Adventure Guide Training with Gapforce

I went into this program really nervous, not knowing what to expect, wanting to change my career, get into the outdoors, and start my travels with a purpose. This program fulfilled all of that and more, I have come out of my shell now, I have been able to make incredible unforgettable friends, and it has helped me make my career in the outdoors. I am lucky to be working in Australia as an outdoor educator 1 year on from having completed my course, and I believe the GapForce program has helped me achieve this.
My highlights from the trip are too long to add into this review, the jungle, the local tribe you get to meet, Costa Rica is amazing, cycling expedition was incredible. I am so happy I waited through Covid to get onto this trip.
The leaders were amazing, the skills of Gaz and the confidence he has in the jungle is so valuable it makes it feels comforting having him around.
Jade is just badass, so confident in the jungle, so knowledgeable about first aid and so many stories to be told especially about cycling.
Collin is just something, managed to work with him after I had finished with Gapforce and he is no different, so much laughter and banter you can have with him. Never a dull moment.

Thank you GapForce for an incredible expedition.

Tour guiding or leading expedition has always been something I wanted to do, but it also hard to get good contacts or get work when starting in the industry. The reason I chose to do the expedition leader training with gapforce, was because of the wide amount of theory and hands on training gained in 4 months to be a good leader. Have training in different environments ex: England and Costa Rica, all the certification achieved by the end the of it and the opportunity to gain a job out of it. Applying and completing the expedition leader training was the best decision I ever made it help me achieve many of my personal goal and lifestyle I was looking for. After putting hard work, discipline and positive attitude during my training i was given the opportunity by gapforce to be one of their own expedition leader. My dream job finally came true. I went from never leaving my own country to begin an international tour guide in just a couple of months. I'm still working with gapforce and I had the chance to lead a few expeditions. The amount of traveling, activities, contacts, friends and more opportunities gained from working with gapforce is absolutely amazing! To summarize it all, if you're looking for an experience with high intensity adventure that will boost your confidence, bring you great leadership skills... don't hesitate and join the training. This one in a lifetime experience will only bring you positive outcomes no matter what career or other path you take afterwards.

I believe that this course helps individuals build their life skills and learn new ones and also grow as a persin and learn new things about themselves and push comfort boundaries. This course has also helped me overcome challenges and gave me new and interesting topics and experiences to talk about and to remember. I would recommend this course to people willing to challange themselves so that they can have new life experiences. On this course I have been able to come closer to wildlife than I was expecting l, which gave me the ability to enjoy the flora and fauna of Costa Rica even more and see how everything in the jungle coexists. Rhis has been a really eye opening trip for me as I have also been able to learn more about the Bribri people and their way of life.

The program covers the totality of what it means to lead overseas group trips. It touches all aspects, but it does so pretty quickly.

What I mean here is, the information is given to you, but due to the format of the course (every participant leads 1 day in rotation, hence if you are a group of 7, you'll lead 1 day a week) there is not that much room for implementation.

Overall, it's a great intro into the expeditions' industry, as they are very competent. You will leave knowing what you are talking about when talking expeditions, safety, first-aid, risk management, etc.

It's a first step. The reason for not recommending the program is that the majority of qualifications are in-house and never in the entire duration it was discussed how to navigate the industry.

The course is about building up the qualities and skills needed in a leader, through various activities which as mainly practical and hands on. It’s an experience where the more you put in the more you get out, so if you are the type of person to throw your all into things this is for you. I have really enjoyed being in the jungle, arguably the most unique part of the trip. Thanks to the skilled and professional instructors we were able to live and experience the rainforest in all its glory whilst learning how to make shelters, do water rescues and much more.

I would recommend this course to people who are comfortable with being uncomfortable and enjoy a good challenge.

It was a really fun experience and the group I had doing it were all super supportive and it was nice to meet some likeminded people

This course is a wonderful blend of leadership training, travel organization training, and technical wilderness skills. You start out in Wales where you engage in mountain leader skills, then you move on the Costa Rica where you spend the majority of the course. The Costa Rican portion consists of a nice blend of jungle trekking, navigation, activity based leadership (ziplining, biking, kayaking, etc), and general cultural immersion. I would highly recommend this course for anybody who is exceptionally adventurous and wants to break into the outdoor industry as an expedition leader.

A great programme with a good balance of practical and theory content. Belt kit and survival challenge were two of the highlights. Being in a Costa Rica was incredible and the rest of the group were friendly and supportive. The instructors were knowledgeable and supportive. It represented good value for money. The course is one of the best things I’ve ever done and I would recommend it to anyone looking to get into the expedition industry or looking for a change from the norm. Be prepared for a full on few months but a great time.

For me, the reason I chose to do this course was because I wanted a career change and this provided me with everything I was looking for. The course really helped me understand leadership styles and brought out a more thoughtful side of me I didnt know I had. The fact that it's in costa rica is an added bonus !!! Now I've finished the course and have a job offer from gap force I'm really excited to see what the future holds. My favourite part of the course was when we spent a week with the family of the bri bri tribe. We played football with the local kids, had beautiful food made for us, slept in hammocks and had chocolate made for us with a grinding stone. Their culture is based on cocoa. How cool is that !!!