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

Company Reviews

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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

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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

“We have just come back from an unforgettable turtle conservation volunteering holiday in Kefalonia, with Wildlife Sense, organised by Pod Volunteer. Alex from Pod was so helpful throughout the process, with booking and organising the holiday and his communication was excellent. I would definitely book through them again. The holiday itself was fascinating, exciting and a joy! Wildlife Sense is an amazing organisation, with their knowledge, enthusiasm and commitment to the sea turtles and environment there. The experiences that we took part in completely brought to life the turtle life-cycle, and the effects that humans are having on them, from staying out on the beach overnight to watch hatchlings make their first journey down to sea – magical! – to helping in a mission to free an adult turtle caught in a fishing line – awe-inspiring! We went as a family of 2 adults and 2 teenage boys, and all of us loved it. I would absolutely recommend this holiday to anyone who wants to increase their knowledge of sea turtles but also get hands-on with conservation work.”

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Posted 1 year ago

Thank you so much Ella choosing to help support our Turtle and Marine Conservation project in Greece on your family holiday. Your support was so valuable in helping to protect the endangered turtles on the island of Kefalonia. It is fantastic to hear that you were able to have memorable experiences helping to rescue hatchling turtles on the beach at night and tracking nesting turtles. Hope we can help you plan your next volunteering trip! Best wishes, Alex and the Pod Volunteer team

Posted 1 year ago

“We loved every moment of family turtle conservation project! We've learned so much, met great people, feel like we've genuinely made a difference and contributed to an important project and made memories for life. The team were all amazing and every step from the team back home supporting our trip planning, to the communication and the project itself have been brilliant. We felt completely respected as volunteers even though we were only there for a week. The whole experience has been very inpisiring. We hope you love it as much as our family did!”

Pod Volunteer 5 star review on 18th August 2023

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Posted 1 year ago

Hi Tiffany, brilliant to hear about you and your family's experience in Greece on the Turtle and Marine Conservation family trip. You really have all made a genuine difference to the important conservation work there on Kefalonia and I'm sure will be an inspiration for other families too. Love the photos of your family in action and the beautiful shot of the turtle hatchling - makes it all worth it! Best wishes, Alex

Posted 1 year ago

“I found Pod Volunteer whilst looking for options for my DofE and the turtle conservation in Kefalonia stood out to me. Whilst I was there I met some amazing people who really made the experience what it was. I would look to do a similar project in the future.”

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Posted 1 year ago

Thanks so much for choosing to do your DofE Gold Residential Award whilst volunteering at our Turtle Conservation in Greece! We'd love to help you plan a trip in the future. All the best - Gemma, Pod Volunteer

Posted 1 year ago

“It was the best experience ever”

Pod Volunteer 5 star review on 14th August 2023

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Posted 1 year ago

Hi Sophie, so great to hear about your time on the Greece family Turtle and Marine Conservation trip this summer. Love the photo of the turtle at night in your red light head torch! Have a lovely rest of the summer. Best wishes, Alex

Posted 1 year ago

“I had a great experience volunteering with Pod Volunteer. They were so quick to respond to any questions I had, before and throughout the project. I would definitely recommend volunteering through them! Thank you so much for the opportunity.”

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Posted 1 year ago

So happy to hear that you had such a good time helping the turtles in Greece Anya! All the best, Gemma - Pod Volunteer

Posted 1 year ago

“it was a fabulous experience, rich in emotion. With great encounters. I recommend 100% but don't be afraid to get your hands dirty!”

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Posted 1 year ago

Thanks so much for your review and volunteering with us Baptiste - so happy to hear that you enjoyed your experience at the Elephant Rescue project in Thailand! Best wishes, Alex

Posted 1 year ago

“Pod Volunteer need to give more information about the projects as it was a shock how much hard work the turtle conservation project involved. To do this one…you must be a really strong cycler and be willing to sleep on a beach at night with just one other person. On a positive note however, pod volunteer were supportive with organising the trip, but more truthful and explicit information about the project would have prepared me better.”

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Posted 1 year ago

Thanks very much for your open and honest feedback, which we always really appreciate. I’m glad that you found we were supportive for your trip to Greece. Our Turtle Conservation project in Greece does involve hard work as the project genuinely requires the help of volunteers to help protect and conserve the endangered turtles. Volunteers’ time and effort make a real difference. We agree that it’s very important that volunteers understand the role on the trip they are joining. This is why we aim to be clear about expectations and challenges in our website and Guide. As you know, we send out the Guide before taking a deposit so volunteers can learn all about the trip and hopefully have no surprises when they arrive. In the Physical and Emotional challenges section of the Guide we let volunteers know that the role will include “Riding a bicycle over hilly terrain in a hot climate. Volunteers normally travel by bicycle and cycle 4-8km to the nesting beaches each day” and “Taking part in night shifts, monitoring nests / turtles through the night, including sleeping on the beach”. We will endeavour to make this even clearer for future volunteers. Thanks again for your efforts to support the conservation of turtles in Kefalonia. Best wishes, Gemma

Posted 1 year ago

“Amazing team, incredible landscapes, very interesting activities, I truly recommend Pod Volunteer for a safe, rewarding and unforgettable life changing experience !”

Pod Volunteer 5 star review on 24th July 2023

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Posted 1 year ago

Hi Jean-Loup, fantastic to hear about your and Adele's volunteering in Costa Rica with the turtles! Amazing pictures and love the waterfall, great way to cool off! Hope all good on your return to France. Best wishes, Alex

Posted 1 year ago

“It was an experience of a lifetime. Working on a sea turtle sanctuary was the best vacation ever. Reserva Playa Tortuga in Costa Rica was amazing. Highly recommend.”

Pod Volunteer 5 star review on 21st July 2023

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Posted 1 year ago

Hi Julie and Cordelia, so great to hear about your time in Costa Rica! Love the photo of you two and also an all important turtle nest! Hope you have enjoyed the rest of your travels around Costa Rica. Best wishes, Alex

Posted 1 year ago

“One of the best experiences I have had! Alongside the great project itself, you meet so many people as well as plenty of free time to do what you want. Also, there are evening activities to get to know everyone better as you make friends with people from around the world.”

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Posted 1 year ago

Hi Harvey, brilliant to hear about your time in Greece on the turtle conservation project and that you have made lots of new friends from around the world. Best wishes, Alex

Posted 1 year ago

“I volunteered at a wildlife rescue centre in Thailand through Pod volunteer and had an incredible time. Pod volunteer were extremely organised and very accessible via email to answer any queries. The process of booking the project was straight forward and simple. The description and information I was provided with matched the project perfectly. I would highly recommend Pod volunteer to anyone looking for a volunteer project!”

Pod Volunteer 5 star review on 23rd June 2023

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Posted 1 year ago

Hi Charlotte, so great to hear about your experience in Thailand on the Wildlife Rescue project for your Gold DofE Residential! I'm really glad everything came together so you could fit the trip in around your work. At least the weather is warm to welcome you back to the UK! Best wishes, Alex

Posted 1 year ago

“I am attaching my evaluation I completed for SLWCS”

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Posted 1 year ago

Thanks so much Carolyn, great to hear about your time with the elephants! Best wishes, Alex

Posted 1 year ago

“No words, photos, videos will ever do the Horse Rehabilitation project in South Africa justice. Thanks Alex from Podvolunteer for helping set this up with how crazy things were on my end. Thank you to Georgie, Penny, and the entire family at the Rehabilitation and Rescue. Truly truly felt loved and part of the family. I will surely be coming back soon.”

Pod Volunteer 5 star review on 20th June 2023

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Posted 1 year ago

Hi Matthew, I'm so thrilled that it all worked out so well. I love the photos, especially you and your horse with tongues out! And the video of riding down to the beach is so evocative of my recent visit there, really miss it and the fun family atmosphere. Hope you make it back soon to see Georgie and Penny again! Best wishes, Alex

Posted 1 year ago

“pod have been amazing- very quick in responses and answered any questions o had really well. All i would say is that in the info booklet a lot of the info i was given about the sea turtle conservation i did in greece was outdated/incorrect. For example the 'no wifi' etc. Otherwise, pod have been great, and i had an amazing time!!”

Pod Volunteer 4 star review on 12th June 2023

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Posted 1 year ago

Thanks so much for your comments and amazing pictures, looks like you had an incredible experience and really makes me want to go back to Greece! I'm sorry there were a few bits of information that weren't up to date, I'll message you privately to check on those so we can change them. With Wifi, we hadn't wanted to say it was always available, as in previous years it had been rather unreliable but hopefully it's better now! Best wishes, Alex

Posted 1 year ago

“Very quick and helpful service! Alex worked very hard to ensure my special needs were accommodated.”

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Posted 1 year ago

Thanks so much and I'm really glad it all worked out so well for your volunteering trip. Best wishes, Alex

Posted 1 year ago

“Provided a fantastic opportunity and have supported me and my friend through our whole process of volunteering in a foreign country. Very helpful for any questions we had and very reliable. Amazing and I would definitely recommend to anyone else.”

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Posted 1 year ago

Hi Amber, it's been a pleasure helping you with your DofE Residential volunteering trip to Costa Rica and I'm so pleased to hear it all went so well. Hope you are settling in back at home and getting over the jet lag! Best wishes, Alex

Posted 1 year ago

“This was an incredible and unforgettable experience that has impacted me in so many ways… not only were the horses amazing, but the people and the friendships we made were amazing too 💗”

Pod Volunteer 5 star review on 2nd June 2023

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Posted 1 year ago

Hi Abigail, thanks so much for your feedback on your time at the Horse Rehabilitation project in South Africa. I know how much Georgie and Penny loved having you there and all the hard work you did! Love the beuatiful pictures! Hope you are settling back in at home well. Best wishes, Alex

Posted 1 year ago

“Helpful, with links to organise getting to one part of my travels to the other. They check up on you to make sure that you arrived safely. But not sure it’s not worth the ton more money than booking directly.”

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Posted 1 year ago

Hi Alannah, thanks very much for your feedback and I’m really glad the travels between different parts of the country all co-ordinated well. We do appreciate that it can sometimes be a little more cost to book through us than going directly to a project, but it’s important to consider that it’s not easy to find ethical and good quality volunteering experiences on your own. Going directly tends to be more suited to a repeat visit. We do always keep volunteer fees as low as possible and we operate on a non-profit basis to ensure this. We are also always there to support our volunteers, before and during their time away. Best wishes, Alex

Posted 1 year ago

“Our service trip was to Namibia for Desert Elephant conservation. I had the pleasure of coordinating with Pod Volunteer for almost 5 years, as our trip was delayed several times over 3 years due to Covid/pandemic. I was so grateful to be working with Alex and the other Pod Volunteer team members who made a potentially stressful situation very easy and manageable. Their communications were timely and helpful, answered all of our seemingly endless list of questions, and their partner organization in Namibia who we ultimately volunteered with (EHRA) was top notch. Everything about our experience was 5 stars and we would highly recommend working and coordinating with Pod Volunteer again for a future service trip. Thank you!”

Pod Volunteer 5 star review on 8th May 2023

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Posted 1 year ago

Thanks Kristin, so delighted that this trip to Namibia finally came together after the Covid delays. Love the picture of your group out in the desert tracking elephants, what a place and what an experience. Hope you are settling in back at home ok. Best wishes, Alex

Posted 1 year ago

“Volunteered in Ghana with Pod and had an unforgettable experience. I made long-lasting friendships with the community and it changed the outlook I have on life. Would 100% recommend to everyone.”

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Posted 1 year ago

Thanks so much for your comments on your time volunteering in Ghana, the community there are so grateful for your help and it's wonderful to hear about the friendships you have made. Best wishes, Alex

Posted 1 year ago

Pod Volunteer is rated 4.8 based on 489 reviews