Tips for Choosing Where to Go & What to do on Your Gap Year

Alright, you’ve decided to jump a leap of gap year faith and take a break between high school and college whatever comes next in life. But now that you’re feeling uber-confident in your decision and have gotten Mom and Dad (and maybe even Grandma, if you’re lucky) to support it, two important questions remain:

Where are you going to go?

-and-

What are you going to do once you get there?

With some 200 countries to choose from and infinite possibilities of changemaking on the menu, it’s no wonder the typical student gets overwhelmed when just thinking about their gap year itinerary (let alone biting the bullet and booking!).

Here’s everything you need to know to enjoy the decision-making process as you plan the most epic, challenging, educational, powerful, and beautiful year of your life.

Two Highways, One Destination

Students are usually drawn to define their gap year based on two major factors: activities/causes or locations. Neither is better than the other when it comes to establishing your route. If you’re passionate about water issues, you might decide that location is secondary and you’ll go anywhere to get your hands wet. On the flipside, if you’re passionate about learning Asian cultures, you may opt to head there and choose a volunteer project that sounds cool and interesting, as long as it exposes you to the nitty gritty of the local culture.

Again: both strategies are perfectly fine and fruitful; it all depends on what your priorities are during your gap year.

Variety Vs. Specialization

Another thing to consider when crafting your ultimate bucket list is how many places or how many projects you want to participate in. Some students might be drawn to get to know a country intimately, planning to stay put for the majority of the year. These types of experiences often lend themselves to true immersion, meaningful relationships with locals, and a solid grasp of what life is like in a foreign country.

Similarly, if you find yourself with a growing passion for working with street children, you might opt to focus all of your volunteer work around opportunities to work with kids. In this way, you will create continuity across projects and build on skills over the year, even if you do various projects with various organizations in various countries.

Both of the above examples fall under a specialization approach to a gap year.

Alternatively, if you want a little taste of the world, you might start collecting more and more passport stamps ASAP. Maybe you want exposure to a variety of advocacy projects – so one month you volunteer in rhino conservation, the next you teach English to orphan children, and the next you sign up for immersion language classes in the local tongue. The varietyof experiences affords you tremendous opportunities for self-reflection, discerning your interests, and comparing/contrasting experiences.

On the same note, many gap year students choose to spend their trip exploring a particular region, but not any one specific country. For instance, a student with a growing love affair for Latin America may move from Ecuador to Peru to Bolivia to Argentina, all on one gap year. An experience in multiple countries may not afford students a truly deep interpretation of the places visited, but it does allow for interesting discussion and dialogue on subcultures and subtle nuances across geographically similar destinations.

Ultimately, it is up to YOU to determine the goals you wish to accomplish on your gap year, and relay them into an itinerary that will set you up for success in achieving those goals.

Connectivity Vs. Remote EXPERIENCES

As a first time traveler, the idea of living in a remote village with limited amenities might sound either exhilarating or awful. While some may be up for the adventure, others may prefer to stay in the comforts of their flushing-toilets-and-running-water lifestyles.

When choosing particular destinations, factor in how extreme you want your experience to be. Rural areas offer a very different type of experience than urban ones; for instance, they’re typically more traditional, and limit your temptations for only hanging out with other foreigners or only eating familiar foods. Many educators will argue that experiences that draw you out of your comfort zone is where all the juicy, lifelong change happens. Being cut off from your reality has its merits, we promise.

If you are keen to travel extensively to neighboring countries or cities during your gap year, keep in mind the ease of travel from your destination. You might consider researching convenient routes to other places via overland travel (bus, trains, etc.) or air travel.

How to Choose a Place

It can be tempting to visit every. single. country. while on your gap year. You’ve got 12 months to spare, that would equal opportunity to visit roughly 50 countries, right?! WRONG. Avoid the quantity-over-quality trap! Don’t use your gap year as a race to fill up your passport. This type of travel lends itself to extreme tourism or flashpacking, and that’s NOT what your gap year is about.

Instead, make a short list of must-visit destinations. Next, make a secondary list of places you’d lurve to visit, but would only shed a few tears over if you had to wait for your next grand adventure. You can even make a tertiary list if it makes you feel better, but let’s focus first on lists

From these lists, pull out a map (a physical one if possible!) and start charting possible courses. Do your research: what times of year are particularly expensive/inexpensive to fly to or visit this destination? What season will be suitable for my volunteer project? Should I backtrack back to X before heading to Y, or vice versa?

Seeing it drawn out on an actual paper map 1) will make you giddy with excitement 2) makes your adventure seem all the more real.

How to Choose a Focus

Let’s be real. There’s a lot of S&#* happening in the world right now. At times, it can feel daunting (at best) to find a cause to hone in on and learn more about. Social services, lack of resources, HIV/AIDS, conservation for land and marine life, construction projects that support community development, working with children, working with the elderly, alleviating the stress of refugees, empowering women to fight for equality, learning to speak a foreign language fluently. You really have the gamut when choosing a project to focus on while abroad.

Think back on some volunteer projects you particularly enjoyed in high school or some class subjects that didn’t make you want to punch your brains out. These are key! Your attitudes towards these projects/subjects can easily be translated into fulfilling international volunteer work.

Putting It All Together

Now that you have a better idea of some exciting projects you want to tackle, places you MUST go, and your underlying goals, it’s time to jump start finding gap year programs that will enhance your overall experience abroad. Read reviews of programs online – no opinion is more valid than a past participant’s. Check organizations’ different accreditations (are they American Gap Association certified?). Browse through photos and stories and vignettes and social media accounts until you find a program that feels just right.

Remember: there are a lot of program options out there, and you can afford to be picky. Involve your parents in your decision making process if you want to fast-track your way to the top of their favorite child list.

In the end, it doesn’t really matter where you end going or what you end up doing. There’s no magic formula for a meaningful gap year. As long as your heart and mind are open to the lessons of the road, your gap year will be a worthwhile, life-altering, and captivating experience!

Photo Credit: John-Mark Kuznietsov

Article contributed by Megan Lee