best gap year program to visit south america?? or central america

Hello,

I'm taking a gap year before going to uni 2017 entry.

Has anyone used or know of a gap year company to do a gap year programme in south america (hopefully Peru/Ecuador type places) for two months or so.

I've been looking for so long, but don't know which ones are the best e.g. value for money/places you get to visit etc. I've looked at GapForce and considered volunteering with Raleigh International but am still looking to see if there are other better options.

If you know of any that are good please say,

Thanks

Reply 1

NeverLucky

12

Are you interested in doing some volunteer work when you're there? If so, have a look at http://www.projects-abroad.co.uk/. Prices are a bit expensive and it doesn't include plane tickets but it can be worthwhile doing if you're interested. It's definitely one of the more well known volunteer programs.

Reply 2

GFM16

Hi Rebecca,I went to South America on my gap year and absolutely loved it. I spent a lot of time in Peru and a bit of time in Ecuador. I looked into quite a few organisations but in the end decided to travel on my own and meet some friends in Peru. My friends were volunteering with a local NGO and I was able to join them for a week (I can't remember the name).I did quite a lot of research and spoke to people who went with Gapforce and RealGap and ProjectsAbroad (as well as others) because these seem to be the most well-known organisations. The biggest difference I could tell was that RealGap and ProjectsAbroad outsource their projects to local organisers and they don't give you much support once you've arrived in the country. Gapforce seem to organise their trips completely and have their own UK-trained leaders that work with sustainable projects in the country. It seemed safer and the reviews did look amazing.Take a look at www.yearoutgroup.org as they list all the best gap year providers. There are also some other websites that list independent reviews for each program and these can be helpful in choosing what is right for you.Hope that helps!

Reply 3

rebeccarmi

OP

1

Original post by NeverLucky

Are you interested in doing some volunteer work when you're there? If so, have a look at http://www.projects-abroad.co.uk/. Prices are a bit expensive and it doesn't include plane tickets but it can be worthwhile doing if you're interested. It's definitely one of the more well known volunteer programs.

Hi, thank you. I will have a look at that as it sounds interesting, thanks.

Reply 4

rebeccarmi

OP

1

Original post by GFM16

Hi Rebecca,I went to South America on my gap year and absolutely loved it. I spent a lot of time in Peru and a bit of time in Ecuador. I looked into quite a few organisations but in the end decided to travel on my own and meet some friends in Peru. My friends were volunteering with a local NGO and I was able to join them for a week (I can't remember the name).I did quite a lot of research and spoke to people who went with Gapforce and RealGap and ProjectsAbroad (as well as others) because these seem to be the most well-known organisations. The biggest difference I could tell was that RealGap and ProjectsAbroad outsource their projects to local organisers and they don't give you much support once you've arrived in the country. Gapforce seem to organise their trips completely and have their own UK-trained leaders that work with sustainable projects in the country. It seemed safer and the reviews did look amazing.Take a look at www.yearoutgroup.org as they list all the best gap year providers. There are also some other websites that list independent reviews for each program and these can be helpful in choosing what is right for you.Hope that helps!

Hi, thank you very much! That's been so helpful. What made you decide to just travel on your own? I can't decide if that would be better or not. Thanks!

Reply 5

GFM16

Original post by rebeccarmi

Hi, thank you very much! That's been so helpful. What made you decide to just travel on your own? I can't decide if that would be better or not. Thanks!

Hi Rebecca,

I think at the time a lot of the gap year programs in South America seemed to stay mostly in one place in one country and I wanted to move around a bit more than that. It seems that some of the programs have adapted a bit more now and include moving around to different places (I'm looking at the Gapforce South America Explore program, for example).

Good luck.

Reply 6

yaschino

Original post by GFM16

Hi Rebecca,

I think at the time a lot of the gap year programs in South America seemed to stay mostly in one place in one country and I wanted to move around a bit more than that. It seems that some of the programs have adapted a bit more now and include moving around to different places (I'm looking at the Gapforce South America Explore program, for example).

Good luck.

Hi,

I'm looking at the Gapforce South America Explore program at the moment, just wondering whether you ended up going and if you could tell me how you found it?

Thanks, hope you had/are having a fab gap year! :smile:

Reply 7

GFM16

Hi yaschino,

I didn't go on the Gapforce South America program myself but it looks great! My gap year was a few years ago but I definitely recommend travelling and hope you have an awesome gap year!

best gap year program to visit south america?? or central america

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