Volunteer and Travel - an innovative concept for your stay abroad

Are you now wondering why you should combine volunteering, work and travel?
Clearly: You gain unique experiences and unimagined opportunities that you could not achieve with a single program. Volunteer and Travel is the sum of all advantages.

Volunteer and Travel also offers you advantages from an organizational point of view and you can take advantage of the resulting synergy effect:

Comprehensive advice and support from our RGV experts to plan your volunteer work and additional 30-day free access to the Work and Travel starter kit Time abroad initiative, which helps you to plan, organize and carry out your work and travel phase. This includes: more than ten years of experience in work and travel bundled in checklists, vouchers, insider tips & tricks and tutorial videos.

You will continue to benefit on site, because during the volunteer phase you will acclimate, get to know all the necessary behavior and immerse yourself in the culture of your host country. You have the huge advantage that you are not alone and on your own, because other volunteers and a volunteer team surround you. On top of that, you make a meaningful and valuable contribution with your commitment. Good for your karma account!

In the volunteer phase you already have time to plan your next steps. Exchange ideas with our team and the other volunteers and you will get numerous ideas, tips and recommendations along the way. With this network, it will be easier for you to find the first jobs and with the experience in the country that you can already show, you will increase your chances of getting the job. In addition, your bucket list will grow by a few travel destinations. Volunteering and parallel planning for jobs and travel destinations is a perfect combination.

Now you are perfectly prepared to get off to a flying start in the work phase. You know the country, are more self-confident than at the beginning of your stay and have a network that is there to help you with questions and uncertainties. You earn your own money with your jobs, which you can later invest in your trip.

Once your work phase is complete, nothing stands in the way of travelling: Travel alone or with others, go on a spontaneous tour of discovery or tick off the goals you have set. No matter how - during your travel phase you can explore the country in a completely different way and concentrate fully on your dream trip.

As a volunteer you get involved in a meaningful and sustainable project or support a local community (Caribbean field report) abroad: Volunteer work is the focus here.

The volunteer work is supervised and as soon as you arrive at the project location, the volunteer team welcomes you with an orientation program that optimally prepares you for your tasks as a volunteer and for all important aspects of your target country. Together with other participants you will be accommodated in a volunteer house. Meals are usually provided as well.

During your time as a volunteer you will have your first cultural experiences, get to know the do's and don'ts of your host country and slowly integrate into the local community. The perfect situation to get to know a country far away from tourism and with a completely different intensity.

Volunteering is therefore perfect for raising your social awareness and deepening your social skills. You are responsible for your volunteer work different areas to choose from: whether social, ecological or in an animal project - there is something for everyone. In addition, you are not alone: ​​Teamwork with other volunteers and the support of your volunteer team make it easier for you to enter a foreign culture and new environment.

Gaining first experiences abroad and earning money for your trip at the same time - doesn't that sound perfect?

In contrast to volunteer work, you tend to focus on jobs that bring in money. These usually include temporary jobs in gastronomy, tourism, the hotel industry or farm work. In addition to earning money, you will also strengthen your soft skills and become more independent and self-confident.

During your work phase, you already have a specific goal in mind: your travel adventure. This not only motivates you, but also increases your willingness to really work hard for your job. Positive side effect: With the money you earn yourself, you upgrade your trip - after all, you made it all possible for yourself.

The work phases usually don't last too long. You work from a few weeks to a maximum of three months at a time and then have time to explore your surroundings before the next work phase follows. Depending on the job, you can use it to finance up to 75% of your trip. Some have even managed to return with a plus from their stay. Is not that incredible?

Off to freedom and into adventure! When you travel, you explore wonderful places and get to know people from all over the world. Traveling makes you cosmopolitan, clears your head and you can just let your soul dangle: perfect for drawing new strength and energy.

Before you start, however, you should consider what type of traveler you are:

On your own: Do you love to organize, are you structured and need a fixed process? Then trust yourself to organize your trip and plan your personal dream route. It is best to find out in advance which places you want to visit, find suitable accommodation and research transport for your onward journey.

Just go for it: Your motto is “spontaneous is best”? You generally prefer to let things come to you? Then be flexible and travel without a fixed route. You just pack your seven things and let yourself drift: destination unknown - but that doesn't matter, because you fully enjoy your freedom and the feeling of independence.

With certainty: If you want to be on the safe side, it is best to use an organized trip. There are specialized youth tour operators on site who have great travel offers for you. This way you leave nothing to chance, but you should plan a little more budget than if you organize your trip yourself.

Here you can find more information about Travel security abroad.

Since 1999, Rainbow Garden Village has been your contact for meaningful and sustainable volunteer work abroad. There has been close cooperation with the Initiative Auslandszeit (IA) for years. We are now using this to expand our volunteer expertise through the competence of our partner in the area of ​​work and travel and to create something completely new from it: Volunteer and Travel.

>> Here you will find everything you need to know about Rainbow Garden Village.

With this offer you benefit from the many years of experience and expertise of both organizations, we offer you professional advice and support and you can take advantage of our broad network in the target country. As a bonus, you get access to IA's Work and Travel Starter Kit for 30 days.