If all your friends have just packed their bags and moved to university, but you’ve decided to take a year off, it can be overwhelming to know how to plan your trip. Where do you want to go? What do you want to do when you get there? What’s your budget? Or perhaps, you’ve graduated and you’re not quite ready to swap lectures for conferences in a 9-5 job. Holiday Numbers has gathered some of the best tips for planning your gap year.
How long to go for?
If it’s your first time travelling alone, you might want to consider taking a shorter trip at first to get a feel for spending time in your own company. Depending on your budget, your gap ‘year’ may actually only be 3/6 months away.
Where to go?
Asia and South America are very popular places to visit, as are Australia and Europe. Each country or continent has so many cultural differences that it may be impossible to pick just one. If it’s your first time away, consider visiting somewhere there will be a lot of fellow travellers, such as Thailand. You’ll need to get a long haul flight to your first destination and then travel domestically, so consider a quality airline such as British Airways or Virgin Atlantic to get you there comfortably.
Budgeting
You may have been working all the hours you can get at your part time job during college, or have come into some money through inheritance. However you’re funding your trip, budgeting is an important aspect of it. For instance, if you travel on a shoestring, camping or hosteling whilst eating food from street vendors, you’ll spend less money than someone who buys a souvenir in every place that they visit and dines out on a three course meal every night. In some places, you can work whilst you’re there- fruit picking on a farm in New Zealand or teaching English in China. There are several gap year programs which can organise this for you.
Holiday or experience?
A gap year shouldn’t necessarily be a long holiday. You’ll want to use it to enhance your CV in some way and you can’t do that if you spend the year lying on a sun lounger. If you’re visiting a country where there is poverty, you might consider volunteering. If you’re visiting somewhere with a unique language, you may want to learn it so that you can impress people back at home. That’s not to say you can’t spend your gap year relaxing, after all it is supposed to be a break before the hard work takes over. The trick is to strike a balance.
Safety
It’s incredibly daunting to go somewhere far away by yourself. Make sure that you regularly visit the Foreign Office website which provides regular travel updates as well as political information regarding each country. When you arrive in a new destination, check out where it’s UK embassy is and make a note of it. Also make copies of your passport and store money safely, perhaps on a prepaid card such as the one issued by Travelex.
Research…but not too much research
In this digital world, there’s plenty of inspiration and resources accessible for wannabe travellers. Blogs, guide books and even TV shows can help you when it comes to planning your itinerary. However, don’t over-plan. You don’t want to get stuck into a route or schedule that isn’t flexible. You may visit one country and wish to stay there for longer than anticipated.
Stay in touch
If you’re planning to be in one country for an extended period of time, it could be worth purchasing a local SIM card. If you’re travelling in several countries, a global SIM card would be more beneficial. One very cost effective way to stay in touch with loved ones is Skype. It’s free to make video calls or send instant messages, plus you can now download it to your phone and just connect whenever you have WiFi access.
There’ll never be enough advice in the world to help you plan your gap year. Short or long trip, Asia or America, break the bank or budget, it’s your trip and your choice!
