Location
  • Australia
    • Sydney
    • Great Barrier Reef
    • Gold Coast
    • Fraser Island
    • Cairns
    • Byron Bay
    • Brisbane
Length
4 - 12 weeks
Financial Support
Payment plans
Health & Safety

Program Details

Activities
Animal Viewing Swimming
Housing
Hostel
Primary Language
English
Age Min.
18

Pricing

Starting Price
3850
Price Details
What is included: Pre-departure briefing and support, Airport pick-up, Gapforce Leader, Local guides and support staff, Welcome and orientation briefing, All accommodation, All tours on itinerary, Project donation, Meals listed in itinerary, Social activities, 24/7 UK emergency back-up, T-shirt
What's Included
Meals
What's Not Included
Airfare
Jan 11, 2023
Feb 27, 2023
77 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Join one of our groups for an action-packed 7 week tour combining travel & adventure with volunteering on Australia’s famed East Coast. Whether you're taking a gap year, looking to volunteer, or just take a trip of a lifetime, your journey will begin in the awesome city of Sydney before heading north to Brisbane via the legendary Byron Bay. You’ll spend 2 weeks volunteering on an environmental conservation project, a great way to give back to this amazing country, before continuing north into Queensland.

Sailing on the Whitsunday islands, 4 x 4 jeep rides on Fraser Island and snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef are just some of the highlights. Your epic adventure ends with a week in Cape Tribulation, a stunning paradise where the reef meets the rainforest!

For those looking to stay on and work in Australia, why not add on our optional visa & work assistance package to set you on your way!

Video and Photos

Impact

Sustainability

We are committed to exert a positive impact on the regions, countries and communities which we visit. For us it is paramount that the local organisations and communities benefit from our cooperation by working with trusted local businesses and project partners who align with our sustainability objectives.

Ethical Impact

We are passionate about travel and the positive impact it has on young people’s outlook and future prospects. Our mission is to help people become global citizens through authentic, socially and environmentally responsible travel experiences which aid self-discovery and personal development.

As a small team, we are committed to providing a highly personalised service from your initial contact right through to your chosen adventure. We achieve this through our dedicated team of program leaders and support staff, all of whom are passionate travellers united by a common purpose to help young people explore the world.

Program Highlights

  • Overnight sailing around the Whitsunday islands
  • 4 x 4 driving on Fraser island
  • Try surfing at Byron Bay
  • Assist on a vital environmental conservation effort
  • Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef

Program Reviews

4.73 Rating
based on 33 reviews
  • 5 rating 72.73%
  • 4 rating 27.27%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Housing 4.3
  • Support 4.75
  • Fun 4.9
  • Value 4.7
  • Safety 5
Showing 1 - 8 of 33 reviews
Default avatar
Tara
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Australia Adventure with Gapforce / Go overseas

In total a great experience with amazing people but a few points that could be improved.
- At least 2 -3 Nights at every place , 1 night was way to short and really stressful e.g. not 3 weeks in Cairns in the end but at every other place longer stays and splitting the volunteer work onto different places and also different projects
-the volunteering didn't include any animals and was really monotonous ,no variety, really boring
-more meals provided throughout the trip for the amount of money we paid

78 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Izzy
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Gap Force 2022 Australia Trip

This was such an educational, exciting and overall amazing experience- allowing you to meet new people from all over the global and share your desire to learn and travel, all of which was supported by two fantastic travel expedition leaders who shared that love for travel. Gapforce made sure safety was a priority which led to everyone getting the most out of the trip.
Such a fantastic experiences that I would recommend to anyone willing to get outside of their comfort zone and embrace new cultures, people and places.

Pros
  • Learning about other cultures
  • Sight seeing
  • Connecting with new people
83 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Mara
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Australia Adventure 2022

It was an amazing experience and good start to solo travelling. You grow together as a little family and it's so nice to have different activities but also enough time to do your own thing. We also learned important things for life such as basic medical training which was an amazing opportunity and something our teamer didn't even have to teach. They also taught us things about different animals and survival skills which was super interesting.
I enjoyed every minute of my trip and wouldn't mind if it took even longer than 7 weeks!

Pros
  • Good mixture of program and freetime
  • Perfect lenghts and destinations
  • You really get to know your cotravellers
Cons
  • Always with the group
  • Not a big variety of nationalities
  • You stay in every place only for a short time
85 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Ben
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

The full Australian east coast experience

This program is a great introduction to long-term traveling, as you are in a group of people with planned activities most days. You see the best of what Australia has to offer on the east coast, my favorite city being Byron Bay. The Whitsunday Islands and the Atherton Tablelands in Cairns were also highlights. There are many scenic and gorgeous overlooks for pictures and you get to see the diversity of wildlife and climate that Australia has to offer. After 4 weeks there is a volunteering segment, which can be challenging, but is rewarding in the end. Around this portion of the trip there are less activities and a lot of free time, as you are in Cairns for a little over three weeks. There is an excellent extra activity called Green Island tour, which is a beautiful area with snorkeling. There is also skydiving, bungee jumping, and white water rafting (these all cost extra $). Be sure to bring enough if you want to do these, and for food in general because Australia is expensive in certain areas. You get a good mix of free time and planned activities throughout the time you're there. It's an amazing trip and you get to know the people you're traveling with very well and become like a big family. You will get a lot of it and learn so much about an amazing country with many experiences to offer.

154 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Jess
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Great for first time travellers! A few improvements to be made.

This was my first time travelling alone without my family, which was a daunting experience in itself. That's why I chose to do a guided trip with other people, this was definitely the right decision and it is a great way to start off your travelling in a safe way, it eases you in and makes you so much more confident to go and travel by yourself.

The trip itself was jam-packed with activities and you definitely got your money's worth for 7 weeks of travelling with accommodation and activities included. However, I did find that there were quite a few 'free days' which sometimes was a little frustrating as you just ended spending money for the sake of it. On the topic of money, I should have taken double what I did. The Gapforce website advised that you take approximately £750 for food for the whole trip, this was definitely not enough as Australia is really expensive!! A lot of others on the trip also recognised this, and some of us had to go into extra money or contact our parents because we hadn't brought enough with us. I think it might have been helpful to have known how expensive Australia was and how much money per day you would need (I'd advise £25-35).

The highlights of this trip are definitely the Whitsunday Islands and the trip to the Atherton tablelands in Cairns. Everywhere here is beautiful and therefore your camera roll will be filled with scenic views and many waterfalls! The best times that I had were actually the extra activities that you could pay for like Green Island and Skydiving! (I would recommend taking at least an extra £500 to be able to have the freedom to enjoy these activities if you'd like to) a lot of people also got the opportunity to get their PADI diving certificates over 4 days which I would highly recommend as it is much cheaper than England!

The volunteering section in the last couple of weeks was definitely harder than expected, a lot of us were a little disappointed as on the Gapforce website it states that the volunteering would involve animal conservation such as Koalas and Wallabies. However, we only got told a couple of weeks into the trip that we were actually going to be spending 4 hours in 35ºc heat weeding and planting trees, not what we had expected. Despite this, we all learnt a lot and very much appreciated the week after volunteering where we could relax and catch up on some sleep!

This trip was honestly some of the best weeks of my life and I met some wonderful people. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone who hasn't travelled before and finds it hard to meet new people. You get a wonderful tour of Australia and I don't think anywhere was missed out on the trip at all, the itinerary was great and the Gapforce leaders were even better, they were so supportive and got to know all 23 of us individually, you really felt like a big family only after 1 week of knowing each other. I would highly recommend a Gapforce trip but brace yourself for 7 weeks of beautiful views, unforgettable experiences and lots of partying!

I vlogged my 7 week experience - if you want to know exactly what we did check out the video below!

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
- Make sure that you take enough money, Australia is expensive!

- Ask what the volunteering is before you go

- Have the flexibility to be able to travel elsewhere afterwards (chances are you'll want to travel with the new friends you've met)
159 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Alice
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Gapforce Australia Adventure 2020

Travelling halfway around the world for 2 months is never going to be easy, but the Gapforce trip makes it an incredible experience. The trip is packed with different experiences, from the fast paced city of Sydney up to the serene Fraser Island, this was a truly unique and fun way to experience the east cost of Australia. It’s daunting travelling thousands of miles to spend 7 weeks with people you’ve never met, but after a while you forget that you only met recently, as you’ve made friendships that will last. I even decided to remain in Australia for another few months, to live and work with some of the people I’ve met on this trip.
The volunteering portion of the trip was difficult, 4 hours of hard work daily in the heat planting trees and weeding areas of land. This was a different experience to what was described on the website, and it was a little disappointing that we weren’t working with the amazing wildlife and animals found in Australia. It was overall a rewarding experience to have done, but not my first choice when it comes to voluntary work and something to consider when planning this trip!
The leaders provided fantastic support, and their advice on what to do, where to visit and the extra activities available was very helpful. Their interaction with the group made it a better experience, and it was clear they loved what they were doing.
The optional activities are definitely worth it, from bungee and skydiving, to spending a day relaxing on Green island there is definitely something you’ll want to do, and no doubt they’ll be one of the most memorable parts of your trip.
If you’re looking for a tour of the east coast that captures a bit of everything, whilst giving you some freedom to choose what you’d like, this trip is a fantastic opportunity in an incredible country.

151 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Emma
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Best 4 weeks going!

My Australian adventure was amazing! The trip was jam packed with activities but also well balanced with free/down time. The leaders were always making sure everyone was having the best time and we had all the information we needed. The days were well structured with a lot of free days to explore for yourself which was really good. My favourite part of the trip was the 3 days on Fraser Island, a surreal experience! You definitely get your money’s worth with all the included activities which were fun to do as a group.

What would you improve about this program?
Maybe a smaller group size, as 23 people was a lot get to know everyone.
162 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Derek
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Australia January 2020

At first, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do this trip. For reasons such as only being 18; the fact Australia is on the other side of the globe; and a few others, I was worried I’d feel alone on this trip. However, that is not the case, the group becomes friends that will last forever. You learn to live with others, and you learn the challenges of travelling through a foreign country all the while having the support of your group leaders and new found friends. The trip itself is rather fast-paced. You head from one town to the next almost every other day. Once you arrive in cairns, you can unpack and relax, as moving around stops for a few weeks. The volunteering in cairns is not a piece of cake. You work hard for 4 hours a day. There is a lot of manual labour involved, but in the end, you can look back and be proud of what you and your group has accomplished. As for accommodation, you stay in hostels, but you are never with strangers. Wifi and power outlets are common and keeping devices charged isn’t something to worry about.

What was the most nerve-racking moment and how did you overcome it?
The most nerve-racking part of this trip is actually travelling on your own to Sydney. Once here, everything is taken care of for you from when you exit the Sydney airport till you fly out of cairns.
158 people found this review helpful.

Questions & Answers