GAP YEAR TRAVEL PROGRAMS 2022-2025
Gap-year programs are an opportunity to get to know what’s out there before you make decisions about your future education and career path. It’s more time to work on that project you’ve been putting off while studying. It’s a chance to learn about the real world outside the four walls of a classroom.
It’s a way for you to get out of your comfort zone and find out more about your own natural aptitudes. It’s your shot at seeing the world before choosing where you’d like to settle down for the next few years and make some long-term progress.
Maybe you don’t agree with precisely any of these definitions of the gap year program. That’s okay. The exact meaning of a gap year program is probably a little different for everyone. In whichever way you define a gap year program, most gap-year students would agree that it’s a chance to design your own year of learning, achievement, impact, and life experience, away from more traditionally structured school and work systems.
With Projects Abroad, you can have a Gap year Travel program abroad where you fulfill your potential while exploring the world.
We offer a wide range of options, so we can match a lot of your gap year ideas. Interested in a gap year spent volunteering with animals?
Eager to use your gap year travel program to add work experience to your CV? Whatever you need for your gap year program, we can help make it a reality!
This is what you can expect from our gap year program projects:
- Work on long-term, sustainable solutions to specific problems and make a real impact
- Add real-life experience to your CV
- Get first-hand insight into global challenges facing people today
- Work closely with local community members and organizations
- Become more independent
Planning gap-year travels programs is our specialty, and we offer a hassle-free and completely flexible experience for gap-year travel. You can choose:
- What kind of work do you want to do
- Which country do you want to go to
- How long do you want to travel, and your own start dates
About GAP Year Programs
BENEFITS OF A GAP YEAR TRAVEL PROGRAMS
More and more traditional academic institutions are endorsing the many benefits of a gap year. Harvard, famously, sends out letters to students after accepting them for admission advising their parents to rather consider postponing their child’s education and encouraging them to take a gap year before college.
Harvard’s official reason for doing this is that they believe today’s students are under far too much pressure and that greatness comes not from imitating others but from knowing yourself, following your interests, and playing to your own unique strengths. Taking a gap year allows high school graduates to build on all three of these success factors.
SHOULD I TAKE A GAP YEAR?
If you’re super excited about taking a gap year, but still have some doubts the gap year statistics study conducted by The American Gap Association, might help you make your decision. It showed that about 85% of students who take a gap year recommend it to others, 88% of those who took a gap year after high school who planned to go to a specific college, did, and 89% of those who took a gap year during college returned to college, and 86% of gap year students were satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs. They also found that the majority of students taking a gap year do so after high school and before college. A much smaller part of the group takes their gap year during college and an even tinier portion takes their gap year after completing graduate school or after college.
HOW TO TAKE A GAP YEAR
Hopefully, we’ve been able to show you that the pros of a gap year outweigh any cons you might have heard about. Now, we’d also attend to your question of how exactly it will be possible for you to take a gap year.
Many students ask how they can fund their gap year. Check our scholarships page to find out if we can offer you a gap year scholarship. You can also raise funds for your gap year by using our fundraising platform. Citizens of the United States of America can also apply for a tax deduction on any of our gap year programs. The second question many students ask is ‘How can I apply for a gap year when I’ve already been accepted to a college?’ You can apply to your admissions office to postpone your enrolment for a year.
Amani hostel offers run gap year travel programs including volunteer and internship programs and volunteering abroad in Tanzania during your gap year.
You won’t be short on gap year ideas if you choose the Amani hostel gap year program. Focuses for our programs include everything from marine and wildlife conservation to global public health and education, as well as women’s empowerment, and business in the service of social impact.
If you’ve already found the perfect gap year program for you, perfect! Complete a quick application for the Amani hostel gap year program. If not, you can browse and find gap year programs here. To download our gap year guide, visit our brochures page.
WHAT TO DO IN A GAP YEAR TRAVEL PROGRAM.
The American Gap Association study found that the number of activities undertaken on a gap year is positively correlated to the satisfaction students report after taking their gap year. In other words, the more activities you’re able to squeeze into a gap year, the more fulfilled you’ll feel at the end of it. This makes sense, after all the last thing you’d want to be is bored during a gap year Program.
If you’re looking for inspiration planning your gap year, why not take a leaf out of Malia Obama’s book. She’s perhaps the most famous student in recent memory to take a gap year and did so before attending Harvard. During her gap year, Malia traveled to volunteer abroad, completed an internship, and spent time with her family. With Amani hostel you do all of these things, you can travel to volunteer or intern abroad.
When you’re looking to plan your gap year, first make a list of all the things you’d like to try during your gap year, and then do some research about the available gap year options.
After you have an idea about time and budget constraints, you can start being more selective about your gap year ideas (after all, there are only 365 days in a year) and whether you’d need to consider a gap year work program before traveling, volunteering or interning.
Use your gap year to explore other countries, realize your potential, and gain real-world experience
Unlock your potential and use your gap year travel programs abroad to discover what you’re capable of. With Projects Abroad, you’ll gain real-world experience and support communities in need at the same time.
It’s an exciting and different way to start the next chapter of your life after high school. If you are looking to do something this Fall or Winter, 2022/23, we recommend our new:
On a gap year program abroad after high school, the experience can be designed to benefit your exact interests and goals. You can explore a career you’re interested in, like medicine or law, and add relevant work experience to your resume.
We have options for students who’ve deferred their college acceptance, and for those who don’t feel they’re ready for university just yet. Whatever your motivation, we’ll be there to help you find what you’re looking for.
There’s a lot you can get involved in by volunteering abroad during your gap year. You can protect endangered ecosystems and wild animals on a Conservation Project. Or, give children the educational support they desperately need on a Childcare Project.
All of our programs focus on implementing long-term, sustainable solutions. We don’t believe in quick fixes. So no matter how short or long your gap year abroad is, you’ll be part of ongoing efforts to make a real difference.
Why should I volunteer during my gap year?
We want you to get the most out of your gap year. So, depending on your goals, we’ll help you put together a gap year travel program that will benefit you the most.
Here are six of the most popular reasons our previous volunteers chose to volunteer abroad for their gap years:
- Explore a career path: Explore potential career paths and discover what you’re passionate about. It’s also a great way to find out if you have what it takes to pursue an especially challenging career, like medicine or law. If you’re not sure what you want to do, you experiment and spend time on various programs and internships.
- Gain practical experience: Get your career off to the best start with global experience. You’ll learn directly from local professionals by working alongside them. For example, you can shadow doctors in Kenya, or sit in on meetings with lawyers in China. With real-world experience under your belt, you’ll give your resume an extra edge over the competition.
- Get an international perspective: People around the world are struggling with different challenges and issues every day. You’ll gain a deeper insight into these global issues, and you’ll learn about different ways to help people where it’s needed most.
- Become a part of positive change in the world: At Projects Abroad, our first goal is to benefit the communities we work in. Each of our volunteer projects and internships is ethical, well-supported, and part of a better future. We work with continuing management plans to make sure our impact is sustainable. We track our impact using resources like our own Global Impact Database. You can read about our impact to find out what you’ll be a part of.
- Travel and tick countries off your bucket list: Use your gap year to broaden your horizons, immerse yourself in new cultures, and explore breathtaking landscapes. It’s an opportunity to see the world as a new classroom!
- Discover what you’re capable of: Travel can be a transformative experience. Seeing a different part of the world will give you a fresh perspective of who you are in the world, how you can help others, and what your strengths are.
Projects Abroad will support you every step of the way. We can help you choose where to go and which projects to select. Wherever you go, our staff will be available to make sure you have the gap year of your dreams.
What can I do for a gap year program?
Our gap year programs are individual plans designed specifically for you. You can choose to gain experience on an internship or do service work. We can help you customize the perfect gap year for you, and you can also combine different projects and countries.
You can also participate in a Team Trip if you’re interested in teaming up with a set group to tackle a specific challenge in a short period of time.
Group Program for Family, School, College, University, and Corporate groups.
- Minimum participants 5 – Maximum participants 35
- Ideal length 2- 10 weeks
- Estimated Costs $900-$1600 for volunteering and Adventure programs from grouped travelers i.e Safaris but the costs depend on the duration of the program.
- Can be customized to tailor travel, rural experience, educational need, or any other visions
At Amani Hostel, we feel very proud to organize meaningful volunteer and Travel abroad experiences for hundreds of groups (family, school, college, university, church, and corporate) and thousand of individual volunteers.
Group interests range from cultural immersion to travel, humanitarian services to education. Our custom itineraries are always assembled with great care and led by our experienced coordinators and staff; you can apply to join other volunteers in living together and do the same voluntary work. The process of putting together a customized program for your group begins with an email or phone call from a group member representing the group.
Whether you are a teacher, a member of a professional organization, or someone looking to travel with friends and family, we will work together with you to develop a program area, establish goals, and create a rough draft itinerary.
Using your feedback, we will contact our guides and in-country coordinators to build a final itinerary that best meets the group’s interests and vision but keep in mind that this package will be a mix of Adventure activities and voluntary work.
Are you with a group of more than 5 people? Are you interested in developing your own itinerary for volunteering and travel? We assure you affordable, unique, small group volunteer travel programs – setting you out on an unforgettable journey to these amazing, worldwide destinations.
GROUP TRAVEL HIGHLIGHT
Highlights
- 70-82 hours community service. Different Indigenous village of Olokii,Ilkidinga and Nduruma,HIV/AIDS Orphanage
- Safaris trip with natives Maasai warriors.LakeManyara National park,Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti
- Swahili Language Exposure within Community and Country
- Experience the Arusha city and its natural cultural activities
- Trek Yaeda ya Chini hills near Mangola ya chini rural village where world wonderful big onions are grown in Karatu District while visiting the Bushmen near lake Eyasi.
Group Travel
Tanzania » Arusha: Culture, Community Service and Safari for Group Program, for family school, college, university, and corporate groups.
Overview
The group will work in a remote village with a local school in the Nduruma Ward of Tanzania in the region of Arusha. Work includes teaching or assisting with construction projects at a local school.
The Arusha Region of Tanzania is dominated both geographically and spiritually by Mount Kilimanjaro, Meru, Oldonyo lengai and you will join one of the largest, wildest animal populations in the world. Wildebeest, monkey, antelope, lion. Cheetah, crocodile, gazelle, and flamingo are all out there. All in Tarangire, Manyara, Ngorongoro, and in Serengeti.
The mountains, waterfalls, coffee plantations, and banana fields create an incredible setting for the Olokii project adventures program. Over the two or three weeks, you will go on an authentic African safari, hike around Mount Kilimanjaro and visit Maasai village. And most importantly, spend time volunteering at a local orphanage and help to make a difference in the lives of Tanzanian children in the Arusha region.
Arrive/Depart: Depart Home to Amsterdam then Amsterdam to KIA – Tanzania then Depart KIA to Amsterdam then from Amsterdam to your home.
Besides community service, you will learn about Tanzania’s lifestyle and its culture in depth specifically, you will experience the traditions of the Maasai people who live around Maasai hill, including visits to their villages or bomas and homes to learn about each other’s lives. Although English is widely spoken, you will also learn to speak some basic Swahili, You will learn from guest speakers about social issues facing the community such as the devastating HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The Coffee plantation and the beautiful Arusha fields create an incredible setting for the Amani hostel program. Over the two weeks, you will go on an authentic African safari, hike around Mount Meru and Mount Kilimanjaro and visit a Maasai village where you will overnight there trekking the hills and have a traditional dance in the NIGHT. And most importantly, spend time volunteering at a local orphanage with the youngest lovely babies at the center and help to make a difference in the lives of Tanzanian children.
Accommodation
During the two, three, or four weeks, students or the volunteer will live together at Amani hostel program Home located in a village about 15 – 30 mins work away from the town of Arusha. Three students will share a volunteer house with public bathrooms. There is no internet access or public phones in the village, but students will be taken to an internet café twice a week. Food will be hearty Tanzanian food that consists mainly of vegetables, beans, and ugali but our Cook will be able to provide special food for those who are vegetarian or allergic to a certain kind of food.
Tuitions for Community Service, Languages service Learning, Cultural Exploration, and Amani hostel programs reflect the total cost of each program, the cost per volunteer is dependent upon the duration of the project and any additional needs that are requested by the group. The estimated cost per volunteer for three and four-week programs is $2,800USD.
What is included in the tuition?
- Extensive pre-departure training from Amani hostel program staff Team in Tanzania
- Full orientation upon arrival by Amani hostel program in-country coordinator
- Round trip airport transfers
- Lodging and thrice Meals each day
- Full Coordination on the ground by Amani hostel program in-country coordinator
- Adventure activities i .e. all mentioned safaris, Maasai village visit, cultural activities
- Swahili Language lessons in Tanzania.
Community service
Every community challenge is different. Sometimes your team will arrive at the start of a project and will build from the ground up. In this case, you may be clearing rubble, digging foundations, chipping rocks, lifting and laying blocks, or mixing cement.
On other challenges, you may arrive to find the building partially complete. In that case, your team might concentrate on finishing work, roofing, installing windows, doors, or roofing. Once the exterior of the classroom nears completion efforts focus on finishing the interior. Every building project is different.
Everything you do on a construction site, whether it is hauling water, sifting sand, removing or placing dirt, mixing cement by hand, or passing buckets of mortar to another team member is helping a remote community improve its educational or health services. It is an inspiring process to be involved in.
Accept that you don’t always have to be productive to have a good experience. Regardless of the work you perform, community challenge teams inject enthusiasm and encourage the families and community by sharing the burden of the construction process.
You do make a difference and are greatly appreciated. You will need to be patient and flexible. There will be times of waiting for someone to show up, to make a decision, or just to get started. You can always work extra hard when the time comes. Make the most of the waiting around time to share with the community. You may never have the opportunity again.
Often the work to be done is very labor-intensive.
Clearing and leveling a site, hauling dirt, digging the foundation, Transfer of delivery of materials such as Sand, gravel, cement blocks, and bags of Cement. Manual pressing cement blocks, Manual mixing cement, finishing floors, forming latrine, filling masonry joints with cement, assistant with a physical inventory of Construction materials.
You will never be asked to do anything outside of your physical capacity and teamwork will be encouraged at all times. No volunteer should be made to feel they have to do something they are not happy or comfortable doing.
There are many tasks on a building site so ask the supervisor for jobs you feel comfortable with. Be open and honest if you are not feeling useful enough or you feel you cannot do what you have been asked to. If you do have any reservations about any job you are assigned, please do not hesitate to raise these with the construction supervisor.
The days will be scheduled around the local working hours and appropriate temperatures throughout the day. Lunch, water, and snacks will be provided on-site and shared with all members of the building team.
What Should I Expect?
Volunteering abroad can be the most rewarding experience of your life and the most challenging at the same time. You will be immersed in a new culture, you will meet incredible people, and you will learn a lot about yourself.
Humility and patience are essential. One of the first things you will learn, whether it’s standing in a queue at the post office, or waiting for the dial–up connection at the local internet café is African Time. The locals will joke about it and, really, their approach is the wise one. Everything takes a long time and the outcome is often not what you might expect to have or to get.
You will make cultural blunders. It’s embarrassing but inevitable. A healthy sense of humor will go a long way. My face still turns red when I remember the lovely little “purse”. I bought it in a San (Bushman) village. I took it to church services in Malawi for three years before one of my African colleagues pointed out to me that it was a witch doctor’s bag and “no respectable Namibian or Malawian woman would ever take such a thing to church.”
You will become an educational source. Your Abroad students, whether children or adults, will be eager to learn about your home country (bring postcards to show them), and will be just as eager to tell you about theirs. One of the most successful English lessons was having students write the oral proverbs and stories told in their villages, and then asking them to create their own original stories. If you would like to know more about the culture or traditions of your host country, there’s no easier way than to assign it as an essay topic in which different students will write more to you about their homes and cultural aspects.
These are some advantages of Volunteering with us in Tanzania.
- Skill acquisition – job skills, communication skills, etc.
- Personal and professional development and training.
- Confidence
- Experience – especially to be able to add to your CV
- A written/ verbal reference
- Having fun
- Meeting new people
- Experiencing new challenges
- Satisfaction from doing something to make a difference
- The ability to explore different sorts of career job opportunities in a voluntary capacity.
Abroad Family Volunteering with us
Family volunteering allows parents, children, and other family members to spend time together while contributing to the community and causes they care about. It can be a fun activity that can improve communication within the family resulting in strong family relationships.
A growing trend overseas is for families to volunteer together. Family volunteering can involve siblings, parents, spouses, and children. Families can volunteer to help a cause close to their hearts.
What Families Can Gain from Volunteering with us?
- Parents act as role models and can demonstrate helping others in need.
- An increased sense of worth and accomplishment from making a difference.
- A stronger sense of community and decrease in social isolation
- Respect for different people and conditions
- Relative or family members could benefit from the activity
- Learn new skills or use existing skills
CAMPING SAFARI EXPEDITION.
Lake Manyara /Ngorongore /Oldvai /Serengeti.
DAY 1 : After breakfast, we drive through the foothills of Lake Manyara side of the great rift escarpment to arrive for lunch at the park, and drive to the Camp for dinner and an overnight stay.
DAY 2 : After breakfast, we carry a picnic lunch and descend to Serengeti land to spend the day taking in the spectacular wildlife and have a picnic lunch and later return to the Camp for Dinner and an overnight stay.
DAY 3 : We leave the Serengeti planes and head to the Ngorongoro Crater through Olduvai Gorge.
Lunch will be either at the Hotel or we can carry a picnic. The afternoon is spent on a game drive followed by dinner and an overnight stay at the Camp.
DAY 4: We breakfast then carry a picnic lunch as the whole day is spent on the amazing crater of plenty of wild animals on a full day game drive exploring the wonders of the Ngorongoro Crater. This is followed by dinner and an overnight stay at the Camp.
DAY 5: We leave the Ngorongoro Crater and trek to Maasai village for lunch. There is the option of either; a half-day walking safaris dinner an overnight stay at a native Maasai village.
DAY 6 : After breakfast drive back to Maasai bomas and finally we drive to Arusha for lunch and spend the day shopping for exciting curios and artifacts while touring the town.
Your 6 days with 5 Nights safaris trip will include:
All parks entrance fees, all camping fees, and all thrice meals, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 4 x 4 WD safaris vehicles with pop up roof, Service of our professional driver Guides, Cook, Camping gears, i. e. tents, sleeping bags, and mattresses, rescue and evacuation services, 3 liters of bottled mineral water per person per day.
NB ; If you have a group of students, professionals, family members, friends or colleagues interested in volunteering in Tanzania, please contact us at Request Info, + 255 655 707 352 to learn how you can take part in an extraordinary Travel experience. The Amani hostel program team will work closely with you both before your departure and during your stay to provide a truly once – in – a lifetime experience for your group.
GP YEAR TRAVEL PROGRAMS CALENDAR 2022-2025.
2022 – 2025
1st Session; June 5th – June 26th (6/5/10- 6/26)
2nd Session; July 9th – July 30th (7/9/10- 7/30
3rd Session; August 12th – September 12th (8/12/10- 9/12/
Days: 21-30
Ages: 16 – yrs, 20- 28, 30 – 65
Tuition: $ 3800 USD per person.
-Airfare not included.
Maximum Group 1, 2, and 3 size; 15- 26pax
Community Service Hours: 25- 30hrs per week.
Arrive/Depart: Depart Home to Amsterdam then Amsterdam to KIA – Tanzania then Depart KIA to Amsterdam then from Amsterdam back to your home.
PROGRAM COST
Tanzania – Quick Facts
- Start Dates: All Year Round
- Duration: 1-24 Weeks
- Program Locations: Arusha & Zanzibar
- Minimum Age: 17 years+
- Certificate – Offered after Program completion
All volunteer programs start on the first and third Monday of each month. Tanzania programs are fully open now!!
The country has opened for international arrivals. Programs in Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Mbeya and Zanzibar are available. No quarantine requirements on arrival.
Amani Hostel provide the world’s most affordable volunteer Program Fees all while delivering an award-winning support service. Using an online and modern approach we are able to provide life-changing opportunities which are often a fraction of the cost of similar organizations.
Amani Hostel is also offering a wide range of affordable volunteering opportunities in two different cities in Tanzania – Arusha, and Zanzibar. Participants can choose to be a part of diverse projects including Childcare, medical, Teaching English, 2 Weeks Special, Football Coaching, and Conservation Project.
Medical and pre-med students can join the Health Care Project and work with experienced professional doctors. Apart from these, gap year travelers and backpackers looking to gain some meaningful international work experience as well as high school and college students looking for a worthy project can join these programs , which not only gives a chance to volunteer but also allows you to explore the adventure trails and spot the Big 5 amidst the wilderness.
If you wish to be a responsible volunteer in Tanzania and enjoy the thrilling game drives, then get ready and join it through us!
If you are tired of expensive volunteer programs but want to make a positive contribution to the world, look no further! Amani Hostel is dedicated to offering high-quality, well-organized, and meaningful programs at the most affordable price in the United States.