GapYear Destinations
Where would you like to spend your gapyear?
✈️ Smart Gap Year Adventures — Get Paid to Explore the World
Dreaming of a gap year but worried about the cost?
Here's the secret most people miss: as an au pair, your gap year pays you. You live with a welcoming, vetted host family abroad, help with childcare and light family life, and in return receive your own room, meals and weekly pocket money — with everything arranged before you fly. No rent, no bills, no eye-watering programme fees.
Smart Gap Year Adventures is the overseas programme from Smart Au Pairs & Nannies — the UK's leading cultural exchange childcare agency, trusted by au pairs and families since 2005. We work with carefully chosen partner agencies in each destination, so wherever you go, there's a real person looking after you on the ground.
Explore destinations & check your eligibility →
Where can your gap year take you?
We place candidates in eight destinations — and which ones are open to you depends on your passport:
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom — our home programme, and completely FREE. Lovely families in London, the Home Counties and Scotland, plus a thriving au pair community and monthly meet-ups.
- 🇦🇺 Australia — sunshine, beaches and Working Holiday visa adventures, with in-country support and organised au pair trips.
- 🇨🇦 Canada — mountains, lakes and friendly host families, with help through your IEC Working Holiday visa application.
- 🇫🇷 France · 🇩🇪 Germany · 🇪🇸 Spain · 🇮🇹 Italy — immerse yourself in the language and culture, with language classes arranged alongside your placement.
- 🇨🇳 China — our most generous programme and also completely FREE: pocket money, Mandarin classes, cultural activities, medical insurance and a flight stipend on completion.
Not sure which countries your nationality qualifies for? Our free eligibility checker tells you in thirty seconds — no sign-up needed. Check my eligibility →
Why go with Smart Gap Year Adventures?
🏡 No rent, no bills. Your private room and full board with a vetted host family are part of every placement — the biggest gap year costs simply don't exist.
💷 Weekly pay. Earn pocket money every week, with extras like paid leave and flight stipends in some destinations.
🌏 True cultural immersion. Live like a local, not a tourist — language lessons, family life, local traditions, and a social network of fellow au pairs.
🤝 Support every step. From your first enquiry through matching, interviews, visas and arrival — and throughout your stay. We've been doing this for over twenty years, and it shows.
How it works
- Check your eligibility — see which destinations your passport opens.
- Send a two-minute enquiry — tell us your dream destinations and dates; we reply within one working day.
- Interview with our team — a friendly chat about your motivation, experience and preferences.
- Meet your families — video-chat with carefully matched host families until it clicks for both sides.
- Confirm, prepare and fly! — contract, visa guidance and pre-departure support all included.
What does it cost?
Less than you'd think — and sometimes nothing at all. Our UK and China programmes are completely free to apply and be placed. Other destinations carry a small two-part fee (a deposit when your application is accepted, and a placement fee only once you confirm your family) — fully refunded if we can't offer you options. Compare that with the thousands charged by packaged gap year companies, and the difference is stark: as a family-run agency working with trusted local partners, we keep it honest.
Ready for your adventure?
Whether you're a school leaver planning your first big trip, a student taking a year out, or in your twenties or early thirties chasing one last adventure before settling down — there's a programme with your name on it. Most placements suit ages 18–35, run from 3 to 12 months, and start all year round.