Voluntourism: An Alternate Way to Travel
January 30, 2026By Rafael Bonilla Abad, 2025 Future Blue Youth Council member
Cover image credit: @aseccbi on Instagram. InterCAS. Galápagos, Ecuador 2023
Ever since the times of Darwin’s glorious beard, the Galápagos Islands have intrigued humanity. Their crystal blue waves, soft white sand, and mind-bogglingly unique flora and fauna seem like a window to a forgotten world; a reminder that we aren’t the only ones here. By the time you’ve encountered your first sleeping sea lion, you’ll have realized that the animals reign here, not you. It’s a humbling experience, and, dare I say, a life-changing one.
In case you don’t believe me: this is literally a view I had from a porta-potty. Who needs a European rave when you can vibe with sea lions in Galápagos? Credit: Rafael Bonilla Abad
Galápagos is a beautiful place, one of many our world has to offer; who wouldn’t want to visit? Witnessing the natural world is something everyone should have the privilege of doing, which explains the increasing number of tourists every year – for reference, it currently lies at 270,000 annually (Galápagos Conservation Trust). The problem is that not everyone gives the islands the respect they deserve.
Tourists often don’t have the best “touristic hygiene”, but the animals, the true residents, pay the price. It’s understandable why this happens; after hours in the sun getting to know the islands, it’s easy to get sloppy. The islands collect 28.6 tonnes of waste per day, but the uncollected waste is the real problem (Galápagos Conservation Trust). Tourists on average account for a little over 40% of the island’s “population”1, so it’s likely at least the same amount of waste is theirs. However, tourism also accounts for 80% of Galápagos’ economy according to Nature; it’s a double-edged sword. This is a trend for many tourist destinations. Traditional tourism can be incredibly rewarding and relaxing, but it also takes a toll on the places that welcome us.
We’re in luck, though: there are cool alternatives. Service trips let you have many of the same experiences traditional tourism gives you and avoid its downsides. In a service trip, you visit and help out in a location you choose. There are different kinds, but the point is to help fix the problems that actually affect the place but are often ignored. This can be education, healthcare, community development, humanitarian aid, and environmental2 work (GoEco).
Doing a service trip might seem like an odd way to spend your hard-earned vacation, but it’s not. Just let me cook. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to go to Galápagos to remove invasive species, help with reforestation, and clean up Santa Cruz (the main island in the archipelago). Let me be clear: the Instagrammable glamour of traditional tourism isn’t something you should expect…but what awaits is much better.
Photo of the mural we made on our service trip to Galápagos in 2023. Credit: ASECCBI
For starters, you spend your time helping the place that you’re visiting. You get involved in its problems and its culture. Instead of seeing only the places catered towards tourists, you get to see the good, the bad, and the beautiful. You’ll have an unfiltered perspective and have the privilege of seeing something most don’t: the beauty of everyday life. We’re used to our own speedy pace and our own routines, but when you leave that behind, you begin to understand what unites us as a people. Plus, even though you’re mainly working, it doesn’t mean you’re a prisoner. You get to go out and do normal touristy stuff and feel your impact while you’re doing it; what’s better than that?
On top of that, you make friends along the way. The other people in your program may come from wildly different backgrounds, or they might be your neighbours (who knows, they might be into the same stuff as you), but you’re united by one thing: you were driven by the need to help out. Service trips can be tough at times, but being in the company of other cool peeps makes the effort easy to joke about. When all is said and done, everyone goes back home but not as the same people they were before the trip. The shared hardships and laughter are memories that will last and guide you for a lifetime.
If you’re still unconvinced, guess what: it can be cheaper than traditional tourism (New York Times). This means your trip can be longer on the same budget, or it can open the doors to places you couldn’t previously afford. If you’re still at an age where you can take on these types of opportunities, service trips are a great way of getting to know yourself and having agency over your role in the world. Be it a week, a month, a year. Your choice, but you won’t regret it. What better way to get out of that quarter-life funk than making the world a better place?
By now, service trips might sound too good to be true. They can be. Be mindful of only working with well-known NGOs. In my case, the program I participated in was organized by Ecuador’s local International Baccalaureate NGO, and they worked with the municipality of Santa Cruz and the Darwin Foundation to help them in their continuous efforts. This made sure our work had long-term impact. I (strongly) suggest reading the NYT articles “The Voluntourist’s Dilemma”, as it explains the pitfalls of voluntourism better than I ever could, and “How to Choose a Volunteer Trip”. Both are linked below. The same goes for when you do traditional tourism: read up on how to be a good guest; this is non-negotiable.
Next time you find yourself wanting to leave your bubble, consider doing a service trip. It’ll mean a lot to those you help out, and it’ll be an experience you’ll never forget. My trip to Galápagos was a short one, but if there’s anything I learned from it, it’s that I’d do it again. So if you ask me, I say give it a go; you just might like it.
How did you end up here? Credit: Sally Choi. Bow Seat Gallery
1 Self-calculated: Data referenced from Galápagos Conservation Trust and Censo Ecuador
2 I’ll only talk about environmental trips because that’s my area of expertise, but many of the aspects apply to all the types I mentioned.
Want to learn more? Read the articles used for the research of this blog!
References
Brown, K. (2024, August 27). The problem with people: how more tourists and a growing population are taking their toll on the Galápagos islands. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/aug/15/dying-species-and-garbage-the-downsides-of-the-galapagos-tourism-dependency
Castrejón, M., Pittman, J., Miño, C., Ramírez-González, J., Viteri, C., Moity, N., Andrade-Vera, S., Caceres, R., Tanner, M. K., Rodríguez, G., & Barragán-Paladines, M. J. (2024). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Galapagos Islands’ seafood system from consumers’ perspectives. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 1690. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-52247-5
Maayan, Maayan, & Maayan. (2023, December 9). Non-Religious mission trips for adults. GoEco. https://www.goeco.org/article/non-religious-mission-trips-for-adults/
Jones, J. (2023, June 23). Galapagos Waste Management Report 2021 – Galapagos Conservation Trust. Galapagos Conservation Trust. https://galapagosconservation.org.uk/galapagos-waste-management-report-2021/
Travelling responsibly – Galapagos Conservation Trust. (2025, July 29). Galapagos Conservation Trust. https://galapagosconservation.org.uk/about-galapagos/travelling-responsibly/
Kushner, J (2016, March 22). The Volunteerist’s Dilemma. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/22/magazine/the-voluntourists-dilemma.html
Glusac, E (2024, August 20). How to Choose a Volunteer Trip. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/20/travel/how-to-choose-a-volunteer-trip.html
Censo Ecuador (2024). Resultados Principales Galápagos. https://www.censoecuador.gob.ec/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Info_Galapagos.pdf