Program Reviews

We all learnt a lot over the four month course that will be invaluable in expedition life. Both on personal and leading expeditions abroud. The training team of dan and lydia and the medic Kim were great

the while trip from start to finish was a well run and very professional operation. I feel that In four months I have learnt more than I ever thought I would, and after being constantly drilled with early morning scenario wake ups I now feel very confident to deal with any medical situation that I may be presented with in the futer. I would definitely recommed this trip to the adventurace soul

The Expedition Leader program from GapForce was one of the best experiences I have had. This was unlike anything I had ever done before, and it was a blast. The skills and life lessons I have gained from this course are ones that I will have with me for the rest of my life.

A well rounded course with a lot to offer the adventurous soul and anyone wanting to make a change with their lifestyle and experience something truly exciting and difficult. Dan and Lydia made outstanding leaders that were confident, friendly and dealt with every situation that arose proffensionally and swiftly

The course was very well organized and ran with the upmost care in regards to safety. This is all while keeping the intensity up which is what I think most people find so great about this course. Mr. Chew and Ms. Mason where of the upmost proffessional character during the course.

My experience in Belize with GapForce was probably one of the best experiences I’be had thus far in my life. I learnt how to be self sufficient not only in the jungle but also on my own outside of the jungle as I was given the chance to be on my own in San Pedro. I was fortunate to have Dan and Lydia as leaders during the expedition as their upbeat and helpful attitudes always maintained a positive and motivated environment. Kim was an excellent expedition medicine teacher as she was very hands on and always ready to answer any questions we had. I was given the opportunity to grow as a person and explore out of my comfort zone. In the jungle, we worked together, bathed together, stank together and lived together. It is true - there are n secrets in the jungle.

All in all, I would recommend this program to anyone who, like me, is looking to try something different or anyone who wouldn’t mind getting their hands dirty.

There aren't words to communicate what an incredible experience this was. We were pushed to our limits, both physically and mentally, but had support from amazing group leaders (thank you Dan and Lydia!) plus met an incredible group of likeminded people.
We felt well supported by Gapforce as a company, and had complete faith and confidence in our leaders, which meant that i felt safe participating in activities that I never thought I was capable of back at home! What's more, I learnt a huge amount of expedition medicine which I hope to utilise one day. Highs included 2 days of kayaking, experiencing and participating in a simulated cave rescue, and learning how to build an improvised stretcher and getting to float a fellow group member on it down some rapids! A negative is the extensive kit list, but I think its worth it for this once in a lifetime opportunity.

This trip has truly been amazing. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from it when I booked it but it exceeded what I imagined. For my gap year I first wanted something to do which wasn't travelling around and was by an organisation I looked at volunteering and treks but none had quite as much spark as diving everyday. I had been diving before so it really sounded like the perfect trip for me. There were many people who had never been diving before so they got qualified in the first few weeks, I thought that was quite bold to commit to 3 months of unknown, but they all enjoyed themselves so much and were lil pro divers by the end.
Even when we could not dive due to weather issues, we were still on the largest island in the Bahamas so there was so much to explore. We went up north to Morgan's bluff where there were ship wrecks we could snorkel, another time we went to captain Morgan's cave and then to the most northern tip of andros. On the island there were hundreds of blue holes we could of explored, my favourite of the blue holes was churches; it had a platform to jump, dive or flip off depending how ballsy you were, a bbq and toilets!! Another bh had a rope swing which was very entertaining.
All these day trips were organised by our amazing scientist Sam and expedition leader. Both Sam and James slaved away to plan these trips for us so we weren't sitting around camp all day.
There was a point during the 10 weeks where Sam was on his own supervising 12 people, whilst leading 4 dives a day and having to buy groceries (without a car) so then hitching back, taking hours. He must have been exhausted by the end of the day, but he never complained and was always still willing to listen to moans or suggestions. Also he would have to teach us our fish and coral lectures in between dives. it was clear the passion he has for his subject, which made the lessons so much more bearable and interesting. He would come up with quirky ways of remembering either the fish or coral, which always stuck in my brain. This man deserves a medal.
I would recommend staying for the full 12 weeks, just because you get so close to your fellow volunteers, like a big family, leaving early upsets the family and you won't want to leave them having all the fun!
If you're a cool kid, this trip is for you. Yes, you'll miss home sometimes and yes you'll miss vegetables (shocker) but that's not the things you remember from the trip.
You'll remember the crazy underwater creatures and the awesome people you meet. I'm tempted to book for next phase!
It is advertised as 2 dives a day for 6 days a week. Now thats a lot of diving! For the 10 weeks I was there I was sold the idea of 120 dives. To put this into perspective, I did 32 dives. all of them were amazing and so much fun, but its still about a quarter of what is advertised.
I would recommend checking out the weather conditions of the time of year you intend to visit, so you get your moneys worth.

Leaders: very good, should be given raises and promotions, and probably take over the company all together
People on trip: very good
Office: very bad
Pre-trip information: was not happy with certain promises not kept.
Food: various (as we were promised three meals a day, was dissapointed with the lack of budgetted money given to us for food weekly.)
Lack of anaconda sightings: horrendous.

If you wish to hear more in depth, please email me.

I had an amazing time in South America and met some really great people. The team leaders, Nick and Hannah were really great. They were always looking out for us. Everything within the country was organised well due to the fact that Nick and Hannah were in charge.

However Gapforce were incredibly slow when it came to providing information. The staff back in the UK have very little knowledge of what the trip actually consists off and repeatedly gave wrong information to me and my fellow travelers. The food budget was a complete joke. This is no fault of the leaders but Gapforces fault. We were promised three meals per day. If I didn't have my own money, gapforce would have forced me to eat off the streets. After all the money that was given to Gapforce, I thought that this would be provided.

However the jungle experience was incredible and extremely grateful for having that opportunity. Met some great volunteers and was amazing to get so close to the animals.

Also, the galapagos trip was not organised very well, however that is Gapforce's fault for subcontracting that work to such an awful company with rude staff. However I had a great time there seeing the exotic animals and also scuba diving.

The nights out were really great, and had a really good time with all the people on the trip. All in all this trip was amazing and wish I could do it again.