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Real Gap Experience

I am planning on taking a gap year and I am very interested in The Aussie Ultimate Package, supplied by Real Gap Experiences. Has anybody been on this gap year? And if so are they able to tell me the truth about it. Is it really as good as the brochure makes out. It lloks fantastic but I have some queries about it.

Topdog

Reply 1

Ronove

18

There is already a thread called REAL Gap Experience.
I'm going to Peru with them in May, all the pre-departure stuff they've sent me is great.
I just went for my first Hepatitis A+B vaccination and the nurse's daughter's friend is going to Peru with REAL next week (how weird is that) and her daughter is going to Namibia or somewhere with them sometime soon. Bizarre.

Reply 2

TOPDOG-TP

OP

That sounds great. What a coincidence that was. So everything is easy to plan? Have they been really helpful with all you worries and questions?

Topdog

Reply 3

Ronove

18

Yup. They've sent me a few things like a Spanish test and a page of 'essay questions' asking why I want to volunteer, and a sheet asking me to state my preference for the type of placement, even though I've got a place at a centre for street children, but the rest is a huge wad of info. They answered my questions etc via email, which was handy, as I don't particularly like phoning people. :p:

Reply 4

TOPDOG-TP

OP

Thats great. So when are you going? And for how long?

Topdog

Reply 5

Ronove

18

I'm going in May. Starting off with a 1 week language course to meet people (a Real Gap person mentioned that the language school is generally where everyone makes friends) and then 4 weeks at the centre for street children. Then, I don't know. I'm hoping to tag along with someone for a week around Peru (if we don't go to Lake Titicaca as an excursion during the placement then I definitely will be heading down to Puno, then probably across to Arequipa). Then I'll either follow someone into Chile or fly to Buenos Aires via Lima. I'm planning to fly home from Buenos Aires at the end, and depending on money/where I decide I really want to go after more research I might fly to somewhere else from Lima first, then down to Buenos Aires eventually. Hopefully I'll be able to meet up with someone (Lucho22 :p:

) in Buenos Aires and do a little bit of travelling with him (or a lot of course, though I probably won't mind how little he wants to travel, I might be exhausted by then! :biggrin:

) before flying home, though if that doesn't happen I'll be in Buenos Aires anyway, ready to fly home when I want to. It works!
Finding a flexible ticket that doesn't cost a stupid amount of money might not be so easy though...

Reply 6

a_t

16

I'm going with them to China in January for 6 months to do TEFL

Reply 7

baker1

TOPDOG-TP

I am planning on taking a gap year and I am very interested in The Aussie Ultimate Package, supplied by Real Gap Experiences. Has anybody been on this gap year? And if so are they able to tell me the truth about it. Is it really as good as the brochure makes out. It lloks fantastic but I have some queries about it.

Topdog

Hi i am planning to take the ultimate package as well, just wondering if you found any useful information out about them?

also someone said there is already a thread caller REAL Gap experience were would i find this as i cant find it.

Thanks

Reply 8

Ronove

18

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=273326
You didn't look very hard. :wink:

Reply 9

baker1

Cheers, i found it in the end oh!

Reply 10

Iscariot

11

I was in the army during my gap year. That's an experience.

Reply 11

Ronove

18

Iscariot

I was in the army during my gap year. That's an experience.

One that's not suited to everyone. :smile:

Reply 12

baker1

I cant find any reviews on the company Real gap experience.

Not shore if thats a good thing or a bad thing

Reply 13

TOPDOG-TP

OP

Yeh, I noticed that there is no information apart from there own website. Thats the only thing that is worrying me about going.

Topdog

Reply 14

Ronove

18

They've been helpful to me so far.
The nurse in charge of my vaccinations said that her daughter was going somewhere with them, and her daughter's boyfriend is going to (or, by now, is IN) Peru. I'll be going for my second hepatitis vaccination at the end of this month so she might give me an update on how it's going for him then.

Reply 15

olibray

Try Xtreme Gaphttp://www.xtreme-gap.com instead. Like real gap but much cheaper. :smile:

Reply 16

Paved_Paradise

I did the Thai Experience through RealGap last year. I found they were very helpful before I went, but once I was there they weren't so hot... The Thai people were fantastic, but RealGap themselves were pretty useless.... We'd signed up to do a months volunteer work in the orphanage with them, but they failed to tell us that it was their summer holidays (in april) wen we'd booked to do it, so we turned up there & there were NO kids cos they'd all gone to stay with the local monks over the summer. STUPID. So, loads of people complained & they did nothing. Having said that, the rest of it was really good, but they charge a FORTUNE.

Basically, a summarised list! :

•

Its a good way to go if you're worried about travelling alone

•

Its a good way to meet people & make new friends

•

Its easy if you're not too confident about planning stuff yourself [color="RED"]

•

Its a VERY expensive way of doing things...

•

They weren't particularly helpful once I'd left the UK

•

I found it very restricting - there wasn't much freedom

Overall, I'm glad I did it cos I made some fantastic friends & saw stuff I probably wouldn't have if I'd done it on my own, but I wouldn't do it with them again... Id save the money & plan it myself and get the freedom I wanted.

Reply 17

Debes87

2

Hi,

Me and my friend have signed up for the USA 64 day trailblzaer, but can't find any reviews or anything anywhere! has anyone been or going?? Would be great to hear from you, thanks!

Laura :smile:

Reply 18

dsp911

a_t

I'm going with them to China in January for 6 months to do TEFL

Im going in Jan too - where you going? I've not even starting paying the 2k...!

Reply 19

dsp911

Paved_Paradise

I did the Thai Experience through RealGap last year. I found they were very helpful before I went, but once I was there they weren't so hot... The Thai people were fantastic, but RealGap themselves were pretty useless.... We'd signed up to do a months volunteer work in the orphanage with them, but they failed to tell us that it was their summer holidays (in april) wen we'd booked to do it, so we turned up there & there were NO kids cos they'd all gone to stay with the local monks over the summer. STUPID. So, loads of people complained & they did nothing. Having said that, the rest of it was really good, but they charge a FORTUNE.

Basically, a summarised list! :

•

Its a good way to go if you're worried about travelling alone

•

Its a good way to meet people & make new friends

•

Its easy if you're not too confident about planning stuff yourself [color="RED"]

•

Its a VERY expensive way of doing things...

•

They weren't particularly helpful once I'd left the UK

•

I found it very restricting - there wasn't much freedom

Overall, I'm glad I did it cos I made some fantastic friends & saw stuff I probably wouldn't have if I'd done it on my own, but I wouldn't do it with them again... Id save the money & plan it myself and get the freedom I wanted.

ive booked with real gap for January (china tefl) - I wish I had seen that before hand!

Real Gap Experience

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