(For other information on solo travel with no single supplements and solo-priced lodging, go to our free search tool, the SoloTravelPricingTracker.net, and for our complimentary “Updated 2020-2021 Solo Travel Guidebook”, be sure to register while there.)

More Green Travel-Volunteer Destination Costa Rica + LATAM:

Options to check out:

Blue Ventures:

Blue Ventures | Award winning marine conservation Blue Ventures

Focus:

Fisheries, blue forests, aquaculture and conservation

Gender equality: For example, Belize, has an economic empowerment project for individuals to gain new income by producing lionfish jewellery. That also supports conservation efforts by increasing demand for, and thereby reducing the number of, this invasive species.  In Belize, red lionfish eat other young fish and invertebrates. Belize’s organized efforts at reducing the lionfish population are undertaken in an attempt to prevent them from suppressing local fish populations and other native species.

Blue Ventures: Overview:

• Founded: Approximately twenty years ago.
• Focus: On assisting vulnerable communities, especially those reliant upon fishing.
• Locations: Fourteen countries with tropical coasts.
• Active options: While you are a volunteer, you can take a break to  enjoy the ocean by swimming or diving.

For a bird’s eye view, take a look at one volunteer’s experience: Coastal conservation: From Sarteneja Village to diving the reefs of the Caribbean Sea: my journey with Blue Ventures – Blue Ventures – Beyond Conservation blog

(In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Blue Ventures’s upcoming expeditions had been suspended per UK government regulations. Contact their team directly by going to our SoloTravelPricingTracker.net tours; click LATAM and “volunteering” under the “Specialty Tours” drop-down menu.)

Frontier Gap:

Founded: twenty-five plus years ago.

First projects: Frontier Gap launched its program in East Africa in Tanzania with the World Wildlife Foundation.

Focus:

Marine conservation

Animal preservation

Climate and environmental issues

Biodiversity

Sustainable livelihoods

Inspiring impactful travel for all ages

Locations: The Americas

Update:

To date, Frontier Gap has grown to operate over four hundred projects in seventy plus countries across five continents. Since it was founded, Frontier Gap has worked with volunteers from more than thirty countries that have taken part in their projects worldwide.

For more information, see:

Gap Years and Volunteering Abroad with Frontier (frontiergap.com)

Contact their team directly by going to our SoloTravelPricingTracker.net tours; click LATAM and “volunteering” under the “Specialty Tours” drop-down menu.

PLAY it Forward® Adventures:

Focus:  Combining adventure travel with volunteer vacationing.

Goal: Providing empowering and enriching tours that are built on serving, exploring and connecting.

Style: Athletic, active trips.

LATAM:  Guatemala and Peru.

Contact their team directly by going to our SoloTravelPricingTracker.net tours; click LATAM and “volunteering” under the “Specialty Tours” drop-down menu.

Sea Turtle Tours:

Founded:  2008. It was the world’s first effort to protect sea turtles through ecotourism. Since 2017, Sea Turtle Tours has been run as an independent non-profit company.

Goal: Working to protect endangered turtles throughout Latin America and globally by supporting
ecotourism, education, and fundraising.

Focus: Conservation. Protecting sea turtles on beaches and in the water. They have generated more than one million dollars and saved more than three million hatchlings. This impressive endeavor has brought together more than one thousand people to see sea turtles.

Locations: Costa Rica, Mexico, Belize, Galapagos + LATAM

Opportunity:

• Work with local researchers to study and help protect sea turtles and a leatherback nesting beach.
• Assist staff in catching green turtles at sea.
• Help guide hatchlings to the ocean on your next vacation.
• Their  volunteers have completed more than five thousand work shifts at turtle conservation projects.

Their recommendations for eco-friendly travel:

Tip One: Reduce Plastic Use:

• Bring reusable water bottles.
• Ask for no straws with your drinks.
• Pack souvenirs in reusable tote bags.

Tip Two: Pack Reef-Friendly Sunscreen:

• Avoid those with “oxybenzone”.
• Buy those without oxybenzone or are labeled as “reef-friendly.”
• Use zinc oxide which is considered safe for the natural eco-systems.

Tip Three: Reduce Carbon Emissions:

• Leave electronic devices at home.
• Turn off  fans, lights, and air conditioning when you are not at hotels or in cabins.
• Use public transportation if possible.
• Get a solar powered charger for recharging small electronics.
• Purchase carbon offsets, such as “Seagrass Grow”.

Tip Four: Turtle-Friendly Diving Tips:

• See the same sunscreen advice as the above to protect the reefs.
• Avoid touching or stepping on coral.
• Do not touch or chase  after wildlife since stress can injure them. Stay ten feet away and quietly let them pass.
• Avoid using flash photos and keep Go Pro and selfie sticks out of the way.

Contact their team directly by going to our SoloTravelPricingTracker.net tours; click LATAM and “volunteering” under the “Specialty Tours” drop-down menu.

THE VACATION PROJECT:

This will enable you to see Costa Rica just beyond the well-worn tourists’ path and popular beaches.

Volunteer at the Piro Biological Research Station [Osa Conservation]:

• According the National Geographic, Costa Rica is “the most biologically intense place on earth.”
• The Osa Peninsula covers 700 square miles on Costa Rica’s southern Pacific coast.
• Because of the Osa’s geological history, it has an almost unparalleled amount of biodiversity.

Contact their team directly by going to our SoloTravelPricingTracker.net tours; click LATAM and “volunteering” under the “Specialty Tours” drop-down menu.

For other options go to:

Volunteering, A Different Kind of Vacation

Travelteerism/Volunteerism

For more opportunities for solo travel as a volunteer, go to our free, user-friendly search tool, the Solo Travel Pricing Tracker. Click “Tours”. Then choose “Location” and “Specialty Tours”. You will see “Volunteering”. There are 17 options you can link to there.