Program Reviews

I wasn't quite sure what to expect on the Perhentians, but living in the village made it easy to integrate, as well as learn about the local culture. The diving was great. Neil and Sabi are great instructors and provide you with expert tuition on what you need to look for in the reef surveys. Equally as important is their recognition that people want to have fun and the balance for me was perfect.

You will get out of this experience what you put in - the more you get involved the better time you will have! I'm already planning a return trip (hopefully in 2016!).

My son (12 years old) and I enjoyed our experience at Jogja wildlife rescue centre. We found out how the animal keepers work very hard and consistently all year around. The animal keepers made the animal interaction both fun and informative. We enjoyed the enrichment program for the animals and felt we could make a difference with our manual labour.
I agree with other volunteers comments that other activities would be good after the 3pm stop work, as the evening are long otherwise.
The school visit was enjoyable and my son loved the interaction with the village children.

great accommodation and food.Really felt that the Centre staff cared about our well-being.Manual labour with a purpose and such a sense of achievement when viewing the fruit of our labours.Loved the interaction with the animal-keepers and their families.Enrichment programme for the animals immensely satisfying.

I had the most fantastic experience in WRC. All the staff were extremely friendly and helpful in creating a safe environment for the animals. All the animal keepers genuinely care about the well being of all the animals.
Each day was packed with something different from the day before so there you are learning something new every day.
I was not expecting such nice accommodation & was pleasantly surprised. The meals served daily was always varied and tasty.
Visiting the Javanese family's home for dinner was brilliant - the host family were so welcoming & friendly.

We volunteered on the Perhentian Islands through Ecoteer at Bubbles Dive Centre for 2 weeks. We had a fantastic time and learnt so a lot about the turtles and threats they face. Our day would consist of working in the hatchery and we would work rotating night shift to patrol the beaches. We also assisted with some high school groups from the UK to teach them and involve them in activities.

We got to experience turtles laying eggs, watching for poachers and assisting with tourists who were also on the island who wished to see turtles lay eggs. Releasing the baby turtles was a real highlight. The team on the island are very passionate about their work and what they are trying to achieve.

The accommodation was good and we were comfortable. There were opportunities to go snorkeling and diving as work permitted and we felt part of the team on the island.

Would recommend it to anyone interested in turtle conservation.

We had a great time at the perhentian islands! And where very sad to leave after two weeks. The people from the island are amazing, so friendly and the children are so engaged in learning from the volunteers. The programme is so diverse from mural painting to snorkel trips, teaching Eco tourism and gardening. As well as educating the village people and sharing your skills to improve lives, and also educate yourself in various fun lessons such as making donuts (an eating them) with the PiLA ladies and becoming involved in there lives. The island is beautiful; so after teaching children who almost become friends, everybody can go together to the jetty to make the famous 'jetty jump'. Volunteering at the perhentian islands really was a special experience. To bond with the local people, having dinner in family homes and to share education about cultures and the environment. You become enriched. As well as the island people we made very good friends with the staff and other volunteers and enjoyed havin BBQs at the beach on an evening. The perhentian village really was a wonderful experience and we hope to return !

I joined this project for one week and this was a great experience for me!!

This project is managed by Neil & Sabina, a couple of diving instructors, in their early ies, very friendly, whole-hearted and fond of diving.

Neil managed to get some funds to start a research project on the diving sites of the Perhentian Islands. These sites are among the best ones in Malaysia where it is usual to watch sharks, turtles, baraccudas, morey eels etc etc.

With the help of Ecoteer, they could get a house in the beautiful muslim village of the small island. That's where I slept with the other diving volunteer.
The day time is shared between diving, eating (lunch at the restaurant, diner at the house or out), resting and doing some activities organised by Ecoteer staff.

Ecoteer is involved in another volunteering project which mainly aimts at teaching some English to the women & children of the village. Part of the activities are shared together wiht the volunteers of both projects: English lesson given to the woman & children, jetty jumping (yeahh), cooking lesson given by the woman of the village, traditional diner at the house of a local village, Malaysian BBQ diner, Malaysian language class etc etc ...

The local people know Ecoteer folks and are very friendly with all the volunteers. The house of Ecoteer are always surrounded with the local kids... very wild and very fun. I had such a great time that I was closed from cancelling the rest of my trip to stay a bit longer!!!

I found that working for BSBCC for a month was an amazing experience! It allowed me to learn about these awesome little bears who had difficult pasts, but will be able to eventually get back to the wild with the extensive care and love of the employees. The rehabilitation was evident in almost everything they did and the bears seemed to be happy and respond well to the gradual changes to get them used to the wild. All the people I worked with were very passionate about what they did and cared a great deal for the bears and the program. I really loved how I was treated as an employee. I did everything they did and felt like I was really getting a feel for what it is like to be working in an animal rehabilitation center. I also met some great friends and learned some things about the culture. This program really encouraged me to take a step forward and visit another country across the world and to feel like I also made a difference in volunteering for a good cause instead of simply taking a vacation. The only thing is that it is a lot of money to put out and I wished that it could be less expensive as I did pay my own way to get there and volunteered all my time. However, it is still well worth it and the money covers all expenses, the company is great and easy to work with and a good portion goes to the center itself as a donation to the cause you work for. So all in all it is an excellent opportunity and I don't regret it for a second!

I was very happy during my time on perhentian. The ecoteer staff was really friendly, supportive and believed in what they were doing. They try to give as much background information on the social situation of the locals, and helped us to get in touch with them so that afterwards we could understand their values and culture better. This is something that a normal tourist could not get. Other than that we were accommodated in an authentic malay wooden house, which I really enjoyed!

I can recommend this program to everybody who is looking for a volunteering activity with cultural elements and a picturesque setting.

The Perhentian Islands research project is great for those people who love diving/marine conservation and want to to do in a fun, relaxed environment. Fantastic place to learn to dive also (The lead resarchers/instructers are amazing!) Village life is easy going, the locals are friendly and you also have easy access to the resorts to party on days off or relax on the beach.

Come check it out!