The Leap | Teaching, Forest Conservation + Expedition in Venezuela

Couldn't recommend this programme more highly! If you are having any doubts then my only advice would be to 100% go for it.
I was a late booking, however the staff at both Leap towers and out in Venezuela were more than hopefully with arranging last minute flights and details, and sending my contact information for the people I was going to be out in Venezuela with so I was able to chat online with them before. The Facebook group that is set up by the Leap is able to tell you so much important information, and, it is a classic case of however silly you think the question is, someone else will be thinking it or will be able to answer it!
The lodge in Venezuela is in a perfect location close to the beach, the local village, the rainforest and a larger town with modern restaurants and internet cafes only a short bus journey away. The days were always busy and fulfilling with a variety of volunteering programs designed to immerse all volunteers within helping the local community as much as possible. Our activities changed from week to week, from teaching, to marine and wildlife conservation you are sure to be able to try out something that you feel you enjoy and are learning from.
The evenings are also very busy, with the rock climbing wall in the lodge, or the gym, or just kicking back on the beach with a beer in front of the sunset (which we did almost every night) The set up at the lodge is the perfect place for a party, and many of these happened very spontaneously during the warm evenings. There is a great speaker system which inevitably led to the different volunteering groups from different countries working to try and 'out-music' the other! And with the price of rum being so cheap the dancing was very entertaining. Volunteers take turns to help out with the cooking, which is a great way to learn some new skills which can be used once you get home and go off to uni or want to impress your family. Much of the food is caught locally, such as fresh fish, and I didn't find myself going hungry once! In fact quite the opposite!
I completely my trip to Venezuela as part of a year long year out, however without a shadow of a doubt this was the most positive and enjoyable part of all the travelling I did. I have defiantly made friends for life and will always look back with pride and love on my time in Venezuela and the people who helped me get so much out it, including the people at Leap towers as well as Brendon and the team in camp over in puerto la cruz, and the people I met out there.

I returned from Venezuela 2 weeks ago and I am still buzzing from the whole experience.
My sister had traveled with The Leap last year and persuaded me that I would love it too. I decided to go to a different continent to her and Venezuela seemed to fit my personality best.
It could not have been better, we were a varied team that all found really good friends. The other 2 blokes and I were all sporty and there was always masses to keep us occupied and fit, from learning to abseil, diving, teaching children touch rugby ,climbing giant hills, extreme Frisbee, kayaking and Cayman catching !
The political situation in Venezuela was slightly fragile, but The Leap and their team out their were always so safety conscious that we never felt worried.
Go for it - The carnivals are such a laugh and the experience would be hard to beat.

It was a really great experience and I had loads of fun. The best thing was getting really involved in the volunteering work we were doing, but also save up for smaller trips elsewhere like Angel Falls its well worth it

The Leap provided everything I wanted in a Gap Year: to give something back to communities in greater need than the one I came from at home, to push myself to the limit with the trek up Roreima, to meet new people from all over the world whom I had the pleasure of sharing my experiences with, and overall, just a blast.

At no point did I feel unsafe, and at no point did I feel like I was wasting my hard earned money by not getting enough 'experience'. There was never a dull week where we weren't doing something beneficial, whether it was demanding (ie. slugging up mountainside after mountainside carrying baby trees that will in future be covering the hundreds and hundreds of acres,) or picking up endless litter from the sides of the roads through dense rainforest, or mucking out bird poo from the depths of an AMAZING cave, or just sleeping under too many stars you though imaginable in a tiny tent, being engulfed with the sounds of the jungle around you. I totally lost myself in the enormity of it all, and just how lucky I was to even participate in something that will have such a sustainable, ongoing effect to not only the local people I had the privilege of meeting, but the future of the country in general.