We’ve all dreamed of taking a gap year. Spending months travelling the globe, being immersed in incredible, unique cultures the world over, and meeting amazing people along the way. But what do you do if a year isn’t feasible?
That’s where group tours come in. Shorter than time spent travelling solo, a group tour offers the same exposure to brand new experiences but provides a structure and schedule that ensures you don’t waste time that you don’t have. So, if you want to travel but need a finish date – here’s why you should take a gap year trip with The Dragon Trip.
Guides & Local Knowledge
While solo travel can be incredibly freeing by its very nature, you’re often new to the places you visit. This gives you a chance to explore, yes – but where do you begin? Some of the best discoveries might be made wandering, but taking a stroll with someone who knows the area is even better.
Forgoing the guidebook’s tourist trap highlights, a group tour with a local guide ensures that you’re learning about the area from the people who know it inside and out. And with hidden gems, tips and hacks for getting around, and local recommendations an added bonus, it’s a no-brainer. If you take a gap year trip in a guided group, you’ll ensure that you see the best bits – thanks to the best people.
Learn more about the Dragon Trip’s Adventure Leader team here.
Cultural Immersion
Another by-product of group travel is that you’re guaranteed a level of local immersion that you might not get from a gap year trip on your own. Solo travel can be daunting, and you might not get the opportunity to take part in some unique experiences that can only be afforded to groups.
How about homestays in Chiang Mai, attending a Baci ceremony with locals in Laos, or a trip back to your guide’s home village in Yangshuo? These incredible moments are what makes travel so special, as they help expand worldviews and open minds to new ways of living. Eating with locals, engaging with an area’s history, and learning from communities – it’s what a gap year is all about
Planning? Who needs it!
We’ve all fallen foul of plans that never end up materialising. Trips that never make it out of the group chat, wishlists of holiday rentals that invariably book up before you decide on them. A group tour takes the hard work out of your gap year trip, meaning that you’re free to enjoy the experience. No need to book your own accomodation, your own ferries or buses between bases – it’s done for you. Your route is taken care of and maximised for efficiency to make sure that – even if you’re not spending as long on your gap year trip – you’re sacrificing none of the experiences. A group tour is a gap year, streamlined.
Safety
With an organised group tour comes the assurance of security. Accommodation is checked and vetted, transport routes are planned out in advance – and after all, there’s safety in numbers. Add on a local guide who knows the best ways to keep yourself safe in the area, and it means you can keep your gap year trip stress-free.
In addition, your group tour provider will often have policies and practices in place to look after you. The Dragon Trip has a contactable Operations Team, a group chat for every trip which includes the guide, and a 24-hour emergency helpline in case it’s really needed. And with ABTA & ATOL protection and a TOPP policy to boot? There really is no better way to look after yourself while travelling.
Friends for Life
Ask anyone with travel experience what their highlight was and they’ll say the same thing: the people. While solo travel doesn’t necessarily have to be lonely, a group tour promises a vibrant community that embraces the fun of travelling with others. On a group gap year trip, you’ll meet people from all over the world – different ages, backgrounds, but all with one commonality. Everyone loves to travel!
Group travel opens up amazing opportunities to make lifelong friendships – and bond over boat cruises, BBQ parties, or camping in the desert. Touring as a group fosters communication skills, sociability, and – on a basic level – good old-fashioned fun. We’ve known hundreds of travellers arrive as strangers and leave as friends for life, and it’s this which sets a group gap year trip apart.
