Pod Volunteer Reviews

Name: Pod Volunteer
Address: 5, Noverton Lane, Cheltenham, Prestbury
Rating: 4.79

4.8 Rating 577 Reviews

97 %

of reviewers recommend Pod Volunteer

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4.8

Based on 577 reviews

Customer Service
Communication Channels	Email, Telephone, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In	Under An Hour
Customer Service	4.8 out of 5

About Pod Volunteer:

Pod Volunteer is an award winning non-profit organisation arranging ethical, inspiring and supported volunteering opportunities around the world since 2001

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Email:

info@podvolunteer.org

Location:

5, Noverton Lane, Cheltenham
Prestbury
GL52 5BA

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Pod Volunteer 5 star review on 4th October 2025

William D

Pod Volunteer 5 star review on 19th September 2025

Harriet W

Darcy D

304

Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

Sort by: Most Recent Most Recent Highest Rated Filter: None None 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Stars Helpful

“It was an amazing experience. The team provided great care and a wide range of sustainability activities that were so unique and exciting. Definitely reccomend”

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Posted 2 weeks ago

Thanks Josh, great to hear about your time in Costa Rica at the Turtle and Wildlife Conservation project. Thanks for joining the team! Best wishes, Alex and the Pod team

Posted 2 weeks ago

“Great service and great volunteer opportunities”

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Posted 3 weeks ago

Hi George, thanks very much! Thanks for all your efforts in volunteering at the South Africa Big 5 Conservation project. Best wishes, Alex and the Pod team

Posted 3 weeks ago

“I joined the Marine Conservation project in Kefalonia with Pod Volunteer, and it was an amazing experience from start to finish. Each day offered something new — from seagrass and sand dune monitoring to bird surveys and beach profiling. The variety of fieldwork made every day rewarding, and it was great to see how each task contributed to the wider conservation effort. The team were incredibly supportive and knowledgeable, creating a friendly and purposeful atmosphere throughout. It was also a great opportunity to meet people from different backgrounds who all shared an interest in protecting the environment. Overall, it was a fulfilling and eye-opening experience that combined meaningful conservation work with the chance to explore a beautiful part of Greece. I’d highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn, contribute, and be part of something positive.”

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Posted 3 weeks ago

Thanks so much for sharing your amazing photos and such a lovely review William! Many thanks, Gemma & the Pod team

Posted 3 weeks ago

“Volunteering at the Big 5 Animal project was truly fantastic and life-changing. I had the most amazing 3 weeks in South Africa at the Big 5 Animal volunteering in the summer of 2025. Our activities included animal observation, nature conservation and community activities. We had a great camp life with other volunteers hanging out, cooking and dining together every day. Every weekday we were either out at the reservation/safari or helping out in the nearby village school or soup kitchen. The weekends are free for other activities such as sand boarding, surfing, pottery or horse riding on the beach, or simply just chilling – your choice! Everyone was so friendly and helpful, and we all felt very safe and supported. We saw all the safari animals very close by; the elephants, hippos, giraffe families, rhinos, and lions which was just out of this world! This is the best in the world experience, and I would recommend a minimum stay of two weeks to really see and do everything that the Big 5 experience has to offer! If you go in June-August, please just remember to bring winter clothes as the South African winter can be very cold in the early mornings out in the safari. Also, be mindful to look into and sort out vaccines and travel insurance, and your travel plans early. POD Volunteering Organisation was very reliable, shared useful information on what to expect from the volunteering and arrangements, and provided a global 24/7 contact for any emergencies/queries which I didn’t need to use. The Big 5 Camp workers and organisers were the most amazing people and very knowledgeable about the Big 5 Reservation, all the animals, nature conversation and local community activities. They made my stay really special My experience was absolutely amazing and cannot recommend it more!”

Pod Volunteer 4 star review on 2nd October 2025

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Posted 3 weeks ago

Hi Mia, thanks so much for your amazing review of your time at the Big 5 Conservation and Community project in South Africa - the pictures look incredible! Thanks for your helpful advice for other volunteers and for all your help while at the project! Best wishes, Alex and the Pod team

Posted 3 weeks ago

“So far, the best experience of my life. The staff are so lovely and so are the other volunteers! Highly recommend!!!”

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Posted 1 month ago

So happy to hear that you had such a great time helping turtles in Greece! Many thanks, Gemma & the Pod team

Posted 1 month ago

“as a 17 year old girl my mum had a lot of worries with me traveling to costa rica by myelf, they however are very helpful at podvolunteer, they set me up with 3 other 17 year olds that were also travelling, we stayed at the same hotel for the first night before getting to the volunteer sight. they answer absolotley any questions that you have”

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Posted 1 month ago

Thanks so much Eliska, I'm really glad we were able to help you get out to Costa Rica and take part in the Turtle and Wildlife Conservation project there - thanks for all your hard work! Best wishes, Alex and the Pod team

Posted 1 month ago

“I really enjoyed my week at pod’s playa torture reserva in Costa Rica. I loved seeing the turtles and being involved in the project . Although I spent time in the rainforest and working on other studies such as crocodiles and butterflies I wish I could have seen more of the turtles over the week. I also enjoyed meeting a range of other people.”

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Posted 1 month ago

Thanks very much Harriet, great to hear about your time in Costa Rica and love the surf photo! Best wishes, Alex and the Pod team

Posted 1 month ago

“Pod Volunteer were so helpful from the start to the end of the trip. The communication was clear and prompt. They helped with any queries I had and provided packing lists to make me feel the most prepared for the trip. During my trip I was lucky to be at an inventory with 100% hatchling success, which was a particular highlight to my time away. Overall it was an amazing experience and would love to go back next year!”

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Posted 1 month ago

Thank you Darcy for your lovely review - what an incredible experience to be at a nest where 100% of the eggs successfully hatched into healthy turtles which you could guide to the sea. Thanks so much for choosing to join the Turtle Conservation team in Greece! Best wishes, Gemma & the Pod team

Posted 1 month ago

“I had a great time in Greece at the hatchling rescue. POD were brilliant and so were the team in Greece. However I will say that you do need to have a level of fitness to do this. There are quite long bike rides but you can get off and push your bikes up the hill. And there are long beach walks after the bike rides so you don’t need to be super fit. But if you are a couch potato then it’s not for you but if you like bikes and walking and the excitement of sleeping on the beach, seeing hatchlings and helping them then this is awesome. We rescued about 1136 hatchlings in just 2 weeks!!! I’ll certainly use POD again for more volunteering”

Pod Volunteer 5 star review on 16th September 2025

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Posted 1 month ago

Thanks so much for your great review and for choosing to help save the hatchlings in Greece! Best wishes, Gemma & the Pod team

Posted 1 month ago

“Such a good experience!! I would HIGHLY recommend choosing to do this trip as it has created the most amazing memories with the most amazing people. This programme offers such a unique experience that no one would never normally do in their day to day life and I’m so greatful! Will miss the team and everyone involved lots!”

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Posted 1 month ago

“I had a great time volunteering with Pod Volunteer with the Turtle Conservation in Kefalonia, Greece. It was a great insight into the work that is involved to help the turtle population survive. Not only did I carry out surveys, beach clean, harbour control etc, I was lucky enough to complete the course during hatching season. I was amazed at how many baby turtles hatched during my two weeks and I hope I made a difference. From booking on this project, the staff were very informative and supportive and helped in any way they could. The Volunteer leaders in Greece were amazing, helpful and respectful. I would definitely recommend this project and of course would highly recommend Pod Volunteer as a company for volunteering abroad”

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Posted 1 month ago

Thanks so much for the lovely review Abby - thanks for choosing to help the Turtle Conservation team in Greece! Best wishes, Gemma & Pod team

Posted 1 month ago

“I really enjoyed my time in Costa Rica, working to ensure that turtle eggs were collected so that the hatchlings could be safely released into the ocean. We also did some data collection work in the jungle, spotting different species of monkeys and bats. All questions and queries that I had were swiftly answered by POD Volunteer, often within half an hour, even when I was in Costa Rica, which ensured that my time there was as comfortable as possible.”

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Posted 1 month ago

That's really great to hear about your time at the Costa Rica Turtle and Wildlife Conservation project, thanks so much for your support! Best wishes, Alex and the Pod team

Posted 1 month ago

“It was very fun helping the turtles and meeting new people, I would happily do it again next year.”

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Posted 1 month ago

Thanks for the lovely 5 star review Ben! Best wishes, Gemma & Pod team

Posted 1 month ago

“Volunteering with the turtle conservation was honestly one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life. The project gave me the chance to be surrounded by nature and contribute to protecting endangered sea turtles. One of the most enjoyable moments for me was releasing some of the baby turtles into the ocean for the first time. Watching these tiny baby’s make their way to the sea was both emotional and rewarding. Night patrols along the beach to protect nesting mothers and helped relocate their eggs to the safety of the hatchery, was one of the best experiences as it was so satisfactory The work was physical and sometimes tiring, but it felt incredibly meaningful. Aside from turtle work, I helped with wildlife monitoring, including birds, butterflies, and crocodilians. I also got to explore the nearby beaches, whale watching and waterfalls on my day off, which made the experience even more special. The team at Pod was super supportive from the start, both before and during the trip. The accommodation was simple but comfortable, and I really enjoyed the sense of community with other volunteers — we cooked, ate, and worked together, and I made some great friends. If you’re looking for something a little different and want to make a real impact while being surrounded by nature, I can’t recommend this experience enough. It challenged me, inspired me, and gave me memories I’ll have forever.”

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Posted 1 month ago

Hi Sophie, thank you so much for your detailed review of your time at the Costa Rica Turtle and Wildlife Conservation project, it's so great to hear about the turtle work you were involved in as well as the other wildlife activities. Releasing the hatchlings into the ocean must have been very special! Great to hear you were able to make the most of the location too in your free time. Thank you for helping to make a real difference to the animals and environment of Costa Rica!

Posted 1 month ago

“We went as a family of 6, 2 grandparents, 2 parents and 2 children, aged 8 and 10. The experience was very special, and the wildlife sense team were so passionate and informative an about the turtles and the conservation of their habitat. Many special memories!”

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Posted 1 month ago

Thanks so much Nina and it was lovely to meet you all in Kefalonia! Best wishes, Alex and the Pod team

Posted 1 month ago

“I had a very great time looking by after the elephants, and was able to learn some new things about the elephants. The people were very kind and I loved meeting them and then the guides as well. The activities were engaging and i was able to engage in new hands on activities. I also was able to cook for myself which I liked a lot”

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Posted 1 month ago

Hi Fergus, really great to hear about your experience with the amazing elephants in South Africa and that you enjoyed the activities as well as being able to self-cater! Thanks for all your efforts. Best wishes, Alex and the Pod team

Posted 1 month ago

“Really great experience, the whole course was very well structured and included everything possible like interesting presentations, met an amazing group of people.”

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Posted 1 month ago

Thank you so much for your contribution to the Turtle and Marine Conservation! Best wishes, Alex and the Pod team

Posted 1 month ago

“My experience of Pod Volunteer's Kefalonia trip was overall a very positive experience. Aside from the early get up, the morning we arrived was very smoothly planned out. We had all arranged to meet outside of a café beforehand through the groupchat and had gone through kefalonia airport as a group. We met Adam there waiting for us and got a nice minibus to our campsite, where we met the others. Our tents were very nice, although the zip was slightly broken on our tent, but Alex managed to solve it for us swiftly. There were 4 people to a tent and I have to say I think we had the perfect amount of space. It still felt like we were camping, but also wasn't cramped like sardines in a tin. The experience overall was very fun because the people I was with were great fun and the turtles were definitely an added bonus! On the night watch we unfortunately didn't get to see any of the baby hatchlings, and you could tell that our group was quite sad about it (especially given that the other group managed to see them within the first hour of arriving at their beach), but very kindly Alex and the rest of the leadership team managed to organise for us to go and watch a public hatching a couple of days later. This short adventure was probably my favourite moment of the entire trip to be honest. On our way back to the ferry afterwards we played mission impossible all the way as we were cutting it very close! Once on the ferry, we played pirates of the caribbean as well! This was a very kind act from the leadership team and it really showed to us that they cared. Thank you for the trip, it truly was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am honoured to have shared it with such a wonderful charity and group of people! :)”

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Posted 1 month ago

Hi Eloise, thanks so much for sharing your experiences on the Greece Turtle and Marine Conservation trip. We loved having you on the team with us! I am so glad you enjoyed our last minute trip to see hatchlings in Lixouri, that was a lot of fun, felt a bit like Race across the World Kefalonia edition! Best wishes, Alex and the Pod team

Posted 1 month ago

“Very fun experience, loads of chances to see and save turtles and lots of fun had. All staff on the ground and online incredibly professional, helpful and all lovely to speak to.”

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Posted 1 month ago

Thanks for such a glowing review of your time volunteering at the Turtle Conservation project!

Posted 1 month ago

“I had the most incredible trip in Kefalonia - such a handsome one experience with some incredible people! I did an U18 trip and felt very supported while also having lots of freedom. I absolutely recommend POD to anyone looking for a once in a lifetime adventure!!!”

Pod Volunteer 5 star review on 2nd September 2025

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Posted 1 month ago

So pleased to hear about your experience in Greece, thank you so much for your recommendation! Best wishes, Alex and the Pod team

Posted 1 month ago

Pod Volunteer is rated 4.8 based on 577 reviews