To be a volunteer on the Costa Rica program with GVN you need to be at least 18 years old, unless accompanied by a parent or guardian.

After you pay your application fee, you’ll be put in touch with our partner, and will be sent the program guide with more details about the program.

If you are volunteering for more than 4 weeks our partner in Costa Rica will offer you the opportunity to share your time between the turtle program and another non-turtle conservation project. If you are going for 4 weeks only but would like to attend 2 projects, a surcharge of $100 can be applied to the in-country fee to cover this option. You will also have to cover the cost of transportation between sites (usually no more than US$30).

National Parks
(a) Besides the spectacular beaches, Manuel Antonio National Park offers several kilometres of well maintained trails offering easy access to the lowland rainforest. Logging and agriculture have left only two significant areas of tropical rainforest (tropical lowland wet forest) along the entire Pacific coast of Central America. Corcovado protects one on the Osa Peninsula, and Manuel Antonio protects the other. The park is located just south of Quepos on the Pacific Coast, 132 km from San José.
(b) Cahuita National Park is located on Costa Rica’s southern Caribbean Coast in the canton of Talamanca, province of Limón. The province is vitally important as it contains some of Costa Rica’s more diverse tropical forest eco-systems. The wildlife includes monkeys, sloths, crocodiles, caimans, anteaters and around 400 species of birds. Cahuita is one of the only places on the Caribbean coast where you can find healthy coral reefs. It’s possible to see light yellow brain, elkhorn, and blue staghorn corals, sea fans, gorgonians as well as more than 500 species of fish that live on the reefs.
(c) Cabo Blanco was the first national park established in Costa Rica and was founded in 1963. It is located on one of the tips of the Nicoya Peninsula. Within the park are around 140 species of trees, several varieties of migrating birds who come to the park to mate, and a variety of marine fauna including crabs, molluscs, tropical fish and sponges. There are 3 stations within the park (Cocalito, San Miguel and Cabuya) and volunteers are assigned a station on arrival according to the requirements at the time of your placement.
Activities for volunteers at all national parks include maintenance and construction of the many walking trails within the park boundaries, general maintenance and upkeep of infrastructure and facilities, helping the park rangers with pest control and wildlife monitoring, including recording data on bird and plant life within the reserve, as well as helping conduct tours for tourists and school groups. The tasks will vary according to the season and the number of volunteers onsite at the time you are there. Volunteers are housed in dormitories with bunk beds and there are kitchen facilities, a dining room and a common room onsite at each park. They also have electricity and running water, although power cuts can be frequent, especially during the rainy season.

Eco-Cooperatives
(a) Las Heliconias is 180 hectares of primary forest located in the Northern lowlands region of Upala-Bijagua, approximately 4 hours from Costa Rica’s capital, San José. The cooperative is dedicated to conservation and rural development. Volunteer activities include clearing and maintaining the many hiking trails and monitoring of native flora and fauna within the reserve. Accommodation is in basic lodges with other volunteers and meals are provided.
(b) Finca Ecoturistica el Yue is run by a group of 10 women who started growing bananas and vegetables as a way of improving their standard of living whilst remaining eco-friendly. The project is located about 4 hours from San José on the Caribbean Coast. Volunteer activities include helping with the organic farm and the herbal garden, maintaining the trails, helping in the greenhouse and participating in reforestation projects. There is also the opportunity to teach English to members of the staff and local community. Volunteers are housed in two small lodges and meals are provided.

Volunteers need to be able to converse in English, with basic Spanish also a requirement for this program, as you will be working with local staff who speak very little English.

Volunteers need to fly into San José’s Juan Santamaría international airport (SJO). You will be picked up by staff from the hostel where you will stay in San Jose before heading out to the turtle reserve. Our partner will meet you at the hostel on the day you arrive or the day after, depending on your time of arrival.

The Spanish lessons are one on one and mainly conversational. The cost is $300 for 6 nights food/accommodation, 5 four hour days of Spanish lessons, and materials (course book that was designed for volunteers). The course will help you go through situations like taking buses, buying in the local markets, ordering food in restaurants, and obtaining medicine. If you would like to take Spanish lessons, you should arrive one week before you begin the project. If you are coming from a relatively short flight (such as from the USA) you can arrive on Sunday, ready to start on Monday, but if you are coming from further away you should arrive on Saturday to give yourself time to recover from jet lag. The Spanish School will arrange for an English speaking taxi driver to meet you at the airport and take you to your accommodation.

The welcome pack contains the following information: safety in Costa Rica, travelling around, registration with the Embassy (if required), culture shock, what it means to volunteer in conservation, rules of the National Park, work involved in turtle conservation, revision of the code of conduct or termination of contract, and what to do in case of a natural disaster. On arrival to the turtle reserve you will be given a more detailed orientation about the work required by a park ranger.

Your application fee secures your place on the program (remember this is fully transferable to a later date or different program if you decide not to take part in the program, subject to the terms of service). Your program fee is payable to Global Volunteer Network 8 weeks prior to the 1st of the month you wish to volunteer. Please note that all charges incurred by the payment of the program fee are at the volunteer’s expense, e.g. if a bank transfer incurs a bank fee at the point of origin, that is at the expense of the volunteer. Eighty percent (80%) of your program fee is refundable until one calendar month before the 1st of the month you are due to begin your program. Refer to GVN's legal terms of service for full details.

Dress needs to be conservative, and light loose clothing is advisable as it is most comfortable in the heat.  Iit is best to wear clothes that will cover and protect you from the sun and mosquitoes. Bring very light cotton clothes because it could be very wet. Dark clothing is also required, as you’ll often be working at night.

You need extra money to travel locally if you wish to. You will also need to pay for food while you’re in San Jose and for transport to your placement. You may also need to cater for other expenses like bottled water, personal costs, beverages, and entertainment.

Each GVN program has different criteria depending on our partner's requirements. Every application is reviewed to ensure that the minimum requirements (as set out on the program page) are met. Next we look to see what skills or experience you have that relate specifically to the program. We are also interested in any previous volunteer experience you may have (either local or international), travel experience, and your particular interest in the program.

After reviewing your application, should we require any further information from you, we will email you to request this.

No, our volunteers come from all around the world.

We are able to provide vegetarian food - please indicate on your application form if you would like this. You may need to supplement your diet with some snacks.

There is the option to take a week-long Spanish course prior to starting your placement. The Spanish lessons are one on one and mainly conversational. The cost is $300 for 6 nights food/accommodation, 5 four hour days of Spanish lessons, and materials (course book that was designed for volunteers).

Spanish lessons are not available once you start your placement.

Travel insurance is required for this program. You can arrange this personally or choose to purchase it though GVN. We have arranged a comprehensive travel insurance package specially designed for volunteering. It includes excellent medical and accident coverage as well as a ’loss of deposits’ cover which covers fees paid to GVN, airlines etc (up to US$8,000). If you would like to learn more just follow this link: .