You need help planning gap year travel? Don’t worry you are in good hands. Chances are you’re probably feeling a little overwhelmed as to what to do with your gap year travels.

With so many different destinations available to you can be fairly hard to decipher your best options. We hope you find this website useful in helping you plan your gap year, as we have a wealth of  information on how to plan your gap year.

So your properly wondering where to start, it really depends on where you are in the planning process. How long you have till you’re planning to travel? And how prepared are you to actually set off on the trip. The first thing to realise is your not alone, most of our clients have hundreds of questions and we are very happy to answer them and give you some advice and guidance so that you can ultimately get the most out of your trip.

It is very helpful to follow the following steps in arranging your gap year travel, breaking down the planning process step-by-step, can make a momentous task that little bit easier. This is especially relevant considering the cost of gap year travel, so proper planning done in good time can help you budget and get the best value for money out of planning your gap year.

How long will you be travelling for?

Trips from 1 to 4 weeks

 

Trips 1 to 3 months

 

Unlimited time

Gap year planning the different stages.

Clients considering their gap year options usually go through the following stages of planning.

  • Research and general gap year planning
  • Narrowing down the options and budgeting
  • Selecting a gap year program and booking
  • Saving and preparing for the trip
  • Gap year planning: the final stages 12 weeks prior to departure
  • Final countdown, flights, insurance and packing
  • Departure day.

Research and general gap year planning
Duringthis stage of the gap year planning process, it’s essential to research as much as you can, try and discover which countries would best suit your personality and interests, work out what activities you would like to get out of your gap year and what locations best suit your needs.

On our website you will find a gap year planning blog a fantastic tool to do this, this is the low down on all the destinations and activities that you can do all over the world, without clouding your judgement with gap year programs. This is all about what you can do and where not why and how much. Check out the gap year planning blog here.

Of course nothing beats caring advice straight from the horses mouth, which is why you will find our company is very different from most other gap year companies. We can help you plan your gap year, as we have been to most of the locations and done all the trips ourselves. So if you want first-hand advice just contact us.

Narrowing down the options and budget

Once you’ve got an idea where you want to go, it’s helpful to start planning your gap year budget. Without knowing realistically how much you have to play with you can’t really commit to anything. Not everyone has unlimited funds before they travel, so it makes sense to pick your locations wisely. If you are planning on going to more developed countries like Australia, yet your funds are limited and consider some work and travel or paid work abroad programs.

If your budget is very healthy or you have plenty of time to save. Then you could be one of the lucky few who go for around the world trip. These can be customised to suit your needs and interests and generally include some of the most incredible experiences all over the world.

If your budget is quite tight, then you should consider heading to places like Southeast Asia. For example we have quite a few Asia backpacking tours that include most of your expenses paid upfront, so by the time you need to leave you only need your spending money on flights place.

It might be more more important to you to actually achieve something so the activity that you do is more important over the location, if this is right for you consider a gap year program that can help you learn and develop.

 

Selecting a gap year program and booking
So once you’ve decided on your budget, it’s time to take action. Booking your trip is a big moment. It’s the point where you’re committing to your travel plans, as once you submit that booking form there is no going back. Not that this should be a daunting prospect, it was genuinely be a life changing incredible experience. If you are tempted to leave booking a trip to the last minute, don’t be. By booking up front you are able to effectively save prepare your trip as you know when your departure date will be and this helps you work out how much money you need to put aside or save up before you travel.
Saving and preparing for the trip
When booking a trip with us your deposit is only £100, and full payment is not due until 12 weeks prior to travelling, that means you have plenty of time to save for flights and spending money, and once you have paid off your balance with us you know that your trips major expenses are covered.

How you go about earning the money is ultimately up to you, and in fairness that is part of the reward of gap year travel, it may be hard graft for a few months in the run-up to your trip, but ultimately it is very worth it.

Just remember that every pound you save prior to your trip the spending power of that pounds will be considerably more in places like Asia and Africa and South America. So the more you save the more fun you can have.

Gap year planning: the final stages
12 weeks prior to the start of your trip your final balance will be due, as this should cover the majority of your main expenses, you still have another three months prior to travelling which gives you plenty of time to save for your spending money. Once you have paid your final balance we send out detailed predeparture packs which give you all the information you need to continue planning your trip.
Final countdown
The final countdown is where it starts to get really interesting, it will be a blur of frantic last-minute saving, anticipation, excitement and seriousness. What will you see who will you meet and what will you ultimately experience? Just focus on the departure date date, save as much as you can and check that you have your travel insurance, flights and passport in order. If you need visas, make sure you are fully aware of what you need and apply for them well in advance if applicable.
Departure day
The day you thought would never arrive is finally here, it’s departure date. All of those months of saving and working will have been worth it will be off on your new adventure.

Customised help planning your gap year, just contact us by hitting the question button below and tell us a little bit about your plans and we can help assist you with some amazing pointers.