destination it’s best to go through a specialist travel agent. A good specialist travel agent
will be familiar with all routes that airlines fly and will have up-to-the-minute information
on discounted fares around the world.
On the whole, all specialist travel agents have access to the same fares, so there isn’t much
to be gained by talking to a long list of them. Where there might be a difference is in how
quickly they react to new fares on the market.
Specialist travel agencies in the UK include:
North American volunteers should try:
In Australasia, try:
Buying Online
If you are doing nothing more complicated than flying in and out of the same country you
can find some good bargains online.
Here are some of the main UK online travel providers:
There are several solid online options in Canada and the USA:
In Australasia, try:
Not Booking Your Own Ticket
If you are volunteering on an organised programme, you will be sent details of your flights,
accompanied by any other information you need.
Sometimes, an organisation will book flights on your behalf but require that you pay for
them. This often happens on a group-based project where team members fly out together.
This can be a good arrangement, because it often means the organisation has block-
booked seats at a discounted group rate (sometimes up to 20 per cent off) and the
savings are passed on to you.
Passports, Visas & Travel Insurance
Passports
Identity theft is one of the world’s fastest-growing crimes. To help combat it, many
countries around the world have started issuing biometric passports containing embed-
ded microchips (also known as electronic passports or e-passports). If you applied for
a new passport or renewed an old one in the last few years in the UK, US, Australia or
New Zealand, you will have received a new biometric passport. Canada plans to roll out
its e-passport programme in 2011.If you have a passport in the old style, don’t worry – in
most cases your current passport will remain valid until its expiry date. For up-to-date
information about UK passports log onto the Identify and Passport Service (www.ukpa
.gov.uk). US citizens should access the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs
(http://travel.state.gov). For Canadian passport information, Passport Canada (www.ppt.gc.ca)
is the place. The Australian equivalent is the Australian Passport Information Service
(%131 232; http://www.passports.gov.au).
However, there are other things to bear in mind as you’re are dusting off your passport:
~ Expiry dates Check your passport’s expiry date – it has a habit of sneaking up on you.
Also, make sure that your current passport is valid for at least six months after you get
home from volunteering, as some countries are suspicious of passports that are
approaching their use-by date.
~ Blank pages If you do a lot of travelling, you may run out of blank pages in your current
passport. Many immigration officials around the world refuse to issue visas, entry or
exit stamps on anything other than crisp, clean, unsullied pages. If you have few of these
left, apply for a new passport. You can do this at any time during the life of your current
passport.
~ Volunteering in the US There are specific passport requirements for entering the US
without a visa under the Visa Waiver Programme (VWP). Passports issued after 26
October 2006 must be electronic; those issued after 26 October 2005 must bear a digital
photo, and any issued earlier must be machine-readable. For information see http://
travel.state.gov.Visas
As you know, a visa is a stamp or document in your passport that says you may enter a
country and stay there for a specific amount of time. Countries usually have five or six
main categories of visa and one of them may be a volunteer visa. However, even if a vol-
unteer visa does exist for the country you’re going to, it is rare that you will need to obtain
one to volunteer there.
You must get advice on this matter from your sending agency or local grass-roots NGO
but, nine times out of ten, you will be asked to obtain a standard tourist visa. There are
a few reasons for this. Firstly, there’s nothing wrong with doing some volunteering on a
tourist visa. Secondly, you’re not officially working: you’ve not got a contract of employ-
ment and you’re not earning a salary. Thirdly, volunteer visas are sometimes more difficult
to obtain because they can raise suspicion and lead to all sorts of petty officialdom. As a
result, volunteers tend to travel on tourist visas and can be found at the weekends popping
over to their nearest border post to renew them.
Having said that, there are some organisations that prefer you to volunteer on a vol-
unteer visa. They will either arrange one for you or ask that you obtain one. In addition,
many of the charities or sending agencies that dispatch skilled volunteers overseas for
long periods of time will either obtain the proper volunteer visa or a working visa on your
behalf.~ Flight Centre (%+44 (0) 844 800 8660;
http://www.flightcentre.co.uk))
~ Quest Travel (%+44 (0)845 263 6963;
http://www.questtravel.com))
~ Trailfinders (%+44 (0)845 058 5858;
http://www.trailfinders.com))
~ TravelBag (%+44 (0)871 703 4700;
http://www.travelbag.co.uk)
~ Travel Mood (%+44 (0)800 011 1945; www
.travelmood.com)~ Liberty Travel (%+1 888 271 1584; www
.libertytravel.com)~ Travelosophy (%+1 800 332 2687;
http://www.itravelosophy.com)~ Flight Centre Australia (%133 133; www
.flightcentre.com.au) or New Zealand (%+64
0800 24 3544; http://www.flightcentre.co.nz)
~ Student Flights, Australia^
(%1800 046 462; http://www.studentflights.com.au)~ STA Australia (%+134 782; http://www.statravel
.com.au) or New Zealand (%+64 0800 474
400; http://www.statravel.co.nz)~ ebookers (www.ebookers.com)
~ Expedia (www.expedia.co.uk)
~ Opodo (www.opodo.co.uk)
~ Travelocity (www.travelocity.co.uk)~ Airtreks (www.airtreks.com)
~ Cheaptickets (www.cheaptickets.com)
~ Hotwire (www.hotwire.com)
~ Kayak.com (www.kayak.com)
~ Orbitz (www.orbitz.com)
~ Sidestep (www.sidestep.com)~ Travel.com.au (www.travel.com.au) ~ Zuji (www.zuji.com.au)
03: The Practicalities:Passports, Visas & Travel Insurance