(by 3 people)
Want to get your hands dirty?
I have spent the last few months researching travel options for a trip that my sister and I will be taking soon, and I would hate to waste all the great things that I have discovered. The search has not been easy... As young women who are able to travel to foreign countries, we feel that we should give back to the communities that we visit. We want to get a chance to experience the cultures of the countries that we visit and we would love a chance to volunteer for short periods of time. However, we also want to be able to see all the big cities in these counties and have someone help us figure out what sights to see and where we should stay. All of the travel agents that I found offered stuffy travel options--I wanted to get my hands dirty! I want to scramble up a mountain, cook with the natives, and sleep in a tree house twenty feet off the ground! In my research I stumbled upon a new form of traveling that some are calling 'voluntourism.' More and more websites are popping up that provide opportunities to give back to the cultures while learning about them AND they act as basic travel agents and can help you plan your vacation with your special desires in mind. I have also done a lot of research on eco-tourism--environmentally and culturally friendly tourism--another way to give back to communities. Finally, I have found a listing of quirky hotels all over the world. The more unusual the hotel, the better! I will be able to offer a better description of specific encounters after I return from my travels...
Voluntourism
'Voluntourism' is the best form of tourism out there! In addition to getting to have a face-to-face experience with the native cultures of whatever country you plan to visit, you get an opportunity to give back. I have only found a few companies that focus on voluntourism, but I'm sure this will catch on soon.
- I have been working closely with the man who Hands Up Holiday. His website offers voluntourism opportunities in many countries. I have been working directly with the man in charge of the company to combine three of his trips together. He has been very friendly and tailored the trip just to my liking.
- Sustainable Travel International is a wonderful page that provides an overview of responsible travel and a huge list of companies that provide opportunities for voluntourism. This is a wonderful starting point for people interested in voluntourism. The webpage also offers helpful tips on how to be be a conscience traveler.
- Another company that I have stumbled upon is called Go Differently. This page claims to create 'responsible travel' opportunities all over the world. I contacted the company about a trip and they replied quickly.
- This is a volunteerism opportunity that I hope to get to experience in Thailand. Andaman Discoveries You can have the opportunity to stay in a village recovering from tsunami damage where you can either volunteer or participate in workshops run by local women.
- Three out of four of the kids in my family participated in Visions during high school. This is a wonderful opportunity for high school students to experience the act of giving and be exposed to another culture and/or environment. I had the opportunity to work on a Native-American reservation in Montana when I was only 16 years old. I helped the reservation prepare for a Pow-Wow and it was the first time that I ever had the experience of being a minority. I would say this was a life-changing experience and I still keep in touch with a few of the friends I made on my trip ten years ago.
- This is a website that I have not spent much time on, but on the home page they offer opportunities for people looking for short-term and long-term volunteer opportunities and they offer opportunities for people looking to teach abroad. i-to-i
- This is one of the places that I have been hooked up with through Hands Up Holiday. Located in the southern region of Australia, Iga Warta
not only provides the opportunity to study the land with the natives, it gives you the opportunity to work the land right next to the Aboriginals. I am really looking forward to this and will have more to report soon! - Another website that I stumbled upon when I began my search is Intrepid Travels. Again, I have not spent much time on this page, but Intrepid Travel boasts travel options off the beaten path.
- Why not take some time off to travel? Most students in the UK take a year off between high school and college and call it their gap year. There are many wonderful opportunities to be had by young students. Take a look at this page, Real Gap Year Experience, to see what type of adventures can be had while helping the communities that you visit. Not a student anymore? Click on the Grownup Gapper tab and see what they've got in store for you.
- Here is a great article about the concept of voluntourism published in the New Zealand Herald. The article high lights the beginning of the company that I chose to work with, Hands Up Holiday.
Ecotourism
Ecotourism is another way to give back to the communities that you visit. I consider ecotourism anything that is a form of tourism that benefits both the land and the culture that your are visiting. Eco hotels, resorts, and lodges can vary from the most rustic outdoor provisions to a very classy accommodation. I haven't decided whether I believe voluntourism is a sub-category of ecotourism or ecotourism is a sub-category of voluntourism... The chicken or the egg?
- If you're curious about ecotourism, check out this site! The page Ecotourism:Ecological Tourism provides an objective overview of what ecotourism is. The page also provides many books related to ecotourism with in-depth summaries.
- Ecotourism at Conservation International provides an overview of what ecotourism is and an in-depth exploration of why ecotourism is important. It also provides links to ecotourism opportunities in Bolivia, Brazil, Ghana, Guatamala, Panama and Venezuela.
- The International Ecotourism Society not only provides a large list of eco-friendly lodges all over the world, it also provides information that can clarify the purpose of ecotourism. The website provides an extensive range of topics that allow you to get involved with ecotoursim. "
- If you are traveling to Australia, try to book some of your travels through Anangu Waai, an Aboriginal owned travel company. Through this page you can hook up with many wonderful travel opportunities in Australia. Take a guided cultural hike with an Aboriginal guide or participate in a dot painting workshop taught by an Aboriginal teacher. You can even take a guided camel ride!
- Sustainable Travel International is a great starting point for anyone who wants to get involved with ecotourism. The page not only boasts a huge collection of links to companies that are involved with ecotourism, it also provides an extensive list of tips for the traveler who wants to travel responsibly.
- The Caitlins Wildlife Trackers company, located in the Catlins on the south island of New Zealand has many different options to offer you. You may stay at one of their eco cottages, take a guided eco walk or even participate in a restoration project at a local penguin reserve.
Quirky Hotels
I love to sleep, so where I stay while on vacation is very important. However, I could care less about a fancy hotel. I want to sleep somewhere that I am going to remember. The stranger, the better. I'm into the idea of tree houses and thatched roof cottages, but I LOVE the idea of sleeping inside of a giant dog or in a hobbit home. I have listed a few websites that I have found that have their own lists of unusual hotels, but I have gone through and picked out some of my favorites and added some others. I'll keep adding to the list as I discover more.
- Unusual Hotels of the World has been the most useful website in my pursuit to find quirky hotels. This website led me to the website that allowed me to discover the Hobbit Home that I will sleep in when I go to New Zealand. Many of the hotels listed on this page come straight from this sight. They have a map on this webpage with the unusual hotels marked on it. The sight offers many different methods of searching for hotels.
- Here is a sight that boasts the The Top Ten Quirkiest Hotels from Across the World. I may have found some quirkier hotels, but this is a good start.
- Odd Inn and Uncommodations is a new web sight that I just discovered. It provides a great list of quirky hotels that I was surprised were not listed on Unusual Hotels of the World. It also has a very cute name! Odd Inn and Uncommodations is a little harder to navigate than Unusual Hotels of the World, but this website seems to list smaller, more personable hotels that are somehow missed on the other page. My favorites are found on the 'One of a Kind' link.
- Woodlyn Park is one of my fantasy hotels. It is a fantasy that will soon come true (keep posted)! This provision offerss many quirky opportunities for slumber. There is a train, a plane and a boat all restored into lovely places to sleep. However, I am not going to sleep in one of these restored means of transportation... I am going to sleep in a Hobbit Home!!! A replica of a hobbit home built into the hills of New Zealand?? That is so silly!
*The Hobbit films were filmed in New Zealand. - Ever considered sleeping in a Giant Dog? If you are ever passing through Cottonwood, Idaho, Dog Park Bark Inn is one of the quirkiest hotels out there! The bed and breakfast is located inside a giant replica of a Beagle. I plan on making a trip to Idaho just to check it out!
- North Adelaide Heritage Group offers a restored Victorian fire station as one of its rooms in southern Australia. That's already a little quirky, but the hotelp has an actual fire engine in the rented apartment! The hotel offers some other restored properties for rent, but nothing as fun as the Fire Engine Suite.
- The Cedar Creek Treehouse is located in Mount Rainier, Washington. It is also located 50 feet in the air in a giant cedar tree!! The hotel also boasts a Stairway to Heaven, which is an 80-foot spiral staircase that leads you up a tree to another treehouse observatory. Not for those who have a fear of heights!
- Ever had to sleep in jail? If not, here's the perfect opportunity to do so without tainting your criminal record. If so, another night can't hurt. Napier Prison Backpackers and Tours is located in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. Sleep voluntarily in New Zealand's oldest jail. The jail has been restored to provide tourist with an opportunity to tour the grounds as well as sleep in one of the prison cells. You can choose to either sleep in a cell that had been changed into a bedroom, or choose to sleep in one of the special cell suites for an authentic experience. Not at all what one normally imagines when thinking of the word 'suite'.
Read Real Literature!
Australia
Its a shame how few people read real literature these days! I believe the use of travel books is even becoming scarce. This is an insult to the cultures you plan to visit. Read up on traditional mythology and folklore from the country's natives and try to catch up on some modern literature from the country. This is one of the best ways to become acquainted with a country before you actually arrive.
Read Real Literature!
New Zealand
Read Real Literature
Fiji
Alternative Travel Feedback
I would love any feedback and any suggestions of things to add to this page.
Also, please let me know if you catch any spelling or grammar errors!
markbestweb wrote...
Tourists leanr and teach while traveling. It's great to find a lens that invites people to help while traveling. If you ever go to Galicia you will find interesting and great things to do there too. Cheers for your great job!
Posted July 29, 2008
MexicoLarry wrote...
This is awesome! I hope your trip goes well, and i look forward to hearing more from your experiences! 5* and favorited! :)
Posted June 19, 2008
gwkell wrote...
Thanks for the great lens. I like Squidoo lenses with information about Adventure Travel.
Posted February 28, 2008
driewe wrote...
I lens rolled this lens
Travel Insurance: Be In Safe Hands Wherever You Go
Posted December 18, 2007
TeaLady wrote...
I created a link to your lens from My Favorite Travel Info Lens
Posted October 19, 2007
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