Voluntourism/Volunteer Vacations

Add extra meaning to your holiday by helping the communities you visit. There are plenty of volunteer travel outfits out there that can set it up. It'll be an experience you'll never forget.

Cover photo: Evan Goldswain

89 Members

Join Us!

Forum

5 of the top websites for voluntourism

Want to spend part of your next trip doing more than sightseeing? Hundreds of organizations offer opportunities to work on wildlife conservation, environmental protection, education, healthcare and community-development projects around the world. Finding a worthwhile program, however, requires some homework: costs, levels of support and—most importantly—the actual benefit to host communities vary considerably. These five websites are among the most useful starting points, ranging from…

Started by Max Pesling

0 Replies

Volunteering one of '6 Ways to Have Authentic Local Experiences When Traveling'

FrontierEnviro If you find it challenging to meet locals out and about, check out some volunteering programs at your destination. Volunteering is one of the best ways to come in contact with people from all sorts of different backgrounds and lifestyles, as well as get familiar with current events and society in the country you’ve traveled to. Plus you’ll get to spend your time doing something positive for the local people and share your blessings. Before you sign up for volunteering, though,…

Started by Tripatini

0 Replies

Voluntourism cited in 'Using Astrology to Plan Travel this Holiday Season'

fshok.com Still vibrant and popular today, the five-thousand-year-old art of astrology can identify, say, business and romantic opportunities or challenges. And those celestial bodies slinking about the stars can also help pinpoint optimal times and places for travel. And since destinations have their own astro-charts -- which interact with yours -- astrology can even serve as a kind of spiritual travel agent. It can tell you, for example, about places likely to be harmonious or challenging…

Started by Jordan Simon

0 Replies

How the pandemic has changed voluntourism

The pandemic has indeed transformed the landscape of international volunteering, say researchers. A February survey of 130 volunteer organizations and 239 international volunteers by the International Forum for Volunteering in Development found that the pandemic had spurred volunteer groups to offer more remote volunteering opportunities and consider expanding national volunteer membership in the future. Even as some groups gear for a return to the way it was, others are changing their modus…

Started by José Balido

0 Replies

You need to be a member of Tripatini to add comments!

Join Tripatini

Comments are closed.

Comments

Ariane Janer April 6, 2011 at 12:53am

TIES and Planeterra started Voluntourism Guidelines Research Initiative. More here

http://www.kintera.org/cms.asp?id=1536349&campaign_id=146048&am...
Matthew Grace February 25, 2011 at 7:36am

Ngombe Private Lodge Gap Volunteers

Western Zambia Area Conservation and Community Up-liftment Project Volunteering Information Pack

Gap programs and journeys have increased dramatically in both popularity and options over the past five years. From wildlife rehabilitation centres and equestrian centres to education at villages, there are options available, catering to almost all interests. Please contact us for more details. The programs, range from 3 week to one year.

Email: info@africansafariguru.com for furthers enquiries..
Maz Livingston November 23, 2010 at 10:20pm

Visit some, volunteer some. Have fun and contribute:

In Nepal
http://www.exploreworldwide.com/holidays/details/experience-nepal?v...

In India
http://www.exploreworldwide.com/holidays/details/experience-india?v...

In South Africa
http://www.exploreworldwide.com/holidays/details/experience-south-a...
Zablon Mukuba November 9, 2010 at 4:22pm

there are other great volunteer travel opportunities at http://www.volunteercapitalcentre.org

http://www.volunteercapitalcentre.org/
Dorothy Conlon October 25, 2010 at 5:01pm

I recently returned from Ghana, where I volunteered for 3 weeks with Cross-Cultural Solutions in Hohoe. That'a a seedy but charming small city (30,000) in the Volta Region, 4 hours north of Accra and very near the Togo border. I taught in a government school but other volunteers worked at orphanages or in the hospital. CCS houses and feeds you and provides extra-curricular activities, such as afternoon trips to a spectacular waterfall and to climb a mountain, language lessons in the local dialect, and lectures on cultural background. Weekends we traveled independently to interesting parts of the country. Of all the volunteer organizations I've worked with overseas, I believe CCS is the most efficient and well-run. With my white hair, I was an oddity among those young volunteers, but they enjoyed hearing my stories and even bought my book, "At Home in the World - Memoirs of a Traveling Woman.".
David Paul Appell August 14, 2010 at 10:54pm

Excellent point, Jacquie! I hope we'll get some other pointers here from people who know the scene, too. Hope all is well with you....
David Paul Appell August 14, 2010 at 9:23pm

In today's USAToday, saw interesting piece from AP on "How to Find the Right Volunteer Vacation."

Key point: "With so many options for volunteering abroad, it's difficult to figure out which programs are legitimate — and which ones really do help people in the local communities they serve, for example — and which are just costly vacations with a veneer of volunteerism."

Sites mentioned to help you figure that out: WorldTeach.org, GlobeAware.org, VAOPS.com, UMAbroad.umn.edu, VolunteerInternational.org.
Ed Wetschler July 13, 2010 at 7:44pm

Pennsylvania seeks volunteers to help restore historic cemeteries: http://www.visitpa.com/trip-ideas/pennsylvania-grand-review/conserv...
Steve Natureman Safari June 9, 2010 at 2:00pm

Hi all,
We are Non-profit organization For Charity Work, Volunteer vacations, medical elective placements, Outreach mission trips, Educational Student &school trips.

WE INVITE YOU TO OUR VOLUNTEER PROGRAMME IN OUR CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION FOR MORE INFORMATION: visit http://www.lecdenkenya.com .
Andrea Spirov June 2, 2010 at 6:09am

Hi everyone, Just want to share the story I did on Bernard and Danielle from Border Jumpers. They have some good tips on volunteering in Africa and project suggestions: http://inspiringtravellers.com/2010/06/02/africa-travel-with-border...