Why Choose Xtreme Gap?
Just because we have “Gap” in our name does not make us the same.
Xtreme Gap Year offers you the chance to join exciting trips run by very adventurous travel experts! We believe incredible travel experiences create better travel memories.
We believe this because we know it. We have been there we have done it.
With us you will do things you just cannot do at home, you will tell your friends and colleagues about your experiences but they probably won’t believe you.
With us you will not be treated like a sheep, lead from place to place chucked in the revolving door of pre-manufactured travel. You will be taken to some amazing places to do some amazing things with equally adventurous people all the really experiencing travel.
Many of our trips are unique, handcrafted by us through our own experiences not sold to you off the back of the brochure. We are about helping travellers do mind blowing things, ideal if you are inexperienced in travelling, or you want a genuinely different adventure holiday.
We are passionate about your travel experiences as they are our experiences, and we know our stuff as well. If you take a look at who is involved in Xtreme Gap Year you will see a ridiculously overqualified group of people who have lived away in different countries and still do live all over the world creating unforgettable adventures for you.
Many of the trips you will see on the site are unique to Xtreme Gap Year. That means they are better quality low cost but ultimately better adventures.
That’s right we run many of our own trips where as the gap year companies are middlemen. By cutting out the middleman we are able to offer more to lower costs. And that is important to us because we are all about creating amazing trips not creating profit. We have offices in Thailand, Mexico, Majorca, Netherlands, Sydney and Cape Town. They are all home offices not high Street with our staff based all over the world we are able to react to and create amazing trips in popular and developing locations. But because we run virtual offices are costs are low which means without having to overcharge on our trips we can include more.
Its those extra activities that create the moments that you will remember, it’s what we do, it’s what we love. We are a company that is not about the money: we are about amazing travel experiences and we can’t wait for you to feel them.
We are definitely not your average travel company. We are passionate about YOUR trip and do a lot of research to make our trips better!
- The best value compared to every single gap year company bar none. As we have a network of online offices we keep our overheads lower and pass on the cost savings to you, or include more in our itineraries when compared like for like with other companies
- Qualified & knowledgeable staff. We really do know our stuff. On our staff we have dive instructors, Divemaster’s, and genuine travel junkies. We have offices located in The Netherlands, Spain, Australia, and South Africa and Mexico. We know our destinations inside and out and can give you the best advice speaking from experience.
- We are not in it for the money, we do it because we love it. On this site you will not find any volunteering programmes, that’s because we have strong ethics and do not agree with making money from people’s goodwill. Ask other companies why they offer these programs and better yet see what tourism concern has to say about it.
- Finally because we offer something other companies can’t, the chance to travel with like-minded individuals all up for adventure. It takes a special breed of travel with us, and this just helps make our groups even more fun. From the moment you book you have access to our exclusive chat forums, and 12 weeks prior to departure you access your buddy lists, international lifelong friendships are formed by joining our trips.
(With our low overheads we can and do include more in our trips for less money to!)
About Xtreme
Xtreme Gap was founded in 2008 ago by 2 passionate globe trotters, Debby and Oliver, who wanted to share their awesome travel experiences. It took £50 and a kitchen table and a really crappy website. But it was enough because their passion and enthusiasm was infectious.
“We wanted like minded travellers to benefit from us having searched the world and researched the worlds best wonders.”
Every year since then we’ve gone from strength to strength sending away thousands of travellers to enjoy and experience some of the best things the world has to offer and now have an amazing team of well travelled individuals working at Xtreme Gap.
All of XG experiences offer something unique, and most of our trips you will not find with any other travel company. Whether you are looking to learn a new language, develop a new skill, blow your mind, push your limits or just experience a whole new culture, XG has something just right for you- what’s more, it’s tried and tested and ready to go!
The staff at XG are well seasoned travellers (see their profiles below) and on the whole have been on or created the XG trips themselves, they don’t have plush offices so have minimal overheads so the savings come straight back to you… Which means more cash for partying!
XG customers come back and time again and recommend XG to their mates because XG take cares of the fuss so you can maximise the fun!
So, if you’re up for a challenge check out the XG trips, get some trip notes and check out the blog and feel inspired to push yourself, after all any one can sit on the beach and get drunk but when the hangover fades you’re left with nothing.. so do something remarkable with XG this year
What is travelling with us about?
Adrenaline travel to us is not just about doing scary stuff or extreme sports.
Adrenaline travel is about experiencing some of the most amazing adventures the world has to offer, we talking about the things that get the butterflies going in your stomach, and make your mates back home get incredibly jealous when they see your adventures on Facebook.
We are talking about the kind of activities that is blow you away, challenging your comfort zone and ultimately giving you an incredible sense of achievement and adventure. We know this to be true, because being a smaller gap year company we can research all ther trips properly, and genuinely care about how good are adventures are.
We also know that planning a big trip is rarely something that you do with someone else, in fact 80% of travellers are solo travellers so our group trips are the perfect remedy to shake off the bordom back home and meet new people was sharing new adventures….
Who is Xtreme Gap?
We are ambitious small gap year travel company who are passionate about creating amazing experiences for you to enjoy on your time off, whether that be a career break gap year or even short trip abroad. It all started with bull sharks. The directors of xtreme gap year Oliver and Debby met whilst doing a dive master course in Thailand. Every morning before breakfast they would dive with bull sharks hovering around the dive site in Koh Tao. The buzz of seeing these incredible creatures and the whole feeling of freedom and adventure was so good that they both agreed more people should experience life like this. Xtreme gap year was born out of a desire to share these incredible travel experiences, so our mission is to find new and exciting experiences and make them available to all.
How we help our customers to make the most of their travels
- We offer a broad range of trips so that there is something for most people, we recognize that some of our trips are better suited to certain people and we endeavor to ensure that you are correctly matched to the right program, so you get the most out of your time away.
- We constantly look for new programmes and partners to work with to provide incredible travel experiences.
- We listen to our customers feedback, and take all their concerns and recommendations seriously to constantly improve what we do
- We aim to give the best advice on all aspects of your travels, from first-hand experiences and current up-to-date information.
- We aim to support you 100% pre-and post-departure with in country support and all the information you need to make the most of your trip, and we are available 24 seven emergencies or issues that need to be addressed.
- With us you are not a number it’s about personal attention and getting the most out of your trip. We are always available to speak with you and guide you to creating your perfect adventure.
What we love.
- Ethical travel, To some it is a buzzword to us it is exactly how we operate. Which is why you will not find any volunteering projects on our site.
- We believe in sustainability and work to ensure that our partners adhere to sustainable business practices
- We are passionate believers that if you travel the right way it will expand your mind, broaden your horizons and genuinely benefit you. Anyone can get drunk sit on a beach but when the sun tan fades and the hangover is gone you are left with nothing. Do an Xtreme Gap Year annual really make the most of your travels.
Who Travels With Us:
Genders:
Ages:
Solo Travellers:
Meet Our Team
Oliver Bray
Co Founder
“Pilot. Pirate. Divemaster.”
Oliver co-founded Xtreme Gap Year with Debby in 2008. He has a wealth of travel experience having first travel to Russia after the fall of the Berlin Wall when he was 17. He is taking a gap year in East Africa, travelled South America, gained a pilot’s licence in South Africa diving qualifications in Thailand and spent considerable time in Australia and New Zealand. He now is based on Majorca.
Debby Neeskens
Co-Founder
“Once lap danced for the king of Ciau”
Debby is from the Netherlands. She has travel all over the Asia, help run an orphanage in Chile, She is passionate about diving and checking out new exciting locations for Xtreme Gap Year trips. She often tailor make strips for travellers so feel free to give her a call on Skype if you want to chat to one of the cofounders and get some advice on your adventures.
Jasminka Hoek
Director Xtreme Gap Year Netherlands
“Dive Instructor, Epic Traveller and Heads Up Xtreme Gap Year Netherlands. She once had a dog that could ride a motor bike”
Jasminka lives in the Netherlands She has travelled to pretty much every continent and spent over 10 years living abroad as a dive instructor. You will not get any better advice about work travel, all good reasons why you should travel from anyone else.
Claire Van Ewijk
Travel Advisor
“Knows how to ride a bicycle but refuses to wear wooden shoes. She also has a dog called coconut.”
Claire is your ultimate flash packer, From the Netherlands she has helped hundreds of travellers head off All of the world and has never afraid to tell how it is. If you have any concerns about travelling Chat to Claire.
Will Nel
Director Xtreme Gap Year South Africa.
” Will has lived abroad in Thailand, owns Roctopus dive our partner dive school. He has two of the largest cat the world has seen.”
Will is based in the South Africa office although he has spent many of his years living in Thailand. He focuses on the operations in South Africa and eating a lot of chicken mainly.
Joanna Dennington
Director Xtreme Gap Australia
“UK born Joey now is a regular surf widow on Sydney northern beaches. Heads Up Xtreme Gap Year Australia.”
Coming from the UK JoeyIs well placed to give advice on people heading over to Europe from Australia and New Zealand, although being surrounded by professional surfers on Sydney’s Northern beaches does make a somewhat of an expert in all things surf too!
Sarah Flynn Campbell
Director Xtreme Gap South Africa
“Sarah is based out of South Africa and is a dive instructor.”
Sarah originally from Ireland is based in South Africa office, she has spent several years living abroad working as a dive instructor and is well placed to give you advice on how to genuinely change your life through travel. She is not afraid of a bit of adventure either Sarah, question is are you?
Sander Classens
Director Xtreme Gap North America
“Originally from the Netherlands Sander is based in Mexico and runs Xtreme Gap Year North America.”
Sanderis currently based in Playa del Carmen in Xtreme Gap Year Mexico office. He has enormous passion for free diving yoga and will give you fantastic travel advice if you’re planning a trip. Sander is originally from Amsterdam managing and running one of the largest hostels there. He is extremely clued up on the backpacking scene in Europe and South America.