where are you going?

Scientists are planning an airship city in the planet's atmosphere There are very few places left on Earth untouched by intrepid travellers – so why not venture further afield? If NASA gets its way it might soon be possible to embark on an extraterrestrial jaunt to the planet Venus. It's Mars that usually hogs the solar system limelight, but Venus might actually be a better suitor as humanity's debut space colony. Well, sort of. It's roughly the same size as Earth and shares similar density and chemical composition. The only hitch is that it's deadlier than a bag of snakes wearing knuckle dusters as pugilistic tiaras. It's a bit toasty, for a start, at around 462 degrees Celsius, and its atmospheric pressure is a hefty 92 times greater than Earth's. That's not to mention its titantic volcanoes and clouds full of sulphuric acid. It's basically a big ball of unbearable agony, the planetary equivalent of Disney World's Epcot Cent...

Making light of the traffic: arcade games to entertain pedestrians Why didn’t the German cross the road? Because ActiWait. You heard it here first. The introduction of a new invention designed to “convert boring waiting times into positive experiences” means there is now nothing pedestrian about the crossings of Hildesheim, a small town in northern Germany. ActiWait, which was originally called StreetPong, can be found attached to lampposts and allows people to play the classic arcade game Pong against one another from opposite sides of the street while waiting to cross. The creation is the work of Sandro Engel and Amelie Kunzler, two students at Hildesheim’s University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HAWK), who have been developing the prototype since 2012. In that year, they released a video on YouTube which explained the idea, and it quickly went viral, being watched, shared and liked more than 5 million times. The device, which finally made its debut at the end of November, wi...

Man versus shark. Man wins. Sort of. This video shows the moment a man wearing a GoPro jumped into Sydney Harbour and encountered a great white shark. Almost immediately after surfacing, his friend above can be seen pointing and heard shouting the one word no one wants to hear in Australia: "Shark! Shark!" The video has been titled "Man Fights off Great White Shark in Sydney Harbour", which is a touch misleading. As you'll see, what the man actually does is flail hysterically, utter a few mortal, gurgled shrieks, while the shark takes a couple of nonchalant glances before retreating back into the depths. Still, great video. Want to see more videos like this? Check out 10 Awesome GoPro Videos

45% of gappers choose camera over a best friend What's the most important thing to take on a gap year? We recently asked our gappers what the most important thing to take on a gap year was. An incredible 45% of the near-400 respondents said it would be their camera, while just 25% said it would be their best friend. A further 20% said their smart phone and 7% said their laptop.  The news came as no surprise to Cormac Scanlan, gapyear.com's COO. A keen photographer himself, he said: “For many gappers, a round the world trip can be the most significant and exciting travel experience of their life, so it doesn't surprise me that keeping a record of those experiential backpacking memories is high on a lot of people’s agenda. Of course, for anyone with even the slightest interest in photography, there are few greater opportunities to take amazing shots than a trip around the world. On the flip side, for a lot of younger tra...

Big Ben to be renamed after Queen Clock tower to be renamed Elizabeth Tower in honour of the Queen's diamond jubilee A while ago we ran the story 'Big Ben to be renamed?' in which it was first proposed for Big Ben to be renamed. Well, it's now been decided that it WILL be renamed. The tower is currently named St Stephen's Tower, most famously known as Big Ben or The Clock Tower, but its to be renamed Elizabeth Tower in honour of the Queen's diamond jubilee. The change comes after dozens of MPs signed up to a campaign to change the name of the tower. A spokesperson said: "The House of Commons Commission welcomed the proposal to rename the Clock Tower Elizabeth Tower in recognition of HM The Queen's Diamond Jubilee, and will arrange for this decision to be implemented in an appropriate manner in due course." According to the Reuters, Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed the name change. "The renaming of the Clock Tower to th...

Anguilla has announced it will reopen its borders for international tourism starting on August 21, 2020. Quincia Gumbs-Marie, Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism announced the reopening at a press conference hosted by the Premier Ellis Webster on Thursday. “Anguilla is currently COVID-19 free, so our objective has always been to reopen in a prudent way, taking every precaution to protect the health and safety of our residents and our guests,” stated Ms. Gumbs-Marie. “We have witnessed the developments on some of our neighboring islands, and we have therefore established very strict protocols, grounded in our ability to contain and mitigate the risks of an imported case,” she continued. Strict Covid-19 testing will be in effect. Here is everything you need to know about traveling to Anguilla. ...

Rise to the human rights challenge Volunteering is an extremely popular thing to do on a gap year. Volunteering gives you hands-on experience in a specific field, whether that’s building an orphanage in Cambodia or coaching sports in Ghana, and it helps us all get to know each other and understand each other, which has to be a good thing. There are lots of volunteering programme providers to choose from – many to be found right here on gapyear.com. There have, however, long been concerns as to just how beneficial all programmes are for the communities in which they take place.   Tourism Concern – a charity that fights exploitation in tourism – has just launched a new briefing urging the global tourism industry to pay more attention to human rights issues when doing business. Tricia Barnett, director of Tourism Concern , said: “As one of the world’s largest services industries and a proclaimed driver of sustainable development, the to...

As countries and cities start to re-open for international tourism, many people are wondering where they could potentially travel in June 2020.  Here is a complete list of countries reopening for travel and tourism this June, should you decide to go.  Many of these destinations are reopening with increased sanitation, new health and safety protocols, and testing upon arrival.  *Please note that re-opening information changes by the minute. We are updating this page daily, but please check with local authorities before booking any trip.  Mexico Mexico’s economy is highly reliant on tourism, which is why this nation is one of the first in th...