Pod Volunteer Reviews

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

4.8 Rating 488 Reviews

97 %

of reviewers recommend Pod Volunteer

Company Reviews

Metrics

Info

4.8

Based on 488 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

Visit Website

Email:

info@podvolunteer.org

Location:

5, Noverton Lane, Cheltenham
Prestbury
GL52 5BA

Write Your review

Tell us how Pod Volunteer made you happy

Help future customers by talking about customer service, price, delivery, returns & refunds.

Minimum 10 characters

Would you like to add a photos or videos?

Strengthen your review by uploading photos & videos.

Drag files here or browse

(Supported files: jpg, png, mpeg, ogg, mp4 & webm)

What's your name?

Leave this blank if you'd like to publish your review anonymously.

(Optional)

What's your email?

We need your email address to verify that your review is genuine

Please note that we may share your email with the company to verify your order.

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

“A very efficient organisation with helpful staff who had experience of the projects so their advice was invaluable.”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago

“Pod Volunteer was an extremely efficient and organised project provider that couldn't have made volunteering abroad an easier process.”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago

“Erin was so helpful and informative before I left foot my placement. I felt fully prepared.”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago

“Pod Volunteer was extremely organized, and provided me with all the guidance I needed for my volunteering. There is a large variety of projects that you can join, and based on my own experience and that of other volunteers all of them very interesting. Pod works with local organizations that understand very well the environment, the culture and the needs of the communities where you will be working. This is a real advantage, which enables you to very quickly feel integrated within the project and the new environment. Pod made me happy because of the peace of mind of knowing that I could rely on the organization if I needed but at the same time I had the freedom I was looking for.”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago

“Pod Volunteer condensed vital information very well and provided a very informative booklet.”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago

“They offered fantastic support throughout the process. Plus the projects they have made connections with are out of this world amazing! Could not recommend enough. I went on the Indian child care project and had the best experience I could have hoped for.”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago

“Well organized volunteering/diving trip to Belize in coordination with ReefCI.”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago

“Thank you all for your wonderful support throughout this beautiful experience travelling to Thailand!! My heart is so full after being with and spending time with those wise, humble, and incredibly loving gentle elephants. I've have learned so much about elephant conservation and how we can truly make a difference in their vulnerable lives. My love for the elephant community has grown immensely. I strongly encourage others at least once to take the opportunity to contribute to the care and rehabilitation of these compassionate beings.”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago

“Pod Volunteer has a very engaged and dedicated employees who offered me a great assistance with organizing my trip and providing information prior my departure to Belize. The scuba diving Marine Conservation Project I volunteered with offered me a unique learning opportunity to conduct some underwater research, spear the lionfish and deepen my knowledge about the challenges of underwater conservation efforts in Belize. I am also very grateful for the opportunity to meet & work hand-in-hand with a wonderful group of volunteers from around the world. It was a truly unique and international community of people who wanted to make a difference!”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago

“Our Project Manager Janice was helpful and friendly and spoke good english, she allowed us to be independent with her support as and when needed.”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago

“Through Pod Volunteer, I spent a week at a reef conservation project in Belize. Pod were incredibly helpful from day 1 and Erin was always on hand if I had a question about flights, insurance, accommodation, etc. I received an abundance of information before my trip and always felt well supported and confident that I had all the information I needed. I've been in touch following my project to discuss a few things and they're still as helpful and responsive as ever.”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago

“Pod did a great job ensuring that everything went smoothly before and during my placement.”

Helpful Report

Posted 7 years ago

“Very quick to respond and send all information that was required for me to go, especially considering the short lead time (3 weeks)”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“i found my time at the game reserve quite dissapointing although i was experiencing opportunities that hadnt been able to before...for further input i would like to speak to somebody direct,its taken until now for me to get back to you as i am fully aware of just what a fantastic company you are and do not want to feel like i have you or myself down.there are a number of issues that need highlighting and since i have been back i have debated every week as to wether reply but ive finally decided to,and also a reason why is that i would love another project in january 2018...if i could speak to somebody direct when you have a spare few minuites that would be great.i understand how busy you are so shall await your call.im not at work until 19.30 this evening if this helps, thank you so much for your time and regards to you all, deborah-anne davies”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

Hi Deborah Thank you very much for your feedback. We greatly value all volunteer feedback and take it very seriously. I have just left a message on your answerphone as unfortunately my call went straight to voicemail. It would be great if we could arrange a time to discuss your feedback as we’d of course like to hear more about your time at the project and any changes or improvements that we could make. We look forward to hearing from you! Erin, Pod Volunteer

Posted 8 years ago

“The expierence, organization, follow up and help was great!!!”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Pod is very friendly and helpful. You can ask anything you want and you will have a quick answer.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“When emailing with questions or advice they were always quick to reply and helpful”

Pod Volunteer 5 star review on 28th October 2016

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“They helped me organise a fantastic trip and contacted me throughout to ensure I was on time and organised.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Very helpful and quick to respond to messages, helped to set up a great experience.”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

“Way too expensive, used the advised service to book flights but regretted this when we found out we had to pay extra for luggage half way though our journey and we were not told! Had to also pay extra for our journey to the airport due to a failure in the flight booking service. Next time I will book through the (for example) elephant park direct. Also followed an out of date handbook!”

Helpful Report

Posted 8 years ago

Hi Amy-Louise Thank you very much for your feedback. We greatly value all volunteer feedback and take it very seriously. We would like to respond to your points. I'm sorry you feel it was too expensive. We operate on a non-profit basis in order to keep costs as low as possible for volunteers whilst still ensuring a high level of service and that the projects are receiving enough money to cover the costs of volunteers on the ground. For many, the additional support that we provide to volunteers is why they choose to book with us. By booking a project with us, they know that the project they are joining has been visited and vetted in terms of both ethics and health and safety. We offer ABTOT payment protection as well as all the back up 24/7 support in case something goes wrong. I know for example we were able to help you with your flight details when you couldn't locate them while you were away. With regards to your luggage allowance, this is unfortunately set by the airlines and so is out of the control of Pod Volunteer or our recommended flights agent. I understand this was because your international flight allowance was 30kg which but the domestic flight allowance was a lower level of 20kg. This is detailed on the tickets and we advise all volunteers to check the weight limits in the flights section of our Volunteering Guide. I'm sorry that this was missed and you had to pay an additional charge. We will talk to our recommended flights agent to see if they can make it clearer for volunteers. The additional pick up cost that you incurred was due to booking your return flight for a non-standard departure day. All volunteers who fly on the Monday following the guidelines that we send to volunteers when they book are provided with an airport transfer included in the cost. Unfortunately when volunteers choose to book their flights outside of these times and days, the project has to organise a private transfer, the cost of which needs to be covered by the volunteer. The additional cost was communicated to you when you sent your flight details 2 months prior to your trip. Our volunteering guides are regularly updated and these are sent to volunteers at three stages (on application, on confirmation of booking and two weeks before they travel) in order to ensure that they always have the most up to date information. If there are any particular sections you felt were out of date please let me know and I can check these. If you’d like to discuss this further or arrange a phone call, please just let me know. Best Wishes Erin, Pod Volunteer

Posted 8 years ago

Pod Volunteer is rated 4.8 based on 488 reviews