Galapagos Island Teaching Volunteers

On arrival into Quito you will be met at the airport and taken to a hostel or volunteer apartment in the city for a two-night stay. Here you will have your orientation. On day 3 you will catch an internal flight to Baltra airport on Santa Cruz and on arrival, be taken to your island accommodation.

All volunteers must have some knowledge of Spanish before starting their volunteer work, not only to get the most out of the project, but also to be able to integrate with the locals. If you do not already speak Spanish, we strongly recommended that you take our language course prior to the start of the programme. These are available for 2 or 4 weeks and are easily combined with the project. Please speak to one of our travel advisors for further information.

As many children on the island don’t regularly attend school, they need to be taught basic Spanish, Mathematics, and English. Classes are prepared by the volunteers in relation to the children’s ability.

You will teach English to children between the ages of 7 and 11 years old. This will usually take place in the mornings from around 7am until 1pm, giving you afternoons free to explore the area. You are not restricted to the teaching role and can become involved in other areas as and when required e.g. sports instruction, arts and crafts etc. If you have a particular skill you would like to incorporate into the project, let staff know and they can help you put it to good use. If you play a musical instrument, feel free to bring it along, as music always brings delight to the children.
 

You can be really flexible in how you teach and we recommend that you bring fun teaching materials with you like board and card games, books and writing materials.

Here is how a typical day in the life of a volunteer might take shape. Please note that your itinerary may differ from this, depending on the projects needs. Please use this itinerary as an example only.

6.45am - 7am: Breakfast at the hostel.
7.30am - 1pm: Work at the school.
1.15pm - 2.30pm: Lunch at a local restaurant.
2.30pm onwards: Free time to enjoy Santa Cruz.
6.30pm - 7.30pm: Dinner at the hostel.
7.30pm onwards: Enjoy island nightlife.

Please note: Itineraries and activities are subject to change.