Sod the Gap Year - take a Gap Summer instead

Not everyone can afford a gap year.

So why not travel to the same places as the lucky gappers but without taking a year out?

Do you really want to spend your whole summer stuck back at home?

Well, I know I'd rather be eating noodles in Japan than sheep in Wales!

Think about it, on average, a university summer break lasts around three months.

Three bloody months! At what other time in your life are you going to have so long with absolutely nothing to do?

So why not spend all of that time travelling?

If you've ever made the same mistake I did by spending your summer slaving away behind the tills at Sainsbury's (or something equally as horrific) then you'll end up bored and completely dissatisfied by the end of your break from uni.

After suffering that fate and being fuelled by the stories of my friends who had travelled, I decided I was not going to waste another good opportunity and began to dream of jetting off somewhere far away, preferably where there are no Nectar cards...

Obviously money is needed but nowhere near as much as people worry about.

To save up for my gap summer I worked solidly for about a month so that I had enough money to cover the extreme basics: airfares and the first few hostels.

Yes you'll need a lot more money than that, but why not earn it while you're away instead of wasting more time stuck at home?

Jobs are extremely easy to come by once you're away, whether it be shifts at a bar, hard labour or working in hostels for free rent, just remember to bring a few printed CVs with you.

By working abroad you then get a better sense of what it's like to live there too rather than just be on holiday, so it gives you a much more realistic experience of life in another country.

Do you really want to spend your whole summer stuck back at home? Well, I know I'd rather be eating noodles in Japan than sheep in Wales!

Judith King

The best thing about choosing to go away at this time of year is that you won't have to look too far for somebody to travel with.

Finding a friend to travel with on a gap year is tricky, not everyone wants to take a year out, but when all of your mates are on holiday from uni too it's much easier to find a travel buddy.

Flights are also much cheaper around June too as you'll be jetting off before the school summer holidays begin so you will save yourself many a penny by getting there before all the family holiday rates creep up.

Many students want to head to Australia and New Zealand and doing this over the British summer months is the cheapest time of the year to do so, with prices sometimes 50% cheaper than flying off later in the year.

Don't be put off by the fact that it is winter for those lucky enough to live down in the Southern Hemisphere, it's still much warmer than here and because it is not their main tourist season, prices for most things will be considerably cheaper once you get there.

So in many ways a gap summer can be better than a gap year.

You can definitely get the same gap year experience by travelling to the same places, but you don't have to delay a whole year of university to do so.

So now is the time to start planning for next summer.

Just saving small amounts from that part-time job means you will soon have enough for that round the world ticket.

You may not save as much money as you could working at home but you'll definitely have a lot more fun and be able to travel so some amazing places.

Plus you can have that smug feeling of walking into your first lecture in September being considerably more tanned than everyone else with many a story to tell, knowing you've made the most out every second of your summer break.