I have £1000 to spend on a gap year. What are your recommendations?

Question

there is a further £500 spending money and the ideal period of travel is 6-8 months.

Answer 1

You will need to be frugal!

Answer 2

I have travelled quite extensively around Europe, the Caribbean, Central America, USA, Canada, Africa and in June I'll be going to Australasia. I would say to really explore the possibility of travelling around Central America.
I started off in Mexico and travelled overland down to Guatemala then into Honduras and Nicaragua. Everyones goes to South America or Australia for a gap year... which is why I avoided them.
Guatemala was absolutely incredible and so was Honduras and Nicaragua. They are all incredibly cheap to stay in although the flight might set you back about £500. There is so much to see and experience there. In Guatemala, I visited the largest Mayan ruins in Central America [Tikal] then travelled to Peten where I stayed in a kind of Eco lodge run by an American woman called Finca Ixobel [ I stayed in a tree house there] and in the evenings we would have songs and food around an open fire. Then I got a speedboat to a Garifuna island called Livingston where I hung out with the locals dtrinking beer. I also climbed an active volcano in the town of Antigua.
Honduras was also gorgeous and I got a ferry to an island off the coast where the scuba diving was the one of the cheapest in the world. Honduras also has the second largest coral reef in the world after the Great Barrier Reef.
The countries are not dangerous. I travelled there as a single female. In fact Mexcio was probably the most dangerous country I have been to [ you could give that a miss].
Other great places are Alaska [but it's pretty pricey once you get there! and Canada... but the problem with north america is that they generally only permit you to stay for 3 months unless you have work there, etc.
Go to your local library and get out Central America on a shoestring by Lonely planet or get them to order it for you and see for yourself. Great place....truly...

Answer 3

South Africa or Argentina. Both countries are large enough to allow diversity of landscapes and scenarios, but not too big that travelling costs are too high. They each have striking mountain peaks, deserts, splendid beaches and vibrant, colourful, cosmopolitan cities. Argentina also has the Iguazu Falls and the Perito Moreno glacier - both World Heritage Sites. In both countries, the people are friendly and are used to having tourists. The infrastructure is also very good, and both countries are cheap in comparison to the strong British pound. Your money will go a long way in either. Happy travelling.

Answer 4

Sorry to disappoint talks too much...

1000 pounds on a gap YEAR is a tiny little amount of money. I wouldn't take a "gap year" if I were you. It implies that you are going back to school, but trust me, first 2 years of school are quite the gap year anyway.

if you're looking for an actual holiday for travel then yeah...somewhere cheap South America or Asia, maybe live in South Africa for a bit and learn to surf, I know that Mexico's nice and cheap especially the poor desert area where the beaches are sweet like Baja Calif...I dunno... but from England where I assume you are, flying overseas is going to be nearly half your money. so make more money.

Answer 5

Go down the sweet shop and spend it on the biggest penny mixer ever