To volunteer is to offer a precious gift both to yourself and the greater community, whereby you learn more about the world around you, make meaningful relationships and have a positive impact on those that need help most.  Gnarly Troop has decided to tackle the big questions surrounding tourism, in an honest attempt to clear up some of the misunderstandings.

So you want to be the change and offer your skills, time and comforts, but find that this can be a costly experience. Why? Google searches of ‘volunteer abroad for free’ turn up with thin results and you are left with a big heart and an even bigger decision to make: is your mere presence more beneficial than a monetary contribution?

Did you know that corporate volunteering can also contribute to your business by not only saving it money but also by increasing profits? Here’s a look at why a company getaway should be a part of every successful business model and why a trip to a cacao farm in Belize might just be what the mentor ordered to help your company reach its peak.

Alternative spring breaks are for students who are looking to do more than simply relax or party during their block of free time from their college and university studies. Students who seek alternative spring breaks are searching for a meaningful experience, usually abroad. This doesn’t mean that they can’t enjoy the beaches of Mexico along with traditional spring breakers, it simply means that they can split their beach time with giving back to the local community.

Take your volunteer experience to the next level by living in spiritual places or within religious communities. By adding in the extra element of spirituality, you can elevate your volunteering as you learn about and participate in rituals and lifestyles that are often very different to your own or perhaps are in line with your beliefs: 

Planning a trip to Australia? Want to make the most out of your stay in Sydney? Interested in giving back to the community that you will call home for a few weeks, or maybe even months? Make volunteering a part of your journey and enhance your experience of Australia and its residents!

Discover the world's most threatened species, and learn how you can help conserve them. From giant pandas to Bengal tigers, Gnarly Troop programs provide the perfect platform for helping endangered species worldwide.

Mission trips are an exciting way to travel the world and have a meaningful impact on it as well. Whether you are a Christian missionary looking for an experience that isn’t offered by your local church, or come from a non-religious background but still want to make a difference, here are the top mission trip for 2019.

Komodo dragons are a mysterious, fascinating wildlife species. Their name itself draws a large amount of attention, but there is much more to these animals than just the name. Check out these 10 amazing facts about komodo dragons!

Discover the world of Teaching English as a Foreign Language, including where to get certified and where to find jobs teaching English abroad!

Discover the benefits of volunteering while traveling abroad! Read about what awaits you as an international volunteer in a foreign country.

It can be seen from space. It is bigger than the UK, Switzerland and Holland combined, around the same area as Japan and approximately half the size of Texas. Yet, Australia's Great Barrier Reef is diminishing at a rapid rate. Your work as a volunteer can help protect the Reef and make a significant contribution to the research being done towards the conservation of the World Heritage Area.

Australian wildlife is known to be unique, which is probably why you want to make the long journey over to experience volunteering with Australian animals. But there’s more to Oz than the kangaroo and the koala, so here are a few more creatures that you can look forward to seeing when you volunteer at a wild animal sanctuary.

Volunteering abroad is an amazing experience; you have the opportunity to learn about a new culture and have a positive, lasting impact by helping the local community. Volunteer opportunities can be short or long term, and can often double as internship opportunities. These projects provide students with real-world experience in a hands-on, interactive, learning environment.

Swing into the opportunity to volunteer with playful, intelligent monkeys! Monkeys, like apes, belong to the primate family. Some enjoy calling and swinging from trees in tropical rainforests, others prefer to stay on the ground in hot, African climates. Monkey conservation and rehabilitation programs are ideal for volunteers who want to provide care for wildlife, up-close. ​In South America, volunteers can join an actual monkey sanctuary, located remotely in the Ecuadorian rainforest!

Dolphins are beautiful cetaceans and one of the sea’s most-loved animals. They are playful, social and considered to be extremely intelligent. There are close to 40 different species of dolphins, and they can be found not only in tropical waters but also in rivers and in cooler ocean waters off the coast of Europe.

Although the kangaroo has many brothers that look like it i.e. wallabies and wallaroos, the term kangaroo technically describes the largest of the bunch and includes the red kangaroo, the eastern grey kangaroo, the western grey kangaroo and the antilopine kangaroo. A group of kangaroos is called a mob. A male is a boomer and a female is a jill.

This year was an exciting one – our volunteer programs made amazing progress and had truly positive impacts on local wildlife and communities. Here is a list of our top 10 programs for 2019, based on volunteer feedback.

Gnarly Troop works to ensure that all of our volunteering opportunities are in line with our sustainable values. We monitor our programs and collect data from our partners to ensure that our programs are producing results and positive impacts. Below are just a few examples of the outstanding impacts and achievements of these programs from 2018.  

Costa Rica’s jaguars are both mighty and mysterious. What we know about these unique big cats is fascinating. What we don’t know might be even more intriguing. Gnarly Troop’s Jaguar Research and Conservation program aims to uncover this big cat’s secrets - there is still a lot to learn. 

Sinking your toes into the sand of a remote Costa Rican beach, watching sea turtles heave themselves out of foamy waves - it sounds dreamy, but this could be your reality. Costa Rica is one of the most important locations for sea turtle conservation. Gnarly Troop’s sea turtle conservation program lets you take part in protecting these vulnerable creatures while living the adventure of a lifetime. 

Ah, sloths. What’s not to love? These tree-dwelling animals are cute, fun and friendly to humans! Like many of us, sloths like to hang and to take long naps. Although seemingly cuddly, the fur of sloths is host to green algae, which helps sloths to camouflage into trees as well as provides them with nutrients. This symbiotic relationship helps sloths survive in nature.

Around the globe, single-use plastic consumption is polluting the world, most specifically the oceans, which is where the plastic ends up. Marine animals such as sea turtles feed on the plastic, mistaking it for sea kelp and this one mistake disrupts their stomach’s natural processes. Gnarly Troop has pulled together our top five recommendations for travelling plastic-free, and we are also highlighting our programs that make a specific effort to reduce plastic pollution from entering the seas!

There is a wide variety of wildlife in South Africa - and a wide range of conservation projects. Many of South Africa’s most interesting animals are under threat. Join the movement to help protect wildlife and take a look at our South Africa animal volunteer projects today. 

Stretching nearly 300 kilometers from Mossel Bay in the west to Storms River in the east, the Garden Route in South Africa is a journey every nature lover should take. The coast is almost excessive in its natural beauty, with glorious beaches and stunning landscapes colliding. No matter whether you’re more of a water baby or a mountain goat - if you’re passionate about the outdoors, you’ll never run out of things to do along the Garden Route.  

Gnarly Troop is proud to announce our nomination as a finalist for the WYSTC Global You Travel Awards in the category of "Best Sustainable Tour Operator 2018!"

South Africa is afflicted by the largest HIV epidemic in the world. Nearly 19 percent of adults are living with the virus, according to global HIV education organization Avert. The HIV/AIDS crisis has created lasting healthcare and education struggles in affected communities throughout the country. 

Monsters of the deep, or misunderstood, curious fish? Hollywood would have the world believe that great whites are man-eating beasts, but the reality is much more complex. These massive creatures are crucial for the health of the oceans, vulnerable to many conservation threats, and also have many fascinating traits. 

We promote programs that empower local communities and encourage sustainable, lasting change. We monitor consistently the effects of our programs to ensure that they are making a positive impact and have achievable, sustainable long-term goals.|Here are a few examples of the impacts and achievements of our most popular programs to date!

We at Gnarly Troop have bunched together our most family-friendly programs, to make choosing your volunteer family adventure a breeze. Enjoy upgraded accommodations, feel at ease with prepared meals and most importantly, enjoy your volunteer vacation with your whole family! Nothing is more rewarding than giving back to communities in need, and to be able to do just that while experiencing a new place and culture while on a family vacation is simply the best of both worlds.

The African wildlife segment of the internship will allow you to gain knowledge about animal health and nutrition, threats to the wildlife and their habitats, wildlife rehabilitation and the immobilization and tranquilization of animals. You may also have the opportunity to participate in game captures as well as medical emergencies, treating animals such as nyalas, rhinos and giraffes. 

Our programs in the Greater Kruger Area are dedicated to collecting research data on the behavioral patterns and current population status of the Big Five and how they interact with their environment, while working to restore their natural habitats. Gnarly Troop is not only committed to conserving and keeping these animals safe, but restoring their habitats so these animals and humans may prosper together in the face of a rapidly changing planet.

Our ethical values underpin everything we do here at Gnarly Troop. We take our responsibility to do best by both our volunteers and the communities where we work seriously. Our ultimate aim is to provide opportunities for volunteers to contribute to meaningful projects that have a positive local and global impact.

With over 12 years’ experience, 15,000 volunteers placed and over one million volunteer hours clocked one of the largest selections of destinations and volunteering opportunities across the globe on offer -  we are certainly proud of the number and statistics that, quite frankly, speak for themselves.

To get a closer look and better understanding of the Big Five, a volunteer program is a great alternative to a safari. Volunteering in a wildlife reserve in the Kruger area will give you plenty of opportunities to observe the animals in their natural habitat. No safari tour can compare to monitoring the behavior of elephants and rhinos alongside an expert conservation team! 

The selfless service that you are able to offer through Gnarly Troop’s Lemur Conservation Project in Madagascar is sure to make a wonderful impact on your life as well as those that you meet. 

Medical volunteering abroad is a perfect chance to boost your clinical skills, while also developing well-rounded cultural and leadership qualities,which are beneficial for career opportunities - ranging from getting into prestigious medical schools and all the way to assuming senior roles in health organizations in the 21st century. For those not practicing medicine as a career, medical volunteering abroad may give you a chance to save lives by engaging in educational community work related to preventative medicine in developing countries.

If you are passionate about helping others and curious to find new fields that interest you, then your place is with us. Through volunteering abroad with us before heading off to college, you will receive a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel the world, learn about different and fascinating cultures, and meet new people.

Trаvеlіng abroad gіvеѕ us a сhаnсе tо ѕее foreign lаnd, appreciate foreign сulturе аѕ wеll аѕ thе реорlе'ѕ wау of lіfе. Thеrе іѕ a way wіth which you can trаnѕfоrm уоur trір frоm plain tourism to a mеаnіngful vоluntееrіng experience. Gаіn mеrіt аnd ѕеlf-ѕаtіѕfасtіоn whіlе уоu discover thе sights and sounds thаt a fоrеіgn country hаѕ to оffеr.

Teaching English аbrоаd іѕ аn іnсrеdіblу rеwаrdіng experience that mаnу реорlе mіѕѕ оut оn duе tо mіѕсоnсерtіоnѕ оr mуthѕ thеу hаvе heard аbоut English education аbrоаd. This article аddrеѕѕes a few оf thе most соmmоn mуthѕ, аnd explain what you really do nееd in order tо volunteer to teach Englіѕh аbrоаd. 

For many people that volunteer abroad, the opportunity to stay in their host country and turn their volunteering experience into a career is both common as well as feasible. Did you have so much fun volunteering abroad that you want to come back to your host country and find a permanent job? If so, you should be educated on both the positives and negatives of living in a foreign country. 

The most obvious reason - and a pretty important one at that - would be that volunteering abroad will ultimately provide you with the opportunity to see the world. And from the best perspective. Volunteering abroad not only allows you to travel to almost any destination in the world it also provides you with the unique opportunity to explore, experience and see the country you are in through the eyes of a local. Be it through volunteer abroad programs such as community immersion projects or even working with indigenous animals of the region - you will truly become a traveler and not just a tourist.

Volunteering abroad is becoming increasingly popular, and even so, the number of those in need of help is still rising. Communities across the globe seek caring individuals who look to help a cause greater than themselves. We have compiled a list that tells you why volunteering abroad is an ideal way to spend your time. If you have never considered going abroad, or if you have but want some reassurance, this list is for you.

Sitting right at the top of the food chain and known for their majesty, power and of course grace, there is no point in arguing that both lions and tigers have earned their regal status around the globe. These big cats are among the most recognized, admired and at the same time feared animals on our planet. Being able to volunteer abroad with both lions and tigers will no doubt be one of the most memorable experiences of your life.