Volunteer Programs in Thailand | Best Volunteer Projects

This programme was such a great 3 weeks and great value for money! Working with elephants was definitely the highlight of the trip and the staff were so helpful with everything, including ideas for what to do in our free time. Would definitely recommend this programme to anyone!

The unique thing about this program was that my day to day experiences were all so different. Every day we did something new. One day we were cutting sugar canes down with machetes for elephants the next day we were pouring cement down to build a porch for a school house. The language barrier was not the biggest difficulty, but I saw a lot of people lose their patience with this challenge.

I've volunteer with VS at three different countries and so far, this one was my favorite experience for so many reasons.

The accommodations were simple but it was located right smack in the middle of the beautiful city of Chiang Mai. It was walking distance to all the great restaurants, shopping, and sites. The orientation was thorough and very helpful. The administration was helpful and I could tell that they had a passion for working with a volunteering company.

The volunteer location I was placed at was an orphanage that really needed the help of volunteers. I fell in love with the children who had taught me the value of focusing on a person's potential, and not on what they had lost and gone through. They all came from extremely adverse pasts but they were all very happy, loving, and in love with life.

While at Thailand, I was fortunate enough to have had some incredible experiences. I, along with a few other volunteers, were invited to a Hmong Wedding. It was beautiful. I was able to ride an elephant on its bare back up a mountain, and then had a water fight with it at the river before returning. We went river rafting and then had a picnic at the river bank before returning home. We did so many incredible things. I would not exchange this experience for anything.

I cannot say enough good things about my experience. It was easy from start to finish - I always had a contact person ready and willing to help me with any questions or concerns that I had.

Waking up everyday to ride my elephant to the river bareback to bathe him was more than incredible. There is no cooler way to start your day! After the bathe, we would eat breakfast, then head out to do our chores, such as making/packing vitamins for the elephants, help out with the Elephant shows, help the ladies in the kitchen, and plenty of other things! There is always something to help out with, but also plenty of laid-back down time. The atmosphere is so refreshing. I really bonded with my elephant, as well as the other volunteers. I honestly cannot think of a single thing that went wrong the entire two weeks I was there. On the weekends we traveled back to the volunteer house in the city and explored the entire time. It was amazing! There are hundreds of wonderful restaurants to eat at. The Thai food is incredible. I always felt safe and so welcomed by the native people. If I could do anything differently, I would have packed lighter! You don't need nearly as much as you think. Life is so simple and easy when you are there - not a day goes by that I don't miss it. You don't want to let this kind of experience pass you by. It is life-changing and unforgettable.

I had a fantastic experience volunteering in the Elephant Camp project in Chiang Mai. I decided to join the project as I love working with animals and heard some great reviews about Volunteering Solutions from my friends.

While staying at the camp, I worked along with the local Thai staff and the elephant trainers as well as volunteers from around the world. I had great time in Thailand and would recommend everyone to come to this beautiful country.

It was a great experience to work with these beautiful girls at the orphanage in Chiang Mai. I used to work for around 4-5 hours a day Monday to Friday and was free to travel on weekends which were a great relief after 5 days of work.

Overall Chiang Mai is a very beautiful and calm city and people are very friendly and helpful. Om our coordinator was awesome and it was a delight to stay with other volunteers at the amazing volunteer home. The home was really close to the center of Chiang Mai so volunteers could easily go around anywhere they wish to.

I am already missing Thailand very much and hope to be back soon by next summer.

Going to volunteer with the Elephants in Chiang Mai was one of the best decisions I made ever! We stayed in the elephant camp and my accommodation was on a tree house, the camp is about 40 minutes from the city and we used to go to the city every weekend. I spent time bathing, feeding and cleaning the elephants.

It was an awesome experience and I would highly recommend it!

I would have actually preferred to be given more volunteering hours as our working time seem quite minimal and not as impactful as I thought it would be. For instance, in the Surin Childcare Centre, it didn't seem like they needed much help at all as all we did was spending time playing with the children. We didn't organise games for them, but only watch the full-time caretakers conducting their daily activities. Tha Thum was a more meaningful endeavour where we helped plant trees and pick out weeds outside their temple, but we were relieved off our duties much earlier than I personally anticipated, having not completely clearing the weed area. Nevertheless, the leisure part of the program is commendable, particularly the Khao Yai National Park.

On another note, there has been much confusion about the program's start & end date due to the discrepant details seen on the website and our personal volunteer page. More than just a few of us have submitted enquiries about this and urged for the quick amendment on the websites to prevent further confusion, but no action was taken. Many of us also asked when we are meant to fly back upon the end of the program, being unsure of the official ending time of the program. I was personally informed to only leave a day after the aforementioned final day, but was then told that I would have to bear additional cost for staying another day.