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Gap Year

Gap Year Programs

Experience a year of growth! Spend your days exploring new places, pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, and meeting lifelong friends.

Looking for the perfect balance between globetrotting and enlightenment? Take a gap year! Whether it’s a year off between high school and college (a healthy break from monotonous school life!), a gap year after college (which can give you time to figure out your next steps), or a gap year at literally any other time, it’ll be time well spent. Gap year programs are riddled with opportunities for personal growth, attainment of new skills, reevaluation of personal and career goals, and (of course) once-in-a-lifetime adventures.

Hawaii / NZ / Australia Semesters + Internships in 22 Countries

Get TEFL Certified & Explore the World as a Paid English Teacher

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Seamester Study Abroad and Gap Year Voyages

#1 Gap Year in 2024 - Over 100 Animal Welfare Programs Worldwide!

Experience New Cultures, Discover Yourself, Become a Change-maker!

Join our impactful gap year programs in Africa, Costa Rica and more!

Take a gap year in South Africa. Reserve your place now!

Explore, Learn & Grow. Make the Voyage Your Own.

Customized GAP Year Programs in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Peru

Featured Provider of the Month

Discover who you are on the ultimate gap adventure! Sail the world!
with Seamester Study Abroad at Sea

Set your own course and explore the world with Sea|mester

Find adventure in South Africa during a GAP year internship with VACorps!

Customized GAP Year Programs in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Peru

Plan your Conservation Gap Year in the wild: Get our Premium Support

Award-Winning Global Health Internships for High-School Students

Do your Gap Year volunteering in Ghana! Travel Responsibly with Kaya

Transformative Gap Programs across Europe, Asia, and Latin America

Get your eSIM with 10% off using the code GOABROAD10. Stay connected!

This Month’s Recommended Gap Year Programs

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New Zealand & Australia Gap Semester | Pacific Discovery

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Australia Adventure with Gapforce

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A Guide to Taking a Gap Year

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.

What to do during a gap year

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.

Where to take a gap year

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.

Popular Providers

Frequently Asked Questions

A gap year is an intentional break from school or work for travel. They traditionally last for a year or longer, but can be as short as one semester. Gap years are characterized by immense personal growth and education through travel.

Why Take a Gap Year?

It's a great idea to take a gap year, as they're highly beneficial to travelers of all ages. The best reasons why you should take a gap year include educational opportunities, work experience, global perspectives, and personal growth.

12 Gap Year Benefits Your Future Self Will Thank You For

To take a gap year, you should set goals for what you want to accomplish during your time off and what parts of the world you want to see. Decide if you want to go after high school, during college, or after college, all of which are possibilities.

How to Take a Gap Year Abroad

You can do so much on a gap year! Some ideas are to study a new language, backpack through a country, work in a hostel, or volunteer on an organic farm. Be intentional and set goals, and think about how your plans factor into life after your gap year.

You can take a gap year after high school, during college, after college, or mid-career. The best time to take your gap year will depend on your personal and professional goals, as well as your budget and responsibilities.

How to Decide When to Take a Gap Year

The best places to take a gap year include New Zealand, Australia, and Ireland, as they offer working holiday opportunities for gappers. Other popular places are Southeast Asia and Western Europe.

10 Beautiful (and Best) Places to Take a Gap Year

It depends. If you make the most of your gap year and can add what you learned or experienced to a resume/CV, colleges will be more appreciative of your gap year. However, this varies from institution to institution.

You can take a year off during college for a gap year, or even a semester. The process for this will depend on your home university, and whether or not your gap year can earn you college credit.

How to Defer Enrollment to Take a Gap Year

To plan a gap year, you'll need to know when you want to go, what you want to do, and which countries you want to see. These are all important steps in planning a gap year. MyGoAbroad can help get you started.

Latest Program Reviews

I grew so much and had the time of my life doing so.

April 28, 2025by: Kate McLain - United StatesProgram: EF Gap Semester in Australia, Thailand, & Japan

The voyager program was the best possible program that I could’ve taken. Between the people I was surrounded with, the staff, and the cultures I was immersed in, I was able to learn and connect. I have grown so much and I will be so grateful to EF for that. Throughout the journey, I mostly felt supported, especially with having food allergies, however, in Japan, the first tour guide, and myself did not always see eye to eye, therefore I did not feel supported. However, once this situation was remedied, we were given a lovely tour director named Mari. She was kind and cordial with the group and very knowledgeable about the area which made our experience all the more wonderful we learned so much and I am so grateful to EF for having this program. Shout out to my blue group.

life as an aupair

April 24, 2025by: Meline Zalinyan - ArmeniaProgram: Wanderlust Culture Home-stay English Teaching Program

Being an au pair in China is a really good way to experience life there. You get to live with a Chinese family, which means you're surrounded by the culture every day. I got to travel, try a lot of new food, and learn about their customs up close. Living with a Chinese family helped me understand their lifestyle better and made the whole experience more meaningful. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that you might feel a bit alone at first—you have to figure things out on your own, like exploring your neighborhood and getting used to everything but finding other au pairs nearby makes a big difference and can turn the experience into something really fun and memorable.

I grew so much and had the time of my life doing so.

April 28, 2025by: Kate McLain - United StatesProgram: EF Gap Semester in Australia, Thailand, & Japan

life as an aupair

April 24, 2025by: Meline Zalinyan - ArmeniaProgram: Wanderlust Culture Home-stay English Teaching Program

Latest Interviews

Caoimhe Flood

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I have always loved to travel and this opportunity gave me the chance to explore places I have never been before. I also wanted to travel while I was ...

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When I was in high school, I never seriously considered taking time off from school. I started college at Chapman University in the fall of 2018. Unfo...

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