Program Reviews

The whole experience was amazing, I felt prepared before I left and was greeted at the airport and taken to the volunteer house. I volunteered at Nourish school and orphanage and it was such a rewarding experience. No two days were the same, we also visited a baby orphanage and that was emotional. The experience was amazing and I've made lifelong friends who I hope to volunteer with again in the future.

I have just completed 8 weeks volunteering with Plan My gap year in Sri Lanka and I had a great time!

The support before you depart was amazing, walking me through every aspect of my trip and answering any questions I had with no hesitation. This continued in country with an amazing group of local and western co ordinators to aid your trip in any and every way possible. The co ordinators are a credit to Plan my gap year and made my trip more enjoyable and memorable.

I volunteered in the teaching programmes whilst in Sri Lanka and whilst this was incredibly challenging (preparing and making all your resources without a computer or printer, the language barrier and no curriculum to follow) I really enjoyed my time with the children and they taught me whilst I was teaching them. What a great experience!

As a solo traveller I felt safe throughout my whole trip and was able to meet so many likeminded people and I have made lasting friendships with them.

I would definitely recommend Plan my gap year.

In regards to pre-departure support, I feel that there was lots of support given in term of the webinars and the handbook, I feel the handbook listed the information I required prior to this trip.
In terms of in country support, this was very good, there was always a coordinator around to help if you needed it, even late at night. There is security always on duty which made me feel safe. A member of my group needed medical attention and I can honestly say the support she was given from both the Sri Lankan staff (Manoj) and English staff (Steph) was amazing! They coordinated for her to see a specialist within 20 minutes and were at the hospital by her side for her whole experience.
I stayed at River House, it was nice as it was all outside, rooms were basic with bunk beds, the biggest positive was that it had air conditioning. A negative is that there was only one bathroom in the building shared between a lot of people, but once you find the toilets and showers by the pool it made life lots easier.
I was on the medical programme, overall it was a pleasant experience, visiting both the local government hospital and the local Ayurveda hospital. It was good to see the difference in health care between the UK and Sri Lanka. I would have liked to have been more involved and hands on, but I knew this before the programme started. When being on the wards in the hospital it was difficult as not many of the nurses spoke English, but I still managed to get involved in terms of reading notes and spending times with patients. Manoj (local coordinator) really does his best to ensure you have a pleasant time, however, there is a barrier between what the doctors have agreed for the volunteers to do/observe and what the nurses allow you to do.
Overall, a pleasant experience.

I had never travelled abroad on my own or for this long before going on this Real Thailand Experience holiday and I can honestly say it was the best 4 weeks of my life!

Firstly, the co-ordinators Darryl and Sopida - two of the nicest and sweetest people! They arranged everything on our behalf and the whole holiday was so seamless and stress free! Darryl and Sopida were always there for us if we had any issues and they really knew their stuff! You couldn't ask for two better people to show you around Thailand!

Secondly, the program itself. I did the 4 week experience and we did SO MUCH! We really got to see the 'Real' Thailand. From being in the busy environment of Bangkok to the peaceful and relaxing islands down south! You really get to live so many different experiences. My highlight was definitely the Islands where we got to relax, sunbathe (don't fall asleep on the beach people!!), going to the full moon party, snorkelling with the fish and going on different boat trips to see all the beautiful scenery! For all you Instagram lovers (all of us) this is the perfect place!! My other highlight was definitely the elephant sanctuary that we went to where we got to ride, wash and feed the elephants that have been rescued from cruel areas (Highly recommend doing it). Overall the program is designed so well and there was not one point where I was unhappy with what I was doing.

If you're were like me and quite nervous on travelling alone, don't be! I wouldn't have done it any other way. You meet like minded people who are doing the exact same as you. You meet so many nice people and the friends I made out there are definitely friends for life and we created memories that i'll never forget! Be brave and go for it!

Thirdly, the volunteering - We spent the week at Jacks house in Nong Khai. Jack was such a great host. He runs his own volunteering charity called Isan Survivor and it was just the most fulfilling week. We got the opportunity to work in two different schools (one with 10-12 year olds and the other with 16-18 year olds - both very different!) where we took part and hosted their English camps for the year. It was a life changing experience and rewarding one where we were helping the children learn English through class room teaching, singing, dancing and quite frankly making a fool of ourselves - but all for the right reasons!! Other than the teaching, we stayed at Jacks house where his mum is just the best cook!! Jack also took us to see the local areas like the border of Laos river, various different temples and beautiful areas, took us to a Korean restaurant that was pretty damn cool! Overall a great week!

4 Week Real Thailand Experience - Highly recommend!!
Shout out to Darryl and Sopida for just being the best hosts!

I have just returned from Sri Lanka after being there for one month doing the medical project. About the project, although it was not as I expected, I was able to see how hospitals work there and I also saw some interesting things like operations and deliveries. However, as it was not a project in which you felt needed, in addition some of us signed up for the orphanage project for two weeks during the afternoon (without any problem). The little girls in the Girls Orphanage are so cute and they are very excited for you to come and teach and play with them. The rest of the afternoons we were able to visit other cities, go to the beach and go shopping for souvenirs.

I also went to the "Adventure, hill country & safari weekend trip" and to the " Cultural triangle & elephants weekend trip". I would recommend them if you want to see the inner part of the country. We saw many awesome views and cultural events in the two of them. I would just notice that you have to be prepared for many hours on bus. However, if you preferred going to the beach, the staff would help you preparing your trip and would recommend you the best places.

The local staff is really nice and helps you with everything you need!

To sum up, this trip has given me the opportunity to discover the real Sri Lanka, try new food, learn other cultures, meet new people (western and local), and live an experience I have never had before.

I was incredibly excited to go to Sri Lanka after my first year of uni! It was the first time I had travelled alone, so I was not only nervous about making it there, but also ensuring that PMGY were actually there to pick me up from the airport. Naturally, both were completely fine, and as soon as I walked out of arrivals there was a PMGY representative waiting!

The drive from the airport to Ambalamgoda is long and it was a culture shock experiencing Sri Lankan driving, especially at night! There are no rules of the road there, so prepare yourself!

Accommodation at London House was great and Ashika and his family are some of the loveliest people I have ever met- they will make you feel so welcome!

The project itself I had mixed feeling about. I was so excited to work with elephants before I left and the first few times I went to project I was amazed about being up and close with them. However, after a few trips I became more aware of the fact that the elephants were chained at the feet. This is nothing to do with PMGY, but an unfortunate law that exists in Sri Lanka which Ashika himself has campaigned against!! The experience is once in a lifetime and the ability to clean and feed the elephants was amazing, but it was a shame that for me personally it was clouded slightly by the existing regulations.

Overall my experience was amazing. The people that I met out there were fab and my absolute highlight was the Maldives Chill Out Wekend. It was the most amazing place I have ever been and would go again immediately! It is SUCH great value for money!!!

I was so excited to go to Sri Lanka in the summer after my A level exams; it was my way of cramming a gap year into one month before university. We arrived early in the morning and were instantly welcomed by the coordinators - they made the whole trip so easy because they were so easy to talk to and would go out of their way to help you. Sri Lanka is such a beautiful country and being on the elephant project meant I got to see a lot of the scenery every day as we drove to project. The only way to get the most out of your project is to get completely stuck in - sometimes hands are better than a shovel! The highlight of my day was always feeding the elephants after their scrub. They're so cheeky and will try to cram as many cucumbers in their mouth as they can! I really recommend the Cultural Triangle weekend trip as a way to explore a lot of Sri Lanka quickly and in a stress-free way. The view from the top of Lion Rock is incredible! Thank you to all the amazing people I met who made the whole experience unforgettable!

Reading the pre-departure volunteer handbook really help me prepare for the journey despite not being available for any of the webinar. Whilst flying I was quite worried as my final flight was delayed so I text someone through the in country support phone number and got a response so quick and made me feel a lot more relaxed. I was at River house for the entire stay and loved it, at first I felt slightly disappointed purely because I had only watched the London house tour and thought it looked amazing. I realized that Riverhouse was beautiful and I felt more located in Sri Lanka and I really enjoyed my room, I got on straight away with my roommates whom I'll be seeing in October. I loved the freedom that you had where you could walk to and from the restaurant, there was a swing and a large pool and the views you see are absolutely stunning! On the turtle conservation project I did expect to do a little more in the first week rather than alternating feeding and painting as I am not an artist, and we finished an hour early. We spoke to a staff member and they came to project the next week and had a look round then after that we had more to do, we fed, did beach cleaning, we cleaned the turtle's shells, and applied their medication, cleaned their tanks and did a release!
My advice to anyone thinking of PMGY, volunteering in Sri Lanka or working with turtles would be to do it. It was the most amazing experience in my life so far. PMGY made my first volunteering trip a memorable one and Sri Lanka is a beautiful country where the local are always very kind and the turtle conservation Staff - Soni and Rana are so lovely and always happy to talk about all the turtles and encourage you to get completely stuck in.

Having just returned from 2 weeks with PMGY in Ambalangoda, Sri Lanka, I cannot recommend this program enough! I signed up having never previously travelled alone and found that PMGY thoroughly prepared me for my trip, carefully responding to all of my pre-departure enquiries and providing all necessary information in their specialised handbook. I felt 100% secure arriving in Sri Lanka even after a delayed flight; the staff make sure you are looked after in all stages of your stay. Once I arrived, I quickly realised that we would be having a very authentic Sri Lankan experience - the local food was delicious, the tuk tuk's exciting and the view from River House was incredible, with the pinkest sunsets you've ever seen every night. In-country everything can be organised if needs be, the staff helped us get local SIM cards, change our money, organise weekend trips etc. Transport around the area in your own time is easy as they have a PMGY tuk tuk system in place, which is safe, easy and quick. River House has a beautiful view of MaduGanga river and the accommodation has a great atmosphere.

I signed up to do the orphanage project in the afternoons but also signed up to teach young Monks English in the mornings once I arrived. Each of these are two week commitments and I enjoyed every day of them. The children are all eager to learn and get to know you. At the girl's orphanage we spent some time teaching English and some time playing games and bonding with the girls. I would recommend making plans for teaching in both projects as this makes your time a lot more worthwhile with them and helps you to make the most of the hours you have together each day. Many of the girls in the orphanage like to give you their books at the end of the day and enjoy having handmade worksheets to fill in with you on the following day, which you can then check for them. All the kids are extremely hard working.

My advice for future volunteers is to come with an open mind and embrace all the quirks of the local culture. I came with high expectations and my experience went above and beyond them. The country is beautiful, the people are so kind and PMGY make your stay extremely comfortable and enjoyable.

I spent four amazing weeks in Ghana, and honestly can say it was one of the best experiences of my life. I mainly did the school project however was very lucky and was able to spend a few days observing in the hospital. The team in Ghana are outstanding, Seth will always to his best to help you in what ever worries/problems you have. Cindy and Christie (the two cooks/cleaners) and Florence (education coordinator) are the most hard working amazing people I have ever met and they are not just staff members to me I would consider them family. The house was cleaned head to toe every morning by cindy and Christie and bins were changed most days. There was plenty of food at all times and if we ran out they would always make more and if you didn't like what was being served they would offer to make something else for you. There were children just outside the house that used to come and play it's really lovely to spend some time with the local children after placement. The local children never were aloud into the house to play just because of safety really but volunteers would take out things to them like bubbles, balls and colouring. There were plenty of comfy sofas and chairs around for everyone to sit down and either watch tv or plan lessons or just talk to one another after placement! Teaching at the school was incredible, I felt it was well organised and an amazing experience that everyone should get the chance at.