Volunteer ideas

If you have decided you would like to get involved with a volunteer project on a gap year and are looking for suitable volunteer ideas this is the page for you!

If you are trying to come up with some volunteer ideas the most important thing you need to do is decide which areas of volunteer work most appeal to you. It's vital when you are considering volunteer ideas to always keep in mind that the project you choose must be something you are particularly interested in or passionate about. This is because, although it's obviously extremely rewarding, volunteer work can also be quite challenging at times - so any volunteer ideas you come up with have to be right for you personally. You also need to try and come up with volunteer ideas that are based in places that you are planning to visit on your gap year. For example if you are travelling on a round the world trip and already have an itinerary planned it makes life much easier if your volunteer ideas fit in with the itinerary.

When you are brain-storming volunteer ideas the best source of information is the website, which is easy to search by geographical area. If you can't find what you are looking for, or simply want to discuss your volunteer ideas with someone in person, you can always call one of Real Gap's team of expert travel advisers. All of Real Gap's travel advisers have taken a gap year themselves so they are an excellent source of advice and information when it comes to volunteer ideas.

Broadly speaking there are three main fields of volunteer work to consider if you are trying to come up with some volunteer ideas. Our ‘Volunteer ideas' page takes a look at each of these three fields and provides examples of the type of thing you could get up to on your gap year if you choose to volunteer in that particular field.

Volunteer ideas - Wildlife conservation

If you are passionate about wildlife one of the most obvious volunteer ideas is to get involved with wildlife conservation whilst you are away. When it comes to wildlife conservation projects the choice of programmes available is so great that the only problem you are likely to face when it comes to volunteer ideas is narrowing down all of your options and making a decision. Volunteer ideas for wildlife conservation you consider range from monitoring endangered Giant Tortoises in the Galapagos Islands to working alongside Maasai tribes in Kenya, assisting them with their elephant and lion conservation work.

Volunteer ideas - People

If your main motivation for volunteering on a gap year is to ‘give something back' to some of the people or communities you come across on your travels there are all kinds of volunteer ideas you could consider. This type of ‘people-based' volunteer work is a great way to immerse yourself in the local culture and really get to know a country whilst, at the same time, making a positive contribution to disadvantaged communities. Volunteer ideas you could consider in this field range from helping to re-build houses destroyed by the Asian Tsunami in Sri Lanka to caring for people affected by HIV and AIDS in Africa and India.

Volunteer ideas - Environment

If you are keen to be a responsible tourist and do your bit to care for the environment on a gap year there are various volunteer ideas you could consider. If you are visiting Australia, for example, you could spend some of your time Down Under working as a Conservation Volunteer Australia (CVA). There are CVA projects available all over Australia - all of which are dedicated to preserving Australia's fragile ecosystem - and volunteering for one is a great way to meet other like-minded travellers and see parts of Australia that aren't on the usual trail.

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