Gap Year Programs

How to take a gap year

Not sure what a gap year even is? We don’t blame you—”gap year” has come to be somewhat of a blanket term for any extended period of time taken off away from home or “normal” life. The unstructured pursuit of personal growth abroad tends to be what defines a gap year. If you want to know how to do a gap year, here’s a general overview:

• Figure out why you want to take a gap year. Don’t set off on your life-changing journey without knowing what you want out of the experience. Do you want to learn a new language? Gain career skills? Just plain old immerse in a brand new place and culture? There’s no wrong way to take a gap year, but mapping out your gap year goals is a helpful first step.
• Decide when to go. There isn't a wrong time to take a gap year; it’s all about finding the right time for you. If you’re a recent high school graduate who has no clue what they want to study in college, your time will be better spent on a gap year abroad, getting a firsthand look at how the world works, and learning more about yourself and your wants. Or, if you’re about to graduate college and aren’t sure you actually chose the right field of study anymore, going on a gap year is a great way to take some time to figure it out, while still building skills and having one-of-a-kind experiences.
• Choose a gap year program. Booking a gap year program can be immensely helpful, especially if you plan to go to more than one destination. Gap year programs will help you sort out visas, find safe places to stay, and maybe even find you some paid work opportunities.

Why take a gap year?

There are lots of reasons to take a gap year, and plenty of benefits of doing so. The best reason to take a gap year though is to learn more about yourself and your future goals. You’ll be surprised at how much a gap year can change your life and perspectives! Gap year benefits include a better sense of what you want for your future, increased confidence and feelings of capability, and even hard skills like new languages.

Gap year pros and cons can be a long list depending on your goals, but the most common con of taking a gap year is that tight backpacker budget. Traveling is expensive! However, we’re confident that the benefits and pros of taking a gap year will be well worth overcoming any roadblocks.

There’s so much to do during a gap year, which is (again!) why mapping out your goals is important. Deciding what to do in a gap year will depend on what you want to get out of the experience. Do you want to volunteer for a cause? Learn a new language? Summit a mountain? All of the above?

The world is your oyster during a gap year, so don’t be afraid to pursue every opportunity. If you do have something specific in mind though, traveling with a gap year program will help you iron out all the logistics, so that you can focus more on fulfilling your gap year dreams!

It’s also incredibly common to work odd jobs while on the go in order to pay for them. If you know you’ll need to earn money while traveling, we suggest heading to a destination that offers Working Holiday Visas, like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland, among others. Otherwise, start perusing online jobs boards for backpackers in your chosen destination prior to arrival, so that you know what type of work is common and where to go looking for it. Gap years tend to be lessons in extreme budget travel, so you’ll surely learn how to make your dollars stretch as far as they can go.

You can take a gap year anywhere—as long as you can get a visa, of course! However, some destinations are better suited for gap years than others, especially if you’re on a tight budget or looking for job opportunities. There are some places that seem like they were made for gap year travelers (we’re looking at you, Australia and New Zealand). But that doesn’t mean you need to be limited to one country for your gap year! Maybe you want to budget travel Europe or South America. Or maybe you just want to go where the wind blows you! Either way, it’s good to remember that the wider you cast your net, the more money you better have in your savings account. Research the cost of living in your intended destination(s) and whether or not you can offset those costs with gap year work programs or odd jobs.