Knowing fully well that people go on vacation to get away from their jobs, or work of some kind; this may not be your cup of tea. If however you can picture yourself doing a bit of volunteer work in exchange for massive discounts… read on. Not so long ago, in Jackson Wyoming, one of their finest lodging facilities and spa was offering stays in their luxury suites of $192 per night. What’s so special about that? A room of that caliber at this particular place ordinarily goes for $385 a night. Get it now? So how do you come by these spectacular savings? All they were asking was that you spend a bit of your vacation helping the community tear down barbed wire fences in order for their wildlife to roam the land at will. Not a bad exchange. You may in fact, be surprised at how frequently this is done. A little bit of volunteering goes a long way in tight knit communities or in times of disaster. Volunteering to help out not only gives you a warm fuzzy feeling all over, but a chance to save some money enjoying a faraway destination.
The volunteer component
From luxury resorts to tour companies everyone’s getting in on the act. Feel like traveling to Moscow to visit the relatives? You can enjoy crazy discounts by handing out food at the local soup kitchens. Thinking about a vacation in Grand Cayman? Helping them track down iguanas as a volunteer will land you the deal of a lifetime. You’ll be staying at the nicest places by pitching in as little or as much as you like. If you’re interested in this kind of a vacation, one place where you can get information is called Hands Up Holidays. What do they do? They see to it that you will stay in and enjoy luxury travel during a vacation, built solely around your desires, to over 26 countries. You in return, will be a volunteer. What will you do as a volunteer? As previously stated; help tear down fences, track iguanas, build classrooms in a village, and help preserve New Zealand’s kiwi bird and much, much more. Here’s a taste:
- 18 days in New Zealand – wine tasting, whale watching and heli-hiking included. $29,000… don’t forget that’s 18 days.
- 10 days in Morocco – luxury accommodations; $1950.
The second was a little bit more affordable for my wallet, but 18 days in New Zealand is certainly worth what they’re asking. All for a little bit of volunteer work!
For the good of your fellow man
Helping out in faraway destinations goes all the way back to the Peace Corps. Those people were able to travel the globe while making a little bit of money for pitching in to assist with programs aiding the community in some way. Now you may not have the time to devote to something like that, but that shouldn’t stop you from taking a little time off your vacation to help others while receiving huge discounts in return.
How to get in touch
Another place that would make a good starting point for your search for a volunteer vacation is FlyforGood.com; they connect humanitarian organizations with you the traveler to your preferred destination. Then there’s Charity Navigator or GuideStar. These are watchdog associations, operating nonprofit, that can get you up to 25% off of your airfare in return for some volunteer work. These organizations understand that travel to other countries is insanely expensive. They’re trying to make it cheaper and more accessible in order to increase the chances that more people will volunteer.
Here’s another one
Fancy a trip to Zimbabwe? A two person team can fly South African Airways round-trip for approximately $2348. The price that one would ordinarily pay for this San Francisco to Victoria Falls trip is $3636. Networkforgood.com and Razoo.com are responsible for setting up volunteer trips and fundraisers. Travel For Good programs is also listed with Travelocity.com. You can go on a weeklong hiking vacation with food and rugged accommodations for $250. All you have to do is perform hiking trail maintenance while you hike. You’re there anyway.
Other alternatives
The Appalachian Mountain Club – you will be cleaning up trails for the conservative organization. These are available in the Virgin Islands, New Hampshire and places in between. This particular volunteering vacation costs $220 for one week. You will be put up in moderately rustic facilities such as bunkhouses, platforms, canvas tents or cabins.
A St. John volunteer vacation – 4 to 6 hours of carrying materials and tools to build a rock stairs, brush back vegetation and clear drainage ditches each day will entitle you to a 14 by 10 foot tent with mosquito netting and a solid floor for $55.00 a night or $330 a week. This would normally run $90.00 a night. The price covers meals and rustic lodging, typically cabins, canvas tents on platforms or bunkhouses. After your 4 to 6 hours of work feel free to lounge on the beach, go snorkeling or swimming for the entire afternoon.
Ghana, Costa Rica Brazil and five other countries last year offered one-week vacations for $1990. In return, you could work a day care center, plant gardens and or paint schoolyards. Your weekends are free and clear to enjoy as you wish as well as every evening and some afternoons. Your accommodations are modest but clean in rooms that are shared occupancy. I’ll be at the beach. Oh and did I mention that that $1990 was completely 100% tax deductible for any number of residents of the United States. You were after all, helping out a nonprofit organization (which conveniently has an American address). That’s charity, my friend. And charities are tax deductible.
Try this next one on for size. Habitat for Humanity and the local YMCA got together with a resort in South Florida to offer volunteers putting in a minimum of 2 hours fixing up the local YMCA, or assisting with housing projects. In return, the volunteer vacationer enjoys one of the top golf/spa resorts of the area for 15% off.
Or how about Maui? For $325, you can enjoy a six-day stay; or for $1975 you can take an 11 day trip and stay at condos, go snorkeling, whale watching and hiking. In return, you simply help with their national wildlife refuge restoration. Within the week there are a couple of free days to allow you to enjoy the area. And because you’re a volunteer, the area that you will be able to enjoy is greater than the areas offered to tourists. You have privileges. Should you opt for assisting on archaeological restoration or research projects involving whale calving grounds, your accommodations will alter to relatively rustic (tents or cabins).