Eight months off school, but we all learned so much: a family sabbatical in South America

Travelling around Chile, Argentina and Peru – with a focus on Indigenous tourism – is a transformative adventure
Plus 10 tips on planning a family gap year

It was on holiday in Italy in 2022, after perhaps a little too much wine, that the decision was made: Mirjam Peternek-McCartney and her husband, Mark, would take a year’s sabbatical – with their (then) 10- and 13-year-old sons, Lukas and David. “We told the kids in the morning and after that we couldn’t back out … They were excited and it all started to feel more real,” says Mirjam, who lives in the Cotswolds and runs a PR company.

While the couple had discussed the idea of taking extended time out from their daily lives before (they had been on sabbaticals together and lived abroad), Covid brought what was important to them into sharp focus – spending time together as a family and travelling. With Mark turning 50 and David’s GCSEs not too far away, it felt like a now or never moment.