PMGY - Volunteer in Sri Lanka from $270

I had such a good experience with Plan My Gap Year. This was my first time travelling alone, so obviously I had a lot of questions- they were always answered quickly by Philip, who is an email-replying superhuman and really easy to contact!

The project itself was amazing. I got to visit various different places, ranging from teaching English to teenage girls to giving swimming lessons to special needs students, all of which were very well-run and good fun. I spent most of my time at the orphanage (out of choice, the coordinator Janaka - the nicest man in the world by a mile - is happy for you to do pretty much whichever combinations you like) and found it to be incredibly worthwhile. The kids were so lovely and hugely affectionate, and it really felt like we were making a big difference just by going in to play with them.

We lived with Janaka at his house - the rooms are all nice, mostly you share with 2 or 3 others, and you have your own bathroom in each room. All the food is provided.

Sri Lanka itself is beautiful and such a fun place. There's a lot to see - I wish I'd had more time - all your weekends are free, work finishes by 5 if you want to go out for the evening, and we got a long lunch break for a bit of sunbathing.

All in all my trip couldn't have been better and Plan My Gap Year were just fantastic. I'd love to volunteer again soon, and when I do it'll definitely be with them

I have to say that my experience of being a volunteer in Sri Lanka has been wonderful on every aspects. I received even more support from then I could of asked for, both from the UK office and the Sri Lanka team. This program puts you in the heart of the Sri Lankan culture, but always providing secure local transport and doing everything they could to facilitate our experience in this new country. I loved how I was given the opportunity to add an afternoon project in addition to the sea turtle conservation project in the morning. I absolutly loved the teaching project and it gave me the opportunity to discover that I enjoy working with kids and would like to persue it in future volunteer projects. It was an extremely rewarding feeling to teach english to those students, that are so eager to learn. I would recommand this project to anyone who os looking to do rewarding work, on the community and personnal level, as well of having a fun and secure experience

From the moment I booked with pmgy they have given me a lot of support and information about the country and what to expect. Obviously you never take in fully the information until you are there experiencing it. Reading the handbook does basically tell you what to expect fully and it was pretty much the experience they told me about.
From landing at colombo airport to being dropped back there the co ordinators/drivers have been so helpful and polite.
The house I stayed in (new house) was basic yes,but I wasn't expecting 5* to begin with. The sisters was very helpful and always prepared beautiful meals (chip night is a winner). If I needed anything extra like an extra mattress or extra fan this was no trouble for them and the co ordinators sorted it.
I did the elephant experience for the 4 weeks I was there but did an extra few days volunteering with the turtles and also the teaching project. Every project I did was amazing. Being with elephants was a once in a lifetime experience. From feeding and washing them to scooping there poop it will be an experience I will never forget. The baby turtles were possibly one of the cutest things ever and the project they run at the sanctuary is an amazing experience. I was so happy that all the babies and disabled turtles were being looked after properly. I only had 1 day teaching but I could see how much this project was helping the children to learn English.
If I was to give any advice to people wanting to join a project on pmgy is go for it 100% and enjoy every munite you have there because it will be over in a flash. Also read the handbook it will tell you what to expect and what happens there.
My 4 weeks in Sri Lanka was one of the best experiences of my life and I couldn't thank the co ordinators, sisters, drivera and pmgy for that! I will definitely go back for sure!!

I had a great time on this program.

The most memorable story I have is getting to the top of Little Adam's Peak. It's memorable for a number of reasons. Firstly, I struggled so much with climbing Lion's Rock that I had to abandon it very soon into the climb. It felt quite disappointed with myself. So being able to get to the top of Little Adam's Peak was a wonderful way to feel better about myself. And secondly because the views are simply so stunning from the summit. It was well worth the climb and hard work! In addition to that, there was a little Hindu temple perched along the mountain side and our climb was beautifully scored by the sounds of hymns and drums and symbols- it was. Truly surreal experience. Also dodging the odd cow on the mountain was another fun aspect of the climb!

I had a fantastic time taking part in the 'Real Experience' trip. Would definitely recommend for people who want to see more of Sri Lanka whilst volunteering. It was great value for money as all of our meals and accommodation were paid for. It was such a great opportunity, ideal for first time travellers. Would not recommend to people looking to go out and party, it is limited and the coordinaters come with you on week nights, which is understandable due to safety.

PMGY looked very appealing based on Internet and Facebook reviews, the email
Communication was prompt and email communication good. However upon arrival, it was chaos. Their in no planning and preparation, our group size (34) was too big, therefore lots of hanging around waiting and divided choices on what to do, eat etc. PMGYs greed outweighs the experience. As I departed Sri Lanka, a group of 46 arrived. The projects are oversubscribed so therefore less time volunteering and less to do, however I have heard that the orphanage is very rewarding, but I would not recommitment the elephant EXPERIENCE it's just glofied exploitation, they are not retired and disabled as advertised but going back to work. We actually witnessed
Animal cruelty of unnecessary force whilst we were there which they tried to hide from us.
Moving on, the dietary requirements are appalling, you fill in your form months in advance yet they have no clue when you arrive and have not catered for you you just have to avoid certain things and hope for the best, resulted in one girl having a reaction to peanuts and one guy consuming gluten. When they book the Maldives trip they don't ask about meal requirements regardless if you tell them and when you make them
Aware the response is, so it's only a short flight. The U.K. Side is not good but the Sri Lanka is really passionate and thank god they actually cares about their country and the programme unlike the contact who runs it in the uk who wants to line their pockets and remain on their high horse, telephone communications with the U.K. Boss are unpleasant serval of us found and they are incredibly defensive about prices, to cover up their vast profit margins. The trip was good, two weeks travelling two weeks "volunterring" but I would not go with PMGY again, nor recommend it.