Volunteering Projects in Honduras

Honduras is the second largest country in Central America, spread across amazing mountains and islands. The population of Honduras is over 7 million people, with more than half living in poverty. The official language is Spanish, and other Amerindian dialects are also spoken.

Volunteers in Honduras have the opportunity to participate in the following areas: building, teaching, childcare, and iguana conservation projects.

After you pay your application fee, you'll be put in touch with our partner, and we will send you the program guide with more details about the program.

Volunteers arriving in Tegucigalpa airport will be greeted by our partner, who will then escort you to Valle de Angeles for your orientation. You will then travel by bus to your project.

Basic Spanish is a requirement for this program, as we have found that this greatly improves the volunteers’ enjoyment of the program.

From 2010 onwards, arrivals in Honduras should be scheduled for either the first or third Monday of the month (in 2009, the start days are the first or third Tuesdays of each month).

For the teaching, childcare, and building projects we provide home stays with families chosen by our partner, who are experienced with hosting volunteers. The homestays are located in La Esperanza. For some projects the sites are located in the countryside, and homestays are a few miles away. We have found that living in a medium size town where you can find bank services, restaurants, internet cafes, and other services makes life more enjoyable and also allows the opportunity to meet volunteers from other countries, with whom to travel and visit the rest of the country over weekends. For the iguana conservation project volunteers are housed at the centres in dormitory style accommodation.

For the teaching, building, and childcare projects volunteers will be located in La Esperanza, Intibuca. Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, the capital city and the second largest city in Honduras, are both three hours away on a bus. For the iguana conservation project volunteers are located in the Bay Islands, on Utila. Utila is approximately one hour from La Ceiba.

Volunteers need to arrive in Tegucigalpa airport where they will be greeted by our partner organisation. Volunteers are then taken to Valle de Angeles, where the orientation will take place, before making their way to their chosen project the next day. For volunteers located in La Esperanza, the bus ride is around is 3 and half hours long. For volunteers in La Esperanza you will either walk or take local transportation to get to your placement each day, depending where you are placed. A system of ’rural taxis’ (small trucks or pick up trucks) operate in La Esperanza, which costs around US$0.30 cents per ride. For the iguana conservation project volunteers will travel by bus to La Ceiba and then take the hour long trip to Utila by boat. For this program volunteers will be housed at their work site.

Being a predominantly Roman Catholic country, Honduras celebrates all Catholic feasts and there are festivities in just about every town to celebrate saint’s days. The fair for the Virgen de Suyapa, patron saint of Honduras, is celebrated in Suyapa, southeast of Tegucigalpa, during the first two weeks of February. Carnival at La Ceiba is celebrated during the third week of May with parades, costumes, and street music. There are other popular fairs in Copán Ruinas (15 to 20 March), Tela (13 June), Trujillo (24 June), San Pedro Sula (last week in June) and Danlí (last weekend in August). The Feria Centroamericana de Turismo y Artesanía, a Central American international artisans’ and tourism fair, is held annually from 6 to 16 December in Tegucigalpa. Another cultural fair is held in Copán Ruinas from 15 to 21 December.

Volunteers should expect to work between 4 to 6 hours per day, depending on their project as well as their own initiative and individual goals for their volunteering period.

The training consists of an orientation session with our partner in Valle de Angeles. The orientation session has been specifically designed to give new volunteers in country a full briefing to what to expect whilst here, covering topics and issuing them with information from what is happening in their chosen project to what to do in an emergency. This is then followed by an individual session when the volunteer has the chance to ask any further questions they may have concerning their placement on a one to one level with the partner organisation coordinator.

Your application fee secures your place on the program (remember this is fully transferable to a later date or different program if you decide not to take part in the program, subject to the terms of service). Your program fee is payable to Global Volunteer Network 8 weeks prior to the 1st of the month you wish to volunteer. Please note that all charges incurred by the payment of the program fee are at the volunteer’s expense, e.g. if a bank transfer incurs a bank fee at the point of origin, that is at the expense of the volunteer. Eighty percent (80%) of your program fee is refundable until one calendar month before the 1st of the month you are due to begin your program. Refer to GVN's legal terms of service for full details.

Dress needs to be conservative, and light loose clothing is advisable as it is most comfortable in the heat.  It is best to wear clothes that will cover and protect you from the sun and mosquitoes. For the building and conservation projects you need old clothes as the work is very messy.

You should plan for a weekly budget of around US$50 to cater for all your other expenses like bottled water, lunch, transportation for weekend excursions, personal spending money, and entertainment. This varies from person to person, depending on what you want to do during your spare time. For example, some volunteers have found that $50 per week is not enough to cover all their weekend travel expenses. Please also note that for the iguana conservation program food is not provided; volunteers have the use of a kitchen or cafeteria and should budget around $10 per day for meals.

No visas are required to enter the country for more than 84 countries around the globe, but you should contact your nearest Honduras Embassy to find out the requirements for your country.

Large parts of Honduras remain relatively safe for tourists, especially throughout the rural areas. In the cities however, street crime is a serious and growing concern. Pick pocketing and bag or jewelry snatches are predominantly opportunistic and can be mostly prevented by exercising basic caution. In general, it not considered safe to walk around at night. As in many countries, foreigners are perceived as wealthy in Honduras. Although the people are generally warm and friendly towards foreigners, as well as appreciative of the work done by volunteers, not every individual is the same. We work extremely hard to ensure you are placed in safe environments while volunteering and security policies are in place to achieve this. However, as in any situation at home or abroad, there is no way to erase all potential threats. Honduras is also prone to natural disasters, such as hurricanes, droughts, floods, and landslides. You will be prepared for emergency situations and given other safety advice in your orientation.

School holidays are different every year, but as a rule of thumb they run from early November until the first week in February.  It is possible to help at private schools during this time, as they have different holidays. Volunteers in the teaching project can also be placed in one of the other projects during this time of the year.

It is important to note the Semana Santa, or Easter Week, is a public holiday for most of Honduras. It is a great time to experience the local culture, but we do not recommend short-term volunteers (less than a month) volunteer over this period.

Honduras has a mixed climate - subtropical in the lowlands and temperate in the mountains. The rainy season goes from May until November and the dry season from December until May. Rain usually comes in showers from a few minutes to a few hours, but even during the peak of the rainy season the sun comes out, days are clear and the weather enjoyable. Due to the altitude, La Esperanza can get quite cold at night.

There are no required vaccines for Honduras, but we advise volunteers to get immunized against typhoid, cholera, hepatitis A & B, booster doses for tetanus, polio, and measles. Volunteers also need to take anti malarias and protect themselves from mosquito bites, as malaria and dengue fever is present.

Each GVN program has different criteria depending on our partner's requirements. Every application is reviewed to ensure that the minimum requirements (as set out on the program page) are met. Next we look to see what skills or experience you have that relate specifically to the program. We are also interested in any previous volunteer experience you may have (either local or international), travel experience, and your particular interest in the program.

After reviewing your application, should we require any further information from you, we will email you to request this.

Yes, vegetarians are welcomed and catered for.  Please advise on your application form if you are vegetarian.

There is no visa required to enter Honduras for over 84 countries around the globe. However, if you do need a visa, you need to arrange this yourself. This program guide has links to Honduran Embassies throughout the world.

As with any overseas travelling, insurance is recommended. The Global Volunteer Network has arranged a comprehensive travel insurance package specially designed for volunteering. It includes excellent medical and accident coverage as well as a ’loss of deposits’ cover which covers fees paid to GVN, airlines etc (up to US$8,000). If you would like to learn more just follow this link: http://www.volunteer.org.nz/insurance/.