I went volunteering in Nepal for 2 weeks. It was a good experience to be able to volunteer and meet some great people. However the unprofessionalism from the travelteer ‘leader’ was not okay. I find the organisation should have more in place to avoid a white savoir complex. We also worked alongside Ming from SAHAS who showed respect for the locals and volunteers which I am very grateful for. Her organisation skills were amazing, however I did realise she was not able to make the final call when trying to solve these issues we had. I hope travelteer works to find someone with similar priorities and work ethic and look to follow in SAHAS’ footsteps. To list my main concerns which I hope can be taken and improved for the near future. 1. Travelteer leader breaking rules setting a bad precedent for the other volunteers. A balance needs to be established especially when the priority is meant to be volunteering, relationships between volunteers was not allowed and I do not believe it appropriate for this to happen between a the leader and another volunteer. 2. Professionalism of travelteer leader. As it is good for everyone to get along a balance should always be present when someone is put in a leadership role. I found fellow volunteers would make inappropriate jokes about child labour this made me very uncomfortable, this kind of language and ‘joking’ behaviour was very common during volunteering and I found no enforcement was put onto the volunteers to respect the locals. 3. Preventing white saviour complex. I don’t feel like the volunteers were prepped to understand the importance and emotional connection children can get. When volunteering you are going to leave and that can seriously affect the children. There were moments like hugging and allowing the children to cry for over an hour was only hurting them more. I also found many of the volunteers were more interested in playing and taking photos with the children. I was under the impression we were there to teach and try make a difference this was not everyone’s main intention. I know organisations like project play have been successful in preventing this complex from happening. 4. Organisation - I found we were not made aware about what we were doing on the trip until very last minute. The leader also cancelled a leaving ceremony and last day at a school we were working at for that week which was prepared for by the school and children and Ming. Cancelling this last minute was disrespectful considering the schools efforts and also meant it unable for us volunteers to give the school supplies we wanted to provide personally. I hope last minute decisions like these can be treated with more respect and consideration to the local people. 5. Bathroom and room set up - in the mountain village the girls were placed in an accommodation away from the leaders with the shower and toilet was outside of the rooms. We shared the space with some local men which made it very uncomfortable to shower as you could not dress in the shower. This meant we would have to walk past local men in our towels with no leader present. On top of this there were two Muslim girls in our group making it especially uncomfortable for them and when mentioned no changes were made. There was place for boys and girls to be switched which I still fail to understand the real reasoning to why this didn’t happen. Now the group are at another mountain village and it was promised the girls would get the better accommodation next time and that has not been the case. 6. Providing schools with equipment. It was amazing to teach in schools however the amount we paid for volunteering I would expect the children to be provided with pencils and some basic equipment. I found children still writing with broken pencils. I understand the money we provided went to our living costs however living and spending in Nepal is low and there were lots of us who fundraised.

My four-week volunteering experience in Nepal was truly life-changing. The opportunity to teach English and build greenhouses was incredibly rewarding, and I would highly recommend these activities to anyone looking to make a positive impact. A special thank you and mention goes to Ming and Sam, whose support and helpfulness were invaluable. They went above and beyond to ensure that everything was going smoothly, they made my experience truly unique. Without them, it wouldn't have been the same. I am so grateful to have had them as team leaders❤️thank you for your support guys! However, there were a few areas that could have been improved from Travelteer, particularly regarding transportation. Public transport options were not communicated to us, which caused some frustration, especially when traveling to certain schools. Although private transport was eventually arranged after much discussion, it would have been better if this had been addressed proactively. Additionally, the cost charged for the transport from Kathmandu to Pokhara - and Pokhara to Kathmandu, seemed excessive, considering it was for a normal bus. For the price, a private transport option would have been more appropriate and comfortable, especially when it's a 10 hours ride. Overall, despite these hiccups, my time in Nepal was unforgettable, and I would highly recommend this experience to others.

My 3 weeks in Nepal were amazing! The Peak 2 Peak tour was such an unreal experience, travelling round Nepal from the deeply religious and cultural Kathmandu, to the rural Chitwan, to peaceful Pokhara. Every day was packed with amazing one of a kind experiences that i would not have the opportunity to have had if not for Travelteer. Thanks to Sam, everything felt easy and effortlessly fun. He made us feel safe, comfortable and confident, which was essential for someone like me who hasn’t travelled before - generally a fantastic guy and manager. My two weeks volunteering were equally great, helping and painting in schools was fantastic and the people around me aided that. Our week in the mountain village was challenging but extremely rewarding - with amazing food. Our weekends were packed full of activities too - paddle boarding, zip lining, cooking classes and paragliding. I was so so sad to leave and desperately wanted to extend. Thank you Sam and Ming for making our experience so great!!

Absolutely amazing experience volunteering for travelteer in Nepal. I enjoyed every minute of my trip, including painting schools in mountains villages, and weekend activities such as paragliding and cooking classes. It is a great opportunity to meet loads of incredible people. Would definitely recommend to people who are thinking of going on a volunteering trip similar to this.

I had the most amazing time volunteering in Nepal with Travelteer this summer. The opportunities we were given to be able to help improve community development for the people there were incredible. A couple of my favourite volunteering activities we did was the teaching and construction of the new computer lab at one of the schools, by the end of our work there, we were able to see the huge impact which we’d had on the school, which felt incredibly rewarding. The trip was run very smoothly and Sam in particular did an amazing job at making sure everyone was happy and comfortable in what they were doing throughout the trip. He also helped organise any weekend activities we wanted to do and made the whole experience exciting, fun and memorable. I would 100% recommend this trip.

i went to nepal with travelteer and had the best time of my life! it was very fun to help out in the schools as well as the amazing things they where able to offer when we had the weekends off. the travelteer member who was working out there while i was, Sam, was so nice and very welcoming to everyone who arrived each week as well as keeping me well informed in the months prior to the trip

I recently went on the Travelteers Coast to Coast tour and was thoroughly disappointed with the entire experience. From the very first day, the tour was plagued with issues. The staff, although clearly trying their best, were disorganised and seemed uncertain about the itinerary. This initial impression set a negative tone for the rest of the trip. On the second day, a group member got injured , and the coordinators appeared unprepared and panicked. They resorted to Googling for help, highlighting their lack of proper first aid training, which is concerning for a tour of this nature. Additionally, despite multiple requests for my friend and I to share a room, we were repeatedly asked to split up, which was frustrating and unprofessional. Our visit to a Hindu temple on the third day was poorly managed. Without any guidance from the tour staff, we had to use Google to understand the temple's significance and its relation to Sri Lankan culture. This felt disrespectful, as we walked around a sacred place without context. Similarly, during our visit to a deer sanctuary, we only learned the significance of deer in Hinduism after conducting our own research, something our guides failed to explain. Despite these issues, there were some positive aspects to the trip. We met some wonderful people who made the experience more enjoyable. The group activities, such as snorkelling and hiking, were fun and provided a chance to see the natural beauty of Sri Lanka. These moments were the highlights of the tour and offered a glimpse of what could have been a fantastic experience. In Kandy, the advertised visit to "amazing markets" never happened, and at the Royal Botanical Gardens, we were left to explore on our own while other tourists had knowledgeable local guides. The visit to the "Temple of the Tooth" was interesting and felt like a genuine cultural experience, but it was rushed and we missed the included cultural show. A temple guide offered to show us more in a smaller group, which underscored the poor management of the tour. The room arrangements were also falsely advertised on the website. Instead of the promised rooms for two or four, my friend and I ended up in a room of six. Despite these issues, I want to acknowledge our bus driver, Narlin, who was lovely and genuinely tried his best. However, the coordinators, though well-meaning and clearly putting in effort, were inexperienced and had only been in Sri Lanka a week longer than us. This lack of expertise was evident and detracted from the overall experience. Travelteers claims to promote ethical travel, but hiring two British coordinators with no expertise in the country falls short of this promise. To improve, Travelteer should hire coordinators who are knowledgeable about Sri Lanka, speak the language, or are from the country. Additionally, I question where our money went, as the meals were repetitive and the experiences did not match what was advertised. In conclusion, this tour felt superficial and disorganised. While I appreciate the efforts of the coordinators, they were simply not equipped to provide the experience promised. I cannot recommend Travelteer to anyone seeking a meaningful travel experience.

One of the best experiences of my life, everything was organised perfectly and i had a good variety of activities and volunteering set up. Thank you for the amazing time!

Lovely staff well organised loved it!!!

A very memorable trip with a good balance of sightseeing and then helping the local community with volunteering. Particularly enjoyed releasing a turtle from their turtle centre - definitely a momentous and once-in-a-lifetime experience!