Don’t follow the masses when it comes to a gap year – make your own plans. If you’ve been looking forward to taking a gap year after school, or even travelling as part of a sabbatical from work, then you should make sure you tailor-make it.

This is the advice of the Independent’s travel expert Simon Calder, who said that just booking a standard round-the-world ticket could mean that you miss out on doing some of the activities you have always dreamed of. He pointed out that heading around the world was all that was on offer for intrepid explorers years ago, but these days, we can all hand-pick our experiences. "It becomes much more about what you want to do … Any country has vast amounts to discover," Mr Calder said.

He suggested India as a great place to look around on a gap year, as well as Vietnam, Australia and Venezuela. Meanwhile, recent research from intotheblue.co.uk discovered that 53 per cent of people would love to jump out of a plane as part of their gap year fun, while 34 per cent hope to climb a mountain.

You certainly are an adventurous lot! In among all the fun though, you should make sure that you plan ahead for things like finances and worldwide travel insurance cover. A gap year policy will cover you for a multitude of sports activities, as well as injury and loss of vital kit, while pre-paid travel cards could help you with cashflow while you’re on the trip of a lifetime.