A sabbatical is an extended break from work, typically lasting from two months to a year. This can be part of your contract or negotiated with your company, depending on your role and employer; a break in between jobs; time taken by digital nomads between assignments; or upon retiring.

This time off allows you to step outside your normal parameters and do what you’ve been itching to but not had time for, such as learning a new skill, travelling, studying or volunteering. The time is also often used to slow down and reconnect – be that with your family or yourself.

See our Knowledge Hub for sabbatical tips and inspiration.

Some companies offer their employees a sabbatical for 2-3 months as a reward after reaching a specific tenure and level.

For those in between jobs, ‘gardening leave’, or simply ‘time out’ sabbaticals offer a chance to recharge and explore. This kind of break typically lasts from a few weeks to 3 months until the new job starts.

Entrepreneurs who’ve sold their companies often use sabbaticals as a luxurious break (up to a year) to unwind and explore before their next venture. Senior leaders in high-pressure jobs sometimes take sabbaticals as a way to revitalise themselves before diving back in for another 5 years of work.

Families increasingly choose to embark on an adventure, over the summer holidays or for up to a year. They combine travel with education, utilising online learning programs or hiring travel tutors. The statutory provision of a week unpaid off work per year per child <18 years old, which few people know about, can be accumulated across years to help with time off work.

Once the children leave, empty nesters can find themselves with time and additional disposable income on their hands, which they invest in their own experiences during a sabbatical away from work. Recent pensioners, for whom travel was less common in their younger years, make the most of their health and fitness to take their own ‘silver gap year’.

See our Knowledge Hub for sabbatical tips and inspiration.

A change is happening in lifestyle choices: people are increasingly choosing to invest in lifestyle experiences over material goods. Their aim is to create memories and live a more fulfilled life. One rising trend to achieve this is taking a sabbatical.

Families in their 40s and 50s are increasingly choosing to take a sabbatical. These are people with a willingness and ability to travel for longer, thanks to employers being more flexible, and work-from-anywhere opportunities improving. They have the confidence to live differently to the traditional norm. This may also come from the fact that younger generations will perhaps have backpacked and so would like to relive those days in their adult/family life, albeit differently and on a higher budget.

Families tend to wait until kids are around the age of 9-10 years old for the very long sabbaticals. On the younger side, they’re usually 7-8 upwards to be able to partake in activities and be more able to travel, fly, hike, and walk etc. It’s a case of waiting for kids to reach the right age so all can share an experience together.

There is also the trend in living in places for perhaps a month, then moving on. Places such as Silvestre in Costa Rica epitomise this trend.

Solo sabbatical travellers are on the rise: those in their 40s/50s without family ties, willing to spend and not compromise on comfort so much, and reward themselves for their success.

Beyond this, the traditional professional industries continue increasingly to offer sabbaticals to their employees.

See our Knowledge Hub for sabbatical tips and inspiration.

Originating from academic traditions, sabbaticals are now widely adopted across various professions. The Pandemic, and the Great Reset which followed, elevated workplace flexibility to be a top priority. Sabbaticals are growing in popularity, and an increasing number of organsations offer them to employees.

Some companies offer paid leave as a reward for long tenure; others will allow time off unpaid.

Leading law firms will generally offer their partners with a certain length of tenure the opportunity to take a sabbatical, which can be paid. Firms are expanding the criteria, with some (such as Walker Morris) allowing additional weeks’ paid leave to its solicitors below Partner level.

Accountancy and Management Consultancy firms also increasingly offer sabbaticals. Some are paid at a percentage of base salary. The timing of a sabbatical can fit around the conclusion of large projects. Companies may require an element of training or volunteering to be incorporated in longer periods off work.

Blue Chip corporate companies often have clauses in contracts and HR policies, that are often not widely publicised within the company.

Check your contract and the HR policy of your company to find out whether you are eligible. See here for more on Can I Take a Sabbatical?

There are several ways you can build in time for a sabbatical. Some employees receive them as a reward after reaching a specific tenure and level within a company, often lasting 2-3 months.

For those in between jobs, ‘gardening leave’, or simply ‘time out’ sabbaticals fit in nicely between jobs and allow you to recharge and explore before plunging back into work.

Families might embark adventures up to a year that combine travel with education, using  online learning programs or hiring travel tutors. This works best with parents who:
– can take a break from work,
– can work remotely,
– can work in a different time zone,
– or where one parent is not working and can take more responsibility for the children,
– or who can take a nanny.
Shorter trips can coincide with summer holidays, especially the longer ones offered by private schools.

Many parents don’t know that they are entitled to one week’s unpaid leave per year per child <18 years old, which can be accumulated across years. If negotiated right with your employer, this can help towards time off for a sabbatical.

Entrepreneurs who’ve sold their companies often use sabbaticals as a luxurious break (up to a year) to unwind and explore before their next venture.

• Set a goal: The first step is to define what you want to get out of your precious time off work. This sets the framework for the destinations, activities and pace of travel. This could be as open as time with the children to discover the world, or as specific as learning to sail off the coast of Belize.
• The Long & Short of it: This is the fun part. Go wild and come up with a long list of experiences, ideas and destinations that excite you. Next, check off the list against your sabbatical goal to prioritise the experiences that best fit.
• Budget: Decide your limit. As a guide, a sabbatical with LiNGER starts at:
  a. One-week trip: from £3,900 per person.
  b. Two-week trip: from £7,900 per person.
  c. One month-long trip: from £18,000 per person.
  d. 6-8 week-long sabbatical trips will typically cost in the region of £38,000-£48,000 for a solo traveller, £68,000-£88,000 for a couple, and £78,000-£98,000 for a family with 2 or 3 children.
  e. Longer sabbaticals are multiples of the above based on number of months.
• When to travel: Consider the best time to go away. Beyond work commitments and school exam periods for those with children, consider peak vs low season. We advocate travel in low periods for a more authentic experience – when this falls depends on the destination. We can help with the best time to visit each destination.
• Home admin: Involve friends and family early on in your planning and lean on them for housesitting, plant-sitting and car-sitting. Get hold of a dedicated card for managing finances and avoiding fees when withdrawing abroad (we find Caxton very good). Insurance, covering changes to plans before you travel, is paramount. Conduct the last crucial checks on vaccinations, visas and passport, and you’re set for your trip of a lifetime.

See here for more on Savvy Sabbatical Planning and Essential checks before you leave.

The tide of acceptance is turning for taking periods off work: with the focus on mental health in today’s culture, taking time back is for yourself is something employees and employers are valuing more highly.

While there is a rise in employees taking sabbaticals, there can remain an element of fear on a number of levels. One is the fear that taking a long break could be detrimental to the employee’s career, e.g. losing a client base. Another is how it would be viewed by colleagues who (although offered) haven’t taken it up. Some may fret about having a gap in their cv, if not returning to the same company. There is also the fear of embarking on something which people feel is out of their comfort zone, or such a huge task in terms of readying home life, family life, personal admin etc.

Careful planning, done sufficiently in advance, can counter most of these concerns. Ensure that loose ends at work are tied up and plans are in place for your return. Make colleagues aware of your plans and their duration well in advance. Involve friends and family early enough to garner support for your project on the home front – you will need to lean on them while you’re away (housesitting, petsitting, car sitting…).

With changing attitudes, gaps in a cv need not be an issue.  As The Economist’s Bartleby columnist writes, ‘Reasonable gaps in a resume are not a cause for concern. Life happens and sometimes people take time off; you do not have to explain that you spent three months between jobs hiking around Machu Picchu to clear your head and recharge your batteries.’

If you’re not returning to the same job or company, ensure you maintain your network of contacts and keep your skills fresh ahead of your return to the world of work. Speak to trusted ex-colleagues for advice on changes in your sector and the latest on fast-changing areas such as business challenges, uptake of new technologies… and new jargon.

Overall, since Covid there is more of a positive can-do, will-do attitude rather than just thinking of a sabbatical as something that would be nice to do but not actually following through. A ‘Live for the moment’, and ‘no regrets’ type of approach. Younger people coming into the workplace are demanding more flexibility, and taking a sabbatical as an employment benefit is on the rise.

Few people have ever regretted taking a sabbatical, although many will have regretted not taking one.

An education like no other, a sabbatical will widen your children’s horizons, open their minds and grant them maturity beyond the reaches of traditional schooling. To ensure the months off run smoothly, bear these tips in mind:

• Create a home environment abroad – have space for each family member everywhere you stay and maintain an element of routine. Pace yourselves – stay long enough in each destination for it to feel familiar.
• Plan to the age of your children – African walking safaris are not allowed for under 12s, nor are jeep safaris for the under 8s; some activities such as white water rafting is often 9+ only, and Galapagos boat cruises are generally for 8+; hiking destinations may not suit little legs.
• Plan the logistics – Leave space for spontaneity in your activities, but plan your transport and your accommodation meticulously. What may have been an adventure as a couple can quickly turn highly stressful with children if a ferry route has closed or train times involve long waits. Using an experienced trip planner is particularly helpful for these finer details.
• Choose your time of year – Your choice of destination will depend largely on the time of year you can travel. Over the long school summer holidays, which is often the preferred time to take a family sabbatical, Central and South America work very well, as do Indonesia and Borneo, and the highlands of China and Japan.
• School on the go – If you are taking a term or year off school, plan how to continue the curriculum. Either take a tutor with you, subscribe to an online school or programme, or gather materials and teach them yourself. Finding a ‘home from home’ in each place you visit and accommodation with an area you can dedicate to being a makeshift ‘classroom’ will help maintain a routine.

The most important consideration when planning a sabbatical is balance. This works on all levels: mixing up accommodation – the more luxurious with the more charmingly rustic and homely; varying destinations – including jungle, towns, coast, countryside; balancing experiences – human, wildlife, adrenaline-filled and restful. End your trip with a grand finale.

Pacing the journey right is critical. Balance time on the road with staying in a location you can really get to know and call home for a period of time. This is particularly important with children, where maintaining an element of routine can be stabilizing. Stay long enough in each destination to feel immersed in it, and leave time for spontaneity. This is often where the magic happens.

Make space for everyone. Being away for long periods can be intense, especially as a family, but even as a couple. Ensure everywhere you stay has enough physical space for everyone to take a moment to themselves. Include time for catching up with the inevitable home admin or the occasional interruption from work.

The most time-consuming part is the fine-tuning. This is the bit that requires insider knowledge and that will make your trip seamless, when done right: Selecting the most engaging guides (we’ve met ours), knowing the best rooms and the optimal room configurations (we’ve visited or stayed in everywhere we recommend), understanding the best routes and most efficient transport (we’ve taken them). With our years of experience, extensive black books of local contacts and on-the-ground personal knowledge of each destination, you can trust us to make this work without having to think about it yourself.

For sabbaticals, it is helpful to plan as far in advance as possible. This allows for the creation of long itineraries and time to consider various options (destinations, accommodation, and activities). A year in advance gives a good amount of time, although we can (and often do) plan itineraries with less notice.

Typically our travellers take sabbaticals in destinations which are away from the Western world. They may want a safari component, or to learn to dive in the South Pacific, or embark on a long road-trip, Grand-Tour style. Others want a brief expat-style living setup such as in cities like Rio or Buenos Aires. Others want pure escapism and remote travel experiences in places such as Patagonia or the Himalayas.

Some of the journeys we’ve arranged include an overland for 2 months from Panama to Belize – the highlights included volunteering and island hopping on a private catamaran. Then there was a roadtrip through Chilean and Argentinian Patagonia including remote border crossings only accessible on foot. Hiking to the source of the Amazon in Peru and avoiding the tourist hubs such as Machu Picchu was a particularly fun sabbatical to facilitate. We have arranged for guests to go travelling the Nordic countries in the thick of winter and even a full circuit drive around Ireland and Greenland. There was a nature-focused journey through Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru. We arranged a trip for a family by train from the far north to the south of India, and introduced keen divers to the undiscovered havens of the remote Lakshadweep islands and the Andamans.

See outlines of previous sabbaticals we’ve run for inspiration.

Given our trips are 100% tailor-made, the costs can vary widely with factors ranging from the strength of the economy in your destination, the accommodation chosen and level of room or suite, to whether you fly Privately or in Economy, Business or First Class. The majority of trips will include private transfers with highly experienced English-speaking guides, excellent drivers, and high-quality transportation.

As a guideline, our trip prices will start from the following (excluding international flights):

• 6-8 week-long sabbatical trips will generally cost approximately £38,000-£48,000 for a solo traveller, £68,000-£88,000 for a couple, and £78,000-£98,000 for a family with 2 or 3 children.
• Each additional month will add on approximately £1800 per person (less for children).

Sabbaticals are our speciality. We have planned countless sabbaticals for solo travellers, couples, and families with young children and teens, spanning periods of six weeks to over a year. Our sabbatical travellers tend to be partners in law firms and accountants, C-Suite professionals and business owners, as well as retirees. All are discerning travellers.

Our travellers choose LiNGER because they trust us. Most are on their second or third LiNGER trip or have been referred to us by friends.

• They know from experience that we will tailor-make their trip to their tastes, interests and exacting standards.
• They know that through the depth of our destination knowledge we will craft exclusive and authentic experiences off the typical tourist trail.
• They appreciate unostentatious luxury together with adventure and discovery, and know we exceed expectations on all counts.
• They have experienced the seamless on-the-ground support we provide, the contact we maintain throughout their months away, and the lengths we go to accommodate requests.

Above all, they have felt the magic and seamlessness of a LiNGER trip. Contact us for a no-strings discovery chat to talk travel and the option of taking a sabbatical.

• Call, E-mail, or request a call-back from us. We love to talk about travel and inspire you with our knowledge. Contact us.
• We arrange a no-obligation face-to-face or virtual meeting and will happily visit you at your home, office, or a café at a time that suits you. This enables us to get to know you so that we can tailor our recommendations to your interests.
• We have in-depth knowledge of places off the tourist trail so depending on what you want from your holiday, we may suggest detours, locations, and experiences you had not previously considered.
• We can discuss ideas for activities that give back to your destination.
• We follow up with an outline of ideas for you to consider which will develop into a more detailed day-by-day itinerary based on your feedback.
• We tweak and change the itinerary until you are ready to proceed. This may take a few days or a few weeks to finalise, depending on the complexity of the trip.
• On your agreement, we request a deposit representing 30% of the trip cost, unless advised otherwise.
• We book all arrangements and secure your flights, accommodation, guides, transport, and activities.
• Your itinerary, ticket details and key contacts will be available on an easy-to-use app.
• We’ll meet you around 2-3 weeks before you depart to discuss any trip specifics such as what to take and if relevant, to prepare you for any voluntourism component.
• While you are travelling, you have access to our on-the-ground local team 24-7, and your trip planner is always available.
• On your return we love to meet our travellers to hear about your experiences.