COVER Dream holiday: retirement special part 4

Whether you want a taste of adventure or the trip of a lifetime, here’s everything you need to know to fulfil your travel dreams in retirement

Take a grown-up gap year

Gap years are no longer just the preserve of the young, with more retirees choosing to work or volunteer abroad and helping to make a difference while they see the world. Here are some of the options you could consider for a retirement gap year:

■ The Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) has volunteering opportunities worldwide, from education projects in Africa to assisting with healthcare in Thailand, call 0208 780 7500 or visit www.vsointernational.org

■ Get paid to teach English around the world Take a Teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) qualification in the UK. To find your nearest TEFL course. Call 01349 800600 or visit www.tefl.org.uk

■ Write about your experience of travelling for a magazine, paper, your own blog, website or a book. To pitch to a publication, look up its commissioning editor and send an idea of what you’ll write – you may even get paid. To start a

blog, set up a free site on www.wordpress.org or www.blogger.com

■ Oyster Worldwide offers projects from conserving elephants in Sri Lanka to helping street children in India. Call 01892 770771 or visit www.oysterworldwide. com/projects/adult-gap-year