ISV - Volunteer Projects in Costa Rica

I had a wonderful time in Costa Rica and ISV made the whole experience SO easy and SO stress free. They organised everything! It was great to be able to go away for a fully action packed five weeks without having to organise a single thing. But it definitely wasn't cheap. The whole trip ended up costing close to $8,000 (for the volunteering, adventure tour& extra week of spanish immersion, flights and optional activities package- which EVERYONE does) but it covered all but a few meals, activities and of course our souvenirs. I opted to take the group flight (which they organise for you) which was a big mistake cause it was soooooo expensive (even though they made out like they could get us reduced rates for travelling together). The 2 weeks volunteering was hard work but totally worth it. I got to get up close to beautiful sea turtles!!! And the 2 week adventure two is a MUST it is probably the most fun and best value part of the trip! We went white water rafting, zip-lining, rappelling/abseiling, horse back riding, river tubing & surfing. Plus we stayed at some of the most beautiful and tranquil places I have ever been! So bottom line is, it's lots of fun but lots of $$$$$,

I can honestly say that doing a volunteer program with ISV was life-changing! I learned so much and all of the staff and volunteers were extremely welcoming and accepting. I did a lot of research and chose ISV because of the credentials and from what I heard from others who volunteered with ISV previously. ISV really helped me grow as an individual while helping others at the same time. I would not change my experience for anything and I am so thankful to have had the chance to volunteer with such an amazing organization. I would highly recommend ISV to anyone looking for a great, safe opportunity in a foreign country.

It is not every day an undergraduate student has the opportunity to spend their days hiking through the rain forest searching for poison dart frogs or boating around a gulf observing dolphins and humpback whales. As a pre-vet student, I discovered my passion for wildlife and the drive I have to protect it and hope to take the knowledge and experiences I gained from my volunteer trip and apply them to not only my career, but also my mentality. I went into ISV's program looking for an experience. I came out with a new life plan and the experience I needed to make that happen.

I volunteered with ISV in Costa Rica and it was honestly life changing! We did dolphin research in Gulfo Dulce which is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. The dolphins came right up to the boat and interacting with them like that was incredible. I learned so much about the environment, dolphins, and people in general. I'm a psychology major and learning about how dolphins (and of course people from other countries) interact has been so beneficial to my studies. I received credit for my trip too which is great! I made great friends who I still see and talk to from all over the US and Canada - overall had an amazing experience with ISV!

I had attended the five week programme that included a week of home stay experience and Spanish lessons. I really liked how there was a balance between doing the touristy stuff and being immersed in the local culture in this program. Although there wasn't much to do during the home stay apart from the spanish lessons I enjoyed the experience of living with a Costa Rican family and roaming around Heredia on my own, even getting to take a day trip to San Jose as well! I have learnt a lot during the volunteer program about working with children and enjoyed myself in the process. The adventure tour was at a good pace too, not too packed and yet not too relaxed, filled with enjoyable activities in it. Overall, I enjoyed myself during the program and it was a really good experience.

I went on this ISV trip during the summer of 2003. It was an amazing experience working deep in the jungle for this tight knit community. It was a good idea to move host homes half way through the volunteer experience because we each got to experience different families and home types.

The work was physically demanding, which was great. We all felt that we were really contributing. There was also a lot of freedom at the end of the day to play.

The eco tourism portion was extremely educational as well.

I have shared my experience with ISV to countless people.

This journy was more that i could ever imagine. The staff was beyone amazing (super fun and easy to relate to) and the experiances are something i will never forget! i was granted the amazing honor to work with wild dolphins and help make in mipact in gulfo dulce. the relationshsip i have gain with the other members are ones that i will never forget! the adventure tour was honestly amazing and i still dont believe that i would ever get the chance to do anything that amazing again! my favorite thing was surfing! My favorite over all experiance however, was buliding relationships withthe other "campers" and the staff there. It was truly a life changing experiace and i would do it again in a heart beat!

I had some frustrations personally and with people I knew caused from lack of communication to group leaders from ISV or to participants from group leaders about what was going on, girls with back problems were put in my group which needed to backpack into the park a few hours.

All in all: Incredible time in Santa Rosa National Park on an isolated beach seeing milky way while patrolling the beach for turtles late at night.

Adventure tour was really touristy- very separate from rest of Costa Rica's society. Rafting was awesome.
Very worthwhile and memorable experiences!