So you want to take the trip of a lifetime. There are so many possible destinations and things to do. Just where do you look for ideas and inspiration?
Travel books
Books have been the tried and trusted sources for travel research. From practical details to more the more esoteric accounts, you can get a great deal from publications dedicated to travel.
And it's nice sometimes to just crack open a book and have a good read and take a break from the computer screen. Lonely Planet and Rough Guides are established standards with many destinations covered from different angles. But don't discount the many excellent independent publications covering unique - and sometimes odd - subjects in travel.
The Gap Year for Grown Ups by Susan Griffith is an excellent starting point if you're looking to take a gap year and want a good overview. While it's a UK guide, a lot of the ideas and information covered apply to North Americans.
If you're an adventurous would-be volunteer traveller, Ecotourists Save the World by the National Wildlife Federation may be a helpful resource to get an idea of some of the projects available.
Social media
To really take advantage information available in the digital world, social media research is a must. Nowadays, the static website is pretty much a thing of the past. Dynamic blogs with up-to-date accounts and stories from travellers - many who are blogging on the road are commonplace. It's great to see there are plenty of fellow travellers and former travellers who want to share their knowledge.
Twitter - if you're looking for a travel bargain or current news items, Twitter is a good place to look for up-to-date info. If you want a very specialist search, use hashtags (#) to find commonly-searched topics around travel. Just put the # in front of a term (examples include #gapyear, #travel and tagged destinations - such as #india).
Facebook has so many Fanpages and groups dedicated to destinations and activities. In addition to places, you'll find travel-related topics (such as sports, culture and history). In some Fanpages, you can post a question on the wall to other fans.
Newspapers - the big papers online have travel sections. Some good ones include: The LA Times, New York Times, Globe and Mail (Canada), Observer/Guardian (UK).
Forums/discussion boards - are useful if you have questions. The Thorntree forum from Lonely Planet ( http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/index.jspa ) has many readers. But practice caution as the accuracy and quality of information on forums can vary - they're as good and as reliable as the posters.
Your friends, family, colleagues
Look in your social circle and ask those who've been there and done it. There are more people taking career breaks and gap years today so you're bound to find others who've had similar questions and curiosities you're experiencing.
"Official" sources
Always take official guides, government tourism sites and "authorised" sources with a very large fistful of salt. Most official tourism sites for destinations will always present a "line" in accordance with their creators. But you will find many that are high-quality with detailed information so don't discount them categorically.
Get started on your career break travel planning
The information for a great career break journey is at your fingertips. Contemplating and considering all the great places in the world is exciting and bound to give you great inspiration and ideas for your travels.