Portugal Volunteer Programs | Most Affordable & Trusted

The volunteering was an amazing experience which I will always cherish, working with the dogs at the shelter and meeting other people really changes your outlook. We also had lots of free time so had the opportunity to explore the city and locations we were in so its such a great way to travel. Memories and friendships to last. The local team were very helpful and supportive throughout the whole time. I received regular emails beforehand about what to expect and how to prepare which was really useful. I loved all of it and will recommend to anyone.

I went to Portugal to volunteer in a Youth Support project. The experiences I made were absolutely invaluable and in the one week I was there, I met some wonderful people. The hostel I stayed in was clean, the staff were friendly, the food was plentiful and the coordinators were always there to answers my questions. One of the highlights was getting to meet volunteers from all over the globe and discussing both similar and different experiences with them. I’ll miss the days out that I had with my group and looking forward to hearing about the day they had at their program.

Would recommend to anyone who wishes to venture outside of their comfort zone and try something different.

When I made the choice to apply for the Lisbon Forest Conservation Program, I went in with very little expectations and a lot of nerves, considering it was my first major solo international trip. I decided to get the most value out of the trip, I would stay a healthy 8 weeks on the program. IVHQ made it easy to keep track of my application process and even gave great resources such as packing lists, cultural information on the location, and a guide to the recommended overall budget to allow for.
The airport pickup and move in went super smoothly and i made friends on the first day and continued to make connections over that whole 8 weeks. Looking back now, those 2 months were the best, most exciting and fulfilling, and honestly happiest part of my life so far. I was making a difference with my volunteer work, while still having a great amount of fun with all my new friends. From exploring the nightlife scene in the city and going to the beach just for fun, to making good exercise and teamwork/ relationship habits, the whole experience gave me a lot of useful skills and confidence to find happiness in the future even after my time there came to an end. If you want to learn about yourself and have a blast doing it, I highly recommend going on an IVHQ program, because its very unlikely that you will regret it.

I volunteered in Portugal. The hostel I stayed in was amazing! It was so close to the beach and everyone was so friendly. I loved volunteering at the animal shelter. I volunteered with the dogs and got to meet so many great dogs. We helped by walking and feeding the dogs. It was a fun experience and the staff at the shelter were very welcoming. Helping the dogs was important as there is so over 200 dogs in the shelter so the more volunteers the better. I learned a lot volunteering and got to make loads of friends. The food was nice and the facilities in the hostel were very good too. The beds were comfy too. There was always hot water for showers. The hostel even organised a surfing trip which was amazing. I would go with IVHQ again to volunteer and I would recommend them to my friends.

We were only able to volunteer for 3 days as it was easter (which we knew about). But they told us that we wouldn’t be volunteering Friday, so we booked our flight back but then it turned out we did have volunteering that day. And there were also the train strikes (which isn’t on them as they could’ve have known). But besides the confusing schedule the experience was great. We booked a private room and it was very clean and comfortable. The food was good if you like the specific food that they bought.

My experience was unique because I had never gone to another country outside of the US alone to do a volunteer service project. Although I was a bit scared/nervous at first, I was mainly excited to experience new things and have an impact (even a small one) on the environment and Earth we live in. Through this experience I was able to meet new people, receive my Scuba Diving Certification, be immersed into different cultures, try new things, and experience various things I had never before. This experience was truly amazing and it was great to feel safe and supported while on this journey.

I had a genuinely meaningful, fulfilling, and enjoyable time on my first IVHQ trip. The youth support volunteer trip was based in Lisbon, Portugal, and it was my first time being in the country. What a great way to explore a new place! You connect with both fellow international travellers, but the rich local community, too. Likewise, you have the opportunity to stay in safe, private hostels/rooms, while still being central to the action (i.e. town/city centers, transportation, nature, etc). But perhaps the deepest, most profound educational experience is the hands-on volunteering. What better way to connect to a community than to help their most vulnerable demographics? My particular placement worked with young mothers enrolled in school (14yo-24yo) and their infants in need of day-care (1mo-1yo). The placement was ideal for me, as it allowed me to deploy my love for / experience with young children and enabled me to help the promotion of education for young women from disadvantaged communities. Overall, I developed a deep connection with the country and community, while also diversifying my interactions and experiences with a unique, cosmopolitan group of travellers staying in the hostel.

This wolf conservation program was a fantastic experience I would never miss a chance to do again. The accommodation provided was a cosy wooden cabin in the middle of the forest, surrounded by the enclosures of the nine Iberian wolves we were conserving. The staff were incredible, and working with them, and my fellow volunteers was an absolute joy. Meeting amazing people with the same passion for protecting wildlife as I do was such a wonder. Everyone was extremely friendly, and the scenery around us was always breathtaking. We were surrounded by 16 acres of woodland, allowing for lovely hikes in our free time. I feel so lucky to have been able to feed and observe such beautiful creatures and capture such footage in camera traps and on our personal phones. The work experience included a lot of manual labour, such as cutting up the meat for the wolves, clearing up leaves and twigs on the forest floor, removing unwanted weeds, and working with cement to reconstruct the enclosures. It was demanding work, but it was well worth it. The friendships and memories with the wonderful people I met will never leave my side.