Paying for Your Gap Year Travel

By the time they have completed their A-levels, the average 18-year-old student has been in education for most of their life. No wonder it seems like the perfect time for a gap year before going to university or entering the world of work. But if the year is to look good on your CV, you should choose to do something worthwhile, such as travelling abroad - an extremely popular option with about 200,000 ‘gappers’ every year.

It can be costly. You will have to raise about £9,500 to make a 12-month round-the-world trip. That’s roughly the amount your parents could have saved for you if they’d put aside £45 every month since you were born. And if that money were available, you’d probably need it for university, given that higher education is such an expensive business these days.

Getting started

More likely, you’ll choose to travel for a few months, at a cost of roughly £2,000. Getting there and back is the most expensive part, so save up at least the cost of your return flight before jetting off. Working in the UK for the first part of your gap year could be the best answer.

Be prepared to work while abroad, too. And be ready to work hard, sometimes enduring poor living conditions and receiving little or no pay. Most positions will be unskilled, such as fruit picking and factory and bar work.

Helping a charity is another option and could help you to receive funding. Organisations such as the Round Table Trust (www.roundtable.co.uk/rttrust-inf.htm) will pay return airfares for students on bona fide charity projects. GAP Activity Projects (www.gap.org.uk) specialises in overseas voluntary work placements for young people and arranges more than 1,500 every year in 34 countries.

Skilled work pays more. Teaching English as a foreign language can be lucrative, but requires experience or qualifications. A short TEFL course costs about £200.

Spending money

Before starting a trip, make sure you will be able to get hold of cash while abroad. Bank debit cards (such as the international Cirrus and Maestro) and credit cards are convenient and will help in parts of the Third World, where you may have to prove that you're solvent.

The Consumers’ Association says you should get four per cent more for your money when paying by card than by changing money, but cards charge at least a 1.5 per cent handling fee, so do carry some bank notes (American dollars are best, especially in the more remote areas). Don’t carry too much, though - and don’t flash it around. American dollar travellers’ cheques are safer, and can be used as cash in the USA.

Many countries only allow you to take in a certain amount of their currency. Ask your travel agent about this.

Visa Travel Money is a card that you ‘charge’ with a pre-set amount and use it to withdraw local currency from cash machines. The card and amount on it can be replaced if stolen, and any unspent money will be refunded.

If you find yourself in financial difficulty, you can get money wired to you from the UK. This takes a few hours, even minutes, via MoneyGram (www.moneygram.com) or Western Union (www.moneygram.com) and is available at banks, post offices and branches of Thomas Cook. You will need proof of identity in order to receive the cash. It will usually be in local currency.

Insurance

Young travellers are vulnerable to being robbed and conned, so it’s vital that you insure yourself against loss of cash and possessions. Remember, you’ll need plenty of medical cover – especially if you’re planning to enjoy hazardous activities like scuba diving and bungee jumping.

Several companies offer policies designed especially for young travellers.

Prices start at about £200 for a year’s cover, while three months’ begins at around £120. Our list of Travel Insurance sites is a good place to start your search (www.uknetguide.co.uk/Finance/Insurance/Travel_Insurance.html) and offers links to a wide range of UK insurance companies and brokers.