Program Reviews

Seth and Nice were both amazing guides for me and my group, and I felt like I was really able to experience the authentic Thai culture while visiting. The accommodation, food, and transportation were all spectacular as well and exceeded all of my expectations. Alyssa from the Fast Manta team was my scuba instructor and she also blew it out of the park with her instruction it was amazing. The wildlife was so cool too, we saw reef sharks, sea snakes, stingrays, eels, razorfish, barracuda, a cuttlefish, and tons of different types of fish. Genuinely no complaints, I already want to go do it again and I just got home yesterday!

Really amazing experience. We got to do so many cool adventures as well as english education with the kids of Jiquilillo. I will treasure those kids forever. The experiences included camping on a volcano, learning how to make tortillas and cuajada from locals, sand boarding, painting a local school, and just living life to the fullest! You make so many cool bonds with other volunteers, your guides, and locals. Definitely recommend going to Nicaragua with GIVE. It will change how you see the world and yourself.

During this trip, I experienced culture in a new way by spending time with the locals and saw the country by camping and hiking. GIVE makes sure that you are enjoying the moments, but also that this trip will impact your life in the future. I went on this trip not knowing that it would change my life, but after being a part of Nicaraguan culture, I can confidently say that my life moving forward will not be the same. I saw beautiful volcanoes, historic cities, and incredible people in a fishing village. If you aren’t sure about GIVE, just try it. It’s an extremely unique experience and now is the time!

This was an inspiring, unforgettable, and life changing experience. I had so many amazing experiences with the guides, the locals, and my fellow volunteers that I will treasure for a lifetime. I went to Thailand expecting to meet fun people and go on cool excursions, like caving and elephant trekking, but I left with so much more than that. I was given the opportunity to live among locals and experience their culture in a way that I had never imagined. I learned that where many Americans think people live difficult and unhappy lives, people are actually much happier and able to support themselves just using the world around them and living sustainably. This trip did contain hard parts, like farming and building a greenhouse, and enduring difficult weather conditions like extreme heat and rain, so if you are not up for it, it might not be the best fit. However, if you are willing to look past few inconveniences, it is worth it to watch the communities you visit benefit from your hard work and use these experiences to improve your own life. I would 100% recommend it to anyone searching for an incredible experience.

BEST TRIP EVER!!! Initially I signed up because I thought that having some wilderness first aid training would be beneficial since I love to ski but this trip is so much more than that! Going to Meany lodge creates such a strong sense of community and love for everyone that was on the trip that even a week later all I wanna do is go back up there! Getting to do hands-on scenario practice for different types of wilderness related injuries was incredibly helpful and makes me feel a lot more confident that if I am ever in a situation where I need to use my training that I can do so without panicking. Moreover, Carly Jo and Mike were the most amazing guides I could have asked for! Their love and care for what they do is so so clear and the way they were able to connect with every single person and make us feel like we not only belonged but deserved to speak our minds and be our authentic selves if something that I am going to cherish forever!

WILD was my first GIVE trip. My guides were Carly Jo and John, they were super helpful and great to talk to! They made sure everyone was adjusting well and prioritized getting to know everyone individually and as a group. I also had a great group of other volunteers that was a good mix of first years or returners. Everyone was very welcoming, it was so much fun talking to everyone with different backgrounds and future goals/plans.

Something that took me by surprise was the place we stayed during the majority of the trip. It was a beautiful lodge that never disappointed. The food was delicious and there was always enough for seconds.

This trip was very influential to me and has taught me so many things. Learning more about sustainability has changed my entire outlook on life and how I've previously been trying to help the earth be healthier. I would recommend this trip to literally anyone! I think if you're new to traveling Hawaii would be a great trip to start out with because it is still in the United States and a very fun trip. Getting to experience Hawaii not in the eyes of a tourist but as a traveler there to help it was definitely more influential than a normally trip to Hawaii would be.

My experience with GIVE was truly rewarding and shifted the way I see tourism vs traveling with intention and reciprocal efforts to support the local community. Through the immersive learning environment I gained an authentic perspective of Hawaii debunking myths, and bearing witness to the stories, practices, and species that surpass the colonized lens. This cultural knowledge enhanced my experience as the connection to the Earth and people illuminated the value of taking responsibility of tending to the land with pride. I have traveled in my life, but I can honestly say that this was the most meaningful, adventure packed, learning abundant, and compassion filled experiential journey, and It has empowered me to fight and take responsibility to support my hometown community. GIVE volunteer programs deserve 6/5 stars, I genuinely cant thank them enough for being a huge factor in fighting for a more beautiful world and planting seeds that you and I get to nurture into roots of change. Mahalo!

SCUBA Program was my third add-on of my month in Thailand! I had the most amazing time in Krabi and Koh Khlong with some of the most amazing people I've ever met. If you've ever had the itch to learn to SCUBA dive, why not do it in the one of the best places for diving in the WORLD? Even our dive instructors, who have dived all over, told us how special diving in Krabi and in the surrounding local islands are. And even though SCUBA diving is main part of the trip, the home-stay on the island of Koh Khlong was even more special. The magic happens when you get to immerse yourself in Thai culture and live amongst the locals. It was the best way to end my stay in Thailand :)

If you love elephants, this is the trip for you! We visited many different elephant sanctuaries over the length of this trip with the goal of learning what different approaches there are to elephant conservation and care. We were able to experience hands-on sanctuaries as well as hands-off, and even an elephant retirement home. Even though the approaches may be different, the one thing that was constant was the love and care that these sanctuaries gave to the elephants. This trip was extremely educational, and was an amazing add-on to my two other Thailand programs I participated in!