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What is a vacation with purpose?
A simple definition of a vacation with a purpose is that travelers give their time to help the communities where they are staying. This kind of trip can happen in many places around the world, and it can be as easy as adding a volunteer opportunity to an itinerary or signing up for a specific volunteer program.
Lounging by a pool may seem like an ideal vacation for some. However, watching your work during a “voluntour” trip is much more rewarding in the short and long term. By choosing a vacation with purpose over a standard vacation, you’re positively impacting at least one other individual in a community, if not more.
Why should you vacation with purpose? Do I need to travel to Central America?
While many who choose to take volunteer vacations will note that helping the local community is reason enough, there are other benefits to choosing travel volunteer projects. When you choose a volunteer vacation, you can often go to places that are far away and have amazing natural beauty. Though you do not need to travel to one specific place like Central America or South America,
These locations may be places you’ve never considered visiting. They may even be destinations you’ve only seen in magazines like National Geographic. These volunteer trips could include anything from helping with sea turtle preservation and wildlife conservation in Costa Rica to traveling to Cinque Terre in Italy to learn about the local culture and restore the dry stone walls.
A common misconception is that you’ll be working the whole trip during a volunteer vacation. Fortunately, volunteers receive downtime to explore, bond with the locals, and enjoy delicious cuisine from nearby restaurants.
You’ll also gain additional skills and knowledge that you might not otherwise have access to. For example, helping with sea turtle preservation will allow you to learn about how to properly take care of sea turtles and offer insight into how you can protect your local marine life.
