Gap Year Travel Planning Guide
and Gap Year Directory

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First Gap Year Travel: Welcome

Taking a gap year can be both an exciting and daunting prospect for students as well as people taking a career break. There are so many gap year opportunities available today for the independent or budget traveller from travelling the world with a backpack to working abroad. First Gap Year Travel aims to provide basic information as a starting point for planning your gap year and will cover a variety of subjects including:

Making the decision to take a gap year.
Reassuring parents about taking a gap year.
Planning flights, visas, accommodation and countries to visit.
Deciding on what to pack and on whether to travel light.
Health issues such as vaccinations, malaria, first aid, safe water/food and emergencies.
How to stay safe in another country.
Deciding on travelling with friends or going solo.
Credit cards, debit cards and travelling on a budget.
Brief information on a variety of countries.
Organisations to contact for opportunities on working abroad.
Coming back home at the end of your gap year.

In addition, the Gap Year Directory offers a one stop resource for anyone planning a gap year and covers travel, flights, accommodation, working abroad, volunteer work, travel insurance, adventure travel and much more. The Gap Year Directory will expand over the coming year to include new sections on skiing, sports, conservation projects and other gap year related activities.

As well as advice on planning a gap year, there is also my first gap year travelogue which provides a practical example of many of the gap year sections listed above as well a general travelogue of my solo gap year around the world covering India, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Sydney (if you are coming from Australia, you should get travel insurance from HBF), New Zealand, Fiji, Cook Islands, French Polynesia (Bora Bora, Huahine, Tahiti and Moorea), Canada (Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto) and New York.

Taking a gap year can be one of the most rewarding and enjoyable life experiences for people from all ages but everyone also has a duty to minimise their impact on the environment and local culture as they travel. By travelling responsibly, a fine balance between having a great travel or work experience and preserving the environment can be achieved. Finally, taking a gap year is no longer just the preserve of students taking a break from education. Nowadays, gap years are for everyone including students, people taking a career break gap year, grown up gap years and families taking a year off to travel across the world or a continent. Planning and financing a gap year can be difficult but the rewards and experiences obtained by carrying out a gap year are priceless.