Of all the places to visit in the world, you’ve chosen the USA and this city in which to study abroad. This means that you know enough about them to want to visit! Your image of the country has been formed by images of it in the media – movies, television, books and talking to others who have been there.  Now, before you leave, take some time to understand more about the host country and city add some attractions to your travel bucket list.

How to Create your Study Abroad Travel Bucket List

You have identified what places you want to visit and things you want to do and see and now you need to actually do all those things on your bucket list. It’s not only travel guides – both printed and online – that are going to give you the information you need to create your travel bucket list.  TripAdvisor is the go-to online site for comprehensive, current and user-reviewed insights, information and even blogs on every travel destination you can imagine.

As far as cities are concerned, local sites geared to the city’s resident population are very reliable resources for things to do, upcoming events and lesser-known attractions that are geared to the locals. Check as many of these sites as possible and list those local attractions and events you do not want to miss.  As well as local city guides, look at the user reviews. People share their experiences of neighborhoods, restaurants and other local venues online and you can find out a lot from them.

Sites like StreetAdvisor, although geared to home buyers and renters, give you a good sense of neighborhoods and what is both great and not so great about them.  The site is targeted mostly for homebuyers or renters, but you can use it to quickly see what others think are the best neighborhoods in the city you’re going to travel to.

The web site Walk Score rates neighborhoods for “walkability” based on their proximity without using a car to the places which you need to go to for those daily errands.  Other recommended sites to help you find the best attractions and places for you: Chowhound for recommendations of the best food near you, and don’t forget to use Yelp or Citysearch for all kinds of local recommendations and reviews for restaurants, shopping, services, local attractions, and other places to visit in your host city.

Download our e-Guides series for tips on how you can make this study abroad adventure the best time ever!