Want to get — and give — more out of a trip?

Here is a fabulous contest that will send you on a two-week volunteer vacation to Peru where you will help with children, construction, teaching or medical aid. You’ll also get Spanish classes plus excursions to Machu Picchu.

Looking for a trip by the azure blue sea, white sandy beaches or relax by a lagoon looking out to the vast, crystal clear ocean AND you want to spend some time giving back to the local community during this idyllic tropical vacation?
The Six Senses collection of luxury hotels and resorts has made sustainability and giving back to the community a priority, without compromising the experience and expectations of guests. They want more people to join their efforts. We’ve featured Six Senses’ Soneva Fushi last year as one …

Are you looking for an opportunity to volunteer in rural China and see the real China close-up?

Aston Language Center offers volunteers the opportunity to teach English in schools in Wuhu, China for FREE. There are no program fees PLUS Aston will provide free accommodation, transportation, and access to free Mandarin lessons during your spare time. You will need to pay your own international airfare and get a visa for China.

Are you looking for adventure and volunteering? REI Adventures, an adventure travel company of REI, will offer travelers adventure, service, and cultural experiences through its new Volunteer Expeditions. They have teamed up with Conservation Volunteers International Program (CVIP), a nonprofit dedicated to conserving iconic destinations and cultural sites around the world.
“Offering Volunteer Expeditions aligns with REI’s core purpose of stewardship, and provides an option for people to travel while making a difference in restoring and protecting these amazing destinations,” said Cynthia Dunbar, REI Adventures manager.
Volunteer Expeditions will kick off with …

We conducted an informal poll on our website to find out our readers’ interest, preference, and experience with philanthropic/volunteer travel. Here are the results…

Want to satisfy your wanderlust cravings and do some good at the same time this spring break?
A surge of alternative spring break (ASB) trips have emerged in the last few years to satisfy a growing number of socially-conscious young people and those who are no longer happy with the typical spring break party vacations. Opportunities are plentiful. There are numerous destinations and ample ways to contribute and do something meaningful and gain insights into community and environmental development. You can volunteer in a low-income school, help out on an archaeological …

This is a guest post from Daniela Papi of PEPY:

Our trips during our first few years at PEPY were all about service. We were enthusiastic about offering travelers a chance to give back to the places they visited, otherwise known as voluntourism. Tour participants taught classes at local schools, visited orphanages, and repaired educational buildings. Often times, the needs the travelers were filling were not the biggest needs for the projects we were partnering with but were instead the things they were able to physically contribute to. When our guests …