BUILDING, TEACHING, SPORTS, ADVENTURES & EXPERIENCES WORLDWIDE - YOU CHOOSE. Work hard, give back, have fun and go Mad!

Gap Year

• Plan your gap year

Madventurer is among the original founders of the Gap Year, pioneered by over very own Chief' John Lawler.

We offer an inspiring range of volunteer placements, community projects and adventures that can be combined to give you an unforgettable trip of a lifetime. We have experts on hand to help you build an itinerary that takes you through some of the world’s most exciting destinations from the idyllic beaches of Fiji, to the heights of the Andes and the jungles of West Africa.

Remember with Madventurer your year out will not only expand your knowledge of the globe but allow you to volunteer and make tangible contributions through personal endeavour to developing communities.

Join a team and build a classroom, install a water tank or lay the foundations for a workshop, you really can make a difference!

Call us on 0845 121 1996 for expert Gap Year advice or click here to check out our brilliant combo projects and adventures.

We can help you save when building up your itinerary. Remember take a 'mad mate' for a discount on 6 week projects!! Book 6 months or more in advance and save 5 %.

10 Good Reasons to take a Gap Year

1. Experience Life
Taking a well organized gap can take you way beyond adding something ‘different’ to your career path – it can educate, inspire and give perspective to your life beyond anything you imagined.

“I learnt so much about medical care in the 3rd world and how lucky we really are. I saw things that I may never see in my entire career in medicine. Before I went to Uganda I doubted whether medicine was really what I wanted to do, by the time I got back I knew there was nothing else I’d rather do.”
Luke Horsley, Madventurer

2. See the world
Go on get the atlas off the shelf, open up the page titled ‘the world’ and look closer. Find a name that captures your imagination and google it. ‘ Zanzibar’ – I wonder what that’s like…

3. The challenge thing
Spiders, heights, meeting new people, different foods, crime, disease…. the list is long. Everyone fears something. There are plenty of people out there to help you face the challenges and when you finally reach the mountain top the rewards, even though you’ll have to take every gapper’s word for it, are awesome.

4. Gain skills & qualifications
No one needs to tell you that these help when you get home; they’re also often the highlights of your time away. Dive master, TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language), football coach, medical assistant, local journalist, public speaker, group leader, team cook, international ambassador…. it’s going to be a busy year. “When you go out into the world everyone becomes a leader.” (Ed)

5. Infinitely improve your pub quiz knowledge
I mean do you know where Timbuktu is, let alone why it’s called Timbuktu? (OK I’ll tell you: A lady called ‘Bouctou’ was standing at a well, ‘Tom’, when the first Egyptian nomads with their salt and camels stumbled across the far end of the Sahara in Mali a couple of years ago – so there. No excuses now)

"Knowledge is power.”
Sir Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626). Sir Francis is right.

6. Fun & Freedom
You’ve cut the ties from home, you’re in a new environment, you have worked hard to be there. As long as you are responsible and respectful to the community and culture that you are in, then there is nothing to stop you having the time of your life. So get on that bike and ride into the sunset…

7. Get to know yourself
With the hectic pace of life and the ‘instant’ culture we live in these days, there leaves very little time for genuine and important self-reflection. Sound cheesy? Well, taking yourself into different cultures, paces of life and seeing what others value as ‘important’ will help give you a new take on not only the world around you, but crucially yourself. Ok, a little bit cheesy – but also very true, otherwise we wouldn’t have said it.

8. Actually make a difference
You will hear lots about this. And that’s because if you approach your gap in the right way you can make sure the money and time you spend helps people who are unlikely ever to have the opportunity to do what you’re doing. Volunteer, even if it is only for 2 weeks and you don’t think it’s your thing. You’ll be surprised what you can give and how organizing a couple of football games can mean so much more than a kick about.

9. The world is shrinking
Round the World tickets are getting cheaper, more flexible and more varied by the year. It has never been cheaper to travel to places that for your parents were virtually impossible. So don’t you dare miss the chance. The alloy wheels can wait another year.

10. You’re a natural
If you are looking into projects overseas you are already interested in different cultures, societies and ways of living. The more open you are to new experiences, the more rewarding your time abroad will ultimately be. The spirit of cultural exchange also means that you are an ambassador for your country, a pioneer, so represent your home country with pride!