Keeping in Touch With Family and Friends Whilst on a Gap Year

For students who are on the cusp of leaving school, a gap year before further study is a very enticing prospect. Keeping in touch with friends and family whilst travelling is important and needn't be difficult to do no matter where you are.

After six years of study everyone deserves some time off! An increasing number of young people the world over are opting to take time out before returning to higher education or the world of work. Thanks to mobile and internet technology keeping friends and family back home up-to-date with your escapades might be easier than you think.

Sending a postcard might seem like an old-fashioned approach to keeping in touch but this simple and straight forward approach is a golden oldie. Elderly relatives will particularly appreciate a letter which they can read at their own leisure. Letters also provide the perfect opportunity to send keepsakes or photographs from your journey to friends back home.

As the modern day equivalent to the letter, the email is quickly becoming the preferred method of communication for gap year students across the globe. With internet access readily available in most countries, sending an email or chatting over an instant messaging system is simple and cheap to do. Some people on gap year even go to lengths of keeping a blog of their travels so friends and family can receive regular in-depth commentaries via the ease of the net.

If internet access isn't an option and you're too far away from a post box, the trusty telephone could be your answer to filling in those back home on your experiences. Most of the world's main mobile phone providers can now offer full signal in some of the most remote locations. Portable and discreet, mobile phones are also a lot easier to conceal in countries where pick pocketing and theft is rife. Carrying a mobile also allows mum and dad to get in touch at a time that suits them and with cheap international calls starting from as little as 1p a minute the chance of running up an expensive phone bill is rare.