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I've got the travel bug

Currently, I'm studying GCSE's but a few months ago I decided I want to take a gap year. My best friend also wants to join me so this is great. However, I have some worries:
Do all universities offer a deferred enterance?
We are thinking of travelling Europe for a few months, particularly France, Italy and Eastern Europe, then heading to South East Asia for the rest of the year, roughly how much will this cost?
Actually you should show exactly how long do you want to travel at each place. Southeast Asia, you should spend 3 months, if you want to travel 3 countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. In Thailand, you'll have 4 weeks free-visa, so you should visit 3 weeks there to enjoy national parks and golden temple as well as street foods. Halong bay cruise is best activitiy in Halong and floating fishing villages as well. Trekking and homestay at Sapa and join floating market in Mekogn Delta. You can read more information about an itinerary in SEA in: http://www.vietnamtourbooking.com
Afaik all universities accept students for deferred entrance, some frown on it slightly for maths-heavy subjects because of the concern you'll forget all your maths in that time (but they don't ban it outright, as long as you can demonstrate you've set aside some time in your plans to review your a level notes or do a relevent course then there shouldn't be much of an issue). Also, some universities will want you to discuss your gap year plans and what you hope to gain from it in your personal statement, just to demonstrate you have thoroughly thought out the decision not just wanting a break from studying. There are loads of things you can gain from a year out, like confidence, language skills, organisation, communication, etc.

Regarding costs, it really depends how long you're going for and how cheaply you're planning to travel - if you're willing to stay in cheap hostels, sleep on overnight trains, walk rather than take taxis, don't eat in expensive restaurants, etc. then it can be a lot cheaper :smile: Have a look online and in guidebooks to get an idea of how much it will cost for each location :smile:
Reply 3
Original post by dragonkeeper999
Afaik all universities accept students for deferred entrance, some frown on it slightly for maths-heavy subjects because of the concern you'll forget all your maths in that time (but they don't ban it outright, as long as you can demonstrate you've set aside some time in your plans to review your a level notes or do a relevent course then there shouldn't be much of an issue). Also, some universities will want you to discuss your gap year plans and what you hope to gain from it in your personal statement, just to demonstrate you have thoroughly thought out the decision not just wanting a break from studying. There are loads of things you can gain from a year out, like confidence, language skills, organisation, communication, etc.

Regarding costs, it really depends how long you're going for and how cheaply you're planning to travel - if you're willing to stay in cheap hostels, sleep on overnight trains, walk rather than take taxis, don't eat in expensive restaurants, etc. then it can be a lot cheaper :smile: Have a look online and in guidebooks to get an idea of how much it will cost for each location :smile:

Thank you both for replying, I'll look up the things you said. What is your favourite travel destination?
Original post by Wordnerd2
Thank you both for replying, I'll look up the things you said. What is your favourite travel destination?


Favourite travel destination has got to be China, where I'm currently doing a year abroad :smile: There's so much history and culture, loads of places to visit (China is about the size of the whole of Europe, so there's so much to see), it's super cheap, transport is really convenient, and it's just generally an awesome country!

I did some vlogs of my travels on YouTube if you want to check it out! China: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd1DjhZfvC7b2QXXTFV5ekMU7b8jBkzwT

Italy is also a really interesting country, lots of historical sites to visit and the weather is really lovely.
Reply 5
Original post by dragonkeeper999
Favourite travel destination has got to be China, where I'm curi rently doing a year abroad :smile: There's so much history and culture, loads of places to visit (China is about the size of the whole of Europe, so there's so much to see), it's super cheap, transport is really convenient, and it's just generally an awesome country!

I did some vlogs of my travels on YouTube if you want to check it out! China: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd1DjhZfvC7b2QXXTFV5ekMU7b8jBkzwT

Italy is also a really interesting country, lots of historical sites to visit and the weather is really lovely.
I will definitely check your videos out! & both places sound awesome
Reply 6
I don't think you'll have any problems with deferred entry. The biggest consideration should be your budget. If you decide to do Europe then South-East Asia then it will add up to a fair amount. How long do you plan on traveling? And what would you like to spend at most?

If you are concerned about budget then you may want to consider skipping Europe and heading right to South-East Asia. I'm heading to Kuala Lumpur next month and a direct flight return ticket was £550, which is what I suspect what it would cost on average to return from most South-East Asian countries. Flying within the region is fairly cheap, especially in non-touristy seasons

e.g. in October:
Kuala Lumpur -> Bangkok is £20
Bangkok -> Siem Reap is £35

Flying to Japan is a little more expensive, but still reasonable (£125 return Bangkok -> Tokyo -> Bangkok). If you want to travel a fair amount, it would be reasonable to assume flights alone will cost no more than £1000 total, including your return to the UK.

Accommodation is the trickiest part to estimate as it depends on how long you want to stay, and also what standard of accommodation you want. Hostels in the region are incredibly cheap, but if like me you prefer private accommodation on a budget, then the prices are still reasonable, especially if you are traveling with a friend. It's been a couple of years but here are a rough estimate per night what I think I spent.

Japan: £35
Vietnam: £15
Thailand: £25 Bangkok, £15 Chiang Mai
Cambodia: £15 each (2 people)
SIngapore: £35 each (3 people)
Malaysia: Not too sure as was studying there, but price probably between Singapore and Thailand

So it really does depend on your desired length of stay/quality of accommodation.

If you don't mind shared hostels then the price is much cheaper than this. Sorry if all this information is a bit muddled but I hope it can help a little. I can't offer too much advice for Europe as I haven't traveled there too much.
(edited 7 years ago)

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