GapGuru www.gapguru.com

I had an enjoyable time in all of the countries I visited as The staff were very supportive and welcoming. I made a lot of friends in Sri Lanka as I was given an induction week in Kandy before going down to the south to protect sea turtles. Releasing baby turtles was a great highlight. I felt in Cambodia that I had a real impact with the kids as I helped out with the sports club after school and received wonderful messages from the kids when I finished teaching. Unfortunately it took a while to reach the school every day. I also loved my time in India helping out with feeding reptiles and cleaning out the cages. They had a rainforest project in partnership so spending a few days there was awesome. I made a lot of friendships with the people I was working with that will last a long time. My time at crocbank went too quickly!The food and accommodation there was to a good standard. Lastly Nepal was a great way to end my gap year as I did a week of teaching in Nepal. The staff were supportive and I really want to go back there because of how much of a delight the kids are to teach. I also did a trek with gap guru called the ghorepani poon hill trek which allowed me to see some wonderful views of the Annapurna mountain range.

My time in Thailand with Gap Guru has been an amazing experience. The volunteering at the different schools and interacting with the children has been a very rewarding and eye opening. It is amazing to see though they do not live in comfort as most do in 1st world countries they are equally as happy if not more so. GapGuru also did an amazing job with getting us involved with locals. I played football with locals on weeknights, went unknowingly to a thai wedding, spent time in a remote hill tribe and also nights out in Chiang Mai were awesome as we went to the places the locals visited. GapGuru also helped facilitate this interaction by communicating with the locals, something that could not be done by us "Ferange" (foreigners). Only criticism I may have was that the administration staff in london could have done a better job at communicating pre-departure. Overall though it has been an amazing and rewarding experience.

THE ADVISOR IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, my GapGuru experience was different to what I expected. The journalism internship in India was a unique opportunity as it combined what I want to pursue as a profession and one of the places I most wanted to visit.

My first week was hard; I found myself without much knowledge of my role at the newspaper and at points it seemed as if I were freelancing – nullifying the point of the internship. However, this is where the thing I was most skeptical about when I arrived (the local coordinator) came into play. My local coordinator was there to encourage me and guide me through what other interns had previously done – in a nutshell, she helped me turn what was going to be a disappointment, into an amazing experience.

From that point onwards I became friendly with the editors, who were both generous with their time and willing to take a risk in giving interns assignments. The experience was twofold – I got to see Bangalore when travelling to and from different areas on assignments, as well as experiencing the life of a journalist (improving my interviewing technique, seeing how my work was edited and getting feedback). All the while, the local coordinator would talk to me about what I was doing and what else I could do – not only as a supervisor, but also as a friend would.

At the weekends the local coordinator also organized trips to places inside and outside of Bangalore – we went to visit Mysore and Hampi on extended trips, as well as many other one-day visits. It was a welcome, and refreshing contrast to the fast-paced Bangalore life – something that allowed me to see India on a multitude of levels.

It’s also worth mentioning the relationships I built with other GapGuru volunteers and interns in Bangalore. The local coordinator would arrange meet-ups after work where we would go out for meals and have fun doing different activities – I can honestly say that I will remain in contact with some of those people for a long time after I’ve left India.

So there it is! My GapGuru experience was very good indeed – there were arguments and moments of frustration along the way, but you’re always going to have those things when you spend months with the same people in a foreign country. I thought some aspects of what GapGuru was offering was unnecessary before I came here, but that extra bit is worth it when you realise the value of their in-country support.

Sad to say but my gap guru experience has not been positive. I was taking part in the Asia Experience and was told that I would be going to Sangburi near Bangkok area, however two days before my leaving I was told I had to change to Chiang Mai so had to book another set of flights costing me an extra £200. This was due to the political protests occurring in Bangkok which are obviously not gap guru's fault, however they should have let me known a bit sooner than two days before travelling! I was also told that I would be in a group of 6-8 volunteers in a volunteer house however when I arrived I was the only volunteer and no house was set up yet. I was also given a choice of dates which apparently were the dates lots of other people my age had signed up to too which is odd as I was the only volunteer completely in the first week. I was then joined by one other girl in my second. I was lucky that the people with Future Sense who were there for me were lovely and I had a good experience with them. I was also told that all my meals would be provided but this was not the case as I had to pay for at least half my meals, again I was lucky enough to be with nice people who would buy me food occasionally even though it was not their place to.

When I got to my third week which was in Cambodia I was expected to teach when over the phone gap guru had told me that I would have the choice of a cultural week or teaching or volunteering in an orphanage. When I arrived there was no orphanage and no activities set up for a cultural week but the people there tried their hardest to find me things to do as I really wasn't keen on teaching. So again I really appreciate the people who were there apart of Future Sense. It just shows gap guru's disorganisation and

I was also very unprepared for how alone I would feel when travelling and how vulnerable it made me feel. Over the phone gap guru had given me the impression that there would be other volunteers travelling back to Bankgkok the same time as me so I thought I would be able to do the journey with others.I was also told the bus trip from Cambodia to Bankgok would be a simple one bus trip when really it was four different buses and was a very stressful experience which I feel they should have prepared me for or given me some sort of advice being a young female traveller.

Alone the way the few other volunteers I met (one in Thailand and four in Cambodia)others were not happy with gap guru either and it sounds like they give off the wrong impression about what projects exist etc to lots of their paying volunteers. I just think it’s unethical to be lying to people and almost tricking them.

So the 3 week experience turned out to be very expensive costing around £800 for the project itself, £500 for flights then another £200 for unexpected flights then extra spending money was needed due to my food not being provided in the first week.

I've just come back from Transylvania, after spending eight weeks there in a Care Home with disadvantaged children. It is difficult to put down in words just how incredible the experience was.

If you like a challenge and like to help others less fortunate than yourself, I would definitely recommend this opportunity.

Knowing a little of how Romania is still recovering from its horrible treatment by past governments, I was expecting to often feel unsafe and in danger. One of the most heartwarming experiences I had during my time there was to be consistently proven wrong in this prejudiced assumption. Not only did I find the locals in Keresztur to be super friendly and warm, but outside of the town on day trips, I was met with nothing but friendliness and generosity. The kids in the Care Home were incredibly open and generous also. And this after the first day.

Eight weeks in the home went by so quickly. I left feeling I still had so much more to learn and to offer. The carers in the home were fantastic, but don't have the time to be with the kids all the time. I found the kids so hungry for affection and quality time with someone. I found myself getting quite attached to them. At times it was hard. In the Care Home I was in, there were six kids aged 5 to 13. Distributing equal time between all of them was difficult, particularly when none of them want to let you go!

The cost of the trip was nowhere near as expensive as what it would be if I had to pay for my own accommodation. Because I came from Australia, my plane tickets cost more than what I gave to the organisation. I was happy to spend a lot of time in one place, as this was how I met local people and really got an insight into the culture. The food was good. As you can imagine they were very filling, stealthy meals with a lot of meat.

This isn't to say I didn't go on day trips, which I did every weekend. And saw a little of the country which was also incredible.

Erno who helped me and other volunteers was incredibly helpful and knowledgable. I felt very well looked after by everyone.

Definitely recommend. Life-changing.

I've just got back from the most incredible experience of my life so far! From the food to the kids, everything was just amazing.

I arrived in Tirgu Mures and was met by Erno who was so welcoming and knowledgeable. It's always great in new country to have someone who is there 24/7 to help, even if it's just how to get back from the train station!!

The school I volunteered at was fantastic and it was clear that I was needed and not just a strain.. Which was always my worry when I was looking at taking part in something like this.

All in all an amazing experience and I can't wait to go on my next adventure!

For sure recommend GapGuru!!

Started planning in June, after my A levels, trip was in November. Despite this, when I arrived, the hospital had no idea I would be arriving until the day before. I was also told I would be placed with an English speaker everyday of my placement, but this simply did not happen. I went home after three hours on one day because nobody spoke English so I couldn't assist with anything, and therefore could not learn anything. Local, in country support was awful. I was picked up from the airport and very briefly shown around then left at the hotel. The in country support was a 100km drive away and could only be contacted after 3pm due to also working another job. This left me feeling slightly abandoned in a foreign country, on my own. Also, I was told there would be somebody else on the same placement as me, but this was untrue. People in the hospital were very nice and helpful. Once placed with an English speaker, the placement was good. Only one of the nurses I worked with took the time to tell me what the patient presented with. Breakfast is included, but can only be had on days you are not working as it is served after the shift starts. Dinner was supposed to be included but was not. However I received some lei in order to buy my own dinner. Overall, the people working in the hospital are very nice, however I was let down by GapGuru before hand.

In one word: amazing.

I just spent four weeks in Romania and it was brilliant. The support I had from the team in the UK before hand was really great. I was helped with flights, what I would need to take whilst I was out there and more. When I arrived into the airport, I was greeted by the in-country support guy who was really friendly! He was always a phonecall (or many texts in my case) away and met up for a drink once or twice a week to check that we were all okay.

The accommodation was basic but nice. For the first two weeks, I spent it in a small suite which had a fridge and en-suite shower. For the final two weeks, two other volunteers came so I was move to a larger room. Although it didn't have a en-suite shower (we had a large bathroom for the entire floor but we were alone 80% of the time so it was fine), it was still nice and better than a tent any day!!

The staff in my school were really friendly, the food I was served was nice and it was a really great trip in a whole!

GapGuru are a really friendly company and I will definitely use them again!

In summer 2012 I went to India and China with Gap Guru. I started planning my tip at Christmas, the team helped me to put together a perfect trip and I had plenty of time to spread the cost. I had great support with flights and visas. But the by far the best thing was the in country support. In India the local coordinator was great. Despite arriving a day late due to a flight delay, everything went smoothly. Santa helped me get a local sim card, showed me around town (the beautiful Kalimpong in Western Begal) gave me some dos and don't and then took my to my host family. Santa was very friendly, even had me and another volunteer over for dinner, and made sure we were happy. He would text or call every now and then to make sure we were getting on okay. He even helped me arrange my transport to the airport when I left the placement to make my way back to Deli. After India I spent time in China, with Greenway China. Yet again great support, this time living in a large house with the coorinator, her family and all the other volunteers. Isabella was a fantastic guide and so friendly. While there I was taught basic mandarin, some traditional songs, cooking and games. I never did manage to beat Tina at Chinese chess! I learnt a massive amount and had the time of my life, and even as a girl travelling on my own I felt very safe and well looked after the whole time. I would recommend Gap Guru to anyone.

I spent 9 weeks in Cambodia earlier this year and had the most amazing time! It was the first part of my 4 months travelling (gap year) and what a great way to begin! I lived in the Volunteer house and had 24/7 support from the local coordinators, they were fantastic and couldn't have asked for a better/ more knowledgeable team!

I volunteered at CAD, which is a children's center funded by the futuresense foundation, Monday to Friday and then had weekends free to explore the rest of Cambodia! I particularly enjoyed visiting Siem Reep and seeing the temples... the nightlife was pretty cool too!

The accommodation and facilities were much better than i expected and the fact that all my meals were included was great! The help and support I was given for my project was also very appreciated as well as lots of tips and advice for onward travel!

Gap Guru made the whole start to my Gap year a positive one and wouldn't go with any other company. The cost seemed very reasonable for what was included and they helped me throughout the months i was raising the money to make sure i was on track!

Overall i would definitely recommend booking a trip with Gap Guru the care before leaving the country was great and I am still in touch with everyone in the office now and regularly go in to catch up with them all!