ISV (International Student Volunteers) Reviews

I did the 2 week volunteer, 2 week adventure program. It was fun but way overpriced. Also, i worked in conservation. The volunteering situation is randomly placed and you can have bad luck like i did. One group played with koalas and had nice living quarters with a chef. Our group cut gorse and lived in a freezing cold sheep sheerer's quarters and cooked for ourselves. Also, we found out that ISV wasn't paying anything for our rooms so why was it so expensive. The adventure package, you have to pay $250 on top of the price of the package just to do the fun stuff in the places they take you (like repelling at Blue Mountain and snorkeling in the Great Barrier reef). Overall, the experience was ok but not great.

Once you travel with ISV, you will never want to travel as a 'tourist' again. Spending time with the locals, at their local hangouts and keeping sustainability in mind is an incredible way to travel, and simply going to another country without this local experience is now a major let down. ISV has every detail figured out, so all you have to do is go, work hard, have fun and make a difference. This experience was life changing and I would do it again in a heartbeat!

ISV Australia was by far the best travel experience I have ever been on. I have made friends with people that a I would have never met in my entire life. The adventures you go on will leave you breathless and in shock because you just did something you would have never done in your life. I still to this day remember jumping off a plane and skydiving over a farm in Australia, chasing a turtle in the great barrier reef and constantly falling off the board during our surfing experience because I can't surf to save my life. The project leaders will ensure that you have a safe and enjoyable experience. I will never forget this trip and I hope that more people travel with ISV because you don't only make a positive difference in the place you're at, but you also make a positive impact on yourself as a person. I will never forget this trip. :)

My ISV experience was pretty amazing! Not only did it give me a direct cultural understanding, but gave me a strong historical background, which drew it all together. When we first landed in Cape Town, all I could think about was sleeping and how jet lagged I was from the 16 hour flight. However, once we started driving to our hostel (Salty Crax), the reality of where I was gave me a burst of energy. The first thing that caught my eye was how beautiful South Africa is. The second thing that caught my eye was the Dunoon township right next to the highway, and how extensive it was. When you see kids (12-15 years old) walking down the road with scrap metal for their homes, it makes you open your eyes.

After a day of orientation and walking around Cape Town, we were able to start our volunteering. Our group was split into two groups. One group did community development for the first week and the other group had a building project. We then switched projects (different locations) for the second week of volunteering. My first project was working at a special needs school (Elundini) in the Dunoon township. Here I worked with kids ranging from 2-3 years of age. The highlight from my whole trip (even including the excursions) happened here. One of my students didn't seem to have much interest in socializing with the other kids (he was a little younger). After pushing him to interact, he finally gave in. I handed him and another student two toy trucks. They started talking and giggling, which slowly transformed into a friendship. After just a week, I could see a huge difference in his attitude. He went from standing around with his hands in his pockets, to actually playing and interacting. It really seemed like they formed a true friendship. It's hard to explain in words how such a simple thing can make such an impact.

I could go on an on about by trip, but I will leave this review somewhat short.

Accommodations- Salty Crax. It was rad! I shared a room with 4 guys, and we all vibed really well. They had a bar in the back yard. (enough said)

transportation- Bus for free time, coordinators to and from projects. No issues.

Volunteering- Loved it, will be going back for a longer period of time.

Overall, my experience in South Africa was absolutely amazing! I got to go shark cage diving, feed elephants, meet lifelong friends (including my current girlfriend). I'm really grateful for the experience.

I spent my first two weeks building bike paths for underprivileged kids in Cape Town, South Africa. It was the most rewarding part of the trip.

Our group first had to dig a path. We moved 10,000 lbs. of dirt, rock, and concrete in a little under 10 days.

That was the physical labor part of our volunteering. The more meaningful work came from working with the kids in the preschool. Most of the children had learning disabilities and came from low-income homes. It was heartbreaking to learn some of their stories. All of our hard work paid off just to see how happy they were to be in school.

This trip was the best thing I've done for myself. Ive wanted to go to Asia for a little while, and when I heard about this, I took the plunge. As a solo traveler, it was great having ISV organize everything for me. I met people on this trip who are still my friends and now I have contacts across the globe. I loved being able to impact the country I was visiting, but also experience all it has to offer. I always felt safe, even when we would go out on our own. The guides helped us to have fun but also be safe when in a different country.
It was a bit expensive and getting the money together was a little difficult, but in the end it was worth every penny and I would do it all over again.
Best trip of my life, hands down.

I learned so much about conservation and sustainability volunteering for the Tasmanian Land Conservancy. The program made me realize that I want to dedicate my life to practicing and sharing the love and light of everything I learned. Because of the knowledge I gained in Tasmania, I was able to perform independent research projects involving land and water conservation, citing possible pollution sources, and outlining drainage basins at home! I am honored to be able to make such a difference, not only in my home region, but across the world!
My favorite experience was hiking up Mount Wellington for my birthday. My project leaders guided one other volunteer and I to the peak. We got to see beautiful ferns, trees and a waterfall. I was very excited to drink the water from the waterfall as it was a water source to Hobart, Tasmania. Our next stops were Rocky Whelan's cave, where we had a powerfully enlightening meditation, and the octopus tree, which is a very tall and unique eucalyptus tree! Once we reached the peak, we built snowmen and had snowball wars! When I am home, my birthday is in the summer, so to be able to build a snowman on my birthday is something I will never forget! After that day, I was always on the look out for Mount Wellington in the distance.
My least favorite experience was during the adventure tour and the weekend off during the project. There was a lot of drinking and irresponsible behaviors from the other volunteers, which made it hard to be friends with many people, in my opinion. I did not like playing babysitter (making sure they were okay, getting them back to the accommodations, dealing with their drunken attitudes, etc.) for the people who got so drunk, they were passing out at the bar. Our group, as a whole, was even told by the adventure tour leader that staff and guests at the various hostels we stayed at thought our group was very disrespectful and out of control. I did not like being grouped in with everyone, because I do not like to drink alcohol, and I was not being disrespectful to any of them.
Overall, the experience has made me feel humble, honored, grateful, and more cultured. I am excited to keep sharing the knowledge gained from my trip to Tasmania and Australia!

If you love adventure, volunteering, trying new things, or just want a unique way to experience the world while making an impact, ISV is the best program. Not only was it affordable and adventure filled, but you would be amazed at the close bonds created with everyone in your project, the unforgettable sites and tours you are lucky to experience, and the outstanding places you stay at! A trip like this is one in lifetime and I try to explain it and recommend it in my everyday life, because it will never leave my mind, but no words will ever describe this experience! Zip lines down a volcano, a 3 day white water rafting trip, hot springs, surfing, waterfalls, rainforests, wildlife... the list goes on! And the immersion into the Costa Rican culture is a huge plus! ISV has changed my life for good!

The impact that volunteering abroad left on my life was more than I ever expected. ISV did a great job will setting up a project that would have a important impact on the community, and one that you could actually see when the project was completed. The people, including my host family and the other students, will be a great part of my life for years to come.

ISV is unique from other programs, it separates your trip into two parts, volunteer work and adventure tour.

VOLUNTEER Project: I was at a Life Development Center (LDC).

We raked a forest to help prevent spread of fires, we built dams to help slow the flow of water during the rainy season, we built a cement wall to stop flooding during the rainy season, and we taught local Thai kids English and played with them.

At night our project leader Racha taught us basic Thai phrases and discussed various topics including tourist vs. traveler, sustainability/development, and culture. She is super knowledgeable and answered all our questions.

We slept next to each other on mats on the floor, while surrounded by mosquito nets. We woke up to roosters crowing every morning at 5am.

Weekends were open. Our first weekend our host Manop gave us a tour of the hill tribes and background info on the land and the tribes, and our project leader Racha took us (we paid for taxis and entry) to a waterfall, hot spring, and cave. She also showed us a nearby hotel/cottage we could stay at the following weekend, we all agreed. For 4 cottages with 4 people in each, a lot of food and alcohol, and some unforgettable memories we each paid around $20 for that weekend. It was a great bonding experience.

Our project leader Racha is now the head of volunteer projects for the ISV Thailand programs. I still keep in touch with her, she has stayed with me twice now while visiting Los Angeles.

This was a very fulfilling and meaningful experience and great send off in to the adventure tour. I learned a lot and the living conditions were completely out of my comfort zone.

ADVENTURE Tour:

Included rockclimbing, a Thai cooking class, temples tour, couple day jungle trek/hike, white water rafting, Elephant Nature Park (favorite spot), lake tour, kayaking, young locals boxing, locals playing with fire, islands (some of the most beautiful places I have ever been).

We had a couple free days, our adventure leader Milk suggested stuff to do. I went zip lining with some people from our group one of the days, we could also just hang out and walk around if we wanted. We had time to do some lunches and dinners together. There were a good amount of fun nights out and everlasting memories in here as well. Our group had 4 birthdays during the adventure tour, and our adventure leader Milk got each of them a cake.

We only stayed at one typical hotel during the adventure tour. The rest were more like cottages, felt natural and outdoorsy, made of bamboo and wood. One even had a closed in outdoors shower and bathroom, this was nice with the touch of natural light. I absolutely loved the places we stayed at, they were mostly near beaches, rivers, or mountains, they were all beautiful and felt different like we were more immersed in the society. We were warned of monkeys getting into our stuff at some of the places, we had to ensure windows were closed and food was not left out. There some spider and lizard freak outs as well.

ISV:
- I like that ISV separates volunteer and adventure... Our volunteer project leader was perfect for her position and our adventure tour leader was perfect for her position.

I am still close with several people from my group. I am lucky to have grown such a close bond with them. They are what made the trip so amazing.