10 Study Abroad Blogs That Will Make Travel Prep Easy

Blogs are a great resource for learning what to expect in another country, as well as for travel tips about studying abroad in your host country. Indeed, there is a lot of first-hand knowledge available on the internet with blogging becoming more and more popular – so much, in fact, that refining your search to findings that are relevant and helpful to your personal situation and travel plans can be a challenge.

To help make your personal research on studying abroad a little more convenient, here is a list I’ve compiled of 10 study abroad blog sites that are wonderful resources for students planning to travel in the future.

1. ISA Student Blog – This vibrant and colorful site is a joy to explore. By scrolling down on the main page you’ll find an assortment of pictures, popular topics, and study abroad destinations. At the top of the page you’ll find easy access to current and past bloggers, photo bloggers, and video bloggers studying around the world.
2. TravelBlog.org – I mentioned this site in my previous article, “How to Create a Study Abroad Blog: Basic Tips,” as a great resource for reading about current travelers’ experiences in your host country. This website is definitely the largest of this list in terms of number of bloggers represented. Luckily, it is relatively easy to search for blogs that are relevant to your studies abroad. If blogging is something you’re interested in pursuing while abroad, I highly recommend this site as a platform for doing so.
3. CIEE Study Abroad Blogs – This site features posts by both students currently studying abroad as well as study abroad program administrators overseas – seeing both perspectives is an interesting and unique aspect of this blog. At the top of the page you’ll find featured blogs, and by scrolling down you can browse blog posts by region.
4. Butler University Institute for Study Abroad Student Blogs & Vlogs – This page offers an expansive archive of college study abroad student blogs: 26 in the Fall 2015 semester, with archived blogs stretching back to 2008. This site provides diverse perspectives of how cultural and educational differences shape students’ journeys overseas, highlighting blog entries by first generation and LGBTQ college students.
5. Twenty-Something Travel – Though this site as a whole isn’t specific to study abroad, it provides a general wealth of advice and travel planning resources for travelers who are roughly college age, and does have a study abroad page under “The Travel Life” tab at the top of the screen. Also, you can find blog posts and advice specific to your host country’s under “Destinations” tab.
6. The Georgetown Study Abroad Blog – This site features a good list of current and past bloggers, with current students blogging from locations including Cuba, Denmark, Morocco, Qatar, Argentina, Spain, Ireland, and Italy. If blogging is something that interests you, The Georgetown Study Abroad Blog allows students to apply to blog for their site while overseas!
7. IES Abroad Student Blogs – This site has an easy layout for exploring blog posts from students studying abroad around the world. On the main page, you’ll find a featured blog post of the week, a list of recent posts, and blog posts by program location to the right.
8. SoloFriendly – If you’re planning on studying abroad independently, this might be a site for you to explore. There are certain aspects of traveling solo that are good to consider, such as safety, and this site addresses these issues from this perspective. This site is full of useful articles and resources, both general and country-specific.
9. Arcadia University Study Abroad Blogs – This page is easy-to-navigate, with a simple list of current student blog links with pictures as you scroll down. Also, at the bottom of the page is a list of Arcadia Center Blogs, where you can find study abroad-related news in various international locations.
10. Chapman University Study Abroad Blogs – This site provides a simple list of current and past student blogs, organized by country for easy searching. Countries represented on this blog site include Czech Republic, Germany, New Zealand, Semester at Sea, South Africa, Greece, and Uruguay.

Hopefully this list of study abroad blog sites is relevant and helpful for your personal research and for getting you excited about studying abroad in the future. There is certainly a lot of material here, so don’t feel the need to click through them all quickly. Explore one at a time, and follow whatever catches your eye!

Good luck with your travel plans, and I hope to see your own study abroad blog on one of these sites in the future!