Tag: volunteer Travel View All Tags

Volunteer Travel: It's a WWOOFer's World

May 29, 2008 at 12:30 PM | 0 Comments

If you're a Trader Joe or can easily spend a whole day in Whole Foods, listen up. This summer you could be organic farm hopping and learning how to work the land in Italy, Argentina, Chile or New Zealand.

World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms or WWOOF is the name, and sustainable living is the game. Anyone with €25 ($39) and an interest in learning about ecologically sound lifestyles can join the movement. Once you're a member, you'll be sent a directory of farming hosts around the world who you can contact directly to customize your farm stay. In return for your hard labor, which ranges from 3-10 hours a day, you'll be fed and provided with "clean, dry accommodations."

We got our paws on a WWOOF directory and were astonished at the sheer number of possibilities available. Some of the best we found were harvesting wine at a Tuscan vineyard, planting scented gardens for the blind in New Zealand and producing organic rice and sake in a rural Japanese village. On the flip side, we also noticed quite a few opportunities to "help with daily chores" and "sleep in a tent." That's the key takeaway: Research thoroughly!

Related Stories:
· WWOOF [Official Site]
· You've Got to Get a Little Dirt on your Hands [SMH]
· Volunteer Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Working Holidays coverage [Jaunted]

Volunteer Travel: A Helpful Honeymoon. Or Not.

April 14, 2008 at 1:35 PM | 0 Comments

You're not really down with roughing it but could warm up to the idea of volunteering in an exotic country? Enter Hands Up Holidays; it's 4-star travel with a purpose.

We first mentioned these guys a few months ago when they were organizing a pre-Mardi Gras trip to rebuild the bayou, with accommodations in a funky French Quarter hotel and ticket to a black tie gala included. Now eight new itineraries are up on their revamped website. Two in particular caught our eye.

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Volunteer Travel: Pitch In, Then Party

October 31, 2007 at 3:45 PM | 0 Comments

We're in disbelief that it's already time to plan for Mardi Gras, but Easter--and thus Fat Tuesday--comes early next year. And instead of simply guzzling hand grenades on Bourbon Street, maybe you could lift a finger or two to help rebuild New Orleans?

Hands Up Holidays makes it easy with a nine-day trip from January 28 to February 6 that includes an invite to the black tie ball at Mardi Gras. You'll earn it by working at Habitat for Humanity's Musicians' Village, a development in the Upper 9th Ward designed to lure artists back to the city. Even President Bush has chipped in on the project, so you should be able to hack it.

You'll also have time for fun on the trip, with plantation and swamp tours and a flight-seeing excursion. Accommodations are at the Hotel Monteleone, which is a great place right in the French Quarter. While the price tag for the trip seems steep at $2,500, booking a hotel for nine nights on the run-up to Mardi Gras will cost you close to that. Might as well have some fun and do some good while you're at it.

Related Stories:
· Hands Up Holidays [Official Site]
· New Orleans Field Trip [Jaunted]
· New Orleans Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Video Tour of the Hotel Monteleone [HotelChatter]
· Volunteer Travel coverage [Jaunted]

Volunteer Travel: One Week Wonders

October 24, 2007 at 12:30 PM | 1 Comment

Everyone likes a long vacation, but in a world of 60-hour workweeks and non-stop communication it can be hard to get away. Globe Aware gets that, which is why the voluntourism organization offers week-long vacations that include work projects and side trips to about a dozen locations.

Volunteers can teach children English and computer literacy in Peru or travel to a rural Andean village to build adobe stoves for cooking. These man-made wonders use a fraction of the energy wood fires do and eliminate carcinogenic smoke, too. Plus they give volunteers an opportunity to see the fruits of their labor while they're still on site.

Globe Aware also offers voluntourism trips to Laos, where travelers build wheelchairs from recycled materials for land mine victims, and to Costa Rica to help restore national forest reserves. It's a chance for travelers to have a big impact without committing a huge amount of time.

Related Stories:
· Globe Aware [Official Site]
· Volunteer Travel coverage [Jaunted]

Volunteer Travel: Mad Science in Nicaragua

October 17, 2007 at 12:15 PM | 0 Comments

Sure we've slopped Thanksgiving dinners at soup kitchens and adopted families at Christmas, but a lot of us here at Jaunted have been rocking the city life for a while. So there was something about doing good and getting back to nature that really caught our attention. That's why we love the Earthwatch Institute. It offers international volunteer vacations that double as science classes with field research. They answer our desire to get outside, do some good and learn something, too. As far as Al Gore is concerned, this is the ultimate trifecta.

Earthwatch is already booking spots on one of its newest spring excursions. Volunteers will travel to Masaya, Nicaragua to chart the impact of active volcanoes on local wildlife and residents. Wannabe geologists hike the active Masaya Volcano and collect data using GPS and other sophisticated instruments. They also gather soil and water samples to chart the impact of volcanic activity over time. Sure, it sounds complicated, but Earthwatch makes it simple. Plus, it gives travelers a chance to feel like Mr. Wizard--at least for a couple of days.

Related Stories:
· Earthwatch Institute [Official Site]
· Volunteer Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Mr. Luigi]

Volunteer Travel: Find Meaning in Morocco

October 10, 2007 at 11:00 AM | 0 Comments


Cross Cultural Solutions began offering volunteer abroad programs in Morocco earlier this year. Come December, global-minded do-gooders can participate in the second wave of the project. It's a chance to spend a few weeks in the capital city of Rabat, working with locals on community-based projects in shelters and prisons. Volunteers provides services to women and children through local schools, employment training, and social assistance programs.

This type of travel is more than a vacation overseas, warn past volunteers — it's a commitment to the community. Though the work is challenging, volunteers say that's what makes the trip worthwhile:

The most memorable for me was not the teaching specifically, but instead the general interaction with the inmates and how fun it was trying to overcome the language barrier using the few Arabic and French words I knew — there were many rounds of Charades! I felt like most of the students were really eager to learn. Those who were not so interested in English were just as eager to get to know me and the other volunteers.

Related Stories:
· Cross Cultural Solutions [Official Site]
· More Volunteer Travel Coverage [Jaunted]
· Morocco Hotel Reviews [HotelChatter]

[Photo: Sundownr01]

Volunteer Travel: Skipping Spring Break in Puerto Vallarta

October 3, 2007 at 12:00 PM | 0 Comments

We certainly can't hate on a relaxing spring break full of fun and fish tacos. But there's a better way to learn about the culture and experience the community south of the boarder: Volunteering at Refugio Infantil Santa Esperanza--the Children's Shelter of Hope--in Puerto Vallarta.

The juvenile home houses an average of 45 children, ranging in age from 7 months to 13 years. Most have parents who are dead, in jail, involved in prostitution or who can't provide adequate care or safety for some other reason. Volunteers live off grounds but still get loads of hands on experience. They can practice their Spanish, participate in the day-to-day life of the children, work with crafts, chop potatoes and give morning baths.

Past volunteers say it's a rewarding, win-win experience:

Once I had names down and had proven myself as a trustworthy volunteer--meaning willing to pitch in on the chores--I realized that I wasn't making all of the cultural advances anymore.

Instead of asking questions, like "What is it about jalapenos?," I was answering questions, like "How big is Mickey Mouse in person?" Within weeks I was visiting the house on a more regular basis, greeted every time without fail by a flurry of hugs and immediately joining in on the events of the afternoon.

It may not be spring break, but that's okay: this way the hangover's not nearly as bad.

Related Stories:
· Children's Shelter of Hope [Official Site]
· Volunteer Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Puerto Vallarta Hotels [HotelChatter]

Volunteer Travel: Experience the Real Peru

September 26, 2007 at 12:00 PM | 0 Comments


It's only three weeks away, but there's still plenty of time to book a volunteer holiday to Peru with UK outfitter Different Travel. The two-week October experience pairs tourists with locals to rehab schools, while still providing a rich sight-seeing experience. Travelers depart from London and head to Lima for a tour of the capital and a volunteer welcome dinner, before getting into the thick of the 14-day ethical adventure.

Days are divided between exploring the wonders of Peru--like the colonial city of Arequipa, the Nazca Lines and an Orient Express passage through the Andes--and volunteering at local schools. Travelers spend three days rehabbing classrooms, refurbishing buildings and repainting school walls, before a day-long trek along part of the Inca Trail. It's the perfect way to give back to the locals (and the children), but still get a taste of the real Peru.

Related Stories:
· Peru Volunteer Holiday Highlights [Different Travel]
· Peru Travel Stories [Jaunted]
· More Volunteer Travel Stories [Jaunted]

[Photo: Erin's Peace Corps Blog]

Volunteer Travel: Slopping Sea Slime in Hawaii

September 19, 2007 at 10:00 AM | 0 Comments


We can think of a million reasons to go to Hawaii, not the least of which is to hang ten. (Campaigning for president is a close second.) But if you're heading to Maui later this month and forget your board, the Pacific Whale Foundation offers travelers a chance to get out on the water and in the process, do some good.

Volunteers gather at the Maui Coastal Land Trust every Friday morning at 7:30 to clear invasive species from inland fish ponds. It doesn't sound like much--even if it is a four-hour commitment--but their efforts protect ecosystems found only in Hawaii. Sure, there are better ways to spend an island vacation than removing slimy snails and stewing seaweed, but getting your hands dirty this time around means Hawaii's natural beauty will last through your next visit, too.

And if that's not enough? All volunteers get a swank free t-shirt, which could be good for scoring free drinks at the local Mai Thai joint. Now that's something we're willing to work for.

Related Stories:
· Pacific Whale Foundation [Official Site]
· Volunteer Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Kucinich in Hawaii

[Photo: tomeppy]

Volunteer Travel: Thai Elephants on Parade

September 12, 2007 at 1:05 PM | 2 Comments



You could learn about elephants by going to the zoo. Or you could go hang out in Thailand with Go Differently. The voluntourism organization offers one to four week trips that put animal lovers face to face with the friendly giants. The memorable and sustainable vacation helps the wildlife and locals.

Volunteers stay in air conditioned rooms at Green Jomtien Studios just south of Pattaya, but spend their days working with the elephants and their handlers that live in a local camp that also serves as a refuge for the animals. Visitors learn how to care for the elephants and prepare their daily meals and pick up enough basic knowledge to answer tourists questions as well. Volunteers spend a portion of their stay doing chores for the camp, but on days off Jomtien Beach is just a few miles away.

Related Stories:
· Volunteer Travel [Jaunted]
· Go Differently [Official Site]

[Photo: Navy]

Volunteer Travel: Peace Corps

September 5, 2007 at 11:39 AM | 0 Comments

There are loads of ways to volunteer that don't require much commitment. But there's one option for those who want to give more, do more, commit more and learn more: The Peace Corps.

Volunteers--who have to be US citizens--spend 27 months living in cities and villages around the world where they learn the local language and work with local people. Volunteers host community health clinics to educate locals on the spread of HIV and AIDS, they dig wells, teach English, build schools and establish libraries.

When John F. Kennedy created Peace Corps back in the 1960s he saw it more as a cultural exchange than a volunteer program. It was a chance for those serving to become familiar with a new culture, and for people on the other side of the ocean to get to know America.

Sure, two years is a long time, but to us it seems like the perfect way to really get to know a place while still getting involved.

Related Stories:
· Peace Corps [Official Site]
· Volunteer Travel [Jaunted]

[Photo: aripeskoe2]

Volunteer Travel: You Don't Have to Get Your Hands Dirty

August 29, 2007 at 12:30 PM | 0 Comments


By 2050 (which, we realize is still a long ways away), more than 1.5 billion people will have traveled to the developing world to do more than just get their passports stamped: They're going to help others. But you can lend a hand without shedding your blood, sweat and tears. Interesting options are now available for almost everyone--including those who prefer luxury to latrines. Our faves, after the jump.

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