Pod Volunteer Reviews

Name: Pod Volunteer
Address: 5, Noverton Lane, Cheltenham, Prestbury
Rating: 4.77

4.8 Rating 489 Reviews

97 %

of reviewers recommend Pod Volunteer

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4.8

Based on 489 reviews

Customer Service
Communication Channels	Email, Telephone, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In	Under An Hour
Customer Service	4.8 out of 5

About Pod Volunteer:

Pod Volunteer is an award winning non-profit organisation arranging ethical, inspiring and supported volunteering opportunities around the world since 2001

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Email:

info@podvolunteer.org

Location:

5, Noverton Lane, Cheltenham
Prestbury
GL52 5BA

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Pod Volunteer 5 star review on 5th October 2024

Helen F

Pod Volunteer 5 star review on 23rd September 2024

Elise G

Pod Volunteer 5 star review on 14th September 2024

Sue E

248

Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

Sort by: Most Recent Most Recent Highest Rated Filter: None None 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Stars Helpful

“This has been such an amazing experience and opportunity which our daughter thoroughly enjoyed, thank you so much. A great balance of activities and free time, lots of interesting talks on elements of conservation with hands on conservation tasks too. A great group of young people to be away with and fantastic leaders. A gorgeous location, good facilities nearby to explore independently as well as trips further afield by ferry and coach. Would totally recommend to anyone considering this trip!”

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Posted 3 months ago

That's great to hear your feedback on the U18 Turtle and Marine Conservation trip in Greece, we are so pleased to hear how much your daughter enjoyed it! Best wishes, Alex

Posted 3 months ago

“My daughter had a really brilliant time in Kefalonia, she enjoyed the activities very much especially the night shift. She found camping and sharing a tent with girls she didn't know a challenge, but she made several new friends by the end of the week. A big thank you to all the leaders for being supportive.”

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Posted 3 months ago

Hi Terry, thanks very much for your comments, your daughter did so well and really rose to the challenges of the trip. It was a very nice group and great to see so many people mixing well and making new friends. Best wishes, Alex

Posted 3 months ago

“absolutley amazing volunteer program, I will be highly reccomending this.”

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Posted 3 months ago

Thanks so much Kristen! Thanks for all your effort and enthusiasm. Best wishes, Alex

Posted 3 months ago

“Really fabulous educational and fun opportunity for 16-17 year olds to do Gold residential for Duke of Edinburgh, or just for the experience! As a parent, I had no concerns as the communication and organisation is excellent . Staff very supportive. My daughter had such a positive experience from the week..she loved everything about Turtle conservation. Thank you to the Pod team for everything.”

Pod Volunteer 5 star review on 29th August 2024

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Posted 3 months ago

Thanks so much Paula, it was a great week and your daughter really got stuck in to everything with loads of enthusiasm! Best wishes, Alex

Posted 3 months ago

“I had an amazing experience with pod volunteer, it was efficient and stress free making it easy to enjoy the work we did. Communication was fantastic from the moment I signed up and I wasn’t worried once about what the plans were! Loved the educational lectures that came along with the practical side, it taught me so much and I had a great time!”

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Posted 3 months ago

Thanks Elizabeth, it was brilliant having you on the team and that's really great to hear how much you enjoyed the educational presentations too, alongside all the practical work. Hope you are settling in back at home. Best wishes, Alex

Posted 3 months ago

“I had a great week in Kefalonia with Pod Volunteer the accommodation was good and the food was really good, the leaders make us feel very safe the whole week, thank you. I enjoyed the activities on the beach with the night shift and morning survey. However, if I’m being completely honest, some of the tasks weren’t what i expected going on this trip, i expect the snorkelling to be deep in the sea seeing lots of turtles but it felt quite monotonous and pointless looking at sea grass for an hour everyday. For the actual turtles, it was amazing watching them going into the sea and that was a moment i won’t forget but I felt that I wasn’t very helpful overall I don’t feel we made a difference to the turtles since we just observed and watched the staff handle the turtles, I understand that we aren’t as knowledgeable as them but watching back trailers from previous trips of the turtle saving on Pods instagram it led me to believe that we would be more involved with the turtles. I still had a great time and. it was a trip I’ll never forget.”

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Posted 3 months ago

Thanks very much for your feedback on the U18 Turtle and Marine Conservation trip and for letting us know about some of the tasks that weren’t quite what you expected, it’s really useful to hear this. With the snorkelling, the reason for doing these surveys is to monitor the sea grass meadows and collect data that feeds into the database, so it can seem repetitive but it’s really valuable data that is being collected about the state of the vital sea grass. In terms of handling turtles, we always try to minimise this and as we are there for a week it’s more of an observational role. We’ll review our info to try and make this as clear as possible. I’m really pleased that you enjoyed the nesting check shifts and the overnight shift and that you had a great time overall! Thanks for all your efforts and hope you have a great last bit of the summer hols! Best wishes, Alex

Posted 3 months ago

“Very well organised, fantastic experience which was extremely informative, fun and inspiring. The staff were supportive and friendly. The food throughout was good, variety of activities and even trips to local sights. As a parent we received some updates during the week too. Highly recommend this trip.”

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Posted 3 months ago

Thanks very much Jane, that's great to hear, it was a really lovely group. Best wishes, Alex

Posted 3 months ago

“Absolutely amazing, one of the most inspiring weeks of my life, would highly recommend. Very well organised, thank you to podvolunteer!”

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Posted 3 months ago

Thanks so much, it's brilliant to hear it was such an inspiring trip! Best wishes, Alex

Posted 3 months ago

“My daughter had an amazing week in Kefalonia. She visited as part of her Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award. As a step towards independent travelling I would highly recommend Pod Volunteer.”

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Posted 3 months ago

Thanks so much Angela, she was a fantastic member of the team! A great way to help turtle and marine conservation and get her DofE Gold Residential! Best wishes, Alex

Posted 3 months ago

“Wonderful experience for grown ups and teenagers, especially sleeping out on beach under the stars and helping hatchlings to make it safely to sea. We all gained a greater understanding about these flagship creatures in a lovely environment.”

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Posted 3 months ago

Thanks so much Jude, to you and your family for taking part in the turtle and marine conservation family trip. It sounds like an amazing week! I'm glad you enjoyed the night shift, what an experience that is! Best wishes, Alex

Posted 3 months ago

“What an experience! The team are exceptionally professional and passionate about the work they do. Working to help baby hatchlings to sea is something we will never forget.”

Pod Volunteer 5 star review on 23rd August 2024

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Posted 4 months ago

Thank you so much for your lovely review Lisa and for helping to protect the turtles on the island of Kefalonia in Greece! All the best, Alex - Pod Volunteer

Posted 4 months ago

“POD were amazing helping us work out whether the trip was right for us; patiently answering questions and replying really promptly and informatively; and even checking in during and after the trip. We went on the Namibia family volunteering experience and it was utterly amazing - the local team were excellent and we always felt safe and well looked after whilst having an incredible and purposeful adventure. I’m still dreaming of elephants, sleeping under the stars (and I wasn’t a hardened camper before!) and the smiling faces of the school children. Would highly recommend.”

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Posted 4 months ago

Thanks so much for your fantatsic review Lucie, I'm so glad to hear that you and your family enjoyed your Family Desert Elephant trip to Namibia. Thank you for all your hard work helping at the local school and I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed wild camping + sleeping under the stars in the desert! All the best, Gemma - Pod Volunteer

Posted 4 months ago

“I had an amazing time at the Playa da Tortuga in Costa Rica. I really enjoyed helping out with all the wildlife tasks. The people there were very friendly and everthing was well organised.”

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Posted 4 months ago

Thanks so much for the great review Matthew! Glad that you enjoyed your time volunteering at the Turtle and Wildlife Conservation project in Costa Rica.

Posted 4 months ago

“Volunteering with Pod Volunteer was one of the most special experiences ever, it was incredibly fun as well as life changing. The company was extremely understanding with my circumstances and helped me prepare really well for the trip. I look forward to volunteering with them again soon!!”

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Posted 4 months ago

Thanks so much for your great review and for choosing to join our trip to Greece for your Gold DofE Award!

Posted 4 months ago

“Our daughter had an amazing time and we are very grateful to pod volunteer for the opportunity. Everything was well organised and well communicated. Activities were varied and well supervised with lots of relevant education. There were also opportunities for free time which they enjoyed. She made loads of friends and enjoyed mixing with people to similar outlook to herself. Thankyou pod volunteer- we would highly recommend”

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Posted 4 months ago

Thank you so much for such a lovely review, its great to hear that she had such a great time. It was a pleasure to run the group trip for in Greece! All the best, Gemma - Pod Volunteer

Posted 4 months ago

“Our trip to Greece to get involved in turtle conservation was amazing. Lots of interesting information, practical involvement and luckily seeing the hatchlings. Exciting on the night monitoring session! Got to see and be involved in how the volunteers work. Very hot and lots to do but if you are in it for the turtles it will be fantastic ! ( Still time to relax and swim also .) Can’t wait to go again.”

Pod Volunteer 5 star review on 17th August 2024

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Posted 4 months ago

Hi Elisa, so great to hear how you and your family got on with the Greece family turtle and marine conservation trip! I love your photos, that's a brilliant one of the adult turtle tracks and so lucky to see hatchlings as well! Best wishes, Alex

Posted 4 months ago

“Our experience with KSTR wildlife rescue near Quepos, Costa Rica, was everything we expected and more. The staff could not have been more helpful; the setting was beautiful - including the daily sound of birds, frogs and chattering monkeys all around our living quarters; and the animals we were there to feed and care for captured our hearts. Definitely recommended.”

Pod Volunteer 5 star review on 16th August 2024

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Posted 4 months ago

Hi John and Dee, thanks so much for your lovely words about your time at the Wildlife Rescue project in Costa Rica. It will be a bit of a contrast when you return home, without the sounds of the jungle and the animals to wake up to! Thanks again for the difference you have made to the animals there. Best wishes, Alex

Posted 4 months ago

“Had an amazing, once in a lifetime trip out in the Amazon doing a conservation volunteering course. Was with a great group and staff were all amazing, would really recommend!”

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Posted 4 months ago

Thanks so much for a lovely 5 star review Myles and for choosing to join our Amazon Conservation project in Peru!

Posted 4 months ago

“Throughout the past 9 months since I booked my recent trip to South Africa with Pod Volunteer they have been nothing but amazing. There was constant communication from Pod to us with good information about the trip, and if we ever asked something, responses were very quick, typically in the same day. When I eventually got close to going on the trip, again communication was great telling me exactly what I needed to do when I got there. The trip itself was incredible, with everyone there being very helpful, and all activities being very well organised and ran by some amazing people who obviously knew what they were doing and how to run the projects properly and effectively, while still providing an entertainment factor. It was also nice that us volunteers were listened to when we asked for food items we needed or when we were planning activities for the weekends. The accommodation I stayed in while there was also great, being very well kept by a group of cleaners, and having some nice places around to chill out or bond with fellow volunteers. Finally, the journey back was again very well organised and communication afterwards has been excellent again. I will certainly be using Pod for more trips in the future, and have and will continue to recommend them to others.”

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Posted 4 months ago

Hi Harry, thanks so much for your fantastic feedback of your time at the Big 5 Conservation project in South Africa. It's been a pleasure supporting you throughout your trip and it's great to hear how it all went, including the activities and accommodation, it's a pretty special place to stay being on the reserve! Best wishes, Alex

Posted 4 months ago

“Reliable friendly help and the best trip I could ever have had! Will use again.”

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Posted 4 months ago

Thanks so much for the lovely review Millie - and thanks for choosing to help the conservation team on Kefalonia island in Greece! Best wishes, Gemma - Pod Volunteer

Posted 4 months ago

Pod Volunteer is rated 4.8 based on 489 reviews