If you want to see a lot of a country without spending a fortune, overland tours on a gap year are the way to go.
We spy with our travellers' eyes…the cost of air travel getting a tad high. Unfortunately, the massive increase in oil costs that's making our car journeys expensive is hitting airlines too: flight prices are slowly but surely creeping up.
Here is our WIN-WIN solution to keeping the crunch at bay…OVERLAND TOURS! In the case of expensive petrol, turn to the not-so-lowly buses and trains and take one of our overland tours on a gap year! Travelling by bus is no longer the rickety experience it once was. And guess what? REAL Gap overland tours use comfortable buses that don't give you a pothole-by-pothole account of the country you're exploring!
Taking overland tours on a gap year mean you reduce the number of stopovers and flights, and you'll see more than just the sky between the places you want to visit. The money you save on internal flights can go towards souvenirs, a drink with the friends you make on the bus and maybe more overland tours, if one isn't enough…
Go for the overland tours option on a gap year and do something for the environment If saving money doesn't appeal to you (we can't think why it wouldn't!), spare a thought for the environment. The more you stick to public transport and group tours, the smaller your carbon footprint will be. Public transport, used on many overland tours on a gap year, is a much greener way of getting across the country - swap wings for wheels!
The wheels don't have to be bus wheels, either. If you go down the Trans Siberian route, you'll be taking one of the most spectacular train journeys in the world across the largest continent in the world!
The spaces on our overland tours and Trans Siberia Railway options are filling up quickly - book quickly, or be left behind…
Ps If flying isn't your favourite activity, you could book onto an overland tour and list all the reasons above for taking the bus or train. No one ever need know you're a nervous flyer!
Take a look at our gap year tours:
45 trips have been found based on your filter/sort
Explore the bustling streets and markets of New Delhi, ride a camel safari through the Thar Desert, learn yoga and visit the world famous Taj Mahal. After all of this chill out on spectacular beaches of Goa as you blaze a trail through the most iconic and incredible sites of India!
Travel through the heart of Cambodia and discover some of its hidden gems; from ancient temples to rural villages, choose to volunteer with young children or trek through beautiful mountain scenery. This Experience will take you on a journey through the best that this enchanting country has to offer.
Join our action packed adventure tour whilst taking in amazing scenery and getting involved with worthwhile volunteer work. Enjoy the best of South Africa's wildlife and try your hand at abseiling, zip slides and sky high canopy tours.
If you want to travel the East Coast of Australia and include two of its highlights this pass is perfect for you. The Cozzie pass not only gives you the flexibility to jump on and off the bus for 6 months but also includes an amazing 3 day self drive trip on Fraser Island and a 2 day/2 night sailing adventure around the stunning Whitsunday Islands!
Take an unforgettable tour of southern Africa, getting close to game in South Africa, working with orphans in Swaziland and snorkelling with whale sharks in Mozambique. Indian Ocean beaches provide a paradisiacal finale!
This pass would be great for you if you want to start in Sydney and experience some of the best the East Coast of Australia has to offer before finishing in Cairns. With some excellent included activities like a Surf Lesson and Outback Cattle Station and the freedom to hop on and off whenever you want. Project Video Now Online
This pass is perfect for you if want to start in Cairns and travel down to Sydney at your own pace, while also experiencing some of the best highlights the East Coast of Australia has to offer. Project Video Now Online
Experience Ecuador through Spanish lessons, cooking classes, trips around Quito, community and conservation projects in the Andes and the Amazon, horseback rides, sunbathing on the beaches, surfing, scuba diving, a night forest walk and lots more!
The Olympics was a fantastic showcase for China. Now people from all over the world are heading East to discover the delights of this incredibly diverse country. Our four-week programme gives you the perfect opportunity to experience real life China in amongst the amazing peaked scenery of Guilin county. You will spend time learning the language and getting to know the Chinese culture as well as spending time helping to develop the community.
Take in the best of Indonesia in a four-week programme. Learn to cook Indonesian-style, meet the locals, visit the temples, explore the beaches and take part in a volunteer project or a week of adventure activities.
Starting in Darwin in the far north of Australia and finishing in Adelaide in the south, this adventure tour travels straight through the heart of this amazing and vast country, taking you off the beaten track to some of the most remote and beautiful places in Australia - places you will never get to driving yourself or on a bus pass.
How many people have you met that can tell you they have seen an entire country? Well this is your chance to see the whole of this amazing country, taking in sights as diverse as the Sydney Opera House, Uluru, the Great Barrier Reef and so much more.
The ultimate USA experience! On this grand 64-day tour you will enjoy quaint towns and large bustling cities. You will explore this continent's breathtaking National Parks and unspoilt scenery on this once in a lifetime adventure.
Starting in cosmopolitan Sydney and finishing in tropical Cairns, this adventure tour travels up the east coast, taking you to some of the most popular and beautiful places in Australia and getting you to places you will never get to driving yourself or on a bus pass.
This regional 14 day tour of Western Canada will take you to the best national parks including Yoho, Banff, Jasper and Wells Grey. Enjoy an amazing wildnerness canoe trip and finish the tour with a 2 night stop in the eclectic Vancouver.
Experience the best that New Zealand has to offer in this round trip of both of New Zealand’s stunning Islands. Whether you want to see the stunning scenery and culture or take part in one of the numerous activities on the route, this will be a trip to remember.
This is the ultimate trek of Eastern and Central Australia, which takes you along the coast from Sydney to Adelaide along the Great Ocean Road before heading north through the centre of this massive country.
Step back in time in Cusco, once the capital of the Inca civilization. Trek into the Peruvian Andes and explore the ancient pathways the Incas once followed. Marvel at the spectacular ruins of Machu Picchu before enjoying a soak in the hot springs at Aguas Calientes.
Our bestselling cross country American experience is a perfect blend of large cities, small towns, spectacular scenery and National Parks. A great tour to explore America at it’s best from New York to LA or vice versa.
Adventure from Hollywood to Vegas and San Francisco, journey through the National Parks of the Southwest and the biggest and best cities on this 14 day tour.
Experience the charm of the deep South, visit the Nations Capital, Washington DC, the canyons of the desert southwest, the beaches and sunshine of Florida and the nightlife, National Parks and wildlife of the West on this 35 day tour.
Enjoy the coast-to-coast USA experience without having to camp! This 21 day lodging tour covers bustling cities, serene national parks, small towns, deserts, mountains, canyons and beaches. For the adventurous who prefer a little more comfort at night!
Join this tour and experience a 6,000km overland adventure! Starting in Ecuador's mountain capital city of Quito, we travel through the Amazon jungle, down the Pan American Highway to Lima and finish in La Paz, the world's highest city.
Enjoy the towering cities of New York and Chicago, the thunder or Niagara Falls, the natural beauty of Yellowstone and Yosemite, and the sun kissed Californian coast on this 21 day adventure tour across the USA.
Scale to the peak of the world's highest free-standing mountain and witness amazing views of Tanzania and Kenya. Join this great trek and get an immense sense of achievement when you reach the summit with the rest of your group.
Journey from cosmopolitan Melbourne in the South East of Australia to Darwin in the far north. You will travel with a group of like-minded travellers through the heart of this vast, stunning country.
An adventurous 7 day tour combining the highlights of the American West with your lodging included! Take in the stunning Yosemite National Park, the world famous Grand Canyon and the glamorous city of Las Vegas.
Visit the great cities of New York, Washington and Chicago with big doses of nature in between. The Great Smoky Mountains, Mammonth Caves and Niagara Falls await you on this 14 day tour.
Starting in Sydney, this tour takes you along the south-eastern coast to Melbourne. Experience two of the most exciting and cosmopolitan cities in Australia with a great group of people.
The wild Alaskan experience! Witness electric blue glaciers, marvel at soaring mountains and glassy lakes, spot grizzly bears and moose, and enjoy the fragrance of pine in the national parks on this wilderness adventure tour of the Northern Frontier of the USA.
Travel from Vietnam from South to North in style! Explore former Vietnamese resistance fighter tunnels at Cu Chi, cruise the fascinating Mekong River Delta, marvel at ancient Buddhist Pagodas and scale the beautiful hills of Sapa as you head from Ho Chi Minh City all the way to Hanoi.
Your 12-month passport to the best bits of NZ. Meet other travellers, get on and off the bus when you want, and benefit from friendly bus drivers who’ll tell you everything you want to know about their country.
See the best of Fiji, at your own pace. Choose a route, hop on and off the buses and see things that many tourists don’t. Try bilibili rafting, visit a Fijian school, trek to hot pools and lots more.
This challenging and rugged adventure, with plenty of time for sensible acclimatisation, follows the classic route to the Base Camp of Mount Everest and Kala Patar.
This epic tour combines staggering architecture with nomadic cultures, breathtaking landscapes with the lure of long-distance rail travel. Joining together the three ancient capitals of Moscow, Ulaanbaatar and Beijing, with spectacular scenery and warm welcomes in between, this classic rail journey offers something for all travellers.
Ten days exploring the amazing coral coast from Perth to Broome - enough time to see everything well with a free day in Coral Bay to visit Ningaloo Reef. The beautiful blue ocean with pure white sand, hidden gorges with tranquil freshwater swimming holes and amazing rock formations make this trip a wonderful west coast experience.
Experience the magical Red Centre of this amazing and vast country! Enjoy sunrise over the magnificent Uluru and learn about Aboriginal culture. You'll also visit King's Canyon and Kata Tjuta National park as well as having the opportunity to ride a camel!
See the best of the northern USA from New York City to Los Angeles or vice versa. This 28 day tour covers more of the great north than you ever thought possible in a single trip. Highlights are Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Banff and Lake Louise!
Starting in Sydney, this tour takes in three beautiful cities in the South East of Australia before heading up through the very centre of this stunning country. You will experience the diversity and vastness that Australia has to offer before finishing the tour in the very north of the country in Darwin.
Experience the best of New Zealand’s North Island on this 9 day round trip. See the stunning Bay of Islands, experience Maori culture and for the more adventurous hike the Tongariro Crossing.
Whether you want to take in the amazing scenery of New Zealand’s South Island or enjoy the some of the wonderful activities that the country has become renowned for this is the perfect tour for you.
Spend your gap year on a travel extravaganza across Africa, Australasia and the USA! In just 12 months, you’ll take in the best of South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and the American South! Africa – Australia – New Zealand – Fiji – USA
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