Europe Gap Year

Living in Northern Ireland for three months gave me a completely new perspective on the world. I met so many kind and welcoming locals who made everyday life feel slower, warmer, and more connected. From the way people socialize over coffee or at the pub to the balance between work, nature, and community, I learned so much about appreciating simple moments. This experience helped me grow personally and opened my eyes to different ways of living and connecting with people.

Very special program! If you’re looking for the sign, this is it. Honestly I was bit skeptical going into a “gap year” program as someone who just graduated from university but Ricky really does everything he can to help personalize the program to fit your needs. Between working around my job schedule and setting me up with amazing trad musicians, this was a perfect break to reset my system after an intense semester. Ricky and Katie got to know each of us by checking in regularly one on one and taking any opportunity to chat and see how they could improve, so even in a small group of varied ages and life stages, we all grew in our ways and had the best experience possible Truly can not recommend the program enough and can’t wait to go back to Portrush to see all of the great friends I made, and could not be more grateful for the community who welcomed us in as their own.

This was truly an experience I will never forget. When in Northern Ireland we were staying in a beautiful seaside town, Portrush. With such an incredible community that welcomed us with open arms. This program is an incredible balance between working and free time. We have a good working space where we work as a team promoting not only this program on social media but we worked with Tourism N.I and local businesses. With time off we were able to explore, chill and hangout with each other, all on our own schedule. We stay in flats together, separated by gender. It is in a very convenient location right across from the train station and right in town, perfect for going out. Ricky and Katie our programs leaders and throughout this whole experience. They are always there to talk, help you out especially when navigating a new country. They also bring us on incredible adventures, my favourite was our time in Donegal. The Scotland portion is a great experience, we got to visit a lot of places and got to do some once in a lifetime experiences like staying in a castle. Overall this was a great experience and I am grateful that I got to spend a portion of my gap with them.

I felt like I had the most amount of independence I could by being on a program. I met ppl I’ll remember and plan on keeping in touch with long term. I made an in incredible amount of memories I can only grow from and all the things I can think of that I hated were just things I had to humble myself with and it 100% worked.

Travelling through Scotland and Ireland was one of the most memorable experiences of my life, and a huge part of that was thanks to Ricky Martin. From the moment the journey began, Ricky made everything feel smooth and stress-free. He was incredibly helpful, always ready to answer questions, give advice, or point me in the right direction without ever making me feel dependent. Instead, he struck the perfect balance—offering support while still encouraging me to explore and handle things on my own. What stood out the most was how comfortable he made me feel throughout the trip. Whether we were navigating busy streets, figuring out transport, or settling into new places, Ricky had a calm and friendly way of explaining things that instantly put me at ease. He treated every moment as an opportunity for me to grow more confident

It was a wonderful experience, something I would definitely do again. I learned so much and visited many places. Ricky was an excellent leader, and I felt very comfortable talking to him about any situation or problem. I highly recommend this program because you learn a lot about yourself and about independence.

Europe Gap Year was an absolutely worthwhile experience for me. It had everything I was looking for in a gap year programme: an internship that provided me with work experience, the chance to travel and explore a new country, collaborating and living with others my own age, and the opportunity to live independently and learn to cook and clean for myself. The internship helped me to develop important skills for the future, including time/project management, different writing styles, and photography. It was a wonderful programme, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a way to spend their gap year.

I think Europe gap year was an amazing experience and I can’t believe its over its been such a blessing and I’m so lucky I’ve found it. I’ve met so many amazing people and have had so many once in a lifetime experiences and I’ve gained so much it , from learning to plan projects how to communicate better, how to live independently, how to manage time and money. The reason i picked it was because i didn’t really know if i wanted to go straight into college and have to do school for another four years. But its really opened my eyes to so many new things. I loved being able to experience all the different cultures we came into contact with. A huge passion of mine is skateboarding and one of my main dreams is to travel and skate the whole world and Europe gap year has already given me a big taste of that dream from being able to skate both main city’s of Scotland Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Have you ever had a moment in your life where you know what you're doing is important? That is- important for yourself, and the person you're becoming? For me, this was the moment I first arrived in Dublin. And the feeling only grew the longer the internship went on. From experiencing living away from my parents with two flatmates, to getting to explore the town on my own, I got a taste for what life as an adult will be like. All while having the comfort of knowing the program coordinators were right there whenever we grew unsure of something. I can confidently say that by the time I returned to Dublin airport- this time to leave the country; I had a new perspective for what it meant to live life as an individual, and how much effort it took to do so on top of whatever aspiration or dream one may follow. It is an appreciation I doubt I could have so easily gained without embarking on my own for a bit.

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My experience aboard was great to say the least. Such nice people all around. Got the opportunity to work with Tourism Northern Ireland which was awesome. Traveling around Ireland and Scotland was always something I’d want to do and got to explore all around.

After setting up a few meetings with Ricky, I flew over to Northern Ireland from Indonesia in February. In the 11 weeks I spent between Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, and Scotland, I definitely experienced a lot of new things that I am so happy to have had the opportunity to try; like surfing. Completing the projects with Tourism Northern Ireland also gave me a lot of insight on how businesses operate and gave me solid work experience. I thoroughly enjoyed the program, especially because it was a great balance between work and leisure where it isn't too overwhelming but also not too boring. I also met some great people that I hope to stay in contact with in the future. Sharing and hearing stories from gap year students all around the world also gave me perspective. Overall, I am very happy I took part in the program and got to experience what it's like living in Northern Ireland.

I recently completed an internship in Northern Ireland, focusing on photography and videography, and it was an incredibly enriching experience. I had the opportunity to work on a variety of projects that increased my photography and videography skills to a new level. The hands-on experience in such a unique environment really enhanced my skills and confidence. Everyone I worked with was just as committed as I was and helped me with anything I needed. Overall, it was a fantastic opportunity that gave me invaluable experience, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to expand their skills in photography and videography.