The best way to learn about a gap year is to read from people that have recently done the same. Some things can only be experienced for yourself, so don’t delay the chance for a once in a lifetime experience at having an awesome gap year.

Below are some travelers that have already had some awesome experiences and they want to share their time with you.

Beth

The best tip I can give someone is not to underestimate how much memory they will need to take photos. I took such a huge amount of photos that i ended up spending more on purchasing additional memory cards than i would have previously planned. I also found it super beneficial to read up on destination guides before I left. This helped me plan exactly where I wanted to go and the best places to stay so that I could make an informed decision particularly in the places that I hadn’t pre-booked.

Laura

My skin got super dry during my gap year so I had to stop at the pharmacy to get some moisturizer. Turned out I had been bitten by loads of insects too. It pays to take an insect repellent with you on your trip! I also found that my passport was close to expiring. This turned out to be really scary and stressful when I entered into another country but it would quickly rectified with the Australian embassy. Remember to check how long your passport has left and if it’s under 12 months I recommend getting another one a you never know you may want to extend your trip a bit longer.

Rachel

I’m a bit more of a bossy traveler so I wanted to stay comfortable and look good the entire time, yet even I would recommend that you pack lightly! I found that clothes were so easy to buy and half the time it was so hot that I didn’t even want to wear anything. Plus there’s not always a chance to wash things and when you do it’s far cheaper to do so by hand which is helped when you only have one or 2 outfits.

Sharon

I found that studying a few words before I reached each country really helped to grab a feel and make me already that bit more connected to the land. When you hear the words repeated that you had just learned it gives you a certain sense of familiarity in a foreign land, plus the locals seemed super impressed by my ability to say hello and thank you. I’m also really glad I took out travel insurance. We did encounter an issue in regards to flight cancellations so we were glad we weren’t left in the dark (literally!).

Tyler

We planned a pretty rustic journey where the only thing that kept us from going with the b are essentials was our inner cry for freedom. We sustained ourselves on toilet paper and chocolate. It was a rough ride. We were sore. One of us were bound to die. We ached but we carried on and it turned out to be the best experience of my life.

Blake

My main tip is to choose your travel partner very wisely. Although it was my best friend we simply had different likes. He wanted to experience the history and cultural points of significance, I just wanted to get wasted. Luckily we stayed friends but we vouched to never travel together again. Oh, and don’t forget to bring a spare toothbrush. Don’t ask.

Damian

Travel was the first time in my life where I decided to use a diary. It was a way to record my journeys and to remember to tell people what happened when I got home. This turned out to be a super useful thing and to this day I’m still using a diary! I too underestimated to importance of bringing more than one credit card so I would recommend you try and bring two in different spots of course.