Your shelf of volunteer travel books is about to expand by one: Frommer’s 500 Places Where You Can Make a Difference. The author, Andrew Mersmann, is the Editor-in-Chief of Passport Magazine. A recognized travel publisher like Frommer’s coming out with its own guide on giving back vacations validates the growing interest in this sector among travelers.  While we have not reviewed the book yet, it seems this book probably offers the most extensive listing of voluntourism opportunities around the world of any books currently in the market.
It is described to …

Pam Grout, the author of the hugely successful 100 Best Vacations series, has written 16 travel and inspirational books including well-known titles as Girlfriend Getaways, Living Big, and God Doesn’t Have Bad Hair Days as well as a number of articles for Travel & Leisure, Outside, and The Washington Post.
We recently spoke with Pam about her popular book 100 Best Volunteer Vacations to Enrich Your Life and her thoughts on the volunteer travel industry.
T: How did the idea to do a book on volunteer vacation come up?
PG: There’s a …

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 …