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Are you planning a long breakaway, whether it be a career break, gap year or sabbatical? If you are there are lots of books which can inspire your wanderlust and provide practical advice at the same time.


Are you ready to make your dream a reality and break from the norm? 

I took the leap and quit my job to travel the world and didn't ever look back! After I booked my flights I spent hours on the internet looking for career break inspiration and purchased a few books to entertain myself in the 6 months I had before my trip started. I have already posted a blog on the best websites to use when organising a career break which you can read here...but this post is about good old books!


Here are my recommendations of books to get you excited about your career break and to get some good quality advice from travellers who have 'been there done that'.


The Career Break Traveler's Handbook by Jeffrey Jung



This book really is a must buy for anyone considering taking a career break and looking for first-hand stories and a huge amount of travel tips. Jeff is also known as the Career Break Travel Guy, is an expert in the career break world and the book is very inspirational. There are loads of stories from other individuals who have taken the leap and makes you feel like the dream can become reality.  






Vagabonding by Rolf Potts


This book is not particularly aimed at taking a career break or sabbatical but is based around travelling the world long-term. Many travellers have come across this book and it is well known for inspiring people to change their mindset to travel long-term. The book covers everything from financing the trip, the route, volunteering and ends with how to adjust into normal life after the trip is over. 





The Career Break Book by The Lonely Planet



Of course Lonely Planet would have to be featured in my list, they basically have any type of travel book that you could dream of. You always know that you are going to get a good quality, informative book from The Lonely Planet. This book is a little 'dated' as it was published a while ago but the information is evergreen in nature and is enough to inspire you to book those one-way flights. What I liked about this book was the route inspiration which can help you narrow down exactly where you want to go.




Gap Year for Grown Ups by Susan Griffiths



I did have a bit of resentment when I purchased this book, as I still don't like the idea of calling myself a grown up or adult. This book is structured to help you organise and plan your trip and covers practical advice such as things you need to sort out before you travel long term. It also covers the various different types of career breaks that you could get involved in.






How to Travel the World on $50 a day by Matt Kepnes



Matt Kepnes, more commonly known as Nomadic Matt is one of the big shots in the travel blogging world. Matt has built an amazing business up around travel, insurance and blogging courses and he really knows his stuff. This book has been referred to as 'the bible for budget travellers'. If you are planning on travelling on a budget you will definitely pick up some money saving strategies and tips in this simply written but informative book.




Where To Go When by The Lonely Planet



I am sorry, yes, another Lonely Planet book but this book is a really neat guide of where to go when. The book is categorised into months and has helpful information such as weather, if its low or high season and if its family friendly. If you are organising a career break and are trying to plan your route, this book is perfect. This is my go to book when I am travel planning. 





So there we are, there is enough reading there to keep you busy for a while. I guarantee that after reading some of the above you will be bursting to book those tickets and make your dream a reality.


Need some more inspiration?


- How to explain a career break in an interview

- Top 20 things to sort out before travelling

- Helpful websites when planning a career break

- How I took a career break and had the best year of my life

- Top 10 tips to have a great career break

- The difference between career breaks and sabbaticals

- Guide to taking a sabbatical

- How to organise a career break

- The law and career breaks

- How to save for a career break

- Guide to Teaching abroad with TEFL


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