Volunteer Vacations – Plan Ahead!

My spring break days have long been over, but I still long for a few days off here & there.  I am sure you can relate.  Who doesn’t dream of a vacation the closer it gets to summer, or yearn to be outdoors for a few hours each day?

This year, think ahead in planning your vacation and it could pay off.  Have you ever considered taking a vacation where you can actually do good? It is true!  Instead of going to the new American Idol experience at Walt Disney World, you could do anything from restoring coral reefs and saving sea turtles and their habitats to organic farming, hiking trail preservation, or saving rhinos and manatees. 

There are several resources out there, but here are a few I found:

Charity Guide:  Provides several topics of interest to travellers and a variety of organizations that accompany those interests.  Want to help poverty-stricken communities?  Click on Poverty & you could be helping build schools in Belize through ProWorld , Honduras through Global Volunteer Network, or Vietnam through GlobeAware. 

American Hiking Society: Remember the American Hiking Society from our recent posts about Hike the Hills Trail Advocacy Week?  They too sponsor volunteer vacations to for trail preservation.  If you register before February 28th you can save $25 on your registration.  Click here for a list of locations & awesome travel destinations.

Are you worried you are too old for this?  or too young?

Transitions Abroad offers senior friendly volunteer vacations abroad helping out various communities.

If you are feeling young, skip the dead-end beach parties in Cancun make a difference on an Alternative Spring Break!  Check out Habitat for Humanity, the United Way, and BreakAway for more information about who & where you can help!

These vacations can range from $50 – $3,000, depending on your sponsor &  where you go.  Often times they are tax deductible.  A Volunteer Vacation is a guaranteed help to the Earth and community and vacations are always fun!

Have you been on a Volunteer Vacation? Are you planning one? We want to hear about it! and feature your story on GTB.  Please leave a comment to send us your experience.