First thing first, what do we mean by volunteering while traveling? It’s simple. There are different programs worldwide that allow you to get in touch with families, schools, communities, and a lot more organizations that are looking for volunteers. Whether it’s in agriculture, hostels, on boats, with children, and so on, you’re sure to find an area that interests you. 

Just to give you an overview of what you could do, here is a list of a few options. How about…  

• Working on an organic farm in Australia and participating in harvesting, processing food, cooking, etc.
• Teaching yoga in Columbia
• Taking care of children and teaching them English in a little German family
• Learning about sailing on a boat in Hawaï 
• Taking care of the pets and the home of a Turkish family
• Helping in a hostel somewhere in Nepal

How exciting is that? And there is SO MUCH MORE you could experience. 

Before anything else, it’s very important to specify that you must be extra careful when choosing a volunteer program. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of controversy and ethical issues surrounding some organizations. If we aren’t careful, we can end up doing more harm than good, even if we have the best intentions. 

Therefore, it’s our responsibility to inform ourselves in depth about the organization we choose. So first of all, ask about the nature of the company. 

• Is it nonprofit, for-profit, NGO? 
• Do you have to pay to participate? (Really, you shouldn’t have to pay much!)
• Where does that money go? 
• Has the company been working with the community for a long time? 
• Is the organization directly employing you or does it simply exist to give you access to people who are personally looking for volunteers?

These are only a few questions you should answer before you jump in. However, when you find a good organization, you can stick to it. Personally, WWOOFING is our absolute favorite thing. Workaway and Helpx are also great online listings for hosts. But let’s start at the beginning. 

Okay, it’s obviously cool to teach yoga in Columbia, right. But you may ask yourself why you would do it for free. We get it, so let’s dig deeper…

Money

First of all, when you volunteer like that, you’re generally going to be housed and fed (yes, yes!) in exchange for only a few hours of work a day. How does that sound? When you think about it, your main travel expenses are food, sleep, and transportation. By being a volunteer, those costs could disappear.

So let’s portray it this way: you’re in another country, your basic needs are entirely covered, and you’re learning new things while helping people work on great projects. Not bad, right? 

Psst! By the way, you can learn here how we managed to spend only 5 pounds in one ENTIRE month in England!

Besides, you can expect to be housed in all kinds of accommodations. As far we’re concerned, we stayed in a huge English cottage on the Jurassic Coast, a small Italian agrotourism villa, and a caravan without running water or electricity. (Yes dear, read that again! By far our favorite experience of all time.)

Accommodation conditions vary from one program to another and it’s important to be well informed before choosing. Regarding food, a LOT of hosts accommodate vegetarians and vegans. So this is usually not a problem if that applies to you.

Learning opportunity

Second, you develop different skills. Traveling and adding strings to your bow at the same time is an interesting combo, don’t you think so? No matter what work you do, expect to learn new abilities, other ways of doing things, and explore different mentalities. We’re sure you agree that this is one of the main goals of a trip.

Encounters

Third, you live with locals. This is by far the best part of volunteering. It allows you to create sometimes strong bonds with your hosts and other volunteers and to discover their culture and history in depth. What’s more, be prepared to develop deep friendships that will last over time. True story here, we volunteered in a family 2 years ago, and we attended their wedding this year. How cool is that?

Discovery

Fourth, as you are entitled to full days of rest, you can take advantage of it to discover incredible places in the surrounding areas. Plus, guests always have a means of transportation to offer you, whether it’s bikes, a car ride to the bus station, or even their own car! Sometimes we even went with them to visit other cities.  

To be honest, these places are the ones we’ve enjoyed the most during our travels. As they’re often far away from the tourist centers, they have a completely magical authenticity.

For example, we could tell you about the breathtaking cliffs along the Jurassic coast in England, the authentic Italian cuisine, Lake Guarda and the city of Romeo and Juliet, the tiny old seaside villages, the lush green fields, and the flowery cottages of the Kent region. 

We could tell you about our walks in the mountains, about the first time Anne drove on the other side of the road in the winding roads of the English countryside, or about a meal shared with our hosts next to the famous Brighton Pier.

But all this will never resonate in you the way it resonates in us because you have to live it to understand it. What we want you to remember is that it’s because of volunteering that we’ve been able to live all these adventures. And they never cost us anything! 

So you’re starting to be convinced, aren’t you? You’re thinking about giving it a try but maybe you’re wondering if you have what it takes. I’m happy to tell you that you do. In fact, you’re ready to embark on this adventure as long as:

• you have a very open mind
• you’re hard-working
• you feel ready to get out of your comfort zone
• you are willing to learn

What will be important next is to find a program that puts you in touch with people who need your help. Make sure you check WWOOFING, Workaway, and HelpX. 

Once this is done, you will need to find a host and ask all your questions before you commit to them. 

Here are some things that you MUST clarify with your host before you leave.

• What will your exact duties/responsibilities be?
• How many days a week do they expect you to work?
• How many hours a day do they want you to work and what does the schedule look like?
• Can they adapt to your diet if you have special restrictions?
• What are your transportation options on days off?
• Can you take public transit to their home
• Where will you stay?
• Do you have internet access?
• Are there any special rules to follow? Any particular details you must know about the place?

It’s really important to cover all this because you don’t want any unpleasant surprises. We made some mistakes in the beginning and you can avoid many of them by asking the right questions.

Once you clarified all of this, you’re ready to pack your bags and embark on quite an adventure!

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