VOLUNTEERING IN SOUTH AMERICA
Travel with a purpose & make an impact
Volunteering in South America is the ultimate way to experience your travels through a totally unique lens.
Volunteering on your South American adventure
Volunteering in South America is an incredible chance to make a real-world impact while gaining massive personal and professional growth. Whether you’re passionate about working with kids, helping wildlife, or protecting the environment, there are countless projects across South America ready to help you hit your goals.
As a volunteer, you won’t just be a tourist—you'll dive headfirst into the local culture, giving you a deep understanding of the region's challenges and opportunities. You’ll work side-by-side with locals and other international volunteers, building awesome relationships and making lasting connections with people from all walks of life.
Tip: learning a bit of Spanish will bring you so much closer to the community!.
Beyond the personal and cultural perks, volunteering in South America looks amazing on your resume. It proves your commitment to social responsibility, your ability to smash it in diverse teams, and your skills in communication, leadership, and problem-solving. At KILROY, we partner with a huge variety of grassroots projects across South America. Whether you want to empower youth, protect wildlife and ecosystems, or support community development, we can help you find the perfect match for your skills, interests, and goals.
Tamandua Ecolodge & Reserve
Best Volunteering destinations
A wide selection of recommended volunteering destinations.
Need help planning your volunteering adventure?
Our travel experts can help you refine your ideas, pick the right destinations and plan your trip from start to finish.
Paul
Sustainable projects
We only team up with carefully vetted international partners who meet our super high quality standards. You’ll get paired up with your very own travel specialist who will help you piece together your dream itinerary. Our mission is simple: to make sure you have the absolute trip of a lifetime.
Tamandua Eco Lodge outing
Frequently asked questions
Working hard and having to pay for it? It might sound a bit contradictory at first, but your financial contribution is vital. It directly covers your living expenses and ensures you aren't putting a financial burden on the community you're there to help. Your fee covers:
Accommodation: A safe, vetted place to sleep, unpack, and relax after a busy day.
Food and drink: Daily meals, usually featuring fresh, locally sourced ingredients.
Project transport: Getting you safely to and from your project site every day without any hassle.
On-site support & supervision: 24/7 access to local coordinators, orientation, and emergency assistance if you ever need it.
A direct donation to the project: Funding for essential materials, long-term planning, and local staff salaries to keep the project running sustainably.
Accommodation is always fully covered. Depending on your destination, you’ll stay in a dedicated volunteer house, a lively hostel, or with a welcoming local host family. For some projects, you can choose your preference or upgrade to a private room for a small extra fee.
As for food, the meals included vary by project, but you will always be well-fed. On-site transport is fully taken care of, and in most cases, this even includes your airport pickups and drop-offs so your arrival is completely stress-free. You’ll also get a comprehensive pre-departure briefing from us to ensure you’re fully prepared before you even board the plane.
Of course, you could try to scout out a project on your own while backpacking, but we strongly advise against it. Without deep research, it’s almost impossible to know if a project is ethical, safe, or where your money is actually going. Sadly, some projects are set up just to profit off travelers rather than create lasting change.
When you volunteer through KILROY, we do the heavy lifting for you. We strictly vet every single partner to guarantee they are sustainable, ethical, and run with the community's best interests at heart. Plus, you get our full backup support if any issues pop up before, during, or after your trip.
Yes, absolutely! However, we ask that you avoid giving cash directly. Instead, focus on tangible goods the project actually lacks. If you are working on a community or school project, think about things like clothes, pens, notebooks, and educational books.
The best move is to wait until you arrive, talk to your local project coordinator about what they currently need most, and buy the items locally. This ensures your donation is 100% useful, plus you’ll be supporting local shopkeepers and putting money straight back into the neighborhood's economy.
You should go volunteering if you...
...want to smash the tourist bubble and truly live the culture
Instead of just passing through, you’ll share meals with host families, learn local slang over coffee, and build real friendships with the community.
...you want access to the planet’s wildest ecosystems
You'll get to live and work inside restricted Amazon reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, or Galapagos research stations that are completely closed to regular tourists.
...you're ready for a journey with real purpose
You want to level up your resume with cross-cultural leadership skills while leaving a genuine, lasting impact on grassroots community and conservation projects.
