We’re seeing more young Canadians taking a “gap year” – i.e. a year off between high school and university. Originally a British concept, the gap year is spreading, and now quite common in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa….and here.
Some of these young adults choose to spend the year earning money towards their university costs. But travel is a very popular option, and it’s a great time of your life to travel before you have responsibilities, before you have a full-time job, and (let’s be honest) before you start getting picky about such things as thread counts of sheets.
We even have great solutions for parents who are anxious about their “wee” ones heading out into the big world without Mom and Dad. A number of companies we work with here in the active travel department are perfect for gap year trips. They may be as short as a couple of weeks…longer, say, six weeks…or you can take an entire year and combine multiple itineraries from one or several tour companies.
Plus those tour companies attract a lot of like-minded young travellers from around the world. And may offer a volunteer component.
Such travel it can be surprisingly affordable. Southeast Asia is known for being a great destination in which to stretch your loonie. Many parts of Latin America are still cheap.
G Adventures has a host of trips which are perfect for the gap year traveller – here are just three to get you thinking: Latin America – In Search of Iguassu; Africa – South Africa & Swazi Quest; and Asia – Indochina Discovery
The ultimate trip might combine three continents – each at the perfect time of year. Spend the spring in Asia, hop over to Africa for the summer months, then over to South America during the Canadian winter/their summer.
Hey! Sounds good to us! Can grown-ups come along too?