Family volunteering vacation activities

Although you will spend plenty of time working out in the forests, jungles or sanctuaries, there will be time built into your schedule to splash out a bit too, depending on the location of course. Some water devotees may want to work in it all the time; marine conservation vacations are the ones to seek out in that case. However, if you are working on turtle conservation projects in Costa Rica, for example, you will stay in cabins just metres from the sea, and have time to surf, swim and stroll along the Pacific coast. The trips are tailor made so you can add time at the beginning or end for a complete chill out. In Thailand, jumping in the river after washing elephants in them is par for the course. And if you are working on horse rehabilitation programmes in South Africa, you will not only be riding the horses along the Eastern Cape’s beaches, but also have some time off to enjoy your own beach time, go whale or dolphin watching or learn to surf.

When you work on elephant conservation projects in Namibia, you’ll have a full on desert experience. Down times here take you into a world of sand boarding, quad biking and exploring the extraordinary plains and tree skeletons at Dead Vlei, as well as the dunes at Sossusvlei, some of the world's most towering ones. They are challenging though, so best for older children.

Dreams really do come true in countries like Thailand, Borneo and Sri Lanka where you could spend days exploring the jungles and rainforests when your work in them is done. On wildlife conservation projects in Borneo explore the likes of Sepilok or Kinabatangan wildlife sanctuaries. In Sri Lanka visit the Sinharaja Forest Reserve, the largest expanse of rainforest left in the country, with a canopy as high as 45m.