Top tips for planning my gap year
Every single gap year experience starts with one question, “what should I do for my gap year?” And really, there is no single right answer. Everyone is different and there are a hundred different routes you can take towards a happy and meaningful gap year experience.
Take it from a pro, this time 15 years ago I was planning my own gap year, and now I plan them for a living so I have learnt a thing or two about how to get started when you aren’t sure how to spend your year out.
Advice from when I was planning my gap year
Asking yourself “what should I do with my gap year?” seems like a wide and overwhelming question, but when you start to approach your year in the right way, it actually becomes pretty simple.
Let’s take a look at how breaking things down will help with your gap year planning.
Split your gap year into 4 sections
By splitting the year into four parts, you can ensure each section involves completely different experiences. See some ideas below. If you can incorporate all of these then you’re onto a winner!- Work experience in different industries (at least 2)
- Paid job to cover some or all of the costs of your gap travels
- Set up your own enterprise doing something that interests you (another good way to raise money)
- Develop new skills - enrol in a short course or gain experience in areas like office administration, graphic design, baking or cooking
- Volunteer and give back. There is no more grounding feeling than helping other people, and no better time to commit to this than on your year out
- Solo travel, you never know who you might meet or where your travels may take you. At the end of our Culsans Gap Travel Programs we often help students to plan the next steps of their travels so that they can confidently go off on their own, at least that way they have the basic travel skills under their belts!
- Party and relax – if you’re coming straight out of 6th form, you’ve just completed 14 years of education! It’s time to take care of your mental health and have a break
- Plan your fundraising, even if you don’t know where you want to go yet, the more cash you have saved can often mean you can travel further… and harder! See here for a few fundraising ideas.
Do your research properly
When planning your gap year it is important to speak to reputable gap travel companies and shop around. There are so many options out there so don’t get lost on a google search. Pick up the phone and chat to people about it directly. Developing your telephone manner and confidence is also a great life skill to have. It can save you so much time in the long run!
Make sure you ask the right questions. Such as:
- What is and isn’t included in the costs?
- What is the booking process and when would you need to put a deposit down?
- Can you speak to ex-students/participants to hear their experiences first hand?
- What percentage of the costs go towards community development and charitable support? Are they able to send you a full cost breakdown?
- What is the lasting impact of the activity you are looking into?
- Do you get qualifications and where in the world are they recognised?
- How many other participants will be on the trip with you and what is the ratio?
- What happens in case of a medical emergency?
- What are their Covid protocols and how could they keep you safe in a worst case scenario?
Do what YOU want to do, not your parents. The more fun you have in your chosen activity/course/destination, the more you will take out of it.
Do something different to your school/uni friends
It sounds super cliché but it’s totally true; people find out who they really are on their gap year. Different people bring out a different energy in you, so by giving yourself space to meet new people and new energies you give yourself space to find out who you really are. This is an opportunity to get to know people outside your existing friendship group and outside of your comfort zone.
Branch out and find some new interesting people, challenge yourself with the activities you sign up to and visit more undiscovered places. You will come back to your school friends soon and have so much more to tell them.
Pick a country you know very little about and start researching it
While planning my own gap year, I stumbled across Vietnam (it wasn’t quite the right of passage that it is now!) I’d never heard of it before, nor seen where it was on the map. I signed up to an organised volunteering trip there, without my school friends, and absolutely loved it. Maybe start with a continent you haven’t visited yet and go from there?
Don’t over plan
It’s perfectly ok for things to change as new opportunities arise so it’s healthy to have a flexible approach throughout the year. However, always know how to get somewhere, where you are staying for the first 2 nights, and who your emergency contact is on the ground.
Have fun but be sensible
If you’ve never travelled without adults before for a long period of time, start out with an organised trip with a company who can guide you through the best experience that country has to offer. Quite often they will take you to places you would never have found yourself and be able to get industry prices meaning overall it will be much better value for money. It will give you basic travel skills for you to be able to go and do your own adventure afterwards safely.
Interested in an 8 week gap travel program in Kenya? Request your brochure here.
