Gap Year Programs in the Netherlands

SAS as a recent high school graduate was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. I am so grateful for the opportunity to sail on the Fall 25 voyage as an international gap year student. The experience as a whole was so unique and I truly do not believe that you can find such a program anywhere else. The accommodation was so surreal because I got to wake up and see the waves as we sailed across the world. The community SAS builds is welcoming and kind because whenever I had a problem on the ship or in port, I never once felt alone or stranded. There will always be someone in your corner, which I appreciated. A massive thank you especially to the crew members on the ship who always make an effort to get to know your name, check in and give you a smile or laugh whenever you're stressed by travel planning, relationships and/or academics. The food does get quite repetitive if I'm being honest but it's truly a blessing to have such skilled crew members who can create delicious and nutritious meals in the middle of nowhere on the ocean. Pro tip: always get your cake first cause everyone loves the cake and it's always the first to go. In terms of academics. there are a variety of courses and I loved how everything always tied back to our in-port experiences, which allowed us to reflect on our SAS journey deeply, which I think was a crucial aid in how I developed and matured as a person. This was a great bridge between high school and university because I feel that I came out more mature, socially aware and ready for adult life. I also never felt that I couldn't make new friends because everyone is so open and you get to interact with a lot of diversity due to the various represented cultures, backgrounds, religions, nationalities etc. Til now, I am so grateful for the friends I made on SAS and we keep in touch almost daily as we plan our reunion trips. If I had one piece of advice for whoever's reading this, is that you will never truly see and understand the world around you until you're interacting with various people on the ship and in port. So do it!!! You will never regret SAS, I can promise you that :p

Loved traveling with this group! We saw so many attractions and had lots of freedom in planning our days! Would definitely recommend, especially as a first time travel experience. The month went by super fast and we were all sad to say goodbye.

I’ve seen everything I need to see in Europe. The trip was long enough for me to meet my new best friends, and Mike was a very good group leader. When I got my phone stolen in Rome Mike helped me file the police report and get all of that sorted out. All of the accommodations were very nice and the travel was easy thanks to Mike. Overall this was a great experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.

I participated I The Europe Tour put on by Gapforce in July 2019 and I have to say I’m glad I took the chance to participate in the tour! From London all the way to Amsterdam I made many friends and memories I’ll never forget! This was my first time travelling abroad and Gapforce took all worries that I had about traveling away! Hostels: The living conditions Gapforce provided were better than I expected! They found safe/clean hostels for us to stay where we’d bunk in rooms together and with other travellers. I met so many interesting people and made some friends at the hostels we stayed at! Tour Guides: Will and Andy our tour guides provided by Gapforce did a FANTASTIC job on this tour! We were very lucky to have such ambitious, patient and charismatic leaders! Whether it was assisting us after our nightly adventures or making sure everyone was being included in group activities both Will and Andy went ABOVE their job description to make sure everyone enjoyed their trip! Cheers boys!! Travelling: We always travelled by train in between countries! The trains are very spacious and I had no bad experiences on any of them! Make sure to use the metro in the cities, they’re your best friend and will save you a ton of walking! If you do partake in this trip be prepared to do a lot of walking during the day while your out and while you’re going to the next destination so be prepared to be moving around a lot! The tour: Everyday we’d usually start out in the morning with a tour by either Will or Andy in which we’d go see different tourist attractions and sights around the city. After that we’d take a break for lunch and have a choice after to continue on a guided tour by them or to be able to take the afternoon to ourselves. I found taking the afternoon to walk around and explore was a good way to take in the culture and meet some locals! Escape days and the nightlife: We got two escape in our four week period in Europe in which we were able to do whatever we wanted! My best advice would be to plan your day out in advance the day before so you can get tickets to any tours or sights you’d like to see! The nightlife in most of the places was interesting! It’s a very fun way to take in the culture and meet people! My only advice would be to always travel in groups( especially when out at night) and make sure to look after yourself if you are partaking in any of the nighttime adventures. Safety: Our tour guides did a great job of making sure everyone stayed safe on our trip! They always would check in on us if we were on our own adventures and always made sure we were staying hydrated if we were with them! Overall the trip was life changing and I met so many great people that came along on the tour and on our travels! A truly unforgettable experience!!

I have never done something like this before. I’ve never been away from family for more than a week so this was a huge step. The leaders were there for me to lean on when i needed comfort from my homesickness and they talked me through different ways to help cope. They genuinely cared about my well being as well as my mental health which helped me tremendously throughout the duration of this trip. I learned a lot from my leaders and matured from this experience and saw many, MANY beautiful places unlike any other. Each place holds a unique memory for me and i would recommend this to anyone/everyone looking to gain some independence, friends, as well as the experience of a lifetime.

This trip was so fun! It was perfect for someone like me who really wanted to travel to Europe but wasn’t comfortable traveling by myself. I got to experience so many different cultures, beautiful places amazing history and meet so many amazing people that I will continue to keep In touch with. Our leaders Andy and Will were amazing and did a great job keeping everything running smoothly and making sure that everyone was always having a good time. They knew so much about each place we went to and made sure we got to do anything we wanted to do. I would 100% recommend this trip to anyone looking to travel around Europe!

I had such an amazing time on the Europe tour with Gapforce. I was looking forward to the trip for ages, and once it started it didn’t disappoint. I met such great people on the trip. Our group leaders were awesome. Will and Andy couldn’t have done a better job. They knew a lot about each city we traveled to, and lead great tours throughout the trip. I really enjoyed the itinerary- the leaders did a really nice job of letting us explore each city in small groups after a big group tour. Escape days throughout the trip were so fun, and it was nice to be able to make your own itinerary for the day! If you’re looking into a travel agency, I would 100% recommend Gapforce. The Gapforce team was so helpful when questions needed answers. The Europe tour with Will and Andy was by far the highlight of my summer!!

Thinking about traveling through Europe? Gapforce is the perfect company to approach. I chose Gapforce because they had a well structured itinerary. Our leaders Andy and Will were both excellent in managing the logistics of our tour. They always made sure that we were on time for our trains and that we were safe and comfortable. Everyday was filled with sightseeing, fun and laughter, our leaders even arranged a boat cruise for us in Barcelona. There was never a dull moment ! I also made so many incredible new friends on this trip. I would recommend booking your Europe tour with Gapforce. You won’t regret it !

The Gapforce Europe Tour was a greatly enjoyable experience and a true highlight of my gap year. Through this trip you can see so many cities with a variety of cultures and attractions. I got to see Buckingham Palace, the Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum, the Berlin Wall and so so much more, all in a single month! All the planning was handled by our incredible tour guides Will and Andy, so it was all the fun with none of the logistics! The food was great, the people friendly, and the sights spectacular. You’re given a good tour of all the sights, and then the freedom to explore where you want to go. I highly highly recommend it to anyone on a gap year who wants to travel, and I myself and so glad I went!

I started off doing the 2 weeks and then decided too do the 4 weeks and It was the most amazing 4 weeks ever! Visited some amazing places and made some amazing friends! The leaders were great, approachable and professional and both leaders (Will and Andy) are very informative! I would love to do it all over again. It was hard work carrying luggage around (I used a large backpack) but would definitely recommend taking a backpack! Overall, it was a great experience and would definitely recommend for anyone looking to travel Europe and have a little adventure. Alicia :)