My Two Months on the Most Beautiful Island in the World

My two months in Palawan were 8 of the best weeks of my life. I registered for this program because I wanted to travel SE Asia and volunteer during my gap year, at an affordable price. I was a first time backpacker and this was the perfect spot to start. I volunteered on the construction and environmental programs. It was so much more than I imagined it could be.
If you do this program, you'll be living on the beach in a 1500 person village full of beautiful, kind Filipino people who are happy to have you there. I will never forget hanging out with our neighbor children on the beach at sunset or coming back from working in the mangroves covered in mud and jumping in the sea or dancing all night on our weekend trips or the sights that were so beautiful they triggered spiritual experiences or karaoke nights, beachfront fires, trike rides through the rice fields, pumpkin fritters, hammock days, bucket showers after sweaty days, hikes, the list goes on and on and on!
This program really has it all, and IVHQ offers it at an awesome price. I volunteered a lot, really experienced the culture, traveled a bunch, and made some of the greatest friends of my life (international volunteers, coordinators, and villagers). I will never forget my time in Tigman Village.

If you find yourself in Tigman, have a Red Horse for me and skinny dip in the Sulu Sea! Honestly, go sign up for this program right now, it will probably change your life.

Disclaimer: You may not enjoy this program if you don't like being outside, and you will be very dirty (bucket showers) and covered in bug bites. Also, the Philippines is a third world country. These turned out to be some of the things I loved most about the experience, so don't be discouraged.