How to get the most out of Worldpackers

Worldpackers had been a great assistant in helping us travel the world. We have seen places in a different light to what we would normally if we were just being tourists. Volunteering our time has been a unforgettable way to see the world.

When first picking out an experience, you need to understand what kind of volunteering you are wanting to do. The different program types are as follows:

• Work Exchange - Exchange your skills for accomodation

• Social Impact - Volunteer in NGOs, Schools & Social Projects

• Eco Program - Learn in Eco Villages, Farms & Permaculture

Once you know what volunteering you are open to do, here are some tips from us about choosing a place, after using worldpackers for 6 of our experiences.

We recommend looking for places that ask for 20-25 hrs a week, if you want to have time to explore the area and have plenty of free time. Start out with this rule and after a few experiences you can alter it depending on the country/ how you are feeling in your journey. 20 hrs a week is a good start out as this can equate to 4 hours a day for 5 days.

Food. It is good to have a place that provides some kind of food, weather that be 1 meal or 3. We noticed that when we volunteered at a place with no food included, it can be challenging getting to know the food in the local area and using different equipment. An example for us was when we went to mexico, a lot of the time we ended up eating out because the grocery stores were complex and we found ourselves resulting to pasta or rice when we were cooking. We wanted to experience the culture and a lot of that is through food, so with it being affordable at the time, eating out was a better option. So to save money, programmes that can provide some food will be very beneficial. Especially if you can eat most things.

Then when you find a place that sounds like a good fit, ensure there are up-to-date photos of your accommodation. You can check on the listing but also when you apply you can speak to the host and ask about it further. The one time we did not have photos of where we would be sleeping or check the accommodation further, we ended up sleeping in a garden shed. In the winter. We won't be making the same mistake.

On top of this, a good number of reviews on the host's listing can be a good indicator that they have had many volunteers and you can sift their experience. Make sure most of these are good reviews of course. There is also a great feature where you can message past volunteers privately to ask them further questions and get more insight to their experience. There are times when a host does not have a lot of reviews or non at all. This can be because they are new on the platform, you can always check to see if they have had volunteers from other platforms or they are completely new to having volunteers. This doesn't mean that your experience is going to be bad if they are new, but a good rule of thumb when you are first starting out with Worldpackers, a host that has great reviews and also is a 'Top Host' can make this choosing easier.

In the end, go with your gut. Even if you follow these tips, you could still end up not liking where you have volunteered. Everyone's experience is different.

Be sure to ask as many questions as you like before committing to anything and confirm any important information on the app, as chatting in third party messaging will not be seen by the Worldpackers team, in turn if you have an issue with the host, Worldpackers will not have all the information to help.

I hope you enjoyed these tips for using Worldpackers! Remember to have fun and there are some amazing people out there to learn from.

If you would like a Discount for your Subscription, use the code ASH10 for $10 off!