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Career Break Essentials

There are all kinds of career break essentials you need to think about before you set off on a gap year. GYFGU's pre-departure packs contain plenty of career break travel advice on career break essentials and you can also chat to a travel adviser at any time if there is anything you are unsure about.

Although it is worth mentioning some of the most important career break essentials here...

Career break essentials - Passports and Visas

These career break essentials are so obvious that you are probably surprised we even bothered to mention them! However it is not unheard of for travellers to set off on their big adventure either without the correct visas for where they are going or armed with a passport which isn't valid for the required full six months after their return date. Make sure you are not one of these people!

It's always a good idea to take a couple of photocopies of your passport - taking one with you and leaving a copy behind with a friend or relative.

Career break essentials -Travel insurance

An absolutely vital career break travel essential is to ensure you take out comprehensive travel insurance before you set off. It is highly unlikely you will ever need to use it but the peace of mind travel insurance provides is invaluable. If you are planning to do any activities such as scuba diving, skiing or bungee jumping make sure your policy also covers you for these - even if you have to pay a
bit more.

Career break essentials - My Online Safe

MyOnlineSafe is the perfect way to solve any worries you have about losing important travel documents. It is an online service where you can upload all your important documents to a secure location on the internet and should you need copies of any of these whilst you are away, you can safely log in to the website and print off what you need.

Career break essentials - Health

Another important career break essential is pay a visit to your GP or travel clinic at least six weeks prior to departure in order to find out what jabs or medication you may need when you are travelling. Sometimes the vaccinations have to be ordered in and some have to be administered weeks before you leave, so don't leave it to the last minute!

Career break essentials - Decent equipment

It's very important to invest in some decent equipment for your gap year, however long your trip is. Travel equipment career break essentials include a sturdy backpack, decent walking boots and a quality fleece (some parts of the world that are hot in the day can get incredibly cold at night).

Career break essentials - Power of attorney

If you are leaving behind some financial affairs which may need attention from time to time it might be worth considering giving someone you trust at home power of attorney over your bank account. This allows them to pay any bills whilst you are away and is much easier to set up before you leave.

Career break essentials - Set up an email account

A definite career break essential is to set up an email account if you don't have one already. Providers such as Yahoo and MSN don't charge for this service, it's easy to set up and you can keep in touch with friends and family cheaply and easily whilst you are away.

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Featured Traveller

Janet Horsley had an incredible time on her tailor-made gap year, blazing a trail through Africa, Asia, Australia and Latin America, read her story here.

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