How to Spend a Gap Year
By Karen Brown, Founder of GapBeetle - Advice from a Pro
Travel broadens the mind like nothing else. I’m not talking about a two-week package tour – although I’ve certainly enjoyed them – but independent travel: being prepared to leave your comfort zone behind and not just ticking off the tourist hotspots. The truth is the longer you spend in a country the more wisdom you absorb and the more thrilling, memorable and potentially life changing your travel experience is.
During University, I continued to travel. I spent a Summer holiday working for an adventure company in the south of France followed by 3 months as a Camp Counsellor in Connecticut.
It created so many lifetime memories: nearly being attacked by a bear in Yosemite, camping at the bottom of the Grand Canyon and learning how to square dance– to name a few!
So, I decided to found GapBeetle as a source of independent advice and set about finding experienced travellers with local knowledge as contributors.
I wanted the best in field (like the amazing Jen Curnutt (formerly Jen Rogers) – one of my first guest bloggers) to pass on information that would enrich and enhance other’s adventures.
Also, having now been to the USA 26 times (and visited 28 states) GapBeetle is unashamedly USA heavy. It’s such a vast and varied country with so much to see, especially in terms of landscape and nature.
My Top Five Tips:
Always check the political situation and local customs everywhere you go. I am constantly horrified by the ignorance and disrespect of tourists.
Travel solo occasionally. It can often be more immersive and rewarding – you meet other travelers and more locals.
Walk. Walking round a new city is the best way to absorb the buzz and the culture. Plus, it’s cheaper.
My Top 5 Travel Destinations:
Specifically, Rome, Florence, Matera, Puglia, Venice, Sardinia and Sicily (which is like a country in its own right).
Specifically, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodphur and Kerala
If I didn’t live in the UK, it would also be on the list (we have a huge amount to see in GB, national parks, castles, palaces, cool cosmopolitan cites, ancient villages and Stonehenge (although nearby Avebury is more impressive). Plus, we have some of the best museums and the best theatre in the world.
Happy travelling and get out there if you can!
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