Hi! I'm looking to travel to Costa Rica and volunteer at an eco-lodge. I read about the Samasati resort (near Puerto Viejo) and it sounds like a great place to volunteer while experiencing all that CR has to offer. I'd like to stay down there for about 6 months then head somewhere else in Central or South America.
Has anyone volunteered in CR? Anyone heard of Samasati? ANY information on the volunteer experience would be so great.
Many many thanks!
Lindsay
anonymous
1
felix
Why did you choose Costa Rica? The people there have it much better than almost all other Central Americans.
2
goodtimebob
Hey Felix... read the post. Do you see anything about helping the poor and downtrodden? The chick wants a nice place to stay at for free while singing Kumbaya to the orphans. A worthy enough desire. More than most want to do.
3
jessrf116
Hey Lindsay,
I´m about to volunteer with La Tortuga Feliz on the Caribbean coast. Their website is www.latortugafeliz.com. I can let you know how that turns out in a few weeks time. Good luck!
4
barbj
Hey.. there is a turtle project happening now in one of the most (if not THE most) beautiful parts of the country... see www.guariadeosa.com (I dont think they list the project... but contact them directly)......email or phone.
5
jessnflorida
Beware of one unscrupulous group located in Costa Rica: Volunteer Visions in Samara on the Pacific Coast (volunteervisions.org)!! Lawrence Woo, the 23 yr old guy who founded this business 7 months ago uses volunteers' money to fund he & his friends stay in this beautiful beach community (which, as felix correctly points out, are doing fine without any help!). There are 8 of us down here currently & no one is doing work that was promised on volunteer visions glitzy, very professional looking website.
Don't give up on volunteering, but make sure to work with a known quantity--followup on references & talk to the people running it. Even in this you need to be careful, Lawrence invites his friends down as "interns' & they post glowing experience reports where ever they can.
Lawrence Woo (again, said owner of said volunteer visions business) expects volunteers to pay 90 days before a project, supposedly so he can "setup the project". In Costa Rica, everything is done last minute. In actuality, his 90 day requirement allows him to get around Paypal & Visa's time periods for filing disputes. Lawrence Woo does not give refunds. We know. We asked for one. Two other volunteers have asked since we've been here. They left empty handed as well.
Pro tip
Lonely Planet
trusted partner
trusted partner