How to Plan a Gap Year

A gap year is the modern day rite of passage for school leavers around the world. Nowadays, you find that the majority of young people have spent a significant amount of time travelling or living abroad. There’s absolutely nothing stopping you having the experience of a lifetime too and planning a gap year. Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Choose a destination

The first thing you’ll need to do is work out where you want to go, if not around the whole world! This decision might be related to a particular experience you want to have. If you’d like to do some conservation work for example you might try and get a volunteering placement in Nepal for example. Or if you want to just partake in a few bucket-list-type activities then go on safari in South Africa, or walk the length of the Great Wall of China. To make this decision you should probably do some research, or simply ask the advice of others who have spent time travelling.

2. Think about the practical stuff

Now you have an idea of where you want to go, it’s time to begin thinking about how you can make your gap year happen. You should probably start by working out how you’re going to fund your trip. You might have savings, very kind parents or want to work abroad for example. Then you’ll have to apply for a visa and organise vaccinations if you’re travelling to another continent.

There’s also the matter of organising transport. Find a cheap flight to get you somewhere and it’ll probably be buses and trains from then on to save cash. Travel insurance is also absolutely vital for an extended trip. Nobody wants the worst to happen, but you should put measures in place in case it does.

Next you’ll have to work out what’s going in your travel kit. Be sure to make an itemised list of all the things you’ll need such as travel documents, medication, walking boots etc. And certainly pay heed to our advice on what not to take backpacking.

3. Get booking!

What are you waiting for? All you need to do is book flights and accommodation and get away. This can be a particularly stressful experience, especially if you’re not the most organised of people. So, get yourself a little notebook, write down everything you need to do and tick off each item as you go along.

Planning a gap year isn’t as difficult as you might think. It really depends on the kind of person you are. You might not even want to do much planning at all, just buy a one-way ticket and see where the road takes you.