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 What's on this page?

This page is all about making the most of your travelling.

    1. Search over 200 recommended gap years
    2. Search volunteer work overseas
    3. Tips on planning your gap year - make sure it runs smoothly and is productive
    4. Find cheap student travel if you are heading off for a quicker holiday
 

Choosing what to do........

To get the best deals from your travel search you need to be decisive and quick. When you start searching for a deal you will be faced with literally hundreds of choices. To help you sift through to find the right deal and bag your bargain follow three simply rules:

    1. Agree on destination - have a short list of no more than three places.

    2. Agree on budget for the entire holiday: accomodation, flights, spending money and food and don't be tempted to spend more.

    3. Decide if you are searching for a package or just flights - agreeing this upfront will help refine your search and save you loads of time.
 

Taking a gap year - Choose from over 200 gap years

There really isn't a better time to seriously consider a gap year. The employment market for graduates is increasingly challenging. Thousands of graduates applying for a fewer and fewer jobs mean you really need to make your CV stand out. If you think getting work in your first year after graduating is going to be difficult why not add a gap year to your CV?

This could add all important experience to your CV and give you the opportunity the to demonstrate your decision-makiing and priotrisation skills without having gained work experience. They're key skills employers are looking for on top of everything you've learnt in the class room.

The trick is to make your gap year trip meaningful and to show you as an asset to any graduate employer.

Gap Year destinations

When you're planning, think about what you want to achieve first:

 

  • Do you just want to travel and see somewhere new?

  • Do you want to use your time to work on a project or help others?

  • Do you want something to add to your CV and learn some new skills? 

There are a huge range of gap year travel ideas to make the most of your time. You can support local people & the environment as well as developing yourself.

Here are some of the top gap year ideas:

Gap year expeditions
For the real adventurers amongst you – who want to travel for longer and as far as the eye can see, make a positive impact on a destination and spend some time volunteering – this gap year expeditions page will be invaluable. Find our hand picked, responsible gap year expeditions from specialist gap year tour operators for an expedition you’ll never forget!

Gap year community projects
Make your gap year something really worthwhile and make a real difference to local communities. All the gap year holidays on this page let you become actively involved in community projects and contribute to supporting local communities so you can be sure of giving even more back

Gap year marine conservation
This is your chance of a lifetime to work with experts, improve your diving skills and gain worthwhile marine conservation research experience. Our choice of marine conservation expeditions are all from carefully screened and specialist operators for the most invaluable gap year

Gap year volunteering
Looking to have a mix of volunteering and adventure on your gap year? Whether you want to join a volunteer project for two weeks or two months we have plenty of volunteering projects for you to choose from. Make a difference on your gap year, choose from our page of leading gap year specialist and responsible operators.

Wildlife conservation
Get up close and personal with wildlife on your gap year and go wild with one of these wildlife conservation projects. A worldwide choice of wildlife conservation holidays from leading specialist tour companies that enable you to make a valuable contribution to wildlife conservation on your gap year. 
 

Volunteer..... Why volunteer?

Make a difference

Wherever they go, volunteers have an enormous positive impact.  Rather than increasing your carbon footprint by hopping round the world, you’d be making a significant difference to the country you’re in.

CV building

After you finish your education, chances are you’ll want to find a job.  The market can be highly competitive and having a  placement on your CV could make all the difference.

Personal growth

Many of volunteers comment on how much they learned about themselves on their gap years.  On average, people work for around 40 years of their lives.  Taking time out to volunteer abroad is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to do something truly different.  It can also provide the space you might need to think about what you really want to do with your life.

Adventure

Going on a placement is a real challenge.  Taking yourself off to help in a foreign country may sound daunting, but all you hear fromthose who have been is that they can’t wait to go back!

New friends

Going on a volunteering placement means you’re guaranteed to meet like-minded people.  Many volunteers come back from their placements with memories, stories and friends for life.

Language skills

The best way to improve your foreign language skills is to spend time in the country itself, away from your home influences.  Volunteering abroad is an ideal way to improve any language skills you may have, or even learn new ones! Another asset for your CV!!

Foreign culture
When simply travelling between countries, you rarely have time to properly learn about different ways of life.  By spending several months living and helping abroad, you can really experience and immerse yourself in the culture of your chosen country.
 
 

Going Further afield?

It's not going to surprise you that more students than ever will be taking a gap year this year to avoid the pressure of trying to find a job in a recession. It's either that or further study. 

We've got personal experience of travelling the globe at the studentswapshop office and would recommend the following key steps to planning your trip - it works for us: 

  • first narrow your search to a few locations
  • then research online to check it offers all the activities you want. 
  • then when you have picked your ideal destination purchase a guide to take you through the detail, we've used Lonely Planet Publications loads as the detail is reliable and right now you can get three for two. Perfect if you're going to more than one place.
  • next, estimating the budget you need. Use your Lonely Planet guide to find the cost of accommodation, trips and tours plus any internal travel.
  • book a few activities to get you started. It's great to book local but if you're uncertain, don't speak the language or travelling alone it can be a smart idea to book ahead knowing the price is the same. It's also another good way to cost out your trip. To get a good price you could try DoSomethingDifferent.com We've used them and found they were great when we travelled around Asia.
  • finally, think about the environment when you travel and respect the country you are in. Choosing an ethical company like Responsibletravel.com will ensure you give back to the country you are visiting. They have a good range of gap years to choose from too.

 

 

Try a hostel

    • In recent years, backpackers have begun to ask for more from their budget accommodation. These days, everyone wants to travel with their cameras and laptops, while many look for just a touch of luxury on the road! And so hostels changed to give travelers what they wanted.
       
    • Which means that the days of bare bunkhouses have long been consigned to the past! Flock wallpaper, flat screen TVs and power showers are becoming the norm rather than the exception as Europe’s been hit by a wave of seriously swanky flashpackers’ hostels.
    • A hostel isn’t just a bed for the night, it’s a passport to traveling without boundaries or restraints. And pretty soon, moving effortlessly from place to place and hostel to hostel – blazing a trail of unforgettable experiences as you go – becomes the only way to travel.
 
 

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Travel Guides:

Don't leave without your LP guide.
 

Our top travel tips

  • Buy a backpack that fits your back properly - a decent retailer will select one that isn't going to end up giving you excruciating back ache.
  • Buy a waterproof liner for your backpack. You'll be glad you did at some point.
  • If you don't like bed bugs, invest in a cotton liner for you to sleep inside in some of your more inexpensive hostels
  • Always take a photo copy of all your important travel documents, like your passport and tickets, and give the originals to someone you trust. Then if anything gets stolen at least you still have evidence of your travel docs.
  • Make sure you get all you vaccinations done at least six weeks before you travel.
  • Send us your top travel tips and we'll post them here.

Cheap hostels: