What is the one thing you need to know if you’re booking a round the world trip? How do you get a job after gaining a TEFL qualification? What’s they best way to travel across America? How long do you need to take part in a volunteering project?

When it comes to planning your own big trip, whatever that may be, there’s one thing that you’ll have in common with everyone else planning theirs – questions. And lots of them.

This month and next, our STA Travel stores will be open late to host our ‘Your Big Trip’ travel talks. A series of nights aimed at sharing advice, tips, important information and inspiring ideas you haven’t even considered, straight from the mouths of our own Travel Experts but also from some very knowledgeable and experienced special guests.

And, as if that wasn’t enough, you could win one of a whole heap of prizes, from bus passes to hotel nights, just for turning up! (Oh, and there’ll probably be a free beer or two too, as if you needed any more convincing).

If you’re planning on heading off on your own trip of a lifetime anytime soon, you can’t afford to miss it, and best of all – they’re totally free! Just make sure you reserve your place as soon as possible because places are filling up fast.

So, that’s the ‘why’s’ taken care of, here’s all the info on the ‘when’ and ‘where’s’.

Thousands of excited would be travellers take inspiration from out travel talks every year.

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Happy birthday to us, happy birthday to us, happy birthday to the amazingly, awesome, STA Travel Blo-og! Haaaaaappy birthday to us!

Yep that’s right, incase you didn’t quite catch on already; this month marks the 1st birthday of the STA Travel Blog; and what a year it’s been.

Myself, Ant and Emma love all things travel, and we love to write about travelling, but we have not done it by ourselves, not buy a long shot.

We’re lucky enough to have struck travel blog gold in the form of our knowledgeable Travel Experts. Between them there’s barely an area of the globe that hasn’t been explored and we’ve rinsed them for their best, most inspirational, stories, tips and advice to share with you in the hope that they might help to enrich your own experiences.

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Photos from travelling adventures of the past are likely to be one our most treasured possessions in the years to come.

Everyone tries desperately to capture a moment in time, an incredible view or the essence of a amazing place they have passed through.

Back in July this year, we introduced you to 3 talented and excited up and coming graduate photographers, who would soon be hitting the open road in search of some awesome travel photos to be used in our 2012/13 Asia and Europe brochures.

Louis Leeson, was one of those photographers. Having scored a first in his photojournalism degree at the London College of Communication, he’s recently returned from a month travelling around Asia and has submitted some fantastic shots as a result.

Louis pre Asia trip

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Taking a gap year is a whole lot of fun, no doubt about that, but it can also be pretty rewarding for you in the long run too.

It’s no secret that getting a job after uni can be pretty tough at the moment, so anything you can do to make yourself stand out from the crowd is a massive bonus and I whole heartedly believe that, if done right, a gap year can provide you with some serious kudos with potential employers.

Unfortunately, learning to drink 10 bottles of Chang without developing an instant headache isn’t the kind of ‘skills’ I’m talking about here; no future honcho is going to be too impressed with that (although if you have mastered that particular art please share your secret with me – those ‘Changovers’ are a b*tch)

I’m thinking about ways in which taking a break and travelling can really benefit your career, not jeopardise it. To prove it, I’m running down a list of 8 career benefits of taking a gap year.

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Ever wanted to make a change? A BIG change. A shake-up so big it will change your life. Yep, me too.

For me, that wishful thinking involved daydreams of boarding a plane with a one-way ticket to Australia/New Zealand/Thailand /Vietnam (the destination changed pretty much on a daily basis).

So in the end, I made a decision. And I decided, there’s no time like the present. So I saved like I’d never saved before, I negotiated 3 months off work, and one cold January morning I boarded a plane to Bangkok, ready to start my Asian adventure.

And you know what? It was everything I hoped it would be. My home became a hut on a beach in Koh Samui; a $2 a night hostel in Phnomh Penh; a friend’s apartment in Beijing. I learned to dive in Koh Tao, ride motorbikes in Cambodia and cook Vietnamese food in Hoi An. I made countless new friends, from all walks of life, who were all travelling or living abroad for different reasons, but the general idea was the same: they wanted to do something different. They wanted to make a change.

Sound familiar? Now ask yourself, what’s stopping you making that change? Too expensive? Scared of going it alone? Worried about your career? It’s ‘not the right time’? Just stop right there. There’ll always be a multitude of reasons to stay where you are, going along with the status quo. But sometimes, you just gotta jump into the unknown. And I guarantee, you won’t regret it.

Take the plunge | Image by Justin Ornellas

Whatever you want to change, be it where you live, what you do for a living, who you hang out with, or what you do in your spare time, I bet you that going out there and finally living your travel dream will help you make that change.

In fact, I’ll do better than bet you – I’ll show you. Read on, and see how going travelling can change pretty much every aspect of your life, if you want it to. Now, what are you waiting for? Go on, get a life!

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