Program Reviews

As a young female traveling to Central America by myself, I was apprehensive about making the trip. However, I have now been here for 2 weeks and have loved every minute. The people are wonderful, the food is delicious, and the dives are beautiful. Monday-Friday when we are on the island, everyone is always happy and I feel completely safe. On the weekends in Placencia, I am never alone because the volunteers hangout. This trip has truly been a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am so grateful to GoEco for suggesting the Belize Private Island Marine Conservation Experience. 11/10! And I would definitely recommend this program to everyone and anyone!

I think the thing that I found most surprising about coming here, is how incredibly important the social aspect of the experience is. I think most people would have certain expectations and ideas regarding the animal caretaking and the work alone. However for me, the importance of the social atmosphere and how big of an impact that made on the total experience came as a shock. So not only can you expect interesting and rewarding work, but also the opportunity to meet friends for life. So to anyone considering or contemplating, don’t. Just do it.

I can not express enough how much I enjoyed this experience. And the people I met. Not everyone pays money to go out of their comfort zone into a foreign country and volunteer, therefore I was placed among a group of people with the same mindset. Wonderful people, I feel so fortunate to meet. And that was just the people. Working close to animals, with feeding and maintanance, I enjoyed the activities we did on the project. Also, every week we'd get a day off to travel (with some of the new buddies we've meet), and another halfday with the whole team to go somewhere they'd recommend. On project, it quickly became apparent this is one good way to travel.

Participating in a medical program in another country is a unique experience. I've never been a big fan of geriatrics, but after spending two weeks dealing with the elderly, I got to know this specialty better and be enchanted by this branch of medicine.

Each person who crossed my path on this trip brought a new story and expanded my worldview and made me see life in a different and lighter way. In addition to being able to have fun (a lot), I managed to put into practice knowledge that I already had from the medical school. after the program I feel much safer to perform a complete physical examination and take patient histories.

I had an incredible experience volunteering in Calga, Australia at the Animal Sanctuary. I am so grateful for the opportunity to go. I was able to learn about and work with so many great animals that are native to Australia. I also worked on maintaining fox proof fencing that surrounded and protected the entire sanctuary and all the critters inside. It was awesome seeing all your hard work pay off. Through volunteering I also got to meet some amazing people from around the world that I know will be life long friends. Lastly, this was my first time traveling alone and to Australia. I felt very prepared for my trip and safe the whole time.

Not only did I learn a lot from the program itself, but I met some amazing other volunteers who I still occasionally talk to about the park at which we volunteered. It was a wonderful learning opportunity and all of the employees of Oakvale would explain everything to me, so I understood what we were doing. I didn't think I would enjoy doing manual labor as much as I did while I was there, but I found it really fun to plant and mulch when I knew it would benefit the animal living in that enclosure. I know that quite a few of the keepers that had been at the park have left to work at the Australia Zoo, but I am sure whoever they hire next will be just as awesome.

I chose Madagascar after hearing many great things about the place and how beautiful it was. I wanted to see with my own eyes. I then chose the Lemur project because this animal intrigued me and I have to be honest I loved the movie Madagascar.
When I first arrived I thought the landscapes were beautiful.
If I’m honest when I fist arrived at the house as my accommodation I was not impressed and felt uncomfortable. The place was dirty, colorless and very basic. We never saw any pictures of the house but I had assumed it would be more than basic for the amount of money I paid.
The rooms were spacious enough for all of us staying together and it felt cozy. The bathroom was okay but seeing cockroaches everyday was not pleasant. I even saw a rat in the kitchen one night.
Some of the bathroom accessories were broken but were mostly fixed during the weeks I stayed there.
One of the issues I have to comment about the house is the heat, being sweaty all the time. On a daily basis the electricity was out of power therefore no fans and water.
I had a hard time sleeping at night because of the heat so after 2 weeks I decided to sleep on the floor under the fan to be more comfortable.
The food was amazing since the cooks were great. I wished they prepared more in order to get seconds sometimes since the guys eat more than us. Breakfast needs to change!! Eating baguettes and an egg everyday is not appealing after 2 weeks.
The Coordinator was a bit too micro-managing the house if you ask me. He made the ladies feel uncomfortable and with a sense of eavesdropping on us. He was not keen with making changes in the house and taking feedback during my stay.

I would recommend this place only if changes are made.

From the amazing hostel in Jo-burg to immersing ourselves in the history & culture of Soweto to Wildlife Sanctuary, this was undoubtedly the experience of a lifetime. I truly felt I got a 360 degree experience through my partnership with GoEco. Everyday at the sanctuary was an adventure. I walked to breakfast next to grazing zebras, watched giraffes at dinner, & laughed at monkeys stealing food from the wart hogs. The people were warm, fun, and now lifetime friends. Sign up now! You won't be sorry!

As someone who has been to many volunteer programs in Israel, I can honestly say they are all worth attending. From the Wildlife Center in the south to the Vegan Bakery in Tel Aviv, each program offers unique and immeasurable traveling experiences.

It's not often one has the opportunity to sink their teeth into Israeli culture using a completely different lens than that of a usual tourist. The work I accomplished, the people I met, and the places I visited made this experience hard to forget. If you're looking for a meaningful volunteer experience, GoEco will help you find the most suitable one for you as they did for me.

Happy traveling!

Going to Sri Lanka and volunteering in the babies orphanage on Kandy was the best decision I have ever made. Being there and feeling the positivity of the work youre doing and the impact you have of other people's life is undescribable. That feeling you get when you pick a baby up from his crib and he is wrapping he's arms around your neck and not letting go is the best and worse feeling ever. You can actually feel how desperate those kids are for love and you can't even start to imagine going back home and leaving them there.
I had a lot of fun but I would really recommend trying to go for a longer period of time, since you also have introduction week at the start of the program, which leaves you with a shorter time for volunteer work.
Introduction week was truly amazing, befriending your roomates and volunteer colleagues while getting to know the sri lankan culture through trips to temples, cultural dance show, batik house, cooking lesson and more.
The food was very good though really spicy and very repetitive.
The accomodation was very clean, comfortable and safe.
I would advise on bringing your own medication as the hospital neraby is not very hygienic and it is worth to avoid the visit.
Registering through GoEco was amazing, you really feel like everything is being taken care of and the treatment was very personal.
Picturs unfortunately only available from intoduction week since you cant take pictures of the orhanage or the babies.