Volunteer Vacation – Volunteer Honeymoon Ideas

Newly weds embarking on honeymoons to beautiful, exotic and serene destinations is commonplace. But an emerging new trend is here : that of volunteer vacations coupled with honeymoons. Volunteer vacations add  a little bit of twist to regular honeymoons. In addition to visiting exotic locations, and enjoying each others company, the honeymooning couple can volunteer to do humanitarian work, meet the locals and have an overall enriching and fulfilling experience. You can have a taste of adventure in addition to getting an opportunity to give something back to society.

You can take up volunteer work like teaching, community conservation activities, archaeological site restorations, building houses for the poor, wildlife conservation activities to name a few. But before you start planning your volunteer vacation, you need to take into consideration some important facts -

Some volunteering activities require manual labor. So be prepared to get more details from your tour operator. There will be time for leisure and relaxation though, so you need not worry.

Decide on the duration of your honeymoon and select the place accordingly. If you have just a week in hand for your honeymoon, it would be better to select a place closer home than to opt for volunteering abroad.

Do note that volunteer vacations are planned many days in advance, so you need to plan your travel dates accordingly.

Volunteer vacation organizers

Some organizations you can contact for volunteering activities while on honeymoon

1. Earthwatch : Earthwatch offers activities related to environmental research and conservation. You can team up with scientists to join and help out at various expeditions held in Asia, Africa, Australia, South Pacific, Central America, Europe, Russia, North America, Artic and South America.

2.Global Volunteers : This organisation offers a host of activities that include teaching conversational English, caring for high risk group children, paint/build and repair buildings in addition to working with teens, adults and young children.

3.Habitat For Humanity : Habitat For Humanity is into building affordable homes for the poor and homeless. You can take up volunteer work with them at different locations including Africa/Middle East, Asia/Pacific, Europe and Central Asia,Latin America/Caribbean, United States and Canada.

4.i-to-i : lets you volunteer in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Volunteering activities include teaching underprivileged children, conservation of wildlife and endangered habitats.

5.Cross Cultural Solutions: lets you volunteer abroad in countries like Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Morocco, Peru, Russia, South Africa, Tanzania and Thailand. Here you can work along with with locals in orphanages and child care centers, schools, health clinics and hospitals, homes for the old,  and many other community organizations.

6.  American Hiking Society offers volunteer vacations with activities related to rebuilding nature trails. There are several trips and hikes that will interest you.

So now you have so many different getaways and activities to volunteer for. It is the best way to make your honeymoon even more meaningful and divine. Besides, whatever goes around always comes around, meaning you do good and the good comes back to you and makes sure that you have a happy married life.

Photo Credits: Mozzercork