They're
young, successful professionals for whom escape from the rat race is
merely an around-the-world plane ticket away: meet the career gappers.
Soaring numbers of twenty and thirtysomethings are joining
pre-university teenagers on the backpack trail, according to recent
research.

Agents specialising in independent travel such as STA,
Trailfinders and Bridge the World are all reporting a boom in bookings
from restless professionals. 'Ten years ago, 90 per cent of people
taking a gap year and buying around-the-world tickets were students.
Today, 60 per cent are either young professionals who want a career
break or people going on a retirement or even wedding anniversary
trip,' says James Bell, marketing director of Bridge the World.

Those
between 25 and 35 represent the fastest-growing market, with some
prepared to spend up to £8,000 on their dream trip, according to Tom
Griffiths, founder and director of The Gapyear Company. 'They've worked
hard for a few years, have begun progressing up the career ladder, have
more money and may even have bought a house. But they're aware they're
fast heading for 30 or 40, and if they haven't already been travelling
like their peers, know it may be their last chance to do so before
settling down,' he says.

Time out abroad can also be a hugely
marketable experience, with many businesses keeping jobs open for their
employees when they return. 'Taking a gap year shows motivation, a
desire to learn and versatility - all skills which are transferable to
the workplace,' said Fran Wilson, an adviser at the Chartered Institute
for Personnel and Development. 'But employers generally like trips
which have some relevance to your career.'

Consequently, a new
type of venture is emerging to cater for those who want to combine work
and play. The number of volunteers placed by Leeds-based i-to-i, which
offers English-teaching and other community work in 14 countries,
rocketed from 650 last year to 1,214 - a third of whom are over 25 - so
far this year. 'There won't be enough placements to sustain the demand
in a few years,' said founder Deirdre Bounds. 'We see a lot of
burnt-out, disillusioned professionals who have backpacked before but
who want to give something back this time. With employers becoming
increasingly sympathetic to these breaks, I wouldn't be surprised if
they become a standard part of working life.'

The itchy feet that hit the Inca Trail

Book
editor Fran Parnell, from West Yorkshire, was 28 (the most popular age
for career breaks) when she went travelling a year ago for nine months
around South America with a childhood friend.

'It began with a
drunken vow to "escape to Peru" after an evening in the pub moaning
about how depressed we were with the state of our jobs and lives.
Neither of us had had gap years and we had really itchy feet. We didn't
actually set off for another two years, but the allure of doing
something different persisted and I began saving every penny to amass
about £700 for my ticket and £5,000 spending money.

'I was
initially a bit paranoid about it being a wilderness full of hideous
creatures like leeches, but was really surprised at how amazingly
beautiful everything was. The Inca ruins in Peru were absolutely
stunning. It helped that I stayed in touch with my employers who said
there would be a job for me after I returned. But it wasn't all plain
sailing. We were once caught in a landslide on the way to a rainforest
and were trapped in a bus for 40 hours with just half a bottle of water
and some biscuits and several chickens, cats and pigs for company. The
smell was quite something. We also ended up running short of funds and
having to teach English in Quito for a while. I did surprise myself by
spending more time trekking and exploring my interest in archaeology
rather than going out drinking as I would've probably done if I'd gone
when I was younger.

'I've also become more patient and tolerant.
South America's laid-back attitude rubbed off on me and made me
reassess my priorities.'

Elephant man of Sri Lanka

Adam
Hodges, a 31-year-old charity worker from Leighton Buzzard,
Bedfordshire, spent three months living and working at an elephant
sanctuary in Sri Lanka, a placement arranged by i-to-i, from July to
September last year. He then travelled around South East Asia before
returning home in February.

'It was a hell of a culture shock
at first. The people were very friendly, but we were in a remote area
and everything was so different, from the food, and the way it was all
eaten by hand, to the more laid-back attitude to life. It was hard
working in temperatures of 35C and 95 per cent humidity. I really
missed having running water. There had been a drought recently, so we
often had to bathe in the river. But I didn't have time to dwell on all
that because I was put straight to work, mainly on public relations,
fundraising, teaching and also assisting the mobile vet unit on visits
to sick elephants around the country.

'I was a bit distressed by
the contradictory attitudes to the elephants, which are religiously
revered, but also kept as status symbols by rich people. But, I was so
pleased to get a company to support the launch of the sanctuary's
website - it had been designed months ago, but nobody had done anything
about it. There was a real sense of having made a difference.

'I
look back on the trip and think "that was mad". There's no comparison
with just going travelling, which I'd done after university. You're
completely absorbed in the culture and living it for real. Most 18- or
19-year-olds haven't got the life experience to appreciate that, and
just see it as an adventure. It was really difficult getting work when
I got back, but the experience confirmed for me that my future lay in
the charity sector.'

A chance to go diving in

Most
modern nomads take around three months off, like television researcher
Linsey Wynton, 26, from Southampton. She travelled for three weeks
around South East Asia with her boyfriend last November, and then
continued alone through New Zealand, Australia and Japan until January
.

'It was too good an opportunity to miss: I had three months
free between contracts, and £2,000 saved in the bank. The money was
meant to go towards a mortgage, but I thought I might never again get
such a chance to go travelling in the knowledge that I had a job to
come back to.

'I did have a few sleepless nights. I had never
been travelling alone before, but I was so surprised how easy it was.
We visited ancient temples in Cambodia, drank snake blood in Vietnam,
gawped at the ladyboys on parade at Bangkok Pride, and I overcame the
fear of a lifetime in Australia and learned to dive.

'I packed a
lot in, and was much more focused about seeing particular places than I
would have been when I was younger. Seeing two young girls in one of my
hostels getting drunk every night and getting off with guys in their
dorm made me really glad that I wasn't part of that. I met quite a lot
of older travellers like myself.

'It wasn't difficult getting
into my job when I got back. I felt so lucky to have seen so many
beautiful things, and going to harrowing places like Cambodia really
made me appreciate what I had.'

Lost in Kathmandu

Alison
Cowley, a 41-year-old divorcee, gave up her job as a sales and
marketing manager to travel around South East Asia, Australia and New
Zealand for a year. She returned home to Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in
January.

'My birthday was looming and I thought, "If I don't do
it now I never will." So I bought the tickets two days before I turned
40. I delayed handing in my resignation until afterwards so I couldn't
be talked out of it. It was a good job but it wasn't doing anything for
me personally. I was a bit worried about leaving my parents who are in
their seventies, but I was determined to go.

'Making all the
arrangements was pretty daunting. I had to get a £50 tenancy agreement
from my mortgage company to let my house out. I had to arrange for gas
and electricity checks, prepare an inventory of my possessions which
cost £100 and get my mail redirected to my parents. That was aside from
the visas and the jabs.

'It was a good thing I had prepared well
because my luggage got lost at my very first stop in Kathmandu. It was
a nightmare, but it helped me bond with other travellers in the same
situation. Luckily, I was reunited with my backpack three days later
just in time to go trekking in the Himalayas. From then on, I had a
wonderful trip. Having worked so hard for years, I loved the pure
escapism of it all in a way that I couldn't possibly have appreciated
as an 18-year-old. I came face to face with kangaroos, flew in a
doorless helicopter over the Kimberleys and went "woofing" - doing
volunteer work on farms in return for accommodation and food - around
Australia.

'Coming back has been very difficult - especially
trying to get a job. But I have no regrets. I just wish I'd gone for
two years.'

Executive decision that led to Jaws

Advertising
executive Tim Howett, 31, from Clapham in London, is currently on a
£10,000 eight-month trip through Africa, South East Asia, Australia,
New Zealand and South America.

'I'm trekking in Chiang Mai,
Thailand at the moment for six days, having just finished the first leg
of my trip in Africa. It's been amazing these past two months: arriving
in Cape Town and going skydiving on my second day there; watching the
sunrise from the top of a dune in the Namib desert; seeing wild rhinos,
lions, and giraffes; and being totally staggered by the Victoria Falls.
I also can't believe I ended up going cage diving with great white
sharks. I was quite nervous before setting off, but it was a now or
never decision.

'My job was fine, but the state of the market
meant it wasn't going anywhere in the next year, so I applied for
voluntary redundancy. An awful lot of people told me I was a "lucky
bastard", including my employers, who said they'd do the same in my
position.

'The prospect of travelling alone was daunting, but I
needn't have worried. I've seen so many incredible things and met
people from so many backgrounds. I haven't got any concrete plans for
when I come back. I am slightly concerned that this absence might harm
my career, but I'm already sure I'll extend my trip to a year.'