2/01/2008

Volunteer Vacations

I know there are a lot of people like me out there. I love Boston half the year, but whine and complain about the cold, dreary other half. It’s around this time that I start daydreaming about equatorial climates and checking flights on Expedia and Travelocity (which both offer carbon offsets!).

Many people want to escape on a packaged tour or cruise, to avoid spending hours planning and booking when they work full time. Fortunately, several organizations offer packaged options that are also environmentally and socially responsible, for those who head south of the border for more than just beaches and bars.

The Earthwatch Institute, Crooked Trails, and United Planet are three examples that offer "voluntourism" trips to exotic destinations, but with the opportunity to join projects tracking dolphins, protecting nesting sea turtles, building homes, surveying coral reefs, and with other conservation and philanthropic missions.

If you're a student and some of these might be out of your league, lots of universities organize volunteer vacations during winter and spring break, which are fun and economical alternatives. I met one of my best friends on a trip to Assateague Island National Seashore, where we installed fence to protect endangered bird nesting areas.

Check out this site on "VolunTourism."

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

You might also check into Global Volunteers. I spent five weeks last year with them in China teaching English, and the program was excellent. Lots of good times and terrific students. My aunt also volunteered with them in Costa Rica and now goes back to a new place each year.