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Anna Sainsbury

It’s a well-known fact: students love to travel. And arguably, there’s no better time in your life to do it! Not only have student travel agencies popped up all over the country, air fares have come plummeting down and some universities now even actively encourage their students to go abroad, whether it’s to study, work or to simply broaden their minds.

An obvious reason for this is that the vast majority of students don’t have any concrete commitments or responsibilities, so travelling at a moment’s notice is always a possibility. As one blogger writes, “As you grow, you start to settle your life with physical attachments like a mortgage, a car, and kids. Travelling before this stage of your life will be much easier and the freedom will be priceless.” To back this claim, a staggering 33% of Brits said that they regret not travelling more abroad when they had the opportunity.

Another great reason to travel whilst you’re young is to learn life lessons. Handling money, accommodation and general day-to-day life abroad is a far cry from what you’re used to back home, and there’s no better way to develop invaluable life skills than when you’re thrown in at the deep end.

Studying abroad can give you a temporary taste of life abroad for anything between three months and a year. A huge 4.1 million students studied abroad last year as part of a university exchange program, so there’s a massive community of Erasmus and foreign students out there who would no doubt recommend the program – over 4 million people can’t be wrong!

There are obvious academic benefits, but it can’t be emphasised enough how important travel can be to your personal development too. Yes, you may well learn a new language, try new things and unintentionally boost your CV when you’re abroad. But getting out of your comfort zone can also help you to rediscover where your real priorities lie. For many recent graduates, this can be extremely useful, especially if they don’t know what to do next. Travel can be fun, but it can be eye-opening and life-changing too.

The travel industry has successfully tapped into this, and it’s unsurprising that student travel generates a huge business. Travel agents and companies are constantly competing against each other to offer you the best deals, so there are plenty of opportunities out there for you to grab, whether they’re working holidays, volunteering placements or just a gap year around the world.

For more information on where volunteering with Lattitude could take you, check out our website.

If you’ve got a disability then it might sometimes feel that travelling is more hassle than it’s worth. However, having a disability doesn’t mean that you have to cut back on your enjoyment – far from it. Admittedly, some countries aren’t as well adapted to disabled travel as others so it’s important to do as much research as possible before you go, but sensible planning and arrangements will ensure you’ll get the most out of your travels.

When it boils down to it, the best way of getting the most out of your travel experience is to plan well in advance. This way you can really tailor-make every single detail of your trip. Knowing your location, accommodation and the possible attractions you’ll visit will also give your hosts a chance to adapt their location especially for you, if needed. Planning in advance will give you and others time to prepare and make your journey as comfortable and as smooth as possible.

Some specialised travel agents can create tailor-made holidays for those with disabilities that aren’t that much more expensive than standard vacations. However, any high-street travel agent worth their salt will go out of their way to accommodate your needs.

Airlines tend to be well-equipped when it comes to disabled travellers. If you’re visually impaired and require a guide dog, for example, then the EU, North America and Australasia all participate in the pet passport scheme, which means that dogs can board planes with the owner.

What to pack, however, isn’t so easy. “Packing is critical,” writes Tom Nabarro, a wheelchair user. “The number of places you can purchase specialist equipment and supplies is limited. I always have two or more people compile independent lists (or use a previous list) and cross-reference to ensure I don’t forget anything vital.”

But even when you do prepare, very little can be done about differing cultural attitudes in your destination of choice. “I find that in countries where independent living for people with high-level disabilities is an unknown concept, disabled people tend to draw a lot of attention,” says Nabarro. “Occasionally the attention has a negative taint, but usually it’s blatant curiosity, which doesn’t bother me most of the time.”

Admittedly, cultural perceptions are difficult to prepare for, but with some good forward planning you can ensure that your time away is definitely worth the wait!

A recent report by consultancy firm nfpSynergy showed that 44% of 11-16 year olds had been inspired to volunteer through the positive work of the Olympics Games Makers last year. However, there is also evidence to show that this inspiration has not since come to fruition. After the Games, there appears to have been a slight decrease in volunteering across the country, which is perhaps unsurprising after the huge surge of good will over the summer. Once the new academic year started again, it was always going to be difficult to maintain such impressive figures.

Even so, amongst the 2031 adults surveyed by nfpSynergy, a meagre 17% had expressed an interest in volunteering thanks to the Olympics, and only 1 in 50 people were inspired to get out there and volunteer in their community because of it. A disappointing 70% of people had gone so far as to say that the Games had not sparked any interest in volunteering at all. Joe Saxton, who ran the survey, was similarly disillusioned by the underwhelming consequences of the Olympics: “The time to act was right away to build on the momentum of the games and it looks like the government and the Olympic legacy organisations have either tried and failed, or missed the opportunity completely.”

The Government begs to differ, and claims that the results of the nfpSynergy report conflict with those of its own Community Life Survey. The government also plans to contribute £36m to the Centre for Social Action and the National Citizen Service program, which they hope will inspire those who watched the Games and admired the work of its volunteers. The NCS is a new scheme for 16-17 year olds which is officially recognised by the Government. But with nfpSynergy’s survey revealing that volunteering has remained at a steady 22% since 2003 despite the Games, does this mean that they’re doing enough to promote volunteering?

A sizeable 44% of those surveyed said that they would like to find out more about volunteering, which suggests that there is a lack of information on the subject. Public ignorance is once again at the same level as it was before the Olympics – so really, was the impact of the Games Makers as successful as we hoped and expected it to be? Unfortunately, it seems that the answer is no.

The overall message of the Olympics was to ‘inspire a generation’, but these newly released statistics would suggest otherwise. Of course, many charities and organisations took full advantage of the situation, and the figures are not universally bad news. But it is clear that some feel that the Government’s efforts to promote volunteering have left a lot to be desired.

If you are interested in volunteering, why not check out your local volunteering centre or see what opportunities Lattitude offers for volunteering abroad?

A few years ago, actress Emma Thompson announced that her 10 year old daughter Gaia would be taking a gap year before she started secondary school. Somewhat inevitably, this provoked a lot of criticism from education authorities. The National Association of Headteachers claimed that “it [was] difficult to see how the situation can be anything but detrimental to [her] education”, but Emma stood firm despite the frosty reception of her decision.

As education campaigner Margaret Morrissey said at the time, “She might see the world and have a fantastic experience, but she’ll miss an awful lot in a year and will be way behind her peers. A child might not ever properly catch up after a break that long.” Comments about Emma’s wealth also assured the public that this sort of gap year might only be feasible through financial advantage, whereas a typical household would probably be unable to afford such an option.

Gaia eventually completed her gap year but “scaled back” on her original plans of travelling the world for an entire year, instead deciding to spend some quality time with her family and only visiting a few countries.

So, is 10 years old really too early? Ultimately, a gap year serves the same purpose regardless of age. Research has proven that gap years really are hugely beneficial to personal development, and seeing the world at such an early age can indeed shape you more than it will at 18, as your mind is likely to be more impressionable. Also, gap years are not just for 18 year olds anymore, as the increasing popularity of the post-uni and post-career gap year has demonstrated.

But at 10 years old it’s highly unlikely that you know what you want to do with your life, and after all, you are still a child. Emma Thompson described her daughter’s gap year as “a break from education and show[ing] her the world a bit and take a break myself”, so it wasn’t so much a life-changing adventure as a small pause in between a significant life transition. Furthermore, in order to have official permission to leave school, local councils must be reassured that a child will have sufficient education during their absence, so Thompson’s daughter was not missing out on an education whilst on her gap year.

Which, in a way, contradicts the idea that a gap year is an opportunity to take a break from traditional education and to experience life outside of a classroom. Also you cannot ignore the fact that education is compulsory up until 16 so unless there are exceptional circumstances, it would be very difficult for a child of 10 to embark on a gap year. Fundamentally you have to question what a 10 year old would gain from a year out, and whether the same could be achieved from a traditional summer holidays.

So, perhaps, all things considered, 10 years old is too early for a gap year. But when it comes to planning your year out, it’s never too early to start!

Okay – you’ve got a great deal with your flights and your various hotels, but when you actually go abroad, it’s easy to fall into every tourist trap going and spend your money left, right and centre. It’s no secret that we’re all still trying to cope with the credit crunch, so here are a few tips to save you some precious cash whilst you’re on your travels.

1) The customer is always right…

…but they don’t always read the small print. If your flight is delayed, your hotel has let you down or even if the airline’s lost your luggage, you’re entitled to transfers, alternative accommodation and sometimes compensation. So instead of forking out your own money for others’ mistakes, make sure that the airline or hotel company goes out of their way to give you the best customer service possible.

2) Book in advance as much as possible

For instance, booking a hostel weeks in advance will not only give you peace of mind and save you a lot of wandering about, but will most likely save you a heap of cash. It’s plain common sense to book your flight as early as possible too, but also check advance bookings for trains. Unfortunately only the UK offers the 16-25 railcard scheme, but most countries will provide discounted tickets for young adults (typically under 26’s) and some even do group discounts, which means you can save even more.

3) Converting money

To get the best deal for your money, shop around. Airport bureau de changes are notorious for bad deals, so do your research and get your money sorted in good time. If you want to be really savvy, then insist on currency in low denominations – as “not only are these less susceptible to forgery (if someone is going to make counterfeit currency, they usually aim high, you also avoid the ‘sorry, no change’ argument beloved of taxi drivers and other traders,” writes The Lonely Planet’s Tom Hall.

Being in a new country with new money can be pretty overwhelming, so get clued up on the value of different banknotes before you go too.

4) Go local

In big cities, it’s pretty well known that the cheapest food is going to be found either in local markets or on the back streets. Restaurants can also be very sneaky when it comes to adding extras to your bill without telling you, so if you’re on a budget, go off the tourist route and live like a local. This way you also have the bonus of experiencing the real culture that your destination has to offer as well as saving a few pennies.

5) Budget!

If you’re really watching the purse strings then keep a record of your expenditure, or set aside a daily budget. Online banking can be particularly useful if you’re keeping close track of your money. (Cheap apps such as MyTravel’s Travel Buddy are designed for tasks like this if using pen and paper isn’t your thing.)

Admittedly, there are some costs that you can’t always save on, such as insurance and healthcare. But using your common sense and following a few useful tips will help. Who knows, with all that money you save, you might be off travelling again in no time…

As you no doubt know, European students have been taking gap years for around forty years now, but on the other side of the pond it’s quite different. Americans have really only just discovered the gap year phenomenon and it’s still trying to find its feet. Why?

Although college can be relatively cheap for international students in America thanks to generous scholarships, the same can’t be said for home students. We all know there was uproar when the coalition decided to raise tuition fees, but that’s still a bargain in relation to American universities. A year of college costs around $20,000, and for a four year course, you’re looking at a very hefty price tag.

With such huge costs, gap years don’t really appeal to American parents; they’re already forking out a lot of money so letting their child explore the world for a year incurs even more costs. Gap years don’t have to cost a fortune, and the rewards you gain from travelling are invaluable. But understandably, parents don’t want to think about the mounting costs of their child’s lifestyle.

Over here, an average 7% of UCAS applicants choose to defer their enrolment every year, and usually universities don’t have a problem with candidates taking a year out. You can gain valuable experience and widen your perspective which will ultimately benefit your studies and you as a person. However, it’s a different matter in the States – only 5% of universities offer the deferment system. In 2010, of the 300,000 students applying to university in the US, a mere 1.2% opted to wait a year before attending.

It’s interesting to note that the biggest endorsers of gap years tend to be the most popular universities in America, rather than smaller colleges. “Princeton University has just announced a new program called the ‘bridge year’ that will allow newly admitted students to spend a year performing public service abroad before beginning their freshman year,” says Danielle Wood, Editor in Chief of Education.com. Although not strictly a gap year, the function is the same; to enrich your life and garner as much experience as possible before your studies.

Wood makes the following comparison: “Sending a kid who’s not ready to college is like sending a kid who’s not feeling hungry to an all-you-can-eat buffet.” It’s a good way of looking at it. Not everyone will feel ready to go to university, and this is something we seem to have recognised and embraced here in the UK. But why are they so slow on the uptake?

Perhaps it’s because it’s not the normal route to take, and there’s fear attached to going off-course. Parents may think that because college costs so much, it’s not ideal to volunteer abroad, where you’ll be earning little or no money.

But at the end of the day, can you really put a price on self-discovery, experience and memories? Probably not, and only time will tell if the Americans catch on.