After Camp: Gap Year travel with Camp America

The Camp America programme isn’t simply a summer job - it is a working holiday that is a fun, rewarding and life sculpting experience. One of our many attractions is that by applying with us to work on a summer camp in America, we will organise your J1 visa sponsorship that will enable you to have up to ten weeks travel time in the United States after your summer camp placement has finished. This is an ideal way to kick off a gap year in America or to spend a period of gap year travel. However, Even if you do decide to return home straight away, the memories, friendships and experiences will last a lifetime.

Global Adventures Project is a sister programme of Camp America which specialises in a gap year experience that is tailored to meet your every need. Combining a round the world ticket with a choice of volunteer, education and work placements, Global Advetures Project is a three to twelve month programme that provides some structure with a great deal of flexibility. Highly skilled staff will help you plan your itinerary and organise your placements and local representative are on hand in every destination. Check out www.globaladventures.co.uk or call 0800 085 4197 to discuss you options.

Upon finishing your work at a summer camp in America, you will have up to ten weeks in which you can freely travel around the USA. Camp America’s care of its applicants does not simply cease once you summer job is over. The medical insurance provided by Camp America has been specially designed for our applicants. As a result, you will still be provided with comprehensive medical insurance during your travel. You will also still have access to our 24-hour toll free helpline. So whatever you do after Camp, whether it’s returning home or embarking on some post-summer camp gap year travel, we can offer you and your family peace of mind.

America is an extremely diverse country, both culturally and geographically. While cities such as New York and Los Angeles offer a distinctly American twist on cosmopolitan cities, and are heaven for shoppers and all city lovers, you could also visit small town America, and challenge your preconceptions about the country. Each state is proud of its unique atmosphere, people, food, culture and music. America is an enormous country, and offers a huge array of natural attractions. From the glaciers in Alaska to the desert flats of Nevada, the US is a country of extreme landscapes you will not find anywhere else. Why not spend some time admiring the colours of the Grand Canyon at dawn, the amazing structures in Monument Valley, the huge redwood forests in California or the geysers of Yellowstone Park.

America offers travel experiences to suit everyone, and a working holiday at a summer camp in America will allow you to experience this after your 9 week placement ends. For the more daring, the US is an adventure lover’s paradise – hike the world famous Appalachian Trail, try white-water rafting in Colorado, rock-climb on Devil’s Tower Wyoming, hit the surf in California or head over the border to mountain bike the Rockies!

Or if your idea of a holiday is something a little more relaxing after the hustle and bustle of camp life why not kick back and top up your energy reserves and head to the beach. The US has so many to choose from – Daytona in Florida, Miami and Cape Cod in Massachusetts all have famous beach communities that offer lazy days and fun, lively nights! For the young at heart, the US is of course home to the theme park and there is no doubt Disney is the daddy of them all. Located in Florida and California, the parks have been running since the 60s and in recent years have been joined by other parks like Universal Studios, Busch Gardens and Sea World.

While spending a working holiday at a summer camp in America is a truly international experience, many of the counsellors who you will work and become friends with will be American. You might be offered the opportunity to stay with your new friends, who will want to show you their home state. Perhaps you’ll get the chance to travel with them and be shown America by the people who know it best. Even if you do not partake in summer travel with Americans, you will have had access to an inexhaustible supply of information about America and how best to see and experience it.

‘Camp America helped me make some friends on another continent. It also helped me learn about various cultures from around the world. In addition, I got to travel from coast to coast. Camp America is the best way to do it.’ - Bojan, Camp Tioga, Serbia.

It’s a great feeling that once you have completed your work placement at summer camp, America beckons! It’s time to start a new chapter and adventure holiday. The biggest challenge is to restrict yourself to what is feasible and what you actually like doing. If you’re working as part of a gap year in America, you might be happy to stay in one place, whether with American friends or by the sea, or want to have the adventure of an American road trip whether by car or bus. Trains or planes might also be the means by which you can make the most of your travelling time.

Camp America has affiliations with a number of travel companies which can be used to plan your US travels or you can make this summer camp part of your gap year in America. AIFS also offers the Global Adventures Project which works in unison with Camp America. So as part of your gap year travel you could spend the year in a number of our destinations such as India, America or Australia. The important thing is to look at all the options, decide what you enjoy doing, and then consider the time and money you have.

Regardless of whether you travel after camp, after your summer with Camp America is over, its legacy will remain. You will find that you have friends all over the world, and that you will have had the chance to find out a bit about their culture during one memorable summer. Camp America also has some very practical benefits. The skills you learn, and what you discover about yourself during your working holiday will stand you in good stead in your future. Your time spent with Camp America also looks great on your CV: employers will see instantly that by spending your summer with Camp America, you are a committed, mature and responsible person.

‘Overall it has been a fantastic summer. I have met lots of new people and made many new life long friends. I have gained many new skills which I know will help me in later life.’ - Katy, Camp Sea-Gull, UK.

If you are a participant on the Camp America summer camp programme, our after camp job involvement doesn’t always end at the completion of the summer season. The majority of our interviewers for our programme are past participants, quite often return counsellors including special needs counsellors, general counsellors, Christian counsellors, lifeguards, Resort America and all types of specialist counsellors such as arts & crafts teachers, drama tutors and sports coaches. We think that people who have been to camp know what it is all about and are the best to guide you on your US summer job adventure. Who knows - you might become one too!