Can I volunteer in Africa for free?

If you want to volunteer in Africa, you can search for a suitable project and organise the trip yourself. Calculate costs for getting to the project and possibly visa costs. On the ground, you will need to calculate costs for accommodation, food and getting around, on the weekend for instance.

Many people do not have much travel experience in Africa or are volunteering for the first time and trust a provider to organise everything for them. You can choose one of the global providers or trust a local provider like Good Hope Volunteers.

If you prefer a provider to organise everything, you will enjoy several advantages like knowing the exact total costs upfront, having access to all the necessary information beforehand, and getting professional assistance if you encounter any issues.

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When using a provider to volunteer in Africa, you don’t pay to volunteer but you do pay a fee for all the services around volunteering. Generally, those costs include:

  • Administrative costs to provide you with the most suitable projects to choose from and provide you with all the information necessary for a successful trip.
  • Local transport costs for getting from the airport to the project and back, transfers from the accommodation to the project every day where applicable and trips on the weekend or transfers to buy food where necessary.
  • Accommodation and, in the case of some projects, meals.
  • Training, supervision and equipment where necessary.
  • Good Hope Volunteers also includes a donation for certain volunteer projects that is forwarded in full. Projects are often underfunded and depend on these donations. Our price list indicates which projects receive a donation and how much they receive.
  • Assistance in case any unforeseeable issues occur.
  • Some projects include further services.

When comparing prices, keep in mind that Good Hope Volunteers provides all-inclusive packages. This means that all costs from landing at the airport to departure are covered.

The only additional costs to consider are costs for:

  • Flight ticket
  • Medical insurance
  • Visa (where applicable)
  • Food (where applicable)
  • Pocket money for extra activities

Good Hope Volunteers offers different volunteer projects for different budgets. However, the value for money is the same for all projects we offer. Some projects are situated in rural areas and offer only basic accommodation. Other volunteer projects include more comfortable accommodation and experiences like diving or boat trips. You can find in detail what is included in the costs on our price list and in the project descriptions.