In praise of the 'gap year'

Traditionally, the “gap year” was the domain of fresh-faced students with backpacks and Interrail passes, off to discover the world before real life began. But the gap year has evolved, becoming shorter, later, more varied. Crucially, the sentiment of the traditional gap year is no longer bound to youth, or to a 12-month timeframe.

Today, the spirit of the gap year can be found just as easily in a sabbatical, a career break, or (my personal favourite) a “quarter-life quest.” And while the pursuit of "finding oneself" might sound trite, there’s something to it. Perhaps it’s in the gaps between life’s seasons — in between jobs, kids, homes — that we’re most open to being changed. The spaces between chapters, where adventure and reflection unfold side by side.

Here is our collection of gap-year-inspired journeys, each infused with that same spirit: a curiosity to see the world, and a willingness to be changed by it. Epic adventures to find yourself, yes — but also to find something far bigger.

johanna schrag

Passage to Sicily

When life gives you lemons, make lemon granita. Or, better, head straight to Sicily and devour it beneath the shade of a citrusy courtyard in Palermo. The pace? Slow. The vibes? Immacolate.

Jerome

Scandinavian odyssey

After an overnight sail (that feels more cruise than ferry), there's clarity to be found in cold-water dips in the Sørenga pool and Trondheimsfjorden. Once you've dried off, Swedish stopovers are a smorgasbord of natural beauty, colourful wharves and fika hangouts. 

Marco D'Abramo

From Europe to North Africa

Home to Africa's first high-speed rail line, Morocco is one of the best countries in the African continent to explore by train. Even more so when the outward and return journey means stopovers through Spain's ancient cities and an hour's sailing across from Tarifa to Tangier. 

Cedric Letsch

Traversing the Low Countries

For depth over distance, a short hop to Belgium by Eurostar commences a 20-day sojourn through the Low Countries. Get heady over Belgium's beer (a cultural institution) and Luxembourg's 1200 valley-spanning bridges, before freewheeling along Dutch canals. 

Leonhard Niederwimmer

Central Europe explorer

Waltzing from spire-studded skylines to riverside ruin bars, variety is the name of the game. Trains thread through castle-clad hills and echoes of the Eastern Bloc, but the real thrill is how no two nights feel the same.