Worldpackers
I recently had a TikTok get way more views that I was expecting. All I posted was a quick life update explaining that I had flown all the way from Dublin to Bali for a Worldpackers, and ended up having to leave said volunteer position less than 24 hours later because it was not as described on the post or even in the interview. As the comments rolled in, I realized just how many people didn’t even know what I was talking about when I said “Worldpackers” so I thought I would write a little bit about what it is and my honest experience with it!
What is it?
Worldpackers is an app that connects you to volunteer positions all over the world. Similar to websites like Indeed, Worldpackers is simply the platform with the listings. For just $50 USD a year, you can scroll through seemingly endless volunteer listings. Each listing includes a few things; for example what you give (and what you get in exchange), the numbers of days and hours expected each week, the type of accommodation, the type of work, and reviews left by other people who have already traveled there. An example of what you as the volunteer would give is reception work, cooking, cleaning, socializing (party promoting), website design, or concierge. In exchange you will most likely get free accommodation and at least one meal per day, but you could also get things like access to certain events, yoga classes, use of a bike, tours, and more! There’s so many things a host can offer, but you do have to be careful because sometimes you will get there are those things will come along with contingencies. I did a Worldpackers at a hostel in Mexico where the host offered ‘free tours’ but you had to fabricate fake reviews on Trip Advisor for his side business in order to get those ‘free’ tours, and even then he’d only give you 50% off sometimes. So not really ‘free.’
As for accommodation, many Worldpackers are in hostels, in which case you would stay in the hostel. However, there are others that offer private rooms, some offer tents, homestays, even living on a boat (which I definitely want to do at some point!) Each volunteer position is different in what they offer and it doesn’t just come down to what the host is willing to offer- it’s what they’re able. Some of these listings will ask for extra fees (meaning you pay them) to help cover the cost of you living there. The Worldpackers I did in Mexico took a $50 refunable deposit, some take nonrefundable deposits, some straight up ask for upwards of $400 USD a week to help them. It all depends on what you’re looking for, I would just recommend getting a receipt for any money transactions just in case.
The next thing the host has to list is what they expect from you. Most of the time it’s a pretty generic listing, so before I commit to any Worldpackers the question I always ask, is ‘what does a day in the life of a volunteer look like?’ This is the perfect question to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. An example of what a listing will look like this, “25 hours a week, 3 days off, reception, cleaning, night shift’ Based on this you can clearly see the hours, the days you’ll have off and the work you’ll be doing, but it’s always good to get more specific. Especially if you’re going pretty far from home, you will want to get as specific as possible. What exactly does ‘cleaning’ mean? Does it mean keeping the general commonspace tidy? Cleaning bathrooms? Flipping beds and doing laundry? Dishes? All of the above? If it says ‘nightshift’ does that mean 3pm-11pm? 11pm-6am? Even though you can see what the host is looking for, a lot of these things can be open to interpretation, so it’s always best to ask as many questions as possible. There’s even a feature on the app where you can ask people who have already done the volunteering what their experience was like. Sometimes it’s better to hear from the employee than the employer to get a clearer idea on things.
Worldpackers is a great (and cheaper) way of traveling. It’s great for people like me who enjoy slow traveling. I’ve been going for several months now and have several months ahead of me. I like to stay in places for 3-4 weeks at a time as to avoid burning out. Traveling is lovely, however it can get really exhausting if you’re constantly moving around. It’s not good for people to be on the move every few days, it’s too much and completely unsustainable (at least in my experience). I’ve heard so many good things about Worldpackers and I’ve done some really fun one's myself. It’s a great way to meet people, especially if you’re solo traveling like me. I also find that through my lack of ‘real’ employment, I am often quite bored of just finding things to fill my day up. Having a sense of responsibility is good for my mental health, but it’s not so much responsibility that I will ever find myself overwhelmed. It works really well for people who like to move around a lot too, as most of these positions will only last anywhere from a few days to 12 weeks. Most of the work is pretty flexible so it’s also really good for digital nomads.
I love Worldpackers, I really think it’s a great idea and I actually have a couple lined up in the next few months. It’s cost effective and pretty fun 9/10 times. You just have to take care of yourself and if anything feels off, go with your gut. Because it’s unpaid work, sometimes hosts (employers) will take advantage of volunteers (you). I recently flew across the world to do a Worldpackers in Bali. During the interview (some hosts interview, some don’t) this girl told me it was a flexible volunteer position, usually only working at night, as a social rep. She said you get 1 or 2 days off per week and the hours are pretty flexible so long as everyone is on the same page, but there isn’t really a schedule. That was red flag number 1. You should be given a schedule by the host in almost every scenario. This helps to avoid any confusion of responsibility. The next red flag for this place was that they ‘couldn’t’ confirm my trip through the app. I went anyway because I’d spoken to this girl and I’d also had a facetime interview with her and lots of WhatsApp messages confirming my trip. Needless to say, never ever go to a Worldpackers trip without confirming it in the app. When you and a host agree to work together, they will send you an invitation, once you accept it, a little green ‘confirmed’ button will come up next your messages with them and in the ‘trips’ part of your profile. It’s really really important to have your trips confirmed and you’ll see why soon.
I arrived at this hostel, absolutely exhausted. I had flown across the world, having had zero sleep on my trip from Dublin to Bali. I was fighting for my life just to stay awake for the cab ride to the hostel. I arrived and was shown my room, the manager then asked me to meet him upstairs to go over the rules for the stay. It’s very normal for a manager to do that, it’s important for everyone to be on the same page. That being said, I’ve never had to do it 10 minutes after I arrive, especially after arriving in the evening. Up I went to meet though, and this was when things went from a little odd to really bad. This job was advertised to be 32 hours a week. He then handed me a paper than said the work was from 9.30am until 11pm every single day, with only 6pm until 7pm off each day. That is an insane amount of work, particularly for this region, where hostels charge about $4-$20 USD a night. When traveling with Worldpackers, make sure you are doing work that matches what you are saving on accommodation. Even 32 hours a week is far too much for this region, but it looked like a fun job. He then said he would see me upstairs at 8pm, giving me only 1.5 hours to get myself unpacked, showered, and ready to drink for 4 hours. I was so tired I didn’t even know what to say. I reluctantly got ready and went upstairs, after 3 vodka cokes, I was beyond ready for bed.
The next morning, I woke up and really thought about what this guy had said to me the previous evening. This was far, far too much work. He was quite rude to me during the evening for not being as social as I should be, despite the fact that he knew I had been without sleep for over 30 hours. I didn’t fly all the way to Indonesia to be chained to a hostel the whole time. So, I told him this wasn’t for me and I was happy to stay for the evening to help out, but I would be checking out the next morning. He tried to tell me that I was the one who should’ve thought about whether or not I wanted to volunteer before accepting the position, as they had planned on having me there for three weeks. I was not having that, and simply told him that he shouldn’t be working volunteers more than the hours we had agreed upon, and he should think about lying to people before they fly across the world to work at his hostel. We ended things on amicable terms, I was just ready to get out of there.
I should’ve seen to the red flags that were waving in my face. This position had 0 reviews on the app. I supposed someone needed to leave the first review, but still, I was going so far and should’ve went to something more reliable. On that first night, the two other volunteers ran up to me in excitement that there was another volunteer. They made jokes about how they would ‘finally’ have some time off now. A hostel charging $8 a night is not at all worth all that time though! They were nice girls, it was just absolutely not something I was interested in doing while in Indonesia! Now, I mentioned earlier that you should always always confirm your trip in the app? Here’s why: I could’ve gone to Worldpackers and told them this job is not as described and I had to leave. They could’ve covered a few nights stay while I sorted myself out. They have insurance for these sort of situations. Thankfully, Bali is cheap enough that I was able to quickly and easily find a different hostel to stay at for the rest of my time in Canguu. All this to say- have a back up plan. You really never know what you’re walking into. Also, don’t let one bad experience ruin your view of volunteering abroad!
What I listed were just the most popular types of Worldpackers that you might see people doing on TikTok, but they also have options to work in holistic centers, on farms, doing photography, content creation, working on permaculture projects, in eco villages, and so many more options. As I mentioned above, I do already have some Worldpackers lined up for the spring and I probably won’t be looking to do another one until the autumn. When the time comes, however, I think I’ll be very interested in doing some work that doesn’t include hostels. There are a lot of options of volunteer teaching English, working in orphanages, or with animals. I think I will be looking venture outside of my comfort zone and seek something with a little more purpose.
I’ll always love this app and way of traveling. I did two really fun Worldpackers in Autumn and met some of the nicest girls, we traveled together even after Mexico! I have two more lined up in the next two months in other parts of Asia. I know not to hold one bad experience against the whole concept of volunteering. Volunteering is a really fun way to make friends and get a break on costs. I would still strongly recommend it! Just make sure you’re taking care of yourself first, you never have to stay in a situation that you don’t want to stay in! Safety and comfort comes first- always :) As always, but particularly for this subject, feel free to send me a dm on Instagram for more! @_deirdredwyer
Happy Traveling!
xx
