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Tired of traditional holidays, lazing on beaches, or being herded around like cattle on organised sightseeing tours? If that's the case, then you may want to look at taking a volunteer holiday instead. Volunteering overseas is your chance to contribute at the worldwide level, whilst also getting to fulfill your travel aspirations. As an international volunteer, you'll get to travel to exciting new countries and learn their cultures, first hand. You'll also have the opportunity to share ideas and thoughts with people that you'd never otherwise meet.

To most people, volunteering overseas is a life-changing event. You will enable communities in far-flung places to effect positive change by contributing your knowledge, time and experience to worthy community projects. These projects are very diverse - it could mean anything fromteaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) building a house or church in South America, to spending time with orphans in Africa who have lost their parent to the HIV pandemic. It might be contributing to marine conservation and research in the Seychelles, , or by distributing and administering important medical vaccines, as a medical volunteer in developing countries.

Another important aspect of volunteering internationally is to educate others around you when you return home. Tell them of you experiences!  It's a chance for you to spread the message about important global issues, of cultural differences, and how one person CAN make a difference. Who knows, you might give them the inspiration to do the same thing! Those who get bitten by the bug, often go on to contribute to other volunteer programs, in their own local communities.

You may even decide that after your volunteer holiday has finished that you want to ditch your regular job, and take the next step in volunteering, by becoming a career volunteer.

If you want to save as much of your money as possible to help with the volunteering project then the best way would be to try and find the cheapest possible flights and other means of transport to get to your destination. The UK has many travel companies offering tickets as cheap as a £1. These flight will only usually get you as far as Europe but if you plan your trip well and purchase the tickets to your final destination from a European airport then you could save hundreds of pounds.

If you are interested in volunteering projects there are loads to choose from all over the world. Africa has a lot of poverty so it tends to be a more popular choice but Asia, South America and Australia also have many volunteering projects. The projects can involve, not only helping poverty, but also wildlife.

If you are thinking of doing something like volunteering then you will need to apply for a working visa. Here are a few sites to help you get started; Africa Working Visa and Asia Working Holiday Visa. All visa's vary depending on the country you are planning to visit and work, as well as the duration of your stay.