What is mountaineering?

• Mountaineering can range from hiking in the Alps to mountaineering in the Andes, from free climbing in the Ardennes to a multi-day trek in the Himalayas. For centuries, people have been fascinated by the mountains, reaching mountain peaks and being active in mountainous areas. There are dozens of types of mountaineering, including mountaineering, mountain climbing, fat biking, free climbing, rock climbing, zip lining, ski touring, winter sports, ice diving and ice climbing. In the last century, you have also seen more and more sports in which descending the mountain in an original way has become central. You can go abseiling, base jumping, hang gliding, but also skiing or sledding.

What is abseiling (rappel)?

• Abseiling is independently descending a steep wall using a climbing rope. In climbing it is used as a technique to descend, but in canyoning it has also become part of the sport

What is alpinism? 

• Alpinism is mountain climbing in terrain consisting of rock, snow and ice. The emphasis is on 'vertical' ascent, using arms and hands to get up. Rock climbing and ice climbing are forms of alpinism. Alpinism originated more than three centuries ago during a scientific expedition that climbed the summit of Mont Blanc. Today's alpinism is more about climbing technique, the level of difficulty or the beauty of the route, than about reaching the top of the mountain.

What are trekking and mountain hikes?

• This means that you walk along paved and unpaved paths through the mountains. When you also need your arms and hands, people quickly speak of mountain climbing. Simple glacier walking is also considered mountain hiking. 'Rambling' is a simple way of trekking, and 'scrambling' is a simple way of climbing where one occasionally needs the help of hands or knees.

What is free climbing and wall climbing?

• Free climbing is a form of rock climbing where you climb up using your hands and feet. It does not mean that you do not have any form of protection (that is known as free solo climbing), but it does mean that you are not allowed to use any aids for the climbing itself. Wall climbing: is climbing in a covered area on a climbing wall without aids.

What are other mountain and climbing sports?

• Bouldering is a climbing sport where you climb unsecured to a height of about 4/5 meters. If you fall, you basically fall on a thick mat. Bouldering is very similar to life, and often revolves around finding the right route.
• Hangliding: see air sports.
• Deathriding or ziplining: see air sports.
• Skiing or sledding: see winter sports.

What do you get out of it?

• Better health: from respiratory tract to fitness.
• A sense of humility, and the world around you.
• An adrenaline rush or an ultimate feeling of peace.

What do you take with you?

• Bring a good basic condition.
• Bring sufficient water and food for the journey and for the duration of the trip.
• Use your common sense (so as not to become overconfident).
• Arrange for difficult trips a guide who knows the area well

What are the risks when practicing mountain sports abroad?

• With every form of mountain sports you also run more or less risk of having an accident or breakdown. You can get lost.
• You can have an accident (slip, trip).
• You can be faced with rapidly changing weather.
• Your equipment can break.

To what extend are you insured during mountain sports?

• The consequences if something goes wrong during mountain sports are, if you need help and have to be taken down a mountain, or repatriated from a remote area, the costs can be quite high. The costs of deploying a rescue helicopter alone are around 5,000 euros per hour! In addition, you can be faced with the costs of a rescue team
• If you also end up in hospital, you may have to pay the costs yourself, if you have not taken out insurance that covers your mountain sports activities.
• Mountain sports abroad are generally limited by regular insurance. Usually you also run a greater risk of having an accident or breakdown.
• Read more: Travel insurances and insurances for long term abroad - Theme
• Read more: Verzekeren en sportieve activiteiten (NL)

Where is the best place to go for mountain sports?

Where can you go for the most beautiful mountain walks and treks?

• The Inca Trail (the route to Machu Picchu)
• Mount Rinjani (beautiful volcano on Lombok, Indonesia)
• Mount Kailash (Tibet, famous pilgrimage route, high and difficult)
• Resurrection Pass Trail (Alaska, through Chugach National Forest)
• Dogon Valley (Mali, very traditional area)
• The South Downs Way (South-East England, Sussex)
• Trollheimen (Norway, several options)
• Olympus (the famous mountain in Greece)
• Western Way (ancient pilgrimage route in Ireland)
• Taquesi (Bolivia, from Andes to Yungas)
• Hiking route E5 (Austria, runs from Swiss to Italian border)
• Gr 11 (Grande Randonnée)(Long distance hiking route through the Pyrenees, runs from the Mediterranean to the Basque Gulf)
• Neltner/Toubkal (Morocco, in the high Atlas Mountains)
• Leh (North-East India/Himalaya, beautiful dry trekking area)
• Darjeeling/Sikkim (North-West India/Himalaya, beautiful green trekking area)
• Retezet (Transylvania, Romania)
• Wildcoast Coffeebay Trail (Transkei, South Africa, coastal area)
• Milford track (South of New Zealand)
• Annapurna (Nepal, well-known but still very beautiful)
• Chang Mai Hill Tribes trek (Thailand, multiple routes)
• The Bear Route (Oulanka, Finland)
• Fish River Canyon (Namibia, desert area and oases)
• Patagonia (Traveler's paradise with Torres de Paine)
• Great South West Walk (Australia, along the coast of Victoria)
• Overland track (Tasmania, lots of wild and varied landscape)

What do you do when you are a divemaster of dive instructor?

• Being a diving instructor or divemaster means that you teach diving theory and practice, you teach about what you see underwater and how to deal with it.
• You are also involved in all kinds of practical matters such as how to handle equipment and what the signals are for mutual communication underwater.
• At the end of a course you will take an exam, evaluate the students and hand out certificates.

What do you learn?

• Becoming a diving instructor means learning to teach students who want to get their diving license.
• You learn to give specific training for navigation or underwater photography.
• You will learn how to advise students on the most appropriate courses and programs.

What do you need as a diving professional?

• To work as a diving instructor you will need to have the appropriate licenses, certifications, sufficient "flight hours and to have a medical certificate from a doctor regarding your health, signed within the last 12 months".
• To be and feel empathetic: feeling for people with a love of underwater flora and fauna.
• To dare to take risks: you should not be too frightened.
• To be aware of your surroundings: being environmentally aware love of underwater flora and fauna.
• To be conscious of the organization: being organizationally aware safety is an element that comes back every minute. You must always be able to stay alert, because you are responsible for yourself and your students.
• To be flexible: do not be too impatient.

Where can you go to work as a divemaster or dive instructor?

• Some of the most favorite diving destinations for instructors and divers
• Micronesia: Palau
• Red Sea: Egypt, Djibouti
• Indian Ocean: Maldives, Pemba & Zanzibar 
• Caribean: Bonaire, Cayman Islands
• Indonesië: Sulawesi (Bunaken!), Borneo (Sipidan!), Lombok (cheap)  Raja Ampat
• Papua New Guinea: Several options
• Australia: Great Barrier Reef, if the right spot
• Central America: Honduras, Cozumel (Palancar reef), Panama (Bocas del Torro)
• India: Andaman islands, Ladakshadweep islands
• Oman

What do you have to insure?

• There may be several reasons why you need separate insurance when doing paid work abroad, especially in the diving sector.
• During work, internship or volunteer work abroad, the coverage of your local health insurance normally expires. You will then need special insurance to remain insured for illness and accidents.
• Local employers usually offer no, or limited, additional insurance. When working as a diver, you may already be insured by your employer during your work. This varies per country and per employer. Check it carefully.
• If you become a diving instructor or diver master, special rules apply and there are specific insurances that take into account the risks you run.
• Some specialized insurances offer opportunities to do (temporary) paid work abroad.
• Read more: Travel insurances and insurances for long term abroad - Theme
• Read more: Verzekeren van duikactiviteiten in het buitenland (NL)

What does it mean to be a sports instructor abroad?

• A sports instructor is someone who teaches sports in theory and practice. You teach how to master a certain sport, or learn to practice it better.
• In addition, you are often busy with all kinds of practical matters concerning the requirements for the sport in question.

What does it mean to be an outdoor trainer abroad?

• An outdoor instructor is someone who teaches the theory and practice of an outdoor activity. You teach how to master a certain activity, or learn to master it better.
• With many outdoor activities, you pay extra attention to safety while practicing the activity.
• In addition, you are often busy with arranging and organising all kinds of practical matters around the activity.

Why would you become a sports instructor or outdoor trainer abroad?

• Helpfulness: it is rewarding work that you get a lot in return. You are busy transferring knowledge to others.
• Involvement: it strengthens your sense of connection with people and nature.
• Experience: You gain unique experiences in another country, in another nature and in another culture.
• Sense of freedom: especially when you are working outside in a beautiful environment.
• Self-insight: you learn independence, to trust yourself and how to react in difficult situations.

What do you need, or what skills can you acquire as a sports instructor or outdoor trainer abroad?

• Empathy: feeling for the people you teach or guide.
• Having courage: you should not be too fearful in some sports.
• Being aware of the environment, respect for the flora and fauna and the culture in which you work.
• Being aware of the organization: you must always be able to remain alert, because you are responsible for yourself and your students.
• Flexibility: the weather conditions and seasons, the physical condition of yourself and your students can have an influence.

Where can you become a sports trainer or outdoor trainer abroad?

A short list of popular outdoor destinations

• Australia
• Canada
• Chile
• Costa Rica
• El Salvador
• Germany
• Iceland
• Norway
• New Zeeland
• Switzerland
• United States

To what extent are you insured for the risks?

• Are you insured as a sports instructor abroad?
• When you become a sports instructor, special rules apply and there are also specific insurance policies that take into account the risks you can run into
• Read more:Travel insurances and insurances for long term abroad - Theme
• Read more: Verzekeren van activiteiten als sportinstructeur in het buitenland (NL)

What is a gap year abroad?

• A gap year is a longer period between two courses, between a course and a job or between two jobs. Where you more or less consciously choose not to switch directly from one to the other.
• A gap year is generally not literally a year but can vary from a few months to a year.
• The international term for a gap year is 'gap year', although gap year is more often used when it comes to a less serious way of spending the period.

How can you fill a gap year abroad?

• You can perfect your language skills and you can take classes in subjects of your choice, from art and history to media studies.
• You can also gain work experience and improve your skills by doing an internship at a local company.
• You can help yourself and someone else by doing volunteer work.
• You can fill your backpack with experiences by making a long or world trip.
• You can also do it all and not make it a gap year, but the starting year of the rest of your (meaningful) life.

Why should you take a gap year abroad?

• work or study experience in those areas that may be important for your study choice or career. Before you choose a direction, it is nice to know a little about what you are getting into.
• experience with immersing yourself in another culture, without being bothered by your friends, family or other limitations.
• a mountain of self-knowledge that you will continue to benefit from your whole life.
• a lot of new friends or acquaintances.

What do you need for a gap year abroad?

• A sufficient budget to last as long as you want, or enough work ethic to earn money there.
• The realization that when you return, you may want to leave again immediately.. so take enough time to acclimatize at home.
• The realization that after the period that you have been away, you may think very differently about your future.
• The realization that after the period that you have been away, you might think exactly the same about your future.

What is the best place to go during your gap year?

• Become an au pair: Argentina, Australia, China, England, France, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Austria, Spain and the United States.
• Backpacking and earning money: Australia, Canada, Curacao, Europe, New Zealand.
• Learn Chinese in China: for example in Beijing.
• Become a divemaster and teach diving: Greece, Egypt, Indonesia.
• Learn German: (Berlin), Austria or Switzerland.
• Learn English abroad: Australia (Sydney), England (Brighton, Cambridge, London), Canada (Toronto), Ireland (Dublin), the United States (New York, San Francisco), Malta, South Africa (Cape Town).
• Learn French: Biarritz; Nice, Paris, Switzerland.
• Learn Italian in Italy: Florence, Rome, Siena, Venice.
• Learn Spanish in Spain: Barcelona, ​​Granada, Malaga, Madrid, San Sebastian, Seville, Tenerife, Valencia.
• Learn Spanish in the Caribbean: Cuba, Dominican Republic.
• Learn Spanish in Central America: Costa Rica (Turrialba), Guatemala (Antigua), Panama (Bocas del Toro).
• Learn Spanish in South America: Argentina (Bariloche, Buenos Aires), Ecuador, Peru.
• Learn Swahili in Africa: Kenya (Kilifi), Tanzania (Zanzibar).
• Volunteering with children or the elderly: you can do volunteer work in almost any country in the world. Check the JoHo country pages for an indication of the work or projects.
• Volunteering as an animal caretaker: Australia (koalas, kangaroos, horses), Curacao (dolphins, dogs, cats), Indonesia (orangutans, street dogs), South Africa (monkeys, cheetahs, sharks, penguins, rhinos, elephants).
• Volunteering: protecting turtles: Sri Lanka, Costa Rica. Traveling around the world: South-East Asia, Latin America or Australia.
• Travel the world: Southeast Asia, Latin America or Australia.

What are the risks of a gap year abroad?

• Your health insurance coverage may lapse if, for example, you go and will work abroad.
• You may suffer from homesickness and want to go home earlier (but there is a lot you can do about it, and prepare for it!).
• You may have problems with the organization with which you are going abroad (read more about solving problems abroad).
• What are the consequences if, for example, you end up in a hospital?
• If you end up in a hospital, you may have to pay the costs yourself if you have not taken out insurance that covers your activities.
• Are you insured for a gap year abroad? A gap year abroad can be covered by your current travel and health insurance if you do not go abroad for too long, do not undertake paid work or special activities. In most cases, special insurance is recommended or really necessary.
• Read more: Travel insurances and insurances for long term abroad - Theme
• Read more: Vezekeren van een tussenjaar het buitenland (NL)