r/Worldpackers

Hi, I’m 18 from the Netherlands and I’ll be spending about a month in Texas in September during my gap year. I’m trying to figure out the best way to make the most out of my time there and I could really use some advice.

I’m open to a lot of different experiences like volunteering, work exchange, staying in hostels, or more rural options like ranches or animal-related work. I’d also like to base myself somewhere where I can meet people around my age and have a social experience, not just work.

If anyone has suggestions on places, programs, cities (like Austin or elsewhere), or ways to connect with opportunities like this, I’d really appreciate it.

I recently uploaded a video about what was probably the wildest Workaway experience I’ve had in 8 years of traveling, all while crossing Africa by motorcycle.

Part 1 – Fundraising and helping him get home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDjGIRxVm-A

Part 2 – Finding out who he really was: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0ihRarYb6g

I arrived at a small farm project in The Gambia where a local woman was building a sustainable garden and guesthouse. She was also involved in environmental and educational initiatives in the community, and even helped manage a women’s football team. Honestly it sounded like the perfect place to slow down for a while after months on the road.

The plan was simple: help on the farm, rest a bit, and enjoy having somewhere to call home for a few weeks.

Instead… I only spent about a day and a half actually doing farm work 😂

She introduced me to the first guest staying in her new guesthouse. He was in a wheelchair, had a very complicated story that kept changing, and something about the whole situation felt off from the beginning.

Long story short, instead of farming, I ended up spending the next 6 weeks helping fundraise for him, arranging documents, trying to get him a new passport, and eventually helping him get a flight home. The woman running the project had already been feeding and housing him for over 2 months because she didn’t have the heart to throw him out.

Fortunately we only spent money on the flight for him, the rest went to helping the woman who hosted him.

We never heard back from him when he arrived back in the Czech Republic. Then about a year later… we discovered he was actually a wanted criminal back in the Czech Republic 😳 He was eventually arrested and sentenced to 5 years in prison for scamming an elderly pensioner out of more than €200,000.

Still one of the most surreal experiences I’ve ever had while traveling. What stayed with me most though was seeing people from completely different races, religions, cultures, and backgrounds all come together to help someone they believed was in need. Even if it didn’t end up being the perfect happy ending we expected, justice was eventually served and a lot of genuinely good people still helped where they could.

I'm very new to this and travelling in general, but I am simultaneously looking forward to it!

Do any experienced folks have any advice for me? I've seen a few posts on here where people have been scammed, and would prefer to be as safe as possible.

Thank you!

Hi everyone I just found out about world packers recently and after doing some research I find it super fascinating and I was just kind of wondering, I know this will vary depending on where you travel and what you do, but how much money do you guys usually spend on a trip (other then your flight)?

i would like to be in the worldpackers program in like a month but i havent started anything besides of picking out a few places where id like to go

Hi everyone! I’m Italian and I’m considering doing a Working Holiday abroad. I’d really like to use the experience to grow professionally in the non-profit/humanitarian/social sector rather than doing the more typical hospitality jobs like bars or restaurants.

I already have some volunteering experience with vulnerable groups and I’m interested in work connected to NGOs, community projects, youth work, international cooperation or social support services. My goal is to gain experience that could actually help my future career in the third sector.

For those who have done a Working Holiday, which countries do you think are best for this kind of path? Is it realistic to find opportunities connected to NGOs or community organizations while on a WHV? I’d also love to know if there are specific cities, programs or organizations you would recommend looking into.

Thank you!

hi, i just arrived at my first work exchange ever at a social hostel and im intimidated somehow by other volunteers. i haven’t met some of them but im worried they are already in cliques/ i have to handle a lot of fake nice / mean girls around. i dont know why i have this irrational social anxiety but everything is going to be fine right? just want some people to share more about their first experiences first time joining groups of volunteers.

Hey guys, I got a worldpacker membership for the first time a bit over a month ago. I am bad with forgetting memberships I have, and so I went to my profile to cancel the auto renewal for my membership, to find out later, my whole membership was revoked. I paid for a whole year, so I expected to still have access until next April, but my account is now prompting me to purchase a new membership to apply for positions again. I tried to reach out so support when this happened last Friday, and never heard back. I even send another request via their support form online, but still ive heard nothing back. Is there any other way to get in contact with customer service or anything else I can do? I was hoping to stick with worldpackers, but this is putting me off and I might just make the switch to workaway if this cant be resolved. Feeling duped.

Why aren't any hosts responding to my messages or accepting my requests ?

I'm just trying to apply for some volunteer work for fisrt time

So i recently joined worldpackers for my very flexible 4-5 month or so SEA trip and notice that most of the sustainability oriented experiences that I’m attracted to are usually expecting about 12-15 USD from participants per day. I downloaded worldpackers mainly to try and find projects like these to help out younger kids in rural areas and have absolutely no problem paying this fee, but is it some kind of red flag on the app to be avoided? I know many people on here take issue with paying on top of volunteer work but i come from Ireland and will have a few grand saved up before going and have no issue paying a bit towards these causes and also lending my labour, but are there any other reasons that these kind of experiences should be avoided based on your personal experiences? Thanks :)

I got some destinations in mind - Bali, one of the Greek islands, and Malta. I don’t want to stay for just a week.. I’d like to do couple months there, so I’m wondering what’s the maximum amount of months you can do at one place?

So im looking to go to germany in the next couple of months but i got some questions about what are the differences between the volunteering and the work exchange.

I main doubt is the work exchange part, like people get paid? Do i need a working visa for that? Or is it pretty much the same

And also if there is any tips in general for things to keep in mind they are very much apreciated

I have been seeing this mentioned allot on a few platforms that both host and volenteers claiming reviews are removed - not added - manipulated - watered down which seems to be rather concerning as you can’t depend on them ?
Anyone know anything more about this ?