Author: Travel Guruji

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The gap year is interesting and memorable moments in one’s life so it requires adequate, careful and proper planning. The gap year is a time when we ponder more on our life and the things we want to achieve or do later on in life. Usually, after a successful gap year, you will return feeling more refreshed, brand new and sure about what next you want to do.  

Planning a successful gap year requires lots of goals and purpose you would like to achieve, though it doesn’t have to be that perfect. It is beneficial to anyone who did it because you get to learn about various cultures, languages, safety tips, etc. before you are set to do that either dependently or independently.

It also requires doing lots of research about where you want to do, what you need to take along with you, how to go about with your traveling etc.

Written below are tips that will guide you on how to plan a successful gap year:

1. Think about the places to go on a gap year

First and foremost, when planning a gap year you need to understand the goals you want to achieve during the gap year, doing this will serve as a guide when you want to select the country you want to travel to because not every country is fit for any goal.

Even after selecting the best destination, it is required of you to study the country’s foreign travel advice if they have one because of some countries that specific rules and regulations concerning foreigners.

Also, consider about the best time or season to travel to your selected country, make researches about the countries weather conditions as of the time you want to travel, will it be suitable for you or not. Don’t forget to know if they have any cultural festivals or religious beliefs or observances you need to know before you go there.

Request for helps either from people or online about things you can do during your gap year.

2. Who does want to travel with?

You can decide on who you want to travel with make sure they are people who have almost the same goals and interest as yours in other to enjoy your gap year. 

Travelling with people during your gap has lots of advantages and benefits you will enjoy such as: keeping your company when you are bored, help you in the sharing of costs of the things you need to pay for, make you feel safer and secure whenever you go to a new place where you don’t really understand their languages.

Though at first the thoughts of going with people or friends may be discouraging, the more the merrier. Besides going with people or friends will help boost your self-esteem, increase your relationship and communication skills, and increase your networking skills by meeting new people.

3. Get Money for your expenses

There are different methods of raising money to pay for your gap year. You can either request for sponsors from friends and family, get a good paying part-time job, request for bank loans or loans from friends or family, selling of hand made things or things you don’t need anymore either online or garage sales or car boot sales.

Ensure that the money you’ve realized will be enough and sufficient for your travels. Based on the researches and inquiries you’ve done you can create a budget list in other to be able to manage funds and control your spending properly.

4. Book your travel ticket

What means of transportation do you want to travel with? Is it by road or by air or by rails? Whichever way it is you want to travel go ahead to book a ticket once you’ve already made up your mind about where you want to go to. You can go online to make inquiries about how to book a ticket with travel agencies then you choose the one that aligns with want you want and what you have.

5. Do the needful

Before you travel for your gap year there are essential things you must do and they include:

 A visit to healthcare for various medical tests, vaccinations against some diseases like malaria, and also some medications.

Ensure that you have a valid passport that will cover the duration of your stay and also request for a tourist or holiday visas. 

Ensure that the travel insurance got you covered in some areas.

Ensure that you are well grounded in the country’s customs, cultures, and traditions.

Let your bank know that you are traveling abroad and let them know the duration of your stay there.

 6. Pack and Buy essential things

When planning on the things you need to pack and buy for your trip you can go online to make researches about the essential things you need to take along with you, buy backpacks that won’t hurt your back, towels, comfortable clothes and sweaters, and shoes for different purposes either for jogging or for party or for meetings.

7. Prepare for your gap year return

After enjoying a wonderful time during your gap year, you need to prepare well and plan-ahead in other to avoid post-holiday blues worries and troubles.

Ensure that you have enough money that will be sufficient for your flight back home, your upkeeps and rents before you can find another part-time or full-time job.

Besides in other to have an upper hand when you apply for jobs, you can upgrade your CV with the experiences skills and knowledge that you have acquired during your gap year travels.

You can also make temporary plans pending the time you are able to pick up a suitable job. You can apply for internship positions with companies you’ll like to work with. Another idea is to update your skills by learning to enroll for one or two courses online. Whatever your decisions are, make sure you are well-prepared for your return.

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It is a consensus that classroom learning is excellent but not enough to supersede the quality of knowledge that can be acquired through traveling.

When students visit a place that is different from where they have always been familiar with, they are not just likely to have the time of their life. But, they are also at liberty to learn new languages, be acquainted with new cultures, and get in touch with how things are done differently according to beliefs and values of people.

Whatever has been taught theoretically within the classroom walls can be made up for practically when student travel is encouraged. In-depth insights on art, science, commerce, and history among other things are dug out while on the journey to see the world. The educational benefits of student travel  are numerous and not limited to the following;

Cultural learning.

Until other places are visited and other people are contacted, there may be a controlled believe that everyone has to behave the same way as you. Visiting other people and getting acquainted with other people’s cultures help much to see that just someplace near your state can have a different belief and cultural practice.

It is not only limited to acceptance. Traveling and having to live with people of different culture leaves you no choice but to learn their culture, especially if you will be staying long with them. Culture diversity should not have to mean social difference- some of the students may not learn this fact unless they travel.

Language learning.

This is another great benefit of traveling around the country. If any student has to go round the country, the student must be ready to not only learn different languages of each country but also be mentally and emotionally prepared to put the learned words into practice.

Traveling around gives students the chance to learn as many languages as possible, provided the words will be needed in the countries.

Imagine a student who has only been communicating in English all his life has a privilege to visit China. He does not need to love Chinese before he picks one or two Chinese words.

Culinary learning.

Just as there are diverse cultures and languages scattered around the world, there are also different food types and method of cooking. Food is universally fundamental to human growth so you may have to adapt to the kind of food that they eat where you visit. Not only will you need to change, but you may also need to learn how to make the dishes.

Better learning experience.

The fact remains that a lot more about what has been taught in the class is learned from traveling with the one that taught you and the people you have been learning with. There is a chance that some of the things you have talked about in class will be encountered as you travel with this set of people. It will be a lot easier to teach from the things that can be seen. It also serves as an excellent opportunity to share the same space with your superior and inferior. You all get to interact and learn more about each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

This makes you gain an amount of confidence that may be useful for a future relationship with your teacher and colleagues.

Improve social skills.

When students travel together, they are forced to be in the same place and within the same walls sometimes. If this happens for an extended period, even the shy ones come out of their shell out of no choice.

Before long, all the people that have been privileged to go on the travel become friends. The shy ones now see family and close friends in the stead of just colleagues. I think this is a huge breakthrough. It could even mean that an end has come to their timidity.

At the end of the journey, all of the people that traveled together, including the teacher would have learned to tolerate and relate with one another.

Improves teamwork.

Traveling with someone or a set of people makes them my team member. If as a student, I have been chosen with two or three other colleagues of mine to go to another environment for whatever reason, they are the people I am familiar with. Hence, they will be the people I identify with either for a project, for shopping or as we go to a restaurant. Having people around that, you can call a team makes everything go even more smoothly than imagination.

Together, everybody achieves more.

This is also true for a group of students as it is right for a group of workers.

Increase self–awareness.

This is particular to the students who have just reached adolescence. They are still at the initial stage of self-discovery and will need a lot of getting out and exposure to know the things they enjoy doing

If a student has only known the classroom walls and home all his life, he may be limited without even knowing his limitations. A getaway or student trip exposes this one to a lot of things out there, and they soon find out some basic things that they find pleasure in. Some of these things they find comfort in will make them more aware of themselves and ultimately help in the process of self-discovery.

Improve travel skills.

Continuous getting away with your group is bound to expose you to some necessary travel skills.

When you are traveling, you learn how to take essential things over mundane things. You also learn how to pack light, how to brace yourself up for the means of transportation and how to make reservations in the place you are going to.

You learn more as you travel with your colleagues and teacher. Do not shy away from this adventure.

The following importance cannot be overemphasized. Getting better in all ramification is what real learning is about, and if traveling is a means to this end, then students should do more traveling.