TravelBud

( 3 Reviews )

Activities: Community Volunteer Projects / Conservation Volunteer Projects / Teach English / TEFL Jobs / Jobs
Location: Multiple Destinations

We help you plan and organize your teach and volunteer abroad experience with guaranteed job placements, accredited TEFL/TESOL training, cultural orientation courses and 24/7 support.

Challenge yourself to step out of your comfort zone and embrace different ways of living, witness new cultures, travel the world and make a lifetime of memories.

Why TravelBud?

With TravelBud, you’ll always be talking to someone who has taught or volunteered abroad before, so you’ll get informed, first-hand advice to guide and prepare you for your experience.

Pre-Departure Support
We assist you with all planning, packing, visas, costs, documentation, booking flights and answering any questions you might have.

24/7 In-Country Support
If you need any assistance or advice, or in the event of an emergency, we’ll be on hand! Our in-country partners are available and on-hand at anytime.

Guaranteed Job Placement
We guarantee your job placement in carefully selected and background-checked schools. We handle all the hassle and stress of finding a job.

TESOL / TEFL Accreditation
We provide TESOL / TEFL course certifications. Our unique cultural orientations are designed to help ease the transition to a new culture.

Contact / Enquiry

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Poor customer support and Policies not transparent

TravelBud has poor customer support once the full payment has been made; they are misleading and their policies are not transparent.
I went with TravelBud for South Korea after speaking with Grace, the enrollments manager. Soon after I paid the full cost to TravelBud and expected everything to go smoothly, they handed me over to their partner, XploreAsia. My interaction with TravelBud became very minimal and the rest of my interaction was with XploreAsia. It became as if I enrolled with XploreAsia instead of TravelBud. XploreAsia assisted with providing checklists of what I need for documentation for the program and visa purposes — from that experience, XploreAsia lacked a lot of organization and made the process far more difficult than it had to be.

Now we are in an international Coronavirus epidemic and I asked about my options for the program including postponing my program date to a later date, XploreAsia responded about a different question and did not answer my question about postponing my course.

I then decided I will not continue with the program due to the Coronavirus, and asked TravelBud for my refund. Saskia, TravelBud’s supporting manager, said “I’ve been in touch with Enzo and the team with regards to your request…This isn't cause for panic and our team…I believe the media is hyping this up at the moment…For my own health, I have been washing my hands…If any applicants develop symptoms they can go to the hospital and be taken care of, as the health care system in South Korea is excellent.” They also said there aren’t any travel advisories on South Korea about the Coronavirus, and they will continue with their program, so I won’t be getting any refund.

After telling them twice that I need my refund, Saskia then mention I can be moved to a later course date (which I asked about this option 10 days ago), except I would need to pay their switch fee as arrangements and deposits has been made. To reiterate how XploreAsia lacks organization, they haven’t confirmed my accommodation arrangement with me yet and we’re one and a half weeks away from the course start date.
Another point to make, going on a visa run also seems like a difficult task as South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare has put up travel advisories for their citizens on traveling to the following countries: Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore. None of these countries have travel advisories on the coronavirus according to the CDC website, yet both XploreAsia and TravelBud says they are going by the CDC and WHO website advisories so they will continue their course.

When travel advisories reached to level 3 for reconsider traveling and avoid non-essential travel, Stu, founder of TravelBud responded that "there are 4 tiers" in a travel advisory....

At this point, I will not proceed with TravelBud’s or XploreAsia’s program now or in the future. Saskia refuses to let me speak to her supervisor as she claims she is “at the top level at TravelBud,” yet the website shows the staffs include Director, CEO, and Founder.
The way they have been handling this matter has been very disappointing, especially with their responses about the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The experiences with TravelBud made me and others question if they are legit organizations.

By: Vana
Nationality: USA
Age: 0

Seamless and supportive

I have been in Thailand now for 6 months and TravelBud made the transition so much easier than it would have been if I came here without their support. There is something to be said for using an agent to help you move overseas, the whole process becomes seamless and you don't have to worry about a thing.
They have stayed in contact even after 6 months, checking in on me every now and then to make sure everything is still going smoothly.
Highly recommend!

By: Jessica
Nationality: South African
Age: 24

I wish I would have done this sooner

I started working with TravelBud about 8 months before actually leaving on my journey across the world to teach and they helped soothe my nerves and answer all of my questions before starting the program! I have now been in Thailand for a little over 6 months and it has been everything that I thought it would be and more! I just wish I would have made the decision to come over sooner !

By: Holly
Nationality: American
Age: 27