If you’ve chosen to take some time out before starting college or a break from your career to take a gap year, you won’t regret it. Choosing to take a gap year will, without a doubt, be one of the best decisions that you have ever made. Whether your ‘gap year’ is actually going to be 12 months long or is just a few months, it doesn’t matter; the important thing is that you are actively following your dreams. Gap years offer the most incredible experiences; you’ll learn about new cultures, build lifelong bonds, and have adventures that you could only dream of. To ensure that you have the most amazing gap year experience, here are some ideas for making the most of your trip.
Learn to speak a new language
A big part of travel is speaking to local people and learning about their lifestyle and culture; this is difficult to do if you don’t speak the language. So why not make one of your gap year goals to learn a new language fluently while you are away? This would not only allow you to immerse yourself in local culture, but it would also be an extra skill to add to your resume when you return home.
Say you’ve chosen to spend your gap year in Thailand, while you are there take the time to learn to speak the language. Attend a course once a week, find yourself a tutor, and make it your aim to learn the language fluently by the time that you return home. Having a purpose when traveling is always important, as it allows you to make the most of your trip.
Volunteer
The chances are that you’ve never had the chance to volunteer before, so now could be the perfect time to spend some time helping others. You’re off of work, you’ve got plenty of time to spare, and need something to do while you’re abroad, so why not volunteer? One of the major benefits of volunteering is that it helps to keep the cost of traveling lower, as many projects offer their volunteer’s free accommodation and board.
Say, for example, you’ve decided that you want to volunteer and work with animals, take the time to find a location that offers volunteering projects working with animals, such as Costa Rica. If you were to choose to volunteer in Costa Rica, you would have plenty of choice of what types of projects to get involved in, including working with animals and sea life.
Become a coach
If you’ve got a certain skill, then why not choose to use it on your gap year to earn as you travel? That way you could not only have the most incredible time away, but you could also be building up your bank balance as you travel.
Say you are a keen skier with a lot of skills and experience, consider opting to travel to destination that offers skiing and train as a ski coach so that you can offer lessons to other skiers. Or, say, for instance, you are a skilled surfer, pick a travel destination that’s renowned for surfing and offer surfing lessons while there. Obviously, you will need to get the correct qualifications first, but once you’ve got them, you can then spend your time doing what you love and teaching others.
There you have it, three ideas for making the most of your gap year.
