Travel and Volunteering Companies?

Hi,

I am a first time single traveler hoping to go to Africa in July. As I will be alone I think it is best to book with a company, but there are so many to choose from!

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good company to travel with? (I am looking at Gadventures/Gap360)

I am hoping to spend a couple of weeks volunteering and a couple of weeks travelling/safari (maybe the garden route or Nairobi to victoria falls) but would like as much help planning before I go as possible!

Thanks for any suggestions :)

Don't have a recommendation (I don't do package tours) but these are two very different routes.

If you want to do the Garden Route then there is REALLY no need for a tour..it is incredibly easy to do yourself.......you can use the Bazbus for example,where you travel with a group of people but are free to hop on-hop off at various hostels along the way.

Like that,you still meet a lot of other travellers,but it is considerably cheaper and gives you a lot more freedom than a package tour/overland truck tour.

I would not recommend volunteering as you can´t do anything worth any value in only a few weeks. Spend your time travelling the region or donate the money you wanted to spend on volunteering on a good local charity. Voluntourism doesn´t do any good for other than the voluntourist own selfesteem and feel good barometer.

I would recommend all your time travelling, the money you spend in the local economy is help enough. For example do you know how to build a school/orphanage and are you taking a locals job in building the school/orphanage. Spend at local businesses so your money filters through the community.

I'd recommend The Great Projects. It's the company that I use and offer varied opportunities for both countries and activities. Plus, they usually arrange things like food and accommodation so you have fewer responsibilities to worry about

Like Pia2am, I would not recommend volunteering for such a short period of time. I have done this somewhat naively and although I had a fantastic experience and loved every minute, I have come away and after some thought afterwards decided that my stay made little impact and probably was actually more detrimental than helpful (kids have to deal with strangers coming and going every few weeks, attachment etc). If I were to volunteer again, I would make sure I had a good long time to be there and really make a difference, like some of the others who I met whilst I was away.

However, if your mind is really set on volunteering, I can suggest Original Volunteers. They were great with me and my friend and made our whole trip really good. We went to Ghana and the people there were lovely, kind, helpful people who wanted the very best for everyone involved.

If you are keen to volunteer, could I maybe suggest you do a more environmental project that working with school children/orphans etc? You can make a difference and not have a potential detrimental effect on the children at the same time.

Have a great trip whatever you decide to do!!

I don't know if you will read this too late but I went with Quest Overseas. I was in the exact same position and they were great. You can extend your trip to include an expedition section as well!!