This article is sponsored by Worldpackers. All thoughts and opinions are, as always, my own.
Lucky for you there are no secrets to travelling long-term. There are, however, a few tips that will help you stay on the road for longer, allow you to stretch your dollar further and give you opportunities that would never be available to you at home.
One of those tips, and a very important one I might add is volunteering while you’re travelling. When you volunteer you save money on accommodation (and sometimes food too) so you can spend almost next to nothing while still being abroad, meeting other travellers and perhaps learning a new skill or two.
While volunteering is typically more common in expensive countries such as western Europe, that’s not to say that there aren’t ample opportunities elsewhere, such as Southeast Asia.
When you volunteer in Southeast Asia you have even more choices that include everything from teaching English to taking care of kids, being a promoter to working in a hostel, working on a farm to working in a holistic centre, spending time with an NGO or even helping a startup. The list of opportunities for you to learn while stretching your dollar is endless really.
Are you ready to have an experience of a lifetime while saving money?
How do I volunteer in Southeast Asia?
Let me introduce you to Worldpackers. If you haven’t heard of Worldpackers yet then let me jump ahead and tell you that you’re going to love this platform because it makes volunteering easy and safe.
Worldpackers is a platform that has brought together over 1 million travellers into a community that is dedicated to helping each other and finding you volunteering opportunities not only in Southeast Asia but around the world.
Worldpackers believes that travel changes people and people change the world (I believe this too).
Why Worldpackers?
Safety & Insurance
Worldpackers differs from other volunteering platforms because each host that you have the chance to volunteer with is verified. This means that you’re completely safe. While on some volunteering jobs it may be a bit risky just showing up, Worldpackers eliminates any risk by verifying hosts and providing you with volunteering insurance.
This means that if you have any issues that arise with your host you will be provided with up to three nights of accommodation in a hostel close-by while another volunteering opportunity is set up for you.
Support
Unlike other volunteering platforms, Worldpackers offers 24/7 support so travellers will always have access to help via the Worldpackers app, phone or email. So no need to fret, you’ll always have help available.
Community
If you’re new to travel then you have yet to experience the power of the travel community and just how wonderful it can be. Without travel communities travel wouldn’t be as fun as it can be scary for many people.
Worldpackers has set up a community with over 1 million travellers just like you who also want an experience that will help them learn, grow as individuals and save some money while abroad.
With Worldpackers you will always have a fellow traveller to chat to who is experienced and who you can offer you some solid peer-to-peer advice.
This means that as soon as you join you will have access to a ton of information that will help you plan your trip from other travellers who have done the same thing first-hand or help you out if you come across some challenges while abroad.
Is Worldpackers for me?
If you want to extend your travels, learn a new skill, meet other world travellers and save some money then, yes! It is definitely for you.
Volunteering in Southeast Asia or anywhere in the world can save you a ton. Hosts provide accommodation, while some also include food or other benefits in exchange for your skills. Food and board cost the average traveller 70% of their budget. So even if you just volunteer for a short period you will be able to extend your stay without it costing you more.
I also love the fact that Worldpackers travellers are 59% females and that majority of the travellers are solo travellers which shows just how trustworthy Worldpackers is. 60% of Worldpackers are between the ages of 24-35 so these volunteering jobs are not just for a certain age, but any age!
Lastly, volunteering provides a great opportunity for you to learn a new language and practice while you’re in a country that speaks the language you’re learning.
I really wish I had known about Worldpackers when I was backpacking around Southeast Asia because even though Southeast Asia is cheap, you can still spend money easily! I also had no idea that opportunities, like volunteering at a holistic centre and learning about meditation and Buddhism, were a thing. I didn’t know that ethical volunteering opportunities were so available and I was unaware that so many volunteering options were available such as:
- Teaching languages
- Working at reception
- Teaching sports
- Bartending
- Social media management
- Photography
- Farming
- Animal care
- And much, much more
How do I get started?
I’m glad you asked. All you have to do is sign-up at Worldpackers and begin your journey. For $49 you get access to:
- A large community of travellers
- Over 4000 volunteering opportunities with verified hosts that are available around the world
- A ton of travel resources
- 24/7 support
- Volunteering insurance
Because you’re a reader of Taylor’s Tracks, you get a very special discount of $10! How affordable is that? Use the promo code TAYLORSTRACKS when you sign-up to take full advantage of all the volunteering hosts available.
Now you have the tools to travel the world for longer, all you have to do is find a volunteering position that interests you and get started.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links which I earn a small commission from and are at no additional cost to you.