Valencian town of Buñol, what could go wrong? La Tomatina is an annual town-wide food fight featuring tomatoes and leaving participants (and the town) covered in juicy red pulp.

Explore Spain

 

16. Volunteer to teach children in Africa

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list
Leave the tourist sites behind and affect real change for children displaced from their homelands. Volunteer in after-school programs or NGOs in Accra, Ghana.

Explore Ghana

 

17. Snowshoe to a rustic cabin in Norway

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list
Strap on your snowshoes and hike through the woods to a winter wonderland getaway that even the British royals enjoy. The University of Oslo offers students a cabin with beds, fireplaces, sauna, and food and drink services. Think big slumber party in the woods with friends!

Explore Norway

 

18. Go gourmet in Italy

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list
Food culture in Italy is a way of life. Learn to make traditional Tuscan dishes from scratch in a cooking class in Florence, attend the world’s largest pizza party in Naples (PizzaFest!), or meet internationally renowned food bloggers and go on guided foodie adventures in Rome. When you can spend afternoons exploring different varieties of tiramisu, mornings learning to make homemade pasta, and evenings sipping aperitivos, you know you’ve become a true international foodie.

Explore Italy

 

19. Snorkel an underwater museum in Mexico

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list

Photo by musamexico.org

Tucked 30 feet below the waves off the coast of Isla Mujeres is an exhibit that requires flippers on entrance and guarantees a change in perspective upon exit. The MUSA (Underwater Museum of Art) strives to counter the effects of climate change and tourism on the local reef systems. Each art installation is bio-friendly and increases the habitat area for marine life.

Explore Mexico

 

20. Chill in an igloo at the Kamakura Festival in Japan

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list

Photo by Zekkei Japan

Each year, Yokote city holds a snow festival to pay tribute to water deities and prepare for the rice harvest. In addition to snow sculptures, the locals build igloos, big and tiny, all over the city, illuminate them with candles and invite visitors to step inside. It’s a rare chance to sip sweet rice wine inside a glowing Japanese igloo (known as a kamakura).

Explore Japan

 

21. Go on a surf-ari and catch the best waves in the world

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list

Gold Coast, Australia

From Super Tubes in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa to the Gold Coast of Australia, and China’s Moon Bay and back, some of the best breaks in the world are waiting for you. Plan a surf trip before or after study abroad to save on airfare. Better yet, surf while you study abroad in one of these top destinations for surfers.

Explore Surf Spots

 

22. Snack all night through the markets of Taiwan

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list
Long hours of studying and deep conversations lead to night cravings, and where better to cure them than at one of over a hundred night markets in Taipei? At the Gongguan Night Market, a quick walk from the National Taiwan University, you’ll find shops and street food vendors open from 11 p.m. to 3 in the morning. Try the QinWaZhuangNai (bubble milk tea) made with dark brown sugar, tapioca and fresh milk.

Explore Taiwan

 

23. Take a street art tour and graffiti workshop in Berlin

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list

Photo by alternativeberlin.com

With a local street artist as your guide, you will see examples of street, graffiti and mural art across the city. Learn the history of this urban phenomenon, discover the rules and etiquette of street graffiti, and create your own canvas inside an abandoned-factory-turned-creative-space as a momento of your tour!

Explore Germany

 

24. Sample fondue with friends in Switzerland

 25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list
Gooey, melty cheese dripping off of cubes of bread. A shared table with your best travel buds enjoying a quintessentially Swiss experience. What’s not to love? Try it once, and you’re hooked forever.

Explore Switzerland

 

25. Hold a baby panda in China

25 Epic study abroad adventures for your bucket list

Photo by Getty Images, Huffington Post

Snuggle a baby panda for two minutes. Life altered forever. Stop by the Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Centre, a 3-hour flight from Beijing or Shanghai. Entrance is cheap, but two minutes of panda holding comes at an extra price that is, officially, “totally worth it” according to everyone who’s done it. (And yes, that IS a photo of the Backstreet Boys enjoying this very activity.)

Explore China

3. Float in the Dead Sea in Israel. Never learned to swim? No problem because the unusually high salt concentration of the blue-green water in the Dead Sea makes sinking impossible. See this adventure in our bucket list for students abroad.
22. Snack all night through the markets of Taiwan. Long hours of studying and deep conversations lead to late night cravings that can only be met at the night markets. Click to see a list of study abroad adventures.
23. Take a street art tour and graffiti workshop in Berlin. Create your own canvas inside an abandoned-factory-turned-creative-space as a momento of your study abroad adventures. Click for more information.
24. Sample fondue with friends in Switzerland. Gooey, melty cheese dripping off of cubes of bread. A shared table with your best travel buds enjoying a quintessentially Swiss experience. What’s not to love? Try it once, and you’re hooked forever. Gooey, melty cheese dripping off of cubes of bread. A shared table with your best travel buds enjoying a quintessentially Swiss experience. Try it once. Hooked forever. Study abroad offers opportunities like this and more!
25. Hold a baby panda in China. Snuggle with a baby panda for two minutes. Life altered forever. Check out this amazing opportunity for your bucket list.
2. Play muggle quidditch in the land of Harry Potter. Mount your broom and get ready to chase the snitch, lob the quaffle through the hoop or protect your team from bludgers. Check out our blog for study abroad opportunities at English Universities.
1. Paddle the glow worm caves in New Zealand. Look up to see a ceiling full of stars. Except they're not stars—they’re glow worms clinging to the ceiling of a centuries-old limestone cave. See more epic adventures for your bucket list.
21. Go on a surf-ari and catch the best waves in the world. From the Super Tubes in Jeffreys Bay, South Africa to the Gold Coast of Australia, and China’s Moon Bay: some of the best breaks in the world are waiting for you. Plan a surf-ari before or after study abroad to save on airfare.
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9. Witness baby sea turtles hatch in Costa Rica. After a night-time hike, stay up to watch tiny sea turtles dig their way out of the sand and race to the ocean on this tropical biology program. See this and other epic study abroad adventures on our blog.
10. Tango in Argentina. Dance lets you feel at home in any culture, even when you don't know the local language. Learn to tango where it all began - in the port neighborhoods of Buenos Aires. Take this, and other epic adventures, while you study abroad - check out our must-do list.
11. Get up close with an active volcano in Italy. Get a taste for volcanology field work on a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the north coast of Sicily. Check out this and other epic study abroad adventures.
12. Camp at Emerald Lake in Canada's Rocky Mountains. Glacial silt turns a deep emerald green as the water in this lake warms in early summer. This is just one of the epic adventures available to you when you study abroad.
15. Join the world's largest tomato fight in Spain. Viva la food fight! The annual town-wide tomato fight in the streets of Buñol is something you'll never forget. See our list of epic adventures you can try on study abroad.
7. Hike Torres Del Paine of Patagonia in Chile. See giant granite towers that form a striking backdrop to a glacial lake, creating one of the most spectacular sights sights you'll ever see. This adventure and 24 others are waiting for you on our blog.
16. Volunteer to teach children in Africa. Where can you earn smiles of gratitude and accomplishment like these? At an after-school program for children displaced from their homeland. Just one of the epic opportunities available on study abroad.
17. Snowshoe to a rustic cabin in Norway. Swishing through a sparkling forest on the way to a perfect cabin is the way to spend a winter's afternoon with friends. Check out all the ways you can explore Norway.
14. Watch the sunrise from Mount Fuji in Japan. Test your hiking abilities on this holy mountain, a sacred site for the Shinto, and active volcano. These photos are what you'll show your children some day. See this opportunity and others on our blog.
18. Go gourmet in Italy. International foodies learn to make their own pizza and pasta from scratch in an Italian kitchen on guided food adventures in Rome. Check out all the epic opportunities you can have while studying abroad.
19. Snorkel an underwater museum in Mexico. Strap on your flippers to tour this museum where underwater sculptures create reef habitats for marine life. This bucket list item comes to you from our blog where you can check out a list of adventures.
20. Chill in an igloo at the Kamakura Festival in Japan. Pay tribute to water deities at the Yokote snow festival. Sip sweet rice wine inside a glowing Japanese igloo and see hundreds of snow sculptures. Add this to your bucket list now, and see a full list of adventures for students.
6. Eat tasty fried food on a stick in Korea. Seoul is a foodie paradise for snackers where food carts filled with delicious treats fried up and served on skewers line the streets. Add this adventure to your bucket list and check out a complete list on our blog.
8. Intern with members of parliament in the UK. Try your hand at analyzing bills, writing speeches and press releases, and track legislation through the political machinery of Scotland and Ireland - two destinations that should be on every student's bucket list.
4. Dive the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. See the colorful explosion that is the fascinating marine life in a coral reef so big it can be seen from space. This is a field study opportunity like no other on earth. Check out many more on our blog.
5. Go camel trekking in Morocco. Climb aboard and follow the ancient caravan routes that brought people and goods across the vast, orange sands of the Sahara desert. Your adventure begins with an excursions to the beaches of Tangier. Bucket list: ride a camel across the desert - check!