Location
  • Tanzania
    • Arusha
Length
1 - 4 weeks

Program Details

Activities
Animal Viewing Safari Trekking
Timeframe
Year Round
Housing
Hotel Lodge Tent
Primary Language
Swahili
Age Min.
16

Pricing

What's Included
Accommodation Activities Airport Transfers Meals Park Fees Tour Guide Transportation
What's Included (Extra)

Qualified Expedition Leader; all activities; all food and water; pre-departure support pack; fundraising support and ideas; support from U.K. staff; first aid trained staff; full transportation in-country; project contributions, 24 Hour emergency back up

What's Not Included
Airfare Domestic Airfare Equipment SIM cards Travel Insurance Visa
What's Not Included (Extra)

Additional Safaris or Adventures (e.g. Climbing Kilimanjaro or trip to Zanzibar).

Jan 08, 2021
Feb 17, 2020
8 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

A true mixture of cultural experiences, adventure and a positive contribution to local communities in the heart of Tanzania. Whether you're trekking through the jungles of the Great Rift Valley, or planting trees to reforest the local area, you'll be experiencing the best that Tanzania has to offer and come home with memories to last a lifetime.

As well as working on exciting new projects, you will be immersed deep into the amazing cultures of Tanzania. 130 tribes come together in an extraordinary village where we are based. Located on Great Rift Valley and situated between some of the greatest wildlife reserves in the world, this is truly one of the most spectacular places you will visit!

Our volunteering programs work together with diverse community groups in rural Tanzania creating a positive and sustainable partnership. Using these partnerships we work to tackle climate change.

Video and Photos

Program Highlights

  • Experience the best of Tanzania's beauty through our adventure excursions. Hike up to natural waterfalls and trek through the jungles of the Great Rift Valley.
  • Offset your carbon footprint, empower local communities and reforst nature reserves and community spaces through tree planting.
  • Spot elephants, lions and giraffes on safari!
  • Immerse yourself in Tanzania's diverse culture. Learn bushcraft with the Maasai and cook local dishes with our neighbours.
  • Work on practical projects (for example plastic repurposing or small building projects) that empower communities, provide income and facilities.

Related Programs

Program Reviews

5.00 Rating
based on 5 reviews
  • 5 rating 100%
  • 4 rating 0%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Housing 5
  • Support 5
  • Fun 5
  • Value 5
  • Safety 5
  • Impact 4.5
  • Support 5
  • Fun 4.5
  • Value 5
  • Safety 5
Showing 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Default avatar
Amelia
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Perfect balance of work and play

Going to Tanzania with GLV was an absolute joy. The leaders have clearly thought thoroughly about their approach to this kind of trip - from their attentive treatment of travellers to their awareness of environmental effects. For example, great effort was taken to reduce our plastic bottle use and offsetting our plane flight carbon footprint with tree planting. Dom and Chloe were both laid back/down to earth but at the same time completely switched on and on the ball. I felt well guided at any point that I didn’t know what I was doing and knew I could trust them.

The beauty of the nature and community was a highlight for me. We saw so many captivating views, saw so much wildlife, plantations at sunset and vast starry skies. We also experienced the brilliantly hectic Massai markets and ate the local food and drink there. It was also an honour to cook with and eat with (and play with the baby) a local family at their home. The tour guides all knew their stuff and the planting and building projects were well lead and well managed.

I am conscious and wary of trips like this in relation to the ‘white saviour’ complex. There was none of this feeling on the trip. GLV teams up alongside amazing locals in Tanzania who are doing life changing work.
The trip was so well balanced with doing rewarding hard graft, getting involved in the community, fun activities and rest.

The group of people on my trip were all lovely, laid back and good company. Dom and Chloe were always up for adventure and making sure we got the most out of our time there while also being attentive to the needs of the group and being flexible when rest was needed! Would highly recommend the trip to anyone!

What was the most nerve-racking moment and how did you overcome it?
On the drive back from visiting a rural tribe, we stopped to admire the dark sky FULL of stars. It was absolutely beautiful. Until someone made lion noises.
71 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
William
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

An experience like no other!

This trip was a perfect blend of Conservation, Community Development, and recreation. Green Light Ventures also gave me the opportunity to veer from the touristy beaten track and experience Tanzania's amazing culture and people at a personal level. The volunteering I took part in was highly appropiate and ethically conducted, it is without a doubt one of the best programmes ive seen in terms of giving you, the voulenteer, a real meaningful role in tackerling both the enviromental threats and socio-economic issues at hand. Some evenings we would spend drinking tea and making fires with the maasai whilst others we would relax and go for a swim or read a book by the pool. Between projects we would also do day excursions which would also vary from safari to waterfall walks. GLV truly put everything on offer during my trip so that I could return back home with the knowledge that I had experianced all the aspects of Tanzania and had contributed what I could to helping its enviroment and its communities.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
If you fancied a Tanzanian night out, ask Dom and Chloe to take you to M & M's, Lots of fun!
68 people found this review helpful.
Read my full story
Default avatar
Lisa
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

2019 Tanzania

For me this trip provided me the balance I wanted from my time in Africa. I wanted to both volunteer within the community but also to explore the area, embrace the culture and become enriched by the experience. I was particularly attracted to the sustainability focus of the projects and found it interesting how the local community support the concept. No other tour provider seemed to offer me the experience to both volunteer but also explore the area with an itenary I was able to select from and I am so glad that I made the decision to go with green light ventures. The tour guides knowledge of the area and history was fantastic and I always felt well looked after. The food available was varied and eating together was a nice way to reflect on the day just gone. We would recap the progress of each project we were working on and would always be informed of the plan for the next day. I never felt alone despite travelling solo and that was very important to me.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Embrace everything and be present. Relax, the tour providers will provide you with all the information you need making the travel as seamless as possible. Also, drink lots of water from your GLV water bottle.
71 people found this review helpful.
Read my full story
Default avatar
Claudia
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

An exciting, fun and unique once in a life-time opportunity to experience Tanzania!

Green Light Ventures was the perfect opportunity to experience the real Tanzania. It offered a real range of activities where I was able to observe Tanzania's beautiful scenery and wildlife such as waterfall walks, cycle rides to Lake Manyara, and of course Safari. We also undertook a variety of projects which centred around conservation. Smaller projects included creating herb gardens with plastic bottles we had collected. We also undertook a larger project where we built a Chicken Coupe for a community in need, this was extremely rewarding.
Dom and Chloe were the perfect hosts always fun, extremely helpful and supportive throughout my experience and always quick to answer any queries I had. They were constantly asking what they could do to better my experience. They were also very attentive to any specific requirements or needs I had such as providing vegetarian meals. I would recommend Green Light Ventures to anyone who is considering this kind of trip. Thank you again for such a great experience!

What was the most unfamiliar thing you ate?
The most unfamiliar thing I drank was the banana beer! You can find banana beer being drunk by the locals at the Masai market, this is a must try!!
70 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
William
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Amazing Adventure, with super fun activities and meaningful volunteering.

Green Light Ventures gave me the opportunity to experience a trip of a life time. This is a trip for anyone who wants more than just a holiday; as on top of activities such as relaxing at rift valley infinity pools and waterfall hikes, this trips gives you the chance to experience the real Tanzania and its people. I personally enjoyed how diverse the trip was, one day I was getting up close and personal with Tanzania's most impressive wildlife and the next I was spending an evening under the stars with the Maasai. Out of all the other NGOs I originally looked at it was important I picked GLV, due to their attention towards environmental issues and afforestation, and also how all volunteering was community led development and so entirely ethical.

What was the most surprising thing you saw or did?
Joining in on a Spear throwing competition with the Maasai.
72 people found this review helpful.
Read my full story

Questions & Answers