There's no need for such a trip to be precisely a year, of course, but a year is a typical length of time for people who have just finished secondary school: they typically have to delay university entrance for a year to take the time off. Some of the same principles can be applied to just a summer between school and college, or any extended break "between jobs".
This article discusses options for low budget long-term travel of the type that a gap year traveler might be interested in.
Pre-departure planning is important. No matter how much you plan for the trip there may be instances where you have to throw all the planning out the window. However, there are certain things you should watch for and plan for:
Consider opening a second account in your home country and allow your parents or a close relative to have access to the account. In the event that you have to come home early they can withdraw money from the account, which can be used to purchase a return ticket for you.
If your gap year is going to involve several stops in several different countries and continents, you should look into the many budget tickets designed for long term travel. Gap year travellers are often referred to as backpackers and will often receive discounted travel. Examples include:
'''Open ended return tickets''' allow you to come home at any time within a year. They're more expensive than regular round-trip tickets, but are cheaper than two one-way tickets. '''Open-jaw tickets''' allow you to return from a different city than the one you flew into. Also more expensive than a standard return ticket, but cheaper than two one-way tickets, and may be worth saving you the cost and time of returning to the city you started in. If your travel plans are more ambitious than that, '''round the world flights''' might fit your needs.
'''Long term train tickets''' aimed at backpackers and travelers. Sometimes these will let you travel more cheaply than any local fares. Examples include the Eurail pass in Europe, the Backpacker rail pass [http://www.backpackerrailpass.info/] in Australia, and for travelers in North America, see Rail travel in North America.
A long trip may be impossible to save for in advance. Often gap year travelers want to support their journey by taking work, often of a low-skilled and/or intermittent nature. Unfortunately, working in other countries often requires a work visa. Typically these are onerous for gap year travelers: you need to find an employer to apply for the visa, the visa is expensive, and the employer must show that they cannot hire someone with your skills locally. The work visa will be tied to your term at that employer. However, there are some visa schemes and work schemes that cater specifically to those who are looking for a job to support their travel.
If you are a citizen of certain countries, you can work in some other countries without needing a visa at all:
Gap year travelers who are under 30 should look into visa arrangements where you can go to a country for a certain period of time, often 12 months and sometimes up to 24, and work intermittently. The intention of the visa is that you work in order to fund your trip, and there will typically be restrictions on your working including: not working for more than a certain amount of time during the visa period, not working for any one employer for a long period, working only in specified industries and sometimes not working in jobs that further your career path.
These are typically reciprocal arrangements: your country will offer visas of this sort to citizens of certain other countries and those other countries will do the same for you. Hence it is best to check with your own country's foreign affairs officials to see if you have reciprocal visas, and if so, with which countries.
See Working abroad for suggested employers and industries, and Teaching English for one type of job.
An increasingly more popular option for those planning a gap-year is to '''travel and learn'''. This is especially popular with school leavers, allowing them to take a year out before university, without compromising their education. In many cases, enrolling on a gap-year course abroad can actually improve your chances of moving into higher education back in your home country. Typically there will be a tuition fee to enrol on these educational programs. There are two reasons for this: firstly, many of these courses are run by private institutions, and secondly, because international students rarely attract government funding.
There are a number of organisations offering gap year educational programmes. A few of these include:
There are many organisations offering gap year placements. A few of these are: