4 Steps To Start Travelling
Apply Now And Join HUV Volunteers
Mexico is undoubtedly a very well-known tourist destination, from turquoise beaches to impressive mountain ranges, colorful magic towns, enigmatic ancient ruins just to mention some of its landmarks, we invite you to see a new face, the one share by committed small organisations and communities. Come and partake in this experience with them, enjoy both listening to their tales and sharing any of your own.
FAQ
Volunteering through HUV in Mexico?
- How do you know if we are the right volunteering option for you?
Travelling is intrinsic to our curiosity as humans beings. It is gratifying and edifying. There are all sort of reasons for doing it, even if just for the sake of it. However we aim to reach out to those ones interested in Mexico and in need of a different experience, those ones ready to commit for more than just a few days, whose desire to have a deeper and more extravagante exchange of values, wisdom and learning/contributing more about a specific cause or interest. If that is you, we hope to have the option for your, we encourage to browse our projects.
- What kind of projects do we support?
We support projects in four different areas: marine, wildlife, community development and microenterprise. The organizations are city-based organizations, some of them are grassroots, a few ones are relatively new, but they all have a well-known record with their project or projects. For those organizations that are relatively new, their work has been positively endorsed.
- What is my contribution to the organization when volunteering through HUV?
You will be helping in their daily activities. Additionally, your fees will positively impact their income towards covering their expenses. Finally, when volunteering for a minimum time, you will also be contributing to a capacities building fund.
- How much support will I have from HUV for my volunteering experience?
When you enrol, you will be guided on the application process. Once you have finalised your application process and you have been given your project calendar, the following will be included: virtual orientation meeting, arrival briefing, follow up throughout your onsite program and a debriefing at your departure
- Do I need a visa?
Citizens from many countries are exempt from presenting a visa to travel to Mexico, and can stay up to 180 days. If you are citizen of a country that requires you to have a 'visitor visa', when applying you will be granted a visa that will allow you to stay up to 180 days also. Our recommendation is to check out the consular section for the Mexican Embassy page in your country for the specific requirements applying to you.
- Is medical insurance required?
Yes, it is. We will ask you to provide us with proof of a medical insurance policy that covers at least the length of your stay in Mexico while volunteering.
- Is airport transfer included?
Airport transfer is included for all the projects we have. Once you have enrolled and your participation has been confirmed, we can help you decide what flight option in terms of city and schedule suits best for your transfer. There are some projects where you final connection will land you at the city that houses the project. In some other cases, you will arrive to a nearby city and we will transfer you to your final project destination
- Is local transport included?
Hosting organizations and HUV are keen in ensuring your stay is as comfortable as possible during your time with us, therefore, whenever possible the accommodation provided is in walking distance to the project area or one of the project areas. For those projects that it is not possible to place you in walking distance, we will ensure non-expensive public transport is available
Additionally you may need to travel to different locations as part of your position responsibilities, sometimes in group and sometimes alone. In either case your transport for these occasions will be covered for
Costs considerations
- Main Costs - as you assess the program you will join , you must consider the following costs as your main costs:
- program fees includes registration, accommodation & meals (as specified for both projects) and airport transfer (in some cases it includes transfer from the airport in one city/town to another one that it is home to your project)
- round flight tickets
- travel insurance
- Additional costs - they represent a low percentage of your expenses and some of them you may not required them either because they do not apply to you or because you choose not to include them. Nevertheless we list them so you can take them into account:
- Visa, citizens from many countries are exempt from presenting a visa to travel to Mexico, and can stay up to 180 days
- Vaccinations, in order to find out whether you will need to budget for vaccines, we advise you to review the recommendations provided by the health agency in your country of origin. In many cases, vaccines are recommended but not compulsory
- Cellphone (mobile phone), if you want to use the plan you have your carrier in your country, our best suggestion is to check with your provider about international roaming rates and the coverage you have with your current plan. Additional tips for cellphone/mobile usage while in Mexico are included in your project info package
- Spending money, for your personal needs: Your basic needs, accommodation and most meals are covered by your program fees, but if you want to include additional meals or treat yourself over the weekends to more touristy attractions we suggest you include an additional budget for this
- Additional personal travelling costs, if you are planning to travel around Mexico or even if you'd like to use this opportunity to spend time traveling locally either before or after your volunteering time, you will need a separate budget. Check the "additional travel considerations" section also here in the FAQ list
- Money issues - when traveling is always wise to have a combination of available means to access your money. You may want to have a debit card you can use to pay or withdraw money for your personal expenses. Or you may prefer to use a credit card instead, or have both options. In either case we advise you to speak to your bank to double check international surcharges and protection. We also recommend to have some cash with you upon arrival. The most common currencies at major airports in Mexico are USD dollars, Canadian dollars and Euros
Additional traveling recommendations while in Mexico
As we engaged with organizations with a great track record and committed to their work to help preserve the environment and aiding communities to become more resilient, we came across individuals and other organizations that are not fully ready yet to accept volunteers. We were impressed though with their passion and love for what they do. And we hope in the near future they may be ready to take you on board. In the meantime, we are listing here such organizations in addition to other ones that we believe are committed to raise the importance of wildlife awareness.
Aviturismo Chavarrillo in Veracruz
Xocotitla - Paso de Ovejas, Veracruz