Many travelers are on the lookout for local, unique events that can further enhance the cultural experience during a trip.  While large events like Oktoberfest are internationally known, there are hundreds of smaller events that can be a bit more difficult for the foreign visitor to discover.  For travelers interested in these types of events, we recommend you check out Joobili, a directory for festivals and events in Europe.

Though it’s funky name might make it a bit hard to spell and remember, in reward for doing so you will find  festival and event information for most European countries (from what we can tell – not a ton of info provided on the FAQ page!).  The initial page seen upon visiting the site is simple to understand – just choose a date window corresponding to your trip and hit the “Inspire Me” button to see the results.  The site appears to have additional personalization features so you can add an event to your personal “to-do” list, check an event off as “done”, or submit your own review of the event.

From what we can gather, Joobili is a growing startup so it will be interesting to see where the product evolves from here – but so far, it looks like the information service they provide could have good value for budget travelers – allowing us to plan trips around certain events, or allowing us to change direction mid-trip to hit up a potentially interesting party.

Recently we made our first StumbleUpon discovery – a useful South African magazine about youth and gap year travel. Though the traditional definition of a gap year is that year between secondary school (high school) and university, in practice “gap travel” can apply to any traveler (student or not) taking an extended break traveling and working abroad.

HalloCrazyWorld appears to be a monthly online & print publication which provides articles, information, and resources for people interested in working abroad for a stretch, such as:

• Explanation of the foreign worker/working holiday schemes/rules  applicable to gap year travelers in several (popular) countries
• Information on the popular jobs for gap year travelers (ski resorts, au pair/nanny, teaching English, etc)
• Planning advice and recommendations on visas, insurance, and other topics

If you’re interested in learning about gap year travel or are already in the planning stages, HalloCrazyWorld might be a useful resource for you – check it out!

For Americans, gap year travel is less common than in other countries (the reasons for which are worthy of a separate discussion entirely).  Although it may be unconventional by American standards, we assume the experience would only benefit young people by better preparing them for balancing the academic, fiscal, and social responsibilities of the university experience; in addition to helping individuals become more cognizant of the world outside of the USA.  The current crop of university graduates in the US is facing fewer job prospects; perhaps this situation will encourage more consideration of a gap year experience before entering the working world?