Program Reviews

This has been one of the best choices of my life. I did my TESL in Ho Chi Minh City and now I am living in Hanoi. During the TESL everybody was extremely helpful and assisted me with anything I needed. I found this course a good way to become acclimated to living in another country as well as a funnel into overall Vietnam! The market tours, history lessons, language lessons, and the course itself all provided me with the tools I need to survive here.

We'd both just gotten married, returned from our honeymoon and was in search of a change in lifestyle. We were always fascinated with the idea of living and working somewhere in the SEA region, and when we googled what our job options were - TravelBud's website came up. It almost sounded too good to be true - get paid a decent salary with low cost of living, and being in a geographically central location, enabling one to take advantage of travel and culture opportunities while being able to make a difference with our new jobs. We were slightly dubious at first at the thought of handing over all this money to an agent based in South Africa, while we were in New Zealand and then being guaranteed training and a job placement, but after some research into the company and a Skype call with Peter - our doubts were allayed.

Once we had our first Skype call with Peter, the ball got rolling and we were put in touch with Lisa and Megan who were fantastic in reaching out to us and providing us with all the information we needed whilst TravelBud was in the background providing support. We are so happy we took the jump and have been living in Hanoi for 2 months now, teaching at a language school. This wouldn't have been made possible without the help of TravelBud. Along the way, we've met with other teachers who came through on their own, without the help of an agency and wished that they had more support from someone - and we got that with TravelBud and their in-country partner - so if you're thinking about coming to teach in Vietnam, or any of the other areas offered by these agencies - we'd highly recommend coming through them! They provide information packs, SIM cards upon arrival, training, everything! So for us, it wasn't a huge shock when we landed and we were able to ease into everything quite easily which is great! Thanks again for the opportunity!!

Tian & Nat

I worked and lived closely with 29 other people and if I could I would do it all over again. Although it was exhausting, and kept us busy 24/7 I met some amazing people that I will never forget and also learned how to teach kids English. I feel really prepared to teach, and this wouldn't have been possible if I didn't do the TESOL course. I was nervous that I would be left stranded in the middle of nowhere having to figure things out on my own but the process was smoother than I thought, and now I am sitting writing this in my new apartment! I don't think I could have done this without TravelBud's help.

TravelBud has been the most supportive, warm and family like agency I have ever worked with. They gave such a personal touch to getting me ready with my Thailand experience and always gave attention to personal details when checking up by phone call or email, which made me feel like I wasn't just a number. Both the staff and founders have gone out of their way to make sure we were looked after, supported, happy and if not happy a plan was always made. I have to say a HUGE thank you to Saskia and Liam, you have been incredible.

I thought the whole process before I came to Seoul was really great. The team was really informative and handled my worries and questions well. I felt good about my decisions because I was being supported very well. I think my only problem was that once I arrived in Seoul I was thrust straight into the work. I had assumed that the company orientation woild take place once I started, or even before. I was only informed about an orientation and meet up after I had been here for over a month already. I had to settle myself, with next to no help or guidance.

This month marks my 4th month teaching in South Korea and feel so settled and could not think of doing anything else. Everyday is such a joy get to go to work and see such cute, excited and curious faces I call my students. The culture, the people (whom have welcomed in with such warm smiles and heart) and of course the food!! wow!
I am however thankful to the team that helped me get to where I am today, from the start to the finish line. Throughout the whole process, i am thankful to the team at Travelbud for the amazing management of the process, the support and the amazing communication and following up. I am also thankful to the team for the amazing TESOL course, they really equipped me to be the teacher I get the joy of being today, from lesson planning, class management, teaching skills etc.
And above all, I am thankful to the team in preparing me for this big move and probably one of the best decisions I've made to date.

This is a great opportunity to teach and get to know the beautiful country of Colombia. The support is good and the pay is enough to live on without splashing out too much. Travelbud provide the support during your application and some support in Colombia with the very helpful Carolina, but once you arrive you will mostly be dealing with their in-country partners who run the programme. Be prepared for classrooms with very few resources and pupils who barely know the alphabet in English.

I've been teaching English to high school students in Bogota for the last 2 months. I won't lie, the first 3 weeks I was here, I was really suffering from a hard case of culture shock. Most of the schools are located about an hour bus ride out of the city centre and the conditions of transport are very different from where I am from in Australia.
So, it took me a while to settle, but now after getting my bearings, I am really enjoying the experience. The kids at school are really keen to learn English and although their conversational skills are not particularly high, I can already see most of students gaining in ability and confidence to speak English. TravelBud have been a fantastic company to work with. Carolina is very friendly, knowledgeable and at all times, super helpful.

Colombia offers a few volunteer teaching programs working with minors and adults. I participated in the program where you teach English to adults for tourism purposes. When I was searching for teaching opportunities to teach abroad in Colombia, I noticed a lot of repetitive job descriptions for volunteer english teaching programs. I finally figured out that if it is a volunteer program with a monthly stipend it is all one of the same few programs that Colombia offers through its government, but that there are many third party recruiting sites.
TravelBud was the recruiting site that I used and my process with them went pretty well. They were very good at sharing all the information and paperwork with me and I arrived to orientation being one of the only people who had already completed all the registration and required paperwork for the program.
Getting all the required documents in on time and feeling prepared can be a little overwhelming but TravelBud was able to answer any questions and doubts I had. The visa process was a little bit confusing, but that is not a problem specific to TravelBud and if you can not get it ready before you leave, the program you are doing will handle that whole process during orientation.
Overall, I recommend this teaching experience in Colombia. It is a really rewarding experience, and great for traveling around Colombia and experiencing a new culture. The only thing I would warn you about is that the stipend is enough in smaller cities like mine, but I am unsure if it will be sufficient in bigger cities. You will definitely need to budget and maybe have some savings.

Honestly, when I first came across the program, I was hesitant about its legitimacy, especially because they ask for a deposit, they’re relatively new to Colombia and I was getting emails from someone in South Africa. I didn’t know what to expect, but from my first email inquiring about the program to now being here, everything has been smooth sailing with TravelBud. They were quick to answer my questions and pass along my application to the Colombian volunteer teaching program. I actually got to meet the person I’d been emailing, Carolina, and she took us out for dinner during our first week here. TravelBud had arranged for us to have Spanish lessons, a nice walking tour around Bogota and some local coffee. It’s been great to have this addition point of contact while being here. The schools aren’t anything spectacular. If they were, there probably wouldn’t be a need for me. The teachers and students I work with are great. I always feel like the local celebrity walking around the school and having everyone say hi to me. I have definitely seen a change in some students’ attitudes toward English over the month and a half I’ve been here in Bogota. The city is amazing. There are, like any place, certain spots you shouldn’t be caught after dark, but overall, there is so much to do and see here. I have really enjoyed my time here so far and look forward to what the rest of my time has in store.