Xtreme Gap Year UK » Dubai https://xtremegapyear.co.uk Gap Year Travel & Career Breaks with a Shot of Adrenaline Sun, 14 Sep 2014 11:37:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.2 The Dubai ConneXion https://xtremegapyear.co.uk/trip/the-dubai-connexion/ https://xtremegapyear.co.uk/trip/the-dubai-connexion/#comments Thu, 06 Jun 2013 08:54:21 +0000 https://xtremegapyear.co.uk/?p=11948 Dubai is the land of Xtremes. The world's highest building, the world's largest shopping more and even an indoor ski slope in the desert. On this awesome stopover program you can rip through the Arabian desert powering 1600 cc Dune buggy and sampling the best that Dubai has to offer. This is perfect if you are travelling and Emirates where you can take advantage of a free stopover en route to Asia or perhaps on the way home.

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Designed as a two night stopover itinerary, the Dubai ConneXion is for those who don’t want to miss out on experiencing the total craziness of this Arabian megalopolis. You’ll be picked up directly from the airport as you land (and of course, dropped off when you leave), so no time is wasted in getting you right into the heart of the action.

 

 

The Dubai ConneXion

Perfect if you are en route to Asia, you can take advantage of the great value flights on Emirates and stopover in Dubai. Usually there is no extra charge for two nights stopover so why not take the chance to see the land of extremes. Dubai is an impressive place and when you say with Xtreme Gap Year, you can have some incredible adventures too.

This trip works particularly well to break up your long haul flight, acclimatises as you nicely, and gives you a once-in-a-lifetime experience of this mega-city and the surrounding desert.

The Dubai ConneXion Highlights:

 

  • Checking out some of the worlds largest skyscrapers
  • Staring in awe at the impressive Burj Kalifa nearly kilometre high
  • Roaring through the Arabian desert driving your own 1600cc Dune buggy
  • Fully guided tour of the city
  • Luxurious stay in three or four star hotel with pool.
  • Seeing what the night life is all about in summer the world’s most luxurious hotels

Photos

Full Details

The Dubai ConneXion

It’s hailed as the El Dorado of the East, a veritable city of gold, where gleaming scrapers soar into the cloudless Arabian sky, and energy oozes from every facet of every street. Dubai is the commercial king city of the Persian Gulf, a global centre of trade, commerce and enterprise, now the unlikely stuff of real and raw gap year experiences. In the last decade, this once humble city, nestled in the scorching deserts of the Arabian Peninsula, has grown at a faster rate than any other in the world. With investors flocking thick and fast, Dubai has become host to some of mankind’s most daring of engineering projects – from the construction of the awesome and formidable, Burj Khalif, the world’s tallest building, to the residential Palm dredges, the world’s largest man made islands. It’s a description riddled with superlatives, and with good reason. Dubai is a place to live life to the full, where sightseeing and adrenaline pumping experiences are inseparable and utterly concomitant.

With Dubai becoming a favourite stop-over destination of many of the major Airlines travelling from from Asia and Australia to Europe (and the other way around), we’ve developed the Dubai ConneXion itinerary, to ensure that you squeeze every drop of fun you can out of your travel agenda. So, forget boring lay overs, spent twiddling your thumbs in airport departure lounges, think hedonistic party nights and luxury accommodation, think desert dune biking and breath taking sights. With this fill-in, stop over trip itinerary, we’ll really get your gap year kick started, with a healthy dose of pure exhilaration in one of the world’s most edgy metropolises.

Designed as a two night stopover itinerary, the Dubai ConneXion is for those who don’t want to miss out on experiencing the total craziness of this Arabian megalopolis. You’ll be picked up directly from the airport as you land (and of course, dropped off when you leave), so no time is wasted in getting you right into the heart of the action. You’ll be greeted at the airport by our Dubai residential Xtreme Gap guides, who’ll be able to answer any questions you have about the city as you make your way to your stop-over accommodation.

While you may be raring to experience the budget accommodation life of a backpacker, you’ll have to wait just a little longer. In true Dubai style, you’ll be staying in super comfortable 3 or 4 star hotels, swimming pool at the ready. Within hours of landing, you could be sipping cocktails and taking a dip, revelling in the luxurious opulence that has become Dubai’s trademark, wondering why anyone would ever want to just wait in the airport. After unwinding with a good night’s sleep (or perhaps a party for good measure), it’s straight to the action.

We like to keep our itineraries as versatile and as customisable as possible, so you’ll have the choice of packing all the action into a single day, or spreading it over two. With the first option you’ll embark on a combined dune buggy and drive through tour day excursion, and with the second you’ll spend half a day with a sit-in city tour, and a second day on the dunes. Whatever you opt for, we’ll make sure your stopover is action packed to the full.

The city tour will show you all of Dubai’s opulence and grandeur, taking you from the colossal Burj Khali building, to the Dubai City Mall, the world’s largest shopping complex, from the white-sanded seafront, famous for its nature defying Palm Island construction projects, to the Burj Al Arab, the world’s second largest hotel-cum-iconic symbol of this Persian super city. But, this is just the beginning, next up, the dune buggies.

Arabian desert Dune buggy adventure

Once you’ve got a handle on the ceaseless energy of Dubai, we’ll put you right in the middle of it. We pick you up from your hotel early in the day, heading out of the city’s heart to the sea of desert dunes that oscillate into the horizon. You’ll watch the red hot sun of the Middle East rise over the dunes before suiting up and manning your very own 1500cc, rumbling, roaring, dune buggy monster, designed to eat up the desert terrain like nothing else.  With a 25km course of super-steep, heavy inclines and fast descents you’ll transverse the Persian sands and, conquering everything in your path. Half way through you’ll have the chance to stop and do some sand-boarding on some of the best slopes on offer, just to keep the adrenaline flowing. What’s more, you’ll be guided the whole time, so there’s no chance of getting lost in the desert, and no lack of encouragement, for when you’re trying to scale those really tough sand banks.

We’ve aimed to create an action-packed itinerary that suitably reflects the character of this fast paced, and adrenaline pumping destination. There’s really no need to resign yourself to a mundane stopover and days of jet lag tiredness when you arrive at your final destination. While you may not get all that much sleep in between dune biking up Dubai’s formidable desert mounds, and exploring the hedonistic party life of the city’s classy bars and electric clubs, you will have the chance to catch up on at least some rest mid-flight, but most of all, the two day Dubai Connexion will really squeeze the most out of your travel plans, wherever you’re headed!

Accommodation

We use a verity of accommodation options usually 3 star.

Trip Frequently Asked Questions

What about visas?
Nationals from the United Kingdom do not need a visa to enter Dubai you will be issued one at the airport. Other nationalities should check prior to travel.
What if I can't drive?
You will need a driving license in order to drive around Dune buggy in the desert, if you cannot drive you will be driven by a guide (the buddies are twin seater vehicles). Please note you will need to be up to drive a manual car.
Our meals included?
Meals and not included, you should expect to budget London prices for meals.
In my free time how do I get around?
Whilst this is quite a fall on itinerary, there is some free time, you will be centrally located but as you are essentially inner-city in the desert you certainly won’t want to walk anywhere. Taxis are cheap and plentiful most rides tend to cost between two and five pounds.
What else can I do there?
Dubai has one of the worlds best drop zones, if you really want to go for it we suggest you check out skydive Dubai and book a jump over the palm!
Who will meet me at the airport?
One of our locally based English-speaking reps will meet you at the airport. They will have a sign with your name on it.

Price

£399

Included

  • Meet & greet at the airport and arrival transfer to accommodation
  • Departure Airport transfer w/assistance
  • Three/Four Star hotel with a swimming pool for two nights
  • Dubai Half Day City Tour
  • Dune Buggy Adventure
  • Transfers to the desert for the Dune buggy adventure and back again
  • Detailed predeparture pack

Excluded

  • Flights
  • Spending Money
  • Meals

Dates

There are no set start dates that this programme, your itinerary will be organised around your flights.

 

“Driving through the desert in my own Dune buggy was immense. At last some proper adventure!”
Toby Young
“Dubai was such a spectacle, impressive and ridiculous but amazing fun. So glad I got to see it.”
Kate Maxted

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Xtreme Reporter – With Work Experience https://xtremegapyear.co.uk/trip/xtreme-reporter/ https://xtremegapyear.co.uk/trip/xtreme-reporter/#comments Sun, 22 Jul 2012 15:50:48 +0000 https://xtremegapyear.co.uk/?p=19212 Learn, earn and travel by reporting. One accessible online course from any destination while you´re discovering. Investigate new places and learn how to creatively tell the world. Get the opportunity of the lifetime to get advice from a professional mind. No qualifications required yet experience gained. Travel and writing... what more do you need?

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Learn, earn and travel by reporting. One accessible online course from any destination while you´re discovering. Investigate new places and learn how to creatively tell the world. Get the opportunity of the lifetime to get advice from a professional mind. No qualifications required yet experience gained. Travel and writing… what more do you need?

 

 

 Start A New Career As A Travel Correspondent

How would you like to get a diploma, spend four weeks travelling somewhere exotic with the possibility to get paid for your efforts at the end of it. Sound too good to be true? Well it isn’t.

 

Not only can you do all that, you will get mentored by one of the top journalists in the country Beci Wood who spent 10 years at the biggest newspaper in the UK. Get assistance publishing your piece and sending out through news channels with the aim of it being picked up as newsworthy. This will give you an amazing exposure and a genuine opportunity to try out and launch a new career in journalism.

  • Diploma in Journalism
  • Four weeks of adventure in a beautiful setting
  • Spend time abroad researching and perfecting your piece
  • Mentoring from a top UK Journalist
  • Help publishing your work
  • Amazing opportunity to start a journalism career
  • Go freelance and get paid to produce work for magazines and newspapers, or go digital online.

All for less than the price of going to university for one month!

PHOTOS

 

Become a Journalist & Travel

On this program you can either undertake the diploma only and use it to boost your qualifications whilst you undertake any of our gap year programs, or you can involve yourself On our Xtreme journalism assignments. Set in 2 locations where you can study and learn more about journalism.

For the assignments, you can choose either Thailand, or Mexico and you have four weeks to complete the course and we throw in some adventure activities along the way. What they are depends on the time of year, we do not keep it set so we can react to any newsworthy stories or events.

The course involves quite a bit of coursework, so where better to undertake some investigative journalism, or get inspired than abroad by paradise beaches.

You have full backup and support of our UK-based tutors, who have considerable experience in the industry. You can actually study anywhere as long as you have an Internet connection and a laptop.

Once you have completed the course and have written your final piece we will assist you in sending this out to our media houses who may or may not pick up on the story. If you do get published you will receive 60 percent of your royalty fees which could be enough to cover the cost of the entire course.

What you report on is up to you, but you will have the full back up and support and guidance of professional journalists (including the head mentor on the programme – Beci Wood with 10 years experience on staff at the UK´s biggest newspaper).

Not only is journalism and exciting career, it’s something you can take with you to your next stage after travelling, whether that be a part-time job at University, or something you do on the side or launch phone into as a career.

 So whether you want to do something genuinely rewarding while you travel, or want to have something that not only looks amazing – really is amazing on your CV then the Xtreme reporter as you.

THAILAND OPTION INCLUDES WORK EXPERIENCE

On the Thailand option we have a completely unique and very exciting work experience attachment to this program.  You will work in a genuine media Company that produces monthly magazines all over Asia.  Working from their offices in Phuket, you will put your newfound skills to use: tasked With writing articles and uncovering stories as a reporter.  You will go out develop and write stories and make a valued contribution to the magazine and online websites. Working under the CEO and his media team this is a genuinely unique opportunity to gain work experience and do a really fun job which will build your resume and give you an insight into an exciting industry as you travel.

The company is called think media and is American run running various different franchises of popular magazines, what’s on guides and delivers local news and features in and around Phuket.

The work experience option can either last two weeks or four weeks, depending on your preference and includes all accommodation.

ACCOMMODATION

In Mexico you will stay in Playa del Carmen, a short walk from the beach at our base the Bendito Rancho. This is based on a dormitory (shared accommodation).

In Thailand you will stay in Phuket where you will also be involved in a work experience module with think media. You will stay on a bungalow either your own or shared with one other person the same sex.  The bungalow is located close to the officers.

Trip Frequently Asked Questions

Areas of specialism

Journalism needs specialists. People with knowledge and passion for their subject. We provide a range of courses in specialist subjects ranging from health to the environment through to investigative and travel journalism.

Journalism courses currently available:

  • Business journalism course
  • Motoring journalism course
  • Digital journalism course
  • Music journalism course
  • Environmental journalism course
  • News reporting course
  • Financial journalism course
  • Political journalism course
  • Freelance journalism course
  • Radio journalism course
  • Freelance photojournalism course
  • Science journalism course
  • Health journalism course
  • Sports journalism course
  • Investigative journalism course
  • Video journalism course
Are the courses accredited

Yes our courses are accredited by third party organisations

 

  1. Open and Distance Learning Quality Council (ODLQC)
  2. ABCC
What qualification will I get?

CTJT diploma

Our diploma is widely recognised in the UK and overseas. It is a vocational award, equivalent to an NVQ level 1 or 2.

The Open and Distance Learning Quality Council (ODLQC) and the ABCC validate it.

 

PRICE

  • Course only £279
  • Four-week assignment Mexico £899
  • Four Week assignment Thailand £999

INCLUDED

  • Journalism diploma
  • Full backup and support of our UK-based tutors
  • Questions and e-mails answered five days a week usually two hour response time also with live chat option
  • Help monetising your articles and pieces
  • All accommodation with Thailand and Mexico options
  • Transfer and one night in Bangkok hotel on the Thailand option

EXCLUDED

  • Laptop
  • Wi-Fi connection fees if working remotely
  • Flights
  • Travel insurance
  • Meals

DATES

  •  You can start the diploma at any time even prior to travelling.
  •  Mexico and Thailand journalism diplomas start first Monday of the month

 

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