The post The Dubai ConneXion appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year UK.
]]>
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
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.
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!
We use a verity of accommodation options usually 3 star.
£399
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
The post The Dubai ConneXion appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year UK.
]]>The post Xtreme Reporter – With Work Experience appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year UK.
]]>
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
Yes our courses are accredited by third party organisations
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.
The post Xtreme Reporter – With Work Experience appeared first on Xtreme Gap Year UK.
]]>
