Volunteer in Thailand - Coastal Marine Conservation in Phang Nga

Please Note: This program is temporarily unavailable. Check out our alternative programs in Asia or schedule a one-on-one call with one of our expert volunteer advisors.

Divide your time between conservation efforts to help protect the green sea turtles and exploring Thailand’s famous beaches. This is a great opportunity for volunteers who want to gain hands-on marine conservation experience, while living on pristine beaches and experiencing Thai culture.

Program Highlights:

Experience the picturesque Phang Nga Bay
Gain hands-on, fieldwork and research experience
Monitor and be part of the local sea turtle conservation programs
Ethical wildlife volunteer tasks and interactions
Participate in educational programs to help raise community awareness about environmental issues
Explore nearby beaches, islands, caves and forests during your time off

Your Schedule at a Glance (Minimum two-week commitment):

Arrival Day, Saturday: Arrive at Phuket International Airport (HKT) on time to make the meeting point at 10:00 AM. Most volunteers choose to arrive at least the day before to settle in, and arrange their own accommodations prior to the start date. At the meeting point at 10:00 AM you will meet the local staff to be transferred to the project.

Day 2, Sunday: Take the time to settle into your new home and get to know the project better.

Days 3-7, Monday-Friday: Your day to day activities will vary and depend on the needs of the project as well as the season. Some of your tasks may include assisting with turtle husbandry, surveying the national park and the coral reef, beach clean ups, conducting research on the turtles and lesson planning for community presentations. Your evenings will be free to enjoy Phang Nga. You may also need to go on field trips that will require you to leave your base accommodation for several days, to conduct research in more rural parts of the island.

Days 8-9, Saturday-Sunday: Your weekends will be free to rest and explore Phang Nga. You may choose to go for a snorkel or even take a trip down to Phuket and enjoy it’s world famous nightlife.

Remaining Weeks: The remaining weeks will follow a similar schedule of volunteering Monday-Friday and having Saturday-Sunday free. Every two weeks you will also receive a Friday off, so you can use your long weekend to venture further out and explore other parts of Thailand. Departures are on a Saturday.

Location of the Project: Phang Nga, Thailand

Project length: 2-12 weeks

Arrival Airport: Phuket International Airport (HKT)

Volunteer Work: Marine and wildlife conservation, environmental education and community work

Age: Min age 18- Max 80

Number of Volunteers: Up to 16 international volunteers

What’s Included

Accommodations: Shared rooms at the volunteer base

Food: 2-3 meals per day are provided

Airport Transfers: Airport dropoff is provided on departure day

Orientation: Saturday: you will meet the team and travel through to base. There will be a base tour, health and safety orientation, introductions and then time to unpack and settle in. On Sunday you will receive an introduction to the conservation program (intro to community education program and various aspects of conservation mangroves, reefs, turtles of course depending on season)

Support: Comprehensive and professional pre-departure travel guidance, 24/7 GoEco emergency hotline, experienced local field team.

What’s not Included

Flights, visas (if required), travel health insurance, transportation from/to Phuket Town/airport, personal expenses

Location

Situated along the Andaman coast, Phang Nga is a spectacular region renowned for its magnificent scenery and geographical wonders of limestone rock formations jutting out from beneath the sea and sunken caverns. Its clear waters and abundance of marine life make it a top destination for snorkelers and scuba divers but its enchanting beaches also appeal to those looking for a laid-back atmosphere with where cultures meld together. A short bus ride from the base in Ban Nam Khem, Phang Nga Bay is probably most famous for some of its many tiny islands including Koh Tapu where the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun was shot.

Volunteer Work

Work done depends on the seasons/weather. One of the main tasks on this project involves assisting local staff at a turtle centre by cleaning tanks, animal husbandry studies, leading enclosure behaviour enrichment surveys, and collecting morphological data on turtles to identify infections they may have. Volunteers also have the opportunity once every four weeks (not guaranteed for four-week volunteers) to conduct biodiversity surveys for our partners in the national parks and on two diverse islands, this also includes setting up camera traps and collecting pictures.You will also have the opportunity to lead environmental education classes at local schools, beach/park/mangrove/village clean ups etc.

You will receive educational presentations to accompany your various conservation activities. During the dry season, November to April, volunteer work includes coral monitoring surveys to assess the damage of nearby coral reefs and help to support local conservation efforts. Snorkelling will take place once a week.

A typical day: You will day will start in the morning as you head out to start project work . You will have lunch around noon and then go back out to the “field” for an afternoon project. You will be brought back to the volunteer base in the early afternoon and will have free time until dinner is served around 6:00 PM.

Living Arrangements

Internet icon Internet: There is WiFi available at the base, but the connection may not always be reliable.

Laundry icon Laundry: Volunteers have a choice of hand-washing or having laundry washed by a local laundry service for an additional fee.

Accommodations icon Accommodations: The rooms at the volunteer base are quite basic and although there is no air conditioning there are fans for your use. The local team aims to have single gender rooms but sometimes may be mixed.The rooms are shared with up to six other volunteers and have electricity. There is a shared bathroom with cold running water. You may upgrade to a private room with air conditioning for an additional fee.

Food icon Food: From Sunday to Thursday, dinner and lunch is prepared for the group by cooks from the village. On Friday and Saturday volunteers and staff prepare their meals together. Breakfast includes bread, toast, margarine, milk and oats. Lunch and dinners are usually local rice and noodle dishes with curries and stir-fries. Expect to eat a lot of rice! The local team offers 3 meals a day but extra snacks and drinks are at the volunteer’s expense.

Travel Highlights

Thailand is full of things to discover. Divers shouldn’t miss out on the spectacular coral reefs of the Similan & Suring Islands. You can relax on stretches of sandy, white beaches or paper yourself at one of the many inexpensive spas. Trek along the Khao Lak coast and find hidden waterfalls. Head to Phuket to if you want to party the night away or indulge in adventure water sports. Animal and nature lovers will enjoy a trip to Khao Sok National Park, home to monkeys, tigers, elephants, birds and reptiles. Visit nearby Krabi Province and climb to the top of the Tiger Temple or kayak through mangroves.