Our selection of the best expedition style gap years include trekking in the Himalayas, exploring the remote jungles of South America, diving off the coast of Madagascar and caring for rhinos and tigers in the forest and prairie of central Africa. If you want to spend your gap year in a comfortable air conditioned classroom or office, you need to look at one of our other page. All you will find here are expeditions for adventurous people.
Explore the world, make new friends for life, go one step further! We have every expedition you could wish for including South America 3 country volunteer adventure, South Africa 5 country/ big cats/ guide course, South Pacific learn to dive/ protect the reefs, Everest Base Camp Trek, Leadership Training and much more
SouthAmerica Find yourself working with rural communities in the very heart of Costa Rica, working to protect one of the most bio-diverse places on the planet. Become part of the long legacy Raleigh has created in Costa Rica.
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Raleigh International
Africa LAUNCHING IN 2026
Join a 5, 7, or 10-week Raleigh Expedition in Kenya! Volunteer on community and environmental projects, take on an adventure challenge, create a sustainable impact, grow personally, immerse in a new culture, and experience amazing wildlife.
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Raleigh International
MidEast
We are currently hiring for the 2025 academic year start in Muscat, Oman. we also have limited places available in Qatar and Saudi Arabia. These placements will run throughout the academic year (until end of June 2025) and successful applicants will be given the chance to work in all 3 countries More Details..
Cheltenham School Muscat
Africa
You Volunteer with different Volunteer projects around Uganda, These include Teaching, Childcare, Women Empowerment, Special Needs Care, HIV/ AIDS Support, Sports Education. Street and Slum Children Support around Uganda.
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Volunteers 2 Uganda
Asia
Raleigh has relaunched it's Expeditions to Malaysian Borneo, having been there until 2017 for more than 30 years. Become part of the long legacy Raleigh has created in Borneo working to support projects combatting the effects of deforestation and helping rural communities with access to education. More Details..
Raleigh International
Africa
A Safari Tailored to give you a feel of 3 of Uganda Wild Parks, to view many animals which include the Zebras of Lake Mburo, The chance too see the Mountain Gorillas of Bwindi, the climbing Lions of Queen Elizabeth NP's Ishasha Sector and a day in between to relax by the Lake Bunyonyi. More Details..
Volunteers 2 Uganda
Africa
LAUNCHING IN 2026
Join a 5, 7, or 10-week Raleigh Expedition in Kenya! Volunteer on community and environmental projects, take on an adventure challenge, create a sustainable impact, grow personally, immerse in a new culture, and experience amazing wildlife. More Details..
Raleigh International
SouthAmerica
Find yourself working with rural communities in the very heart of Costa Rica, working to protect one of the most bio-diverse places on the planet. Become part of the long legacy Raleigh has created in Costa Rica. More Details..
Raleigh International
Europe
As an Outdoor Instructor, you will deliver a range of fun, memorable and tailored adventurous activities, experiences and adventure holidays aimed at families, individuals and groups. Such as snowmobile tours, ice fishing, snowshoeing and cross country skiing. More Details..
Davvi Arctic
Africa Asia Australasia SouthAmerica
Volunteer on a Conservation & Environment placement with Projects Abroad and help to conserve some of the world’s most beautiful and fragile ecosystems. You may find yourself diving on our Shark Conservation project in Fiji, working in the heart of the Amazon rainforest or working with sea turtles More Details..
Projects Abroad
If you picture the average gap year you might think about someone with a back pack, taking a train from one European capital city to another, marveling at the architecture and enjoying trying out new foods in a range of cafes and bars. Or perhaps you imagine someone teaching English to a classroom full of business people in somewhere like Tokyo, or Beijing. Those are rewarding experiences and make for great gap years, but what if you want to do something a bit different? What if you want a bit more of an expedition, something more exciting that will make your friends stop and listen when you get home?
Luckily there are a handful of specialist gap year companies offering proper adventure gap years. Someone them will still carry your bags and take care of you, others you will be expected to pull your weight - literally! If you are not the type of person who likes to pass the time watching the world go by with a glass of wine and a book, while other people rush about, you will probably want to read on.
Arctic Expeditions are not the sole preserve of the rich and famous. Spend the first few weeks improving your mountaineering skills, arctic living and safe travel. Then it is off to the first expedition base camp. But remember, this is not one of those papered gap years we were talking about earlier. There are skis on your feet and you will be pulling your own sledge of equipment. You will be taking part in valuable scientific research on Svalbard, cooking your own freeze dried food on a Primus stove, in a tent, surrounded by snow.
Prefer your expedition gap year warm? Go to Oman, and take part in an eight week trek through some of the harshest desert environments on Earth. Remember to collect kindling along the way or you will not be able to make the fire on which to cook your food. Enjoy spectacular starry night skies that you will not see in the UK, and make your way to the tropical cloud forests near the Arabian Peninsula.
How about taking part in some extreme sports on your expedition gap year? Try your hand at bungy jumping, zorbing, or rock climbing in New Zealand, skydiving, canyoning and cave diving in the USA, martial arts training camps in South East Asia, getting up close to big game in Africa, or free diving with sharks in Australia.
