Page 21 iGap Travel Guide 2022
P. 21
iGap Travel Guide | Europe
21
cost even less. Yet, the range of affordable travel
does not stop there, with budget airlines like Ryanair
and easyJet boasting low-cost tickets and incredible
travel links. Alternatively, you could take a road trip
and traverse some of the greatest landscapes in the
world, from the winding cliffs of the Côte d’Azur to
the racetrack asphalt of the Austrian Alps. And yes, all
the rumours you’ve heard on
Top Gear
are true: parts
of the German Autobahn uphold limit-free speeding.
Whatever your means of transport may be, Europe’s
tightly-knit roads and rail structures means almost
anything and everything you’ll ever want to see and
do here will always be in reach. A typical summer
month of your gap year could have you indulging
your inner gladiator at Rome’s Colosseum, losing
yourself in labyrinthine, cobblestoned Prague, diving
deep to explore octopus-occupied shipwrecks in
Portugal, or taking a ghoulish pilgrimage to Dracula’s
Castle in Romania. A typical winter could see you
skiing in Switzerland, climbing a snowy Acropolis in
Athens, and marvelling at the Northern Lights in far-
flung Norway. The Italian countryside is as colourful
as the guidebooks portray, and the legendary
Nürburgring a proper public road! You’d be
is
surprised at how many city hostels offer free parking,
too. Even in capitals. With so much to unearth and
discover, imagine what you could accomplish over
the whole year!
Taking a gap year is all about independence and
discovery – cramming as much as possible into
those 12 marvellous months is a great way to see
the world before immersing oneself in the world of
work or university. If you want your experience to be
as culturally and historically diverse as possible, there’s
only one destination for you: Europe. In recent years, a
clichéd rite of passage has emerged amongst youthful
travellers, who are opting to take a year out to travel
across Southeast Asia, Australia or even the U.S. Yet,
with world-leading transport links and 45 independent
and unique countries sprawling across 200,000 square
miles (much larger than the U.S.), Europe’s breadth
of cultural vibrancy and hop-and-go accessibility are
undoubtedly unrivalled by any other continent.
With a short-stay Schengen Visa, you can travel
between some of the world’s most fascinating cities
as freely as your heart desires. You could be chowing
down on fish and chips in London one afternoon,
eating croissants in Paris the next morning, and
partying in Berlin’s best techno clubs that very night –
without the need to travel to any airports. Paving the
way for an evolved way of travelling, the Visa enables
country-hopping all year round as many of the
exciting European destinations are only a couple of
hundred miles apart. Additionally, Europe’s wealth of
high-speed railway systems will become your trusted
travel buddy as a cheaper and more convenient
alternative to flying.
With train stations almost always accessible and
centrally located, you’ll be surprised at how light
your wallet can be once in Europe. Eurail passes
1
are available for the price of peanuts (especially its
Under 24 Pass), while Busabout tours sometimes
2
21
cost even less. Yet, the range of affordable travel
does not stop there, with budget airlines like Ryanair
and easyJet boasting low-cost tickets and incredible
travel links. Alternatively, you could take a road trip
and traverse some of the greatest landscapes in the
world, from the winding cliffs of the Côte d’Azur to
the racetrack asphalt of the Austrian Alps. And yes, all
the rumours you’ve heard on
Top Gear
are true: parts
of the German Autobahn uphold limit-free speeding.
Whatever your means of transport may be, Europe’s
tightly-knit roads and rail structures means almost
anything and everything you’ll ever want to see and
do here will always be in reach. A typical summer
month of your gap year could have you indulging
your inner gladiator at Rome’s Colosseum, losing
yourself in labyrinthine, cobblestoned Prague, diving
deep to explore octopus-occupied shipwrecks in
Portugal, or taking a ghoulish pilgrimage to Dracula’s
Castle in Romania. A typical winter could see you
skiing in Switzerland, climbing a snowy Acropolis in
Athens, and marvelling at the Northern Lights in far-
flung Norway. The Italian countryside is as colourful
as the guidebooks portray, and the legendary
Nürburgring a proper public road! You’d be
is
surprised at how many city hostels offer free parking,
too. Even in capitals. With so much to unearth and
discover, imagine what you could accomplish over
the whole year!
Taking a gap year is all about independence and
discovery – cramming as much as possible into
those 12 marvellous months is a great way to see
the world before immersing oneself in the world of
work or university. If you want your experience to be
as culturally and historically diverse as possible, there’s
only one destination for you: Europe. In recent years, a
clichéd rite of passage has emerged amongst youthful
travellers, who are opting to take a year out to travel
across Southeast Asia, Australia or even the U.S. Yet,
with world-leading transport links and 45 independent
and unique countries sprawling across 200,000 square
miles (much larger than the U.S.), Europe’s breadth
of cultural vibrancy and hop-and-go accessibility are
undoubtedly unrivalled by any other continent.
With a short-stay Schengen Visa, you can travel
between some of the world’s most fascinating cities
as freely as your heart desires. You could be chowing
down on fish and chips in London one afternoon,
eating croissants in Paris the next morning, and
partying in Berlin’s best techno clubs that very night –
without the need to travel to any airports. Paving the
way for an evolved way of travelling, the Visa enables
country-hopping all year round as many of the
exciting European destinations are only a couple of
hundred miles apart. Additionally, Europe’s wealth of
high-speed railway systems will become your trusted
travel buddy as a cheaper and more convenient
alternative to flying.
With train stations almost always accessible and
centrally located, you’ll be surprised at how light
your wallet can be once in Europe. Eurail passes
1
are available for the price of peanuts (especially its
Under 24 Pass), while Busabout tours sometimes
2
