What Are Volunteer Holidays?

You may have heard of volunteer holidays through friends or family who’ve had the good fortune to have been on one before, but do you know what they are? In a nutshell, they are trips that you go on, typically abroad, that take the place of a traditional vacation; because you’re giving up your time to volunteer.

This is not only an excellent way to explore a new country but also to help others who truly need it. International volunteering programmes (holidays) are super popular with the student demographic who are asking the question ‘who can help plan my gap year’? However, they are not the only ones who can enjoy this type of adventure; people of all ages can be involved, including the employed, retirees and even families.

The options of where you can go are endless, so you can literally take your pick in terms of your destination, which is part of the appeal.

A Brief History of Volunteer Holidays

Trips for the early volunteers began in the 1800s. They would offer their service to people who needed help, which fell in line with their Christian beliefs and tradition.

Volunteering holidays have evolved considerably since then. We see people from all walks of life and faith offering up their time to help good causes, and the traditional volunteering holiday, as we know them today, properly came into being during the mid-20th century.

In 1958, Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) was established in the UK, which was soon followed in 1961 with the founding of the Peace Corps in the USA. They took off in the 70s as activists wanted to help in the developing world during their free time. 

The volunteer holiday was effectively marketed as a way for people to raise funds for research-based projects. During the 1970s, people wanted to be part of these projects, instead of simply watching (this was something that fundraisers were originally set up for people to do).  

In the 1990s, those who were looking to travel further afield, or people who were keen/used to travelling more than others, would pay to participate in short conservation projects. The market saw healthy growth during this period, and in more recent times, as volunteer holidays have become more accessible to those living on lower incomes, it has developed into a prevalent alternative travel option.

What Types of Volunteer Holiday Are There?

There are several options available for anyone looking to be part of a volunteer holiday, such as:  

Conservation Projects

Conservation work typically entails projects that focus on helping the environment and wildlife. This is a wonderful chance for those who are environmentally conscious or animal lovers to volunteer and be involved. You can expect to be involved in anything from assisting in the tracking and monitoring of lions, white & black rhinos, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, buffalos and hyenas, to anti-poaching and helping with turtle hatching, right through to building eco-hotels. 

Cultural Exchanges

These types of volunteer holidays involve you going to communities who are living in marginalised or struggling circumstances. You can go to assist in building the confidence of those in the community, as well as helping to develop language and understanding, along with cultural preservation.  

This is a popular choice for students who are looking to develop their own foreign language skills or people who may not have specific skills required to enrol in a certain volunteering programme.  

Disaster Relief

Many volunteers choose to help with aid and relief following a disaster. Disaster relief volunteering has the potential to be quite taxing on the emotions, but that’s not to say that if you’re sensitive that you shouldn’t consider signing up. The feeling of pride and reward that you get from helping those in need the most during these most vulnerable times can be life-changing.  

Domestic Projects

You don’t have to go overseas to volunteer; you can also sign up to help and give your time at home, in your own country. This is definitely a more cost-effective alternative that gives you the flexibility to be involved during times when you have less going on in your life, etc.  

Building Work/Farming/Hostel Roles

This is a chance for people to get involved in exciting projects such as school renovations, IDP camp development and lending a much-needed hand in a hostel in return for free accommodation.  

The farming volunteer programmes are a great opportunity to gain knowledge of organic, eco-friendly farming approaches at the same time as discovering interesting ways of adapting to the facilities available.  

Long-Term Projects

Many volunteer holidays involve people volunteering for a week or two, but there is always the option to extend this to a month or even several years. The long-term programmes may well compel you to have specific qualifications, such as medical training, or training/skills for certain projects.  

As with many things, if you sign up long-term, it can work out cheaper per week compared to short-term, while long-term volunteering allows you to develop as a person, really connect with the community and get to know other volunteers much better, not to mention see the growth and improvement of the project you are volunteering on. 

Short-Term Projects

As we mentioned above, short-term volunteering holidays can last for a week up to a month. You don’t necessarily need particular skills for projects and programmes that are looking to enrol short-term volunteers, and these roles can often fit well around work and life without having a huge impact/requiring you to take a lot of time off.  

Teaching Projects

If you would like to offer up your skills as a retired teacher, you’re at uni learning to be a teacher or have some skills that you can use to teach children in the classroom, then this type of volunteering holiday is for you. This, just like the other opportunities, can be exceedingly beneficial to those local communities you are part of. The children can take what you teach them and use it throughout their lives, adapt what they are taught and make a difference to others in future too. 

You can find out more about what it takes to be a volunteer by visiting one of our previous articles, here.