The biggest gap year mistakes people make (and how to avoid them)

A gap year can be life-changing, eye-opening, transformative, energizing, meaningful, impactful, you name it. What it shouldn’t be, on the contrary, is a year of regret caused by mistakes that are completely avoidable. And the “fun” part is that most gap year mistakes follow exactly the same patterns. Once you know what they look like, you’ll find it surprisingly easy to dodge them!

1. Treating the entire year like one long vacation

The “taking a break from routine” aspect is part of the appeal of a gap year, I’ll give that to you. However, turning the whole year into an endless holiday is something you should avoid at all costs. 

Usually, it all starts with good intentions. You tell yourself something along the lines of “I’ll travel, see what happens, and somehow grow along the way.” The point is, without some kind of purpose (and that can be any purpose), the year can and will slip by in a blur of hostels, bus rides, and social media worthy views that don’t teach you anything at all.

I’m not saying you need a strict schedule: there’s no need to spend the whole year volunteering, working, or taking classes. But you do need intention, at least if you don’t want to lose a whole year and actually turn it into a time with purpose.

If you need some help, here are some questions you can ask yourself to anchor your year:

• What’s one skill you really want to learn?
• What’s one thing you want to understand about yourself?
• What kind of story do you want to be able to tell afterward?

They are not the kind of questions that lock you into doing something for the whole year. They simply help provide you with enough structure not to waste a year while also leaving you with enough room to wander and spontaneously change the plans!

2. Building a budget that only works in a perfect world

Gap years are unpredictable. It’s part of their nature. Expenses change every day, flights get canceled, people change plans, exchange rates move. And yet, most people prepare a spreadsheet with their budget for the year and assume that nothing will ever go sideways. 

This is literally one of the most expensive gap year mistakes you could make.

The problem here is that you can make any sort of errors, like:

• Underestimating the cost of visas and other documents.
• Forgetting to get travel insurance (or choosing a really cheap one).
• Ignoring currency fluctuations.
• Skipping emergency funds altogether.
• Assuming you’ll get a job as soon as you land in a new place.
• And many, many more.

As you can imagine, you can find different ways to solve the problem in your own way. But if you want a tip, here it is: choose the amount of your emergency fund, and then increase it at least by 30%. I know that it sounds dramatic, but you’ll thank me (and yourself) the very first time you’ll have to change a flight last minute or plan a doctor’s visit in a place where healthcare isn’t cheap at all.

And, try your best to budget by region, not by country. Prices can shift dramatically even inside the same country!

3. Planning only the first few months and “winging it” for the rest

A lot of gappers do exactly this: they plan the first few months (normally up to six months) down to the smallest detail and then… nothing. The second half of the year becomes a vague “I’ll figure it out later.” And guess what? They never figure it out, for many different reasons. So, they lose their momentum and the latter part of the year ends up feeling scattered or flat at best.

This doesn’t mean that you should plan every single day of your 12 months in advance. That’s wrong in a totally different direction. But you should at least get the broader “shape” of your gap year before leaving, like the regions you want to visit, the types of activities you want to prioritize, the commitments you have to work around, and any seasonal consideration that might change the overall experience.

Just think about it like a road trip: you don’t need to know every stop you’ll make (that’s where spontaneity comes in), but you should know at least the direction you’re driving in!

4. Staying too deep inside your comfort zone

This is one of those mistakes you don’t really realize you’re doing. Because sticking to places where you know someone or where they speak your language feels safe. And the same goes for only talking to people and travelers that feel just like you or choosing activities and experiences you’re already good at.

The problem here is that all this makes your gap year comfortable, not transformative.

Of course you should not force yourself into scary or dangerous situations (that’s a given), but growth only comes from activities that somehow put you into an uncomfortable situation. And that can be anything. It can look like trying to learn a language even if you think you’ll sound ridiculous, spending a week in a smaller town instead of a backpacker-friendly city, trying to do something you’ve never done before, or even joining local events instead of only hanging out at expat bars and cafés.

If something feels intimidating but interesting, it’s probably worth doing!

5. Not adapting to the local culture (or dismissing differences)

If you don’t pay mind to that, you can travel through entire countries without really engaging with the people who live there. And that’s what most gap year travelers do by accident. Be it because they’re unsure about how to interact with them respectfully or because they misread local norms.

Anything can happen. You dressing in a way that’s inappropriate for local standards, assuming everyone communicates the way you do, using humor that doesn’t translate well culturally, treating local customs as inconveniences instead of values, comparing everything to your home country… it all leads to shallow interaction, or worse, disrespect.

The easiest way to solve these issues? Be curious, and don’t judge cultures.

Try your best to ask questions when you don’t understand something, pay attention to what locals do and don’t do, follow their lead when it comes to social norms. You don’t need to become an expert on every culture you meet, but you should at least engage with it sincerely.

And when in doubt, humility will bring you far. Locals don’t expect perfection from foreigners, but they do appreciate the effort.

6. Overscheduling every week and leaving no room to breathe

I know you want to make the most of your gap year and try everything out there. But packing your schedule with activities, side trips, workshops, volunteer commitments, and constant movement will lead to burnout.

When planning (and living) your gap year remember this: it’s not a race but a long-distance trek. And if you never ever stop moving, you never process anything.

Not sure if you are overdoing it? Ask yourself:

• Do you remember all the places you’ve visited?
• Do you still feel excited? Or are you just busy?
• Are you sleeping enough?
• Are you always rushing?
• Do places and activities feel different and new?

Without downtime, your year will become a simple checklist instead of an experience. So, don’t forget to give yourself space. You’ll be happy about it. Scout’s honor.

7. Neglecting or not building connections

Connection and new friendships are one of the biggest gifts a gap year offers. And yet, people fall into one of two extremes:

1. Sticking only with other travelers. This way you end up forming only surface-level friendships that disappear the very moment either you or them leave the country.
2. Falling out of touch with family and friends at home. And then, after months, you return home and feel disconnected from the people who matter most to you.

The good news? Both extremes are avoidable.

While on your gap year, intentionally create local connections by joining language meetups, saying yes to invitations, talking to small-business owners, joining community groups, taking workshops where locals participate, or anything else that goes with your interests. At the same time, keep your existing relationships alive. You don’t need to talk to them everyday, just one or twice a week is enough. People have to know that you’re okay and still part of their world!