The Big Trip

Book excerpt: So, you want to experience the ultimate overseas adventure? Whether you're a gap year student or young traveller, taking a sabbatical or career break, a parent or guardian wanting to travel with your children, or in retirement and looking for your next adventure - The Big Trip is for you. Advice and information in this comprehensive companion, now in its 4th edition, has been thoroughly revised and updated to include expert tips and recommendations that will help you create and enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime dream adventure abroad. We've also added a new section about how to use your time away to turn your life's passion into a new career, with advice on gaining professional accreditation in climbing, mountaineering, diving, sailing, snowsports, wildlife guiding and more. There's also a chapter on accessible travel by Martin Heng for specialist destination and travel advice for those with a disability. Improved accommodation advice now covers everything from cheap and cheerful digs for budget backpackers to higher-end hotels for those wishing to spend more. Experiences include: Blackwater rafting through eerie glow-worm-lit Waitomo Caves in New Zealand Attempting a Tibetan kora (pilgrimage) around Mt Kailash, Asia's most sacred mountain Surfing your way along Hawaii's best beach breaks Getting down and dirty at the Boryeong Mud Festival in Korea Discovering your top temple at Angkor Wat in Cambodia Volunteering on a marine conservation project off the coast of Madagascar Learning to speak Italian at an institute in the heart of Rome Stirring your soul along the sacred, ghat-lined Ganges in Varanasi, India Learning to make Balinese dishes worthy of paradise Climbing to Bhutan's iconic cliff-clinging monastery, Taktshang Goemba Taking a tandem hang-gliding flight from Pedra Bonita over Rio de Janeiro Qualifying to teach everything from English to skiing, diving and mountaineering The Big Trip is your ticket to all this and more: Essential pre-trip planning: health, safety, kit, costs, tickets (new tips such as five apps to keep you safe, nine best ways to save on air tickets online) Volunteering and working abroad: from freelancing and fruit picking to yacht-crewing and teaching Regional overviews, maps and a diverse range of road-tested itineraries Tips and stories from experts and travellers, who range from teenagers to seniors and those travelling with their kids Comprehensive directory of essential resources About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world's number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, on mobile, video and in 14 languages, 12 international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more. Important Notice: The digital edition of this book may not contain all of the images found in the physical edition.