<p>A gap year is always a good idea if you don’t feel you are ready for college, however I think traveling is a bit idealistic and unrealistic goal/desire for how to spend the time. To sell the idea of taking a year off to your parents, say you will take classes at a community college for a year or two to test different subjects and see what interests you (which is a good idea in of itself).</p>
<p>If you have your heart set on traveling, there are many colleges that offer extensive study abroad opportunities - my sister for instance went to Northeastern and in the first three years was able to study and co-op in: the Dominican Republic, Rwanda/Uganda, India, and Thailand - next year she’s also going to Argentina. You can look for other colleges, too, that would provide this type of experience.</p>