In this age of rapid, proliferated, and uncensored information, you can pretty much find anything by googling. Before you go and celebrate this amazing information access, consider this — it may be a double-edged sword — you get the quantity but how is the quality? You get tons of information instantly — often more than you can handle, but then the real work begins when you have to sort through them for reliability and revelance. As a traveler, Google will provide you no shortage of volunteer travel organizations and programs …

National Geographic Books released the third of its popular The 100 Best Vacations series this past May on 100 Best Volunteer Vacations to Enrich Your Life.  The book is more than a travel guide, it’s a book that showcase a collection of trips that inspire and awaken your soul. Author Pam Grout is especially skilled at making the content informative, fun, and inspirational. Information-filled sidebars provide travel trivia, background facts and useful information for people volunteering.

Ms. Grout in her introduction illustrates a key reason for volunteer travel:
“The thing all …

With the soaring popularity of voluntourism, a number of articles have recently surfaced in the UK newspapers attempting to pop the voluntourism euphoria bubble. Undoubtedly, the negative voluntourism experiences cited are real and serve as a good reminder that voluntourism, like any travel, will not always result in positive experiences.
A huge concern for people is the money and what percentage of it actually reaches the projects. Many travel companies are supportive of the local businesses they work with, but determining which one is no small task because there are …

Tracking Travelers Going Abroad via GPS
Travel safety is a big concern today. While the world is more connected than ever before, there are still parts of the world with limited communication access. So if you are concerned about a loved one trekking around the world, there is a gadget that will give you some peace of mind.
One concerned mother outfitted her son’s upcoming gap year trip across Australia, Thailand, and South Africa with a small GPS tracker to keep tabs on him from home. The 2″ thick (credit-card size) …

Travelers often are concerned with their safety and well-being when abroad in a foreign country. While there are no guarantees (is there any in life?), many of your safety anxieties can be eliminated through advance research and preparation. The key to safe traveling in any area is situational awareness. Distractions because of luggage, children, lodging, strangers, etc. can put you at risk. Know your surroundings and stay in control of every situation. We’ve put together 25 essential tips to help make your trip a positive one!
1. Make sure you …

Photo by Gaetan Lee
Travelers who may want to volunteer with a NGO (non-governmental organization), especially those of you who want to plan your own volunteer vacation, Alanna Shaikh at Blood and Milk gives some great guidelines on how to pick a good NGO to work with.

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Those of us who work in international development inevitably work with NGOs. You may be employed by them, donate to them, volunteer with them, join a coalition, or contract them to do something. When you enter into that relationship, you need to know as …

Photo: mike baird
Proper planning for your family volunteer vacation can lead to a very rewarding experience. Here are some helpful tips to make your family volunteer trip an experience of a lifetime.
Do your research! Begin researching and planning your trip about three months before you leave. Figure out where you want to travel, types of volunteer service, types of organization you want to go through, length of vacation and how much time devoted to volunteering, etc. Also, you want to find out about health and trip insurance, language/culture concerns, and …