Travel Picks: Top 10 vacations for the newly unemployed

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - Lost your job? Travel could be just the opportunity needed to expand horizons and build some new skills.

Travel website www.travelandleisure.com has come up with a list of the top vacations for the newly unemployed, ranging from snorkelling for science in the Bahamas to working on an organic farm in New Zealand. This list is not endorsed by Reuters:

1. Farm your way around the world:

Join the nonprofit network Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms. In exchange for your room and board, usually in a family home, you'll work part-time on one of 1,200 organic farms around the world. Grow kiwis in New Zealand, for example, while learning the basics of self-sufficient farming, organic cooking, and alternative energy.

2. House Swap:

Home swapping allows you to exchange your house or apartment for someone else's, anywhere in the world. Whether you trade for a 400-year-old stone house in medieval Padua or a ski condo in Aspen, you won't pay a penny beyond the small registration fee.

3. Sail Off Into the Sunset:

Volunteer to work with a yacht delivery crew. Find opportunities around the world through the classifieds on Crew File, a free web resource that links yacht crews with sailing opportunities around the world. You don't need sailing skills or experience. Captains will often accept novices, if they have the right attitude, and teach them everything they need to know.

4. Take Classes in a U.S. National Park: