If you’re looking ahead to next year and thinking about a gap year, today’s post is just what you need. Think Thailand is the only option for time abroad? Think again.
Year Out Group, the association of leading gap year organisations, surveyed over 49,000 students and young travellers undertaking placements in over 90 countries worldwide in 2010/11. South Africa retained its position as the most popular destination for placements whilst Thailand came in at number seven.
South Africa is popular for it’s conservation reserves, although teaching, surfing, marine conservation and scuba diving are all accessible activities too. Worldwide Experience offers you the opportunity to work as a conservation volunteer on some of Southern Africa’s premier private game reserves and leading marine ocean research projects.
Canada is second on the list, as more organisations are now catering for winter sports like ski instructor courses. The courses offer paid work on completion of the course, which can be quite appealing for many. During the summer months, the Canadian countryside offers the perfect terrain for mountain biking and companies are taking advantage of this. You can even train to be a mountain leader.
AllTracks offer ski and snowboard instructor courses, giving you the opportunity to become a qualified instructor. It’s a fantastic way to spend a gap year and can also fast track you into a position within the snowsports industry.
Australia is always a popular gap year destination because of the huge variety of experiences on offer, such as hiking in the outback, skiing in the mountains and diving at the Great Barrier Reef. There are lots of backpacker networks, so you’ll get chance to meet and hang out with like minded people. You can even apply for a working holiday visa before you go, to help with your expenses as you travel around.
India offers students and young travellers a chance to explore a rapidly developing country via voluntary roles. This is a great way to learn about a country and its customs. There are programs allowing volunteers the opportunity to educate disadvantaged street children. You can find out more information about this at GapGuru.
Of course there are several destinations you could choose from. This list only represents the places visited by a surveyed group of just 49,000 people.
Gapwork.com has made the following predictions for dream gap year destinations of 2012.
- South East Asia, particularly Cambodia.
- Africa as not only a holiday destination but also for volunteer work.
- South America – Ecuador and Peru.