The Big Trip: Your Ultimate Guide to Gap Years and Overseas Adventures

Dr. Jessie Voigts's picture

Truth: international experiences change your life. That's why we do it - why we travel, learn new languages, try different foods, fall in love with colors and textiles, walk beaches and ancient paths, explore, make new friends, and keep traveling. International experiences can come in a plethora of forms - study abroad, gap year, weekend travel, year-long RTW trips, cooking classes, couchsurfing, sporting events - the list is endless, which is exciting!

But while study abroad is a formal way of creating international experiences for yourself, there are many other ways of crafting life-changing experiences - including taking a gap year or planning a trip of a lifetime. These trips are not as well-defined, and so for some, it's a bit more difficult, because the world is wide and there are SO MANY CHOICES! However, international experiences are so important - for self-development, for global citizenship, for increasing your employability and income, for making the world a smaller, friendlier place, for changing the world. The White House is seriously addressing the importance of international experiences for our nation - and world.

Two women on boat paddling on Yamuna River beside Taj Mahal. From The Big Trip: Your Ultimate Guide to Gap Years and Overseas Adventures

Two women on boat paddling on Yamuna River beside Taj Mahal. Photo: Pete Seaward / Lonely Planet © 

 

Luckily for us, Lonely Planet has created an extraordinary guide for such trips. It's caalled The Big Trip: Your Ultimate Guide to Gap Years and Overseas Adventures, and this guide? It's pure genius. I've not seen any books like it, and after reading it closely, am so impressed that I highly (!!) recommend it to our readers. Coordinating authors for this update include George Dunford (look for his books!), Matthew D Firestone (we love his LP Kenya book), Anthony Ham, and Vivek Wagle. (Great job!)

The Big Trip: Your Ultimate Guide to Gap Years and Overseas Adventures.

 

Note: Read our article How to Be a Good Traveller: Tips from Lonely Planet, excerpted from the book, for a glimpse at how amazing this book is. 

 

What will you find, in The Big Trip?

  • An Introduction, which asks Why go? Why Not go? Still going? (my answer? YES!)
  • 20 Big Trip Experiences
  • A huge section (60 pages!) on travel smarts
  • A useful section on how to tailor your trip (who with? transportation, accommodations, jobs, volunteering, courses, etc.)
  • An enormous section on Where to Go - spliced up geographically, and making me want to go EVERYWHERE
  • Directories for British, North American, and Australasian travellers
  • And a succinct index (thank you)

 

Water pouring over Iguazu Falls. From The Big Trip: Your Ultimate Guide to Gap Years and Overseas Adventures
Water pouring over Iguazu Falls. Matt Munro / Lonely Planet © 

The Big Trip is beautifully illustrated, and gives complete information on very cool things to do, interesting places to explore, and ideas. What kind of ideas, I hear you ask? Well, you may be inspired by learning Spanish in Guatemala, or teaching children in Ghana. You might want to work your way around the UK's best pubs, or take care of orphan elephants in Sri Lanka. There are 20 curated top travel experiences (Maori, Galapagos, Egypt, Edinburgh, Taj Mahal, well, you get the picture). There are destination overviews, maps, and road-tested itineraries. And, through it all, there's a palpable sense of excitement, for exploring the world. It's awesome.

Who is this book for? Well, it's for people who are just starting out - and experienced travelers. For not only is it a how-to guide, but also a gushing fountain of information and inspiration - to travel, to learn, to make new friends, to try new things, to grow. I LOVE IT.

Longtail boat anchoring at Ao Noi beach. From The Big Trip: Your Ultimate Guide to Gap Years and Overseas Adventures

Longtail boat anchoring at Ao Noi beach.

 

We were lucky enough to speak with Robin Barton, of Lonely Planet, about the book, inspiration, young adults changing the face of travel, and more. Robin is an editor, author and journalist based in London and Melbourne. He works at Lonely Planet as Associate Publisher and for publications in the UK, US and Australia, including Monocle, The Independent, The Age, and The Boston Globe. He is the author of The Cycling Bible, winner of a National Outdoor Book Award in the US. Here's what he had to say...

 

Please tell us about The Big Trip...

The Big Trip is the ultimate companion to planning an overseas adventure. Not only is it a highly practical guide, covering absolutely everything first-time travellers need to know about planning and organising a trip - from buying the right tickets to how and where to work abroad - but it's also designed to help young travellers decide on their destinations. We dive into the inspirational highlights of every continent, and explain in detail what to expect, whether you're hitting the Australian Outback or touring Europe's cultural capitals.

Halong Bay in Northern Vietnam. From The Big Trip: Your Ultimate Guide to Gap Years and Overseas Adventures

Halong Bay in Northern Vietnam. Matt Munro / Lonely Planet © 

 

What inspired LP to publish The Big Trip?

The Lonely Planet ethos is that travel is a force for good in the world. Experiencing other cultures and places helps us understand the world and ourselves better. So the more readers we can encourage to pack their passport and set off on a new journey, the better. Someone's first major foreign trip is a big deal and Lonely Planet wanted to help those travellers by providing comprehensive information on what to do before they go and how to get the most out of their time abroad. The world has never been more accessible, thanks to more affordable flights, but with increased choice comes the need for more advice.

 

How are today's young adults changing the face of travel - and lifelong education?

Young people are sharing their journeys and inspiring others to see the world, more so than ever before. In fact,  I think some of the most interesting parts of The Big Trip are the first-person accounts of eye-opening travel experiences from our contributors. And I think the appetite for challenging trips that have an element of personal growth in them is growing accordingly – when you can see what others have done and where they've been, it becomes less daunting to take that first step.

The view from East 42nd Street looking east towards Park Avenue Viaduct and the Chrysler Building. From The Big Trip: Your Ultimate Guide to Gap Years and Overseas Adventures

The view from East 42nd Street looking east towards Park Avenue Viaduct and the Chrysler Building. Sivan Askayo / Lonely Planet © 

 

Why does LP think a Gap Year is important - and how can parents and educators help facilitate that for young adults?

We answer the Why Go? question in the book. Travel has long been a rite of passage for young people, from European Grand Tours in the 17th century to modern Gap Years. We believe that there's no substitute - not even high-definition TV! - for getting out there and experiencing the world with all our senses. Travellers come back not only with great stories and memories but sometimes a vacation can turn into a vocation, a passion into a profession. Parents and educators can recognise that foreign travel is always educational and supporting a young person in their ambition to travel could help them blossom as individuals. It's also important to note that Gap Years are not exclusively for young people. More and more people are taking career breaks later in the lives, as an opportunity to recharge their batteries or change direction. The Big Trip is a valuable resource whatever your age!

Sacre Coeur de Montmartre at night. From The Big Trip: Your Ultimate Guide to Gap Years and Overseas Adventures

Sacre Coeur de Montmartre at night. Matt Munro / Lonely Planet © 

 

How did you choose the locations in The Big Trip?

We cover all the regions of the world in The Big Trip and the itineraries are crafted by experts in those regions, often living there. The coverage is comprehensive, for example our New Zealand itinerary travels the length of the north and south islands. Our Southeast Asia itineraries feature Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia, again all researched and written by Lonely Planet's regional experts.

 

What is the single best piece of advice you have for young adults getting ready to Gap Out? (Besides read this book!)

Call home now and then!

 

Learn more:

The Big Trip: Your Ultimate Guide to Gap Years and Overseas Adventures
 

 

More resources:

Planning a gap year: 5 essential tips

College decisions causing anxiety? Maybe a gap year is the right path

 

All photos courtesy and © Lonely Planet 2015.

Note: we received a review copy of The Big Trip from Lonely Planet for review - thank you!