General Info

WAVA stands for Work and Volunteer Abroad. We specialise in offering life-changing opportunities to travellers for whom seeing is not enough. We offer three broad types of travelling experiences:


>> Volunteering on projects in developing countries

>> Internships in professional environments around the world

>> Seasonal paid working holidays in developed economies


We make these experiences possible through solid partnerships with highly reputable local providers.


Who travels with WAVA?

All kinds of people. Many of our travellers are “Gap Year” students: people who have places at college or university and want to take a year out before starting their studies.
During this year, they want to experience something different, and sometimes, aware that on a world scale they are comparatively fortunate, they are motivated to give something back, or to participate in a community or conservation project.

Others want to get work experience, and are attracted by internships or seasonal work.

A growing segment of our customers are older, more experienced people, who want a break from the stressful pressures of work, and are excited by the idea of breaking away from their ordinary lives for a while to take a career break.


Why book a programme with WAVA?

We don't like to toot our own horn, but we're really good at what we do.

There are a number of reasons why WAVA has proved particularly popular with travellers, and we thought it's worth mentioning exactly why we're able to help so many people find the experience they are looking for. We've listed the 7 key points about our service.

Our 7 Key Points...

1. Responsible matching
We make sure our programmes fit the participant and vice versa.

2. Hand-picked partners
We only work with partners that respect and understand our Responsible Travel Policy.

3. Unique content
We write and produce all our own content - text, photos and videos - almost always from direct experience.

4. Staff travel programme
All our staff travel to our key destinations to visit partners and projects, ensuring an expert level of knowledge throughout the team.

5. Pre-departure briefings
As in integral part of our service, we brief all our travellers and their parents or friends at a monthly event before they depart.

6. Learning environment
Tourism, travel and development are tricky subjects. We don't know all the answers, but we're always learning.

7. Value before volume
We're about finding great experiences for great people, and supplying great projects with hard-working participants, not about anonymous numbers.


The WAVA Team

Our team is highly knowledgeable and experienced. Each member of the team is a skilled professional, bringing specific knowledge to WAVA. Between us, we have visited almost 50 countries, and in 2010 we have visits staff planned to our partners in Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, Mozambique, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Thailand, Vietnam, India and Nepal.

Placement Info

Programme specific see website for more information