The BEST Local Experience!

IVHQ is an amazing organization providing incredible opportunities to connect with the local culture and feel more connected to the beautiful humans that inhabit our planet. Often it can feel like we live in different worlds completely when we travel to different parts of the world, but being able to connect with fellow like-minded travelers and form relationships with the local communities and experience different mindsets, mentalities, and world views is one of the most fulfilling things we can experience. Trying to experience this on your own can be daunting and there are often lots of barriers, but IVHQ seems to understand this very well, so they've done most of the breaking down of barriers for you and made it super accessible! The local team had a very informative and much-needed orientation on the first day and even allowed us to experience how to use the Jamaican taxi's, which was so crazy and would have been SUPER daunting and sketchy without their guidance. They really helped normalize everything through the lens of "you're just experiencing a different culture"! Everyone on the local volunteer team was super knowledgeable and helpful throughout the entire experience, and their connections with the local businesses we got to volunteer with was amazing! The farm I got to volunteer on was owned by a superwoman who was super passionate about her farm, sustainable agriculture, and providing great experiences for her clients and it really showed with through in her hospitality and her guidance on giving us tasks to do throughout the trip! We got to plant a garden, make a cucumber trellis, and hang out with the bees and collect some honey, couldn't have asked for a better experience! The other volunteers I was with only had great things to say about their experiences as well, so IVHQ is definitely doing something right with their connections in the local communities. We even got to go on quite a few excursions as well (exploring caves, diving into beautiful waterfall pools, and swimming in bioluminescent waters at sunset), so we got to explore the whole island. If I had to suggest anything to differently than what I did, I would HIGHLY recommend you book more than one week!!! One week was perfect for me this go around because I couldn't get the time off work, but next time I will for sure be booking a longer trip.

I would take a volunteer trip with IVHQ over an all-inclusive stay hands down!