Shell out for turtles
Volunteer placements in the Galapagos Islands — either teaching English to children or helping to feed and monitor turtles — are new this year from Gap Year for Grown Ups. The Galapagos placements are on San Cristobal Island and cost £1,299, including meals, home stays and two to four weeks learning Spanish in Quito, but not flights.
Gap Year for Grown Ups (01892 701881, www.gapyearforgrownups.co.uk).
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Kiwi careers
Bunac, the holiday job specialist, says more 25 to 35-year-old professionals and semi-professionals who want to take time out “while they’re fit and young” are making bookings. It offers year-long work in New Zealand, with accommodation on arrival from £450, flights excluded. Jobs are most likely to involve temporary office work, teaching or catering.
BUNAC (020-7251 3472, www.bunac.org).
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Buddha building
The Year Out Group has 14-week “Indochina Ventures”. Volunteers join Buddhist monks to build stilt houses for impoverished families in Cambodia before going on an adventure trip taking in Vietnam, Laos and China. The cost is from £3,995 and includes all food, accommodation, funding for the project and the adventure activities, but not flights.
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Year Out Group (01380 816696, www.yearoutgroup.org).
Chill in Chile
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Combine the highlights of half a continent with learning a language on Journey Latin America’s new South American odyssey from Santiago to Lima. The 60-day trip, with a 14-day language course and home stay in the Chilean capital, starts at £4,250, including flights.
JLA (020-8747 8315, www.journeylatinamerica.co.uk).
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Take the leap
The Leap has a six to 10-week placement in Guyana costing £1,894-£2,870. Participants teach English to Amerindian communities and monitor wildlife on the Iwokrama Canopy Walkway.
The Leap Overseas (01672 519922, www.theleap.co.uk).
Down but not out
A two-month Outback Experiences tour to Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific with Audley Travel includes visits to Aboriginal communities near Darwin in the Northern Territory, rock art and wildlife in the Tiwi Islands and Kakadu National Park, Uluru, geothermal sites in New Zealand, Maori communities, and remote villages in Fiji. The price starts at £7,000 for all flights, accommodation, car hire and some meals and activities.
Audley Travel (01869 276345, www.audleytravel.com).
One to ponder
The Good Retreat Guide by Stafford Whittaker lists more than 500 monasteries, convents, Buddhist and Hindu temples, gay and lesbian retreats and yoga centres, mainly in Europe. Some offer meditation and contemplation, others include activities such as painting or walking.
The Good Retreat Guide (£12.99, Rider). From bookshops or by mail order, 01206 2558580, www.thegoodretreatguide.com, plus £2.50 p&p.