Projects Abroad Volunteer Programs in the Galapagos

My 17 year old daughter had a wonderful seven weeks in San Cristobal island in the Galapagos. She did conservation work and teaching English to children all under the expert care of William Puga who is in charge of the project there. He stood in as a parent for us when she had an accident in her last few days riding her bike outside of the project, and looked after her in hospital and arranged for transport back home with our insurance company. We always knew she was in excellent caring hands.
She loved staying at the reserve with lots of other volunteers and also in a kind host family in the fishing village.
The Galápagos Islands are very safe and beautiful and our daughter learned Spanish in the company of the islanders and cannot wait to go back.
After two years of Covid, Projects Abroad was the perfect way to start experiencing life again. Thank you to everyone there!

Great experience! So many nice people around the project. I felt very safe and welcome at my host mom’s house, the staff around the basketball project and the Projects Aboard staff too! There was a good balance between free time alone, to enjoy and experience the city on my own, but also activities with the other volunteers in the city.

The only thing I could have missed, was a little more influence on the basketball practice/the work, but with help from the coaches to translate from English to Spanish

I can definitely recommend Projects Abroad!

I volunteered with Projects Abroad in the Galápagos Islands as part of a High School Specials group. It was the experience of a lifetime. During the 2 weeks, we were kept very busy doing impactful work in the local community. The staff were very involved and helpful. The accommodation was great, very comfortable and social atmosphere with good local food at lunch/dinner. Overall, the experience was fantastic and I would definitely recommend this project to anyone who is considering volunteering abroad.

San Cristobal is the island with the capita of the Galapagos and is the third biggest. It is not as commercial as Santa Cruz but it has beaches, hiking and places to drink and eat after work. You will stay 5kms out of town in a hostel with plain shared rooms and good food. Taxis into town are easy to get and there are many options for weekend activities on this island or on others. You will have a cross section of experiences covering sea lions, iguanas, petrels and giant tortoises. There is weeding, attacking blackberry and lantana with machetes and gathering otoy for the tortoises. We also painted a mural at a school.It’s a well supported project, and better than others whose volunteers I spoke to. You’ll feel safe and there are people of other nationalities and ages to share free time with.

This is by far the best voluntary project I have ever done. It was truly the best experience because I was actively involved and could see how projects abroad help with conservation in San Cristabol and also helped to employ locals working with the projects and the locals who also support volunteers there during their voluntary programme.
My activities ranged from planting Otoi trees- I must have planted more than 60 trees which I am so proud of and hope to go back one day to see them.!!! These trees are the tortoise staple diet.
I helped at the Giant Tortoise Breeding Centre- the only protected haven centre on the island where giant tortoise, endemic to the Galapagos are kept safe and bred. To feed these animal, clean their pools and observe them was such an amazing experience and to think they were nearly wiped out by sailors not so long ago. We must share this planet with them and their existence now is our responsibility and we must protect them!!!
I was also involved in monitoring sea lions- what an absolute thrill- to see these playful animals.
Invasive Plant removal- sadly the sailors also introduced plants such as Black berry, guava which have altered the ecosystems of the islands and are displacing the endemic plants by competing for food, light nutrients and geographical space. The eradication of these invasive plants is done by hand using machetes- its such rewarding work as you get to do some manual work- keeping in good physic( building strong biceps:)
Plant nursery -reforestation of endemic species is essential to these islands- putting seedlings into soil- getting dirty and regenerating mother nature- you can't imagine the joy of feeling and touch soil the life force that sustains the all that grows on this planet.
Beach clean up- yes sadly there is litter on the beach because people are still very ignorant about the impact of plastic and the dangerous rubbish. So being there and showing and telling the locals how unique their home is fundamental in educating and encouraging them to recycle.
The Galapagos islands are unique, mesmerising, spectacular and enchanting. The animals there will turn you into a giggling child, the excitement and joy you will experience is indescribable . You will encounter iguanas which are very unique to these islands,birds such the blue footed bobbies , red footed bobbies, frigate birds, finches etc, sea horses, sharks, whales, dolphins, turtles, sea lions and of course the tortoises themselves-hence the name Galapagos.

Please, please go- its an experience that you will never forget. I strongly recommend going with Projects Abroad because in my opinion they are professional, supportive and above all they are following some of the World Health Organisation's 17 Sustainable Developmental Goals.

I could not be more grateful for my past experience with Projects Abroad. It was an extremely humbling and meaningful experience. I taught English and helped in a primary school classroom. I loved meeting the children and teachers. I loved being immersed in the culture and grew extremely close to my host family. I just went back to visit them 3 years after my volunteer experience. It really changed my entire outlook on life. The appreciation and gratitude that I feel is unmeasurable and I don't feel that I would be who I am today without that experience. The experience is what you make of it.

Culture shock did hit me in the beginning and my host parents were so supportive and loving. I really felt that they considered me a part of their family.

Visiting the Galapagos has been a lifelong dream of mine. I was traveling solo so I searched for a program that would give me some structure in an unfamiliar country but also enough freedom to explore as much as I wanted. Projects Abroad was perfect for this. The volunteer work was fun and worth-while and the staff and host families were beyond amazing and helpful. On the weekends and evening I had plenty of time to explore other islands, scuba dive and see everything I wanted to. I made lifelong friends from around the world. I highly recommend this project, and can't wait to participate in another one some day.

Plan a trip for as long as you possibly can. This may seem obvious but I thought two weeks was enough, and it flew by and I wished I had more time to explore and be with the people from the project.

Based on San Cristobal, there a good variety of things to do, and the team make sure that you see a lot of the island and participate in different types of projects. There are some early starts, and some of the work can be physical, but you feel like you are part of the local team doing useful work to help conserve this unique place. You will get the chance to see many iconic species of animals in this project from only a couple of metres away. The host family and local project team are all passionate about their work and will ensure that you are looked after.

Top tip - if you want to have side trips, a drink at the bar, or buy any souvenirs, be prepared that this is not a cheap destination and you will spend $$$ quickly - but it is definitely worth considering if you have the opportunity once in your life