Visit Europe!

For both students and people in work, the option for taking a gap year is proving to be a very popular life choice. Making the decision to take a gap year and following it through can be difficult to achieve. For a student taking a gap year before or after taking a university degree, a gap year can have a huge positive effect in terms of boosting confidence, increasing maturity, developing social skills, gaining experience and knowledge of different cultures, helping the environment and feeling independent by taking the opportunity of working in a different country.
For a student or individual with no financial or family commitments, a gap year can seem like the perfect way to experience life before joining or returning to the world of work. However, like many things in life, there are major hurdles to overcome. Firstly there is the question of financing the gap year. If a person is lucky enough to have funds available or will be working during their gap year, this poses very few problems. For many people who are hoping to travel during their gap year, it may mean taking a temporary job or asking parents to help out financially. With student debts at an all time high, gaining the necessary funds can prove to be very difficult and delays may be inevitable.
The second hurdle to overcome is the fear and excitement of travelling to the far corners of the world and surviving to tell the tale especially for those travelling solo for the first time. Parents, friends and family will also be very worried with stories of crime, natural disasters, unstable governments and disease ridden areas making the news on a daily basis. In the vast majority of cases, most countries are just as safe as your home country. With the wealth of information available on the internet and through travel guides, there is no excuse not to plan a trip beforehand in order to make the most of it and to avoid unnecessary risks and dangers. Many countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America have well laid out backpacker routes which are used by thousands of men and women travelling in groups or on their own. The vast majority have amazing experiences and return home safely. You will be hard pressed to find an individual who has taken a gap year and regretted the decision.
For some, travelling solo may pose a major problem if they have never tried it before. They may be worried about feeling lonely and unable to cope with situations by themselves in a strange country far from home. Fortunately there are thousands of people in exactly the same situation and travelling solo is the ideal way to meet people and build confidence. People often meet in hostels, bars, trains, airports and the list goes on. It is much easier to meet people while travelling than it is in your home country and in most cases, people will only be alone if they choose to be. Also the ability to cope with new situations will improve over a short period of time as you gain confidence through each experience. After a while, you will be booking accommodation on the internet, travelling long distances and communicating with people in a different language without a second thought.
The options for people taking a gap year are huge and include travel, volunteer work, contract work, seasonal jobs, adventure travel, teaching English and much more. Advice and information on all these aspects can be found at First Gap Year. A gap year can be a once in a life time experience and as long as you plan well and use your common sense, it can be year that will change your life for the better.

The best time to travel is in the holidays, right? Not if you want to make big savings on your traveling costs it’s not. If you travel in off peak (or low season) periods, or even in the shoulder season, you’ll find traveling costs a lot less.

Where are you traveling? Do you know the peak travel times for this destination? Summer and spring, no matter where you are, are generally considered the peak seasons to travel, unless you are a winter sports enthusiast. In that case, ski resorts will be having their peak season in winter. And what hemisphere are you thinking of visiting? The seasons differ depending on whether you are north or south. For example, the North America summer months are June, July, August but in Australia the summer months are December, January and February. You will need to research your destination to find out the low season times to visit.

First of all, what type of savings can you expect to make if you travel in the off-peak season?

1. Air fares are much cheaper. There are less people wanting to fly so air carriers drop their prices to attract customers. Take advantage of these great savings. If you are traveling in the high season, see if you can book a flight mid-week. These flights are generally cheaper too.

2. Accommodation is cheaper and more readily available. In high season it can be difficult to find a place to stay in popular tourist destinations and when you do find somewhere it can be up to twice as much as when traveling in the off peak.

3. Eating in restaurants can be cheaper too. Owners will be trying to attract patrons so see what sort of deals you can find when eating out.

There are some other positives to traveling in the off peak season, other than saving money. There are fewer tourists for one, so visiting any cultural sight will be much more enjoyable. You can get more of an idea of what a destination is really like without the thousands of extra people. Experiencing the true culture is a real bonus. Did you know that opera season is in full swing in Europe in winter? Or that winter in Australia is often the best time to visit places in the north when the humidity and heat are bearable. Or how about visiting the best holiday markets in Germany in December? Do some research to find out what your chosen destination can offer in off peak, ones that you won’t experience in high season travel times.

So what are the negatives of traveling in the off peak? Well there are a few, but if you plan well you can overcome most drawbacks. Off peak usually means traveling in colder weather and that also means less daylight hours. Pack wisely and remember to dress in layers for the cold weather. Some tourist places close earlier or do not open at all in the off peak, so check up before you go so you are not disappointed. You will also find that in some areas the public transport system does not run as often as in peak tourist season. Find out what options you have to get to places and don’t be caught out missing the last bus home in the middle of winter, in the middle of nowhere! Some hotels and museums close down for the winter to re-furbish and get ready for the next high season influx of tourists. You can gamble and bargain your way to a great accommodation deal once you get to your destination, but all your bartering skills will be of no use if the hotels are all closed. It’s best to check what’s open before you go.

If traveling in the off-peak doesn’t sound attractive to you, then you might like to try the shoulder season and still get some travel price reductions. The shoulder season is considered the period leading up to and away from the high season. Usually in this time you’ll get decent weather, less crowds and lower travel costs – not the great bargains you’ll get in off peak, but lower costs nonetheless.

This article is brought to you by: Stuart S. Travel – Your Online Travel Guru

www.stuartstravel.com