Young travel - Creating your own 'lifequake'

Step boldly into independence and adult status as you learn who you are

Smart ways to launch into your new found freedom and independence with young travel

Ask yourself, if you’re just out of college or in a gap year – What is the difference between your idea of travel and that of your parents? Mmmm, yeah. Those bus tours with the silver crowd looking at boring sh**. Then getting back to the hotel and taking a nap followed by dinner and then more sleep.

That would be the difference. If you had a reaction similar to the above, then you qualify as someone looking for young travel. Young travel is about hanging out with friends – either those you went with or those you met. Young travel with your peers is about getting to do fun stuff. It’s about seeing the things that really interest you…doing things spontaneously.

You want to go out late at night, come home the next day with all sorts of anecdotes. It is really about living the spirit of your youth, being a little daring. You get to pick where you go, decide when you eat and what you see. All this, without having to go with what others want to do.

Young travel is about freedom and learning about new stuff, finding an internet connection for the next Instagram/Facebook update or tweet to make the buddies back home jealous. It’s about all this and so much more.But doing the solo style of travel can also have its downsides. You’ve got to be smart. Go where others have gone. Do some research and make sure that you’re not going to stumble into a stupid situation.

Gap years were once almost exclusive to the European way of thinking. However, now, more and more the travel option is considered by students who are looking to defer enrollment into college for a year and go on an adventure.

The recent trends indicate that more and more US students are deciding to follow their counterparts in Europe. They want to take a gap year before heading to college. Young travel is a growing segment in the tourism industry for this reason. The estimates are now that 30-40 000 students are opting to go travel first and formal educate later. It is a challenging decision to make, not only from your future point of view, but also because the desire to travel may be overridden by fear of the unknown.

Personally, I think any young person with the opportunity should travel for 6-12 months and go find themselves. Travel really does help you find your bearings in life. You will get to know what you really want as opposed to what others may want for you. But that aside, let’s remove a potentially highly subjective lecture from the page. The real reason for this article is not to encourage anyone to delay college. But, it is, to rather address those who have already decided travel is what they would like to do. Perhaps now, second guessing their decision for the wrong reasons.

If it is your fear of the unknown and breaking from your comfort zone, there are ways to get out there and have fun and not be alone.At least until you find your travel feet and confidence.

The ways to travel safely and on budget

Budget is one of the biggest issues. The great thing about being young and traveling is that this is probably the first time you’re heading out from the nest. You may be looking to prove your worth in the world. The last thing you want to be doing is making that call home to the folks asking for more cash.

Joining a tour is one of the best ways to protect your budget from the unforeseen. It helps you to be safe and hang out with people your own age. With a bus tour traveling the great cities of Europe and with a crowd of new friends, it can be incredible. Contiki is the best known of all operators for the 18-35 year old group but there are others.

Another good thing about taking a tour is that your guide will be just a little older than you. He or she has local knowledge and experience . You’ll have the flexibility, as a group, to make decisions about what you’d like to see and do. If you all want to have a night of it at a Barcelona nightclub, it’ll be sorted. Nothing will get in the way of having a good time.

Young travel can start with traveling in a group

Why travel in a group? Traveling in a group is advantageous in lots of ways. With friendly people in your group, you will get to have some fun most of the time and start your adventure. All of this with a support structure until you gain confidence to fly solo.

Here are ten good reasons to consider why you may want to travel in a group:-

If you are participating in a group tour, it is even more fascinating. This, for the fact, that you can take pleasure in numerous adventures with individuals who share your interest. Below are some advantages you can get when you travel by teams.

1. When you reserve with a tour group you know before hand the locations you will be traveling to.You will know exactly what kind of individuals will accompany you. If you are going on a trip of religious places, then you will be aware of which sites you will be seeing and for how long
2. Compatibility is always an issue with a group. It is vital that you have a tour group who are about the same age as you, have the same interests and are looking to have fun and not complain all the time.
3. The inconvenience of having to book tickets, make hotel bookings and think about food can all be prevented when you travel in a group.
4. Your tour operator obviously offers the service whereby everything is taken care of for you – you have a set price and anything you take in cash is yours to spend as you wish, without the concerns for budgeting for accommodations etc.
5. Tour leaders are generally locals or people with a lot of knowledge who can take you to the places that are really worth seeing.
6. As you are traveling with a group, a lot of the expenses are absorbed by all and not just by you or a friend you may travel with. This helps to save money.
7. If you are a student, you will be with those of your own age and that means that you’ll be able to get out and let your hair down, hang out and do everything at your own pace, not being slowed down by older people with different priorities.
8. Naturally, if you are a woman, the concept of traveling alone may be frightening. You can explore the world safely, under the watchful eye of both your tour leader and your fellow travelers.
9. Any accidents, insurance issues, documentation problems and the usual obstacles that can get in the way of a care-free vacation are taken care of by other people (the operator). You have no issues to have to deal with – other than getting along with the members of the group.
10. Travel in a group is always going to be safer. People will know where you are (most times) and if things go awry, you’ll have back-up.

Teaching English – Pay and Play

This is the best way to get some serious traveling under your belt. Sounds romantic and idyllic – but is it? Yes and no. If you want to do this as a way of paying your way around the world, it is certainly possible. Don’t expect to earn a fortune – you won’t. You can expect about €700 – €1,000 per month, ($750-$1300) (but this will depend on the type of school in which you teach). Accommodation generally is not included however, you can make some extra bucks by doing private tutoring and that’ll be about €10 – €25 an hour.

Do you have to be a serious geek to do this? No. But you do need to have a decent work ethic and a reasonable communication skill set that will assist you to do the job effectively. You have to like kids and you need to be responsible. You will need to work but this does not mean you’ll be stuck in some sweatshop of learning 18 hours a day. You’ll have time to go and have fun and explore.

3 Reasons to Travel While You’re Young

Be careful of the yeah-but. The yeah-but will kill your dreams.
If you are still thinking about that travel dream but holding back because of a “yeah-but”, then the following piece from Jeff Goins blog really will help….

The life you’ve always wanted

When you get older, life seems to just sort of happen to you. Your youth is a time of total empowerment. You get to do what you want.

But as you mature and gain new responsibilities, you have to be very intentional about making sure you don’t lose sight of what’s important.

So if you still have a reasonable amount of control over your circumstances, you should do what really matters. Because life won’t always be just about you.

During early adulthood, your worldview is still being formed. It’s important to steward this time — to give yourself opportunities to grow. A good way to do that is to travel.

So, young person, travel. Travel wide and far. Travel boldly. Travel with full abandon.

You will regret few risks you take when it comes to this. I promise you that.

Naturally, group trips are not only limited to the young. There are all kinds of trips available – singles, seniors, gay, party etc. In fact, whatever your interest, chances are you’ll find a group travel experience to match.

Certainly, for the first experience abroad, if you are electing to go overseas, it might be a good idea to try a group travel deal first. It gets your feet wet, teaches you about travel and sets you up for a more adventurous and perhaps solitary outing next time.

Young Travel – creating your own lifequake