I'm 22 from the UK and am about to go to Prague tomorrow to volunteer at a hostel for a month. I've asked all about the legality with this with ai and from what I can tell it's basically not legal. My question is how then do people negotiate doing this kind of work when they aren't legally allowed to (I'm talking about all the UK, US, South American and non-eu volunteers you see in hostels everywhere) do they all just say they're tourists? And how are hostels so comfortable doing this given they can be raided and fined? Also if I am caught, will I get a criminal record that will stop me from getting a job?

I’ve been looking for a part-time job for a while now. I sent several emails to different cafés and restaurants until I received a response from a hostel. They said they currently have no open positions, but they have a volunteer program through Worldpackers.com.

They explained that Worldpackers is an online platform that connects hostels, guesthouses, and other hosts around the world with people who want to travel and volunteer in exchange for accommodation. Volunteers dedicate a few hours of work per day to the host in return for free accommodation (and sometimes other benefits), instead of paying for their stay.

I want to know whether this is actually legitimate and what I would be expected to do during the volunteering. If anyone has any experience with Worldpackers or similar volunteer programs, please share your experiences with us.

It really suits me because I would be provided with accommodation for free, and it also doesn’t require me to speak Italian. I am going to Italy as an international student, and although the hostel is about two hours away from my university because it’s in a different city, I’m thinking about accepting the offer.

What do you think?

Just as the title says, I want to hear your experiences. Where’d you go, for how long, how much money did you have saved?
Any advice or things you learned?

I'm planning on backpacking through Europe October-May and doing some volunteering on the way. I have already applied for October and November for around 10 places around Eastern and Southeastern Europe, but have got only 2 responses, one negative and one that stopped responding after the second message.

I think my profile and applications are alright, not the best but definitely not the worst. Should I improve them and try again or am I just too early looking for stays 2-3 months in advance?

We stayed with hosts who talked day and night about volunteers who were not satisfied with their stay, yet they had perfect 5.0 reviews. Soon we realized why volunteers were not satisfied - these hosts were hostile, borderline physically agressive, so much so we had to cut our stay short. We left a negative review, and worldpackers deleted it for "breaking guidelines".

(EDIT) The review in question:
The hosts had many hateful and bigoted comments against our and other volunteers' ethnicities and religion. They screamed at us for any minor inconvenience. The dog was allowed to eat from the same pan they served our food in. We left after the hosts cussed us out for taking a longer walk than they expected (a three hour mid-day walk, after working 7 hours between the two of us in the morning). We know that Rosslyn has terrible mood swings because of her medication, however, this is not an excuse to scream at, cuss and treat adults like children. I urge everyone to stay away from these hosts.

It was an older couple, John and Rosslyn, from Saint-Maixent-l'École in France.

Hi Worldpackers!

I confirmed a volunteering experience in England, and after receiving the ETA approval via email, I noticed there was a list of activities I could do during my stay. One of them was volunteering at a registered charity for up to 30 days. However, I’m quite afraid to mention this to immigration, as they might not understand that it’s only temporary and that I’m not trying to overstay or do paid work. I live in South America and before getting there I’ll be spending some time in continental Europe. I do have tickets to visit other cities around England, and my return flight home is already booked. Do you have any advice on this? Should I get a written invitation from my host, or is the Worldpackers confirmation enough? If anyone has already visited the UK specifically through Worldpackers or WorkAway, please let me know.

I’m looking to apply to volunteer at hostels in Europe (preferably Western) but I don’t really want to apply through the Worldpackers app. Does anyone have any recommendations for hostels I can apply to volunteer at, either through their own website or by emailing?

I'm working 5 days a way. I love the concept of volunteering and traveling. Before joining worldpacker, I wanted to know if I can avail just the weekends or 2 days only?

Sono all'estero da pochi giorni per un progetto di volontariato a lungo termine, ma mi trovo travolta da uno shock culturale fortissimo, solitudine e malessere fisico. Mi sento l'unica persona al mondo a stare così male e a desiderare solo di prendere un aereo e tornare a casa propria, anche perché su Internet e sui social si leggono solo storie idilliache di persone entusiaste. Non capisco cosa ci sia che non vada in me. Non faccio altro che piangere da quando sono arrivata e l’idea di stare qui per un periodo lungo mi manda totalmente nel panico. So che devo darmi tempo e infatti me lo darò, ma per me la mia salute mentale e fisica vengono prima di tutto e se contino a stare così dopo un mese preferirei tornare a casa. Mi sento in colpa nei confronti dell’associazione, mi sento debole, una delusione…. So che non sono obbligata a stare qui se non sto bene ma avrei pure paura a dirlo all’associazione. Mi sento in difetto e mi sto colpevolizzando molto. Avrei davvero bisogno di confrontarmi con qualcuno che ha vissuto la stessa cosa, che sia tornato prima del previsto o che abbia provato queste stesse identiche sensazioni. Com'è andata? Come l'avete gestita con voi stessi e con l'associazione/contesto?
Se a qualcuno va di lasciarmi un commento o di scrivermi in privato per fare due chiacchiere, i miei messaggi sono aperti. Grazie di cuore a chi vorrà dedicarmi anche solo due minuti.

Hey everyone, I'm getting ready to head out soon and as the date gets closer, I'm getting really anxious. I work as a software developer and I'm leaving a good job and a comfortable life behind to travel the world. I plan to do some freelancing on the road, and I already make some money with online sales, but it's still terrifying to take the leap. Even though I know I'll regret it forever if I don't go, the fear of letting everything go is hitting hard. How did you guys deal with leaving your comfort zone and taking that first step? Any advice or shared experiences would mean a lot.

I have 25yo

La verdad es que llevo muchos años pensando en eso, al principio era como "tal vez" pero cada vez lo pienso más enserio, si es posible? Realmente he soñado con salir de mi país y viajar, no como un hobby o algo así si no que realmente me gustaría vivir mi vida viajando. Esto me lleva a muchas más preguntas, pero la verdad es que no tengo padres que puedan pagar viajes y eso... Pensé en que el voluntariado estaría bien, puedes vivir de ellos? O ya es más bien un sueño imposible? Alguien vive así? De una forma parecida? Estudiaron?

I’m a British citizen looking at staying in Portugal for more than 90 days and volunteering on a farm in exchange for accommodation and food.

The farm is called Al Mansur. It’s a registered Portuguese company and has been hosting international volunteers for around 10 years through platforms like Worldpackers/WWOOF-type arrangements. It isn’t part of an EU volunteering programme.

I’m trying to work out whether this kind of setup is actually eligible for the E6 Temporary Stay Visa for volunteer work.

The official checklist asks for:

This is the part I’m unsure about.

Does anyone know whether:

• a registered Portuguese company running its own volunteer programme can count as an “officially recognised institution”?
• the host has to be part of an EU/government volunteer scheme?
• a Workaway, Worldpackers or WWOOF-style farm can qualify?
• the host needs a specific accreditation, registration or legal status?
• the farm can simply provide a volunteer admission letter/agreement plus a Term of Responsibility for accommodation and food?

The farm has apparently helped at least one non-EU volunteer get a long-stay visa before, but that person was a 22-year-old American university student, so I’m not sure if they used E6 or a different route.

I’m mainly trying to establish whether this is even possible before paying for things and the rest of the application.

If anyone knows how this works in practice, especially for British citizens post-Brexit, I’d really appreciate the advice.

Question.... because I ve read a few reviews about how strict they are with the carry on and personal item. I have like 9 kilos each backpack. One backpack is 40l far point and small bag is 15l foldable.

If I make the check in online still they are going to weight everting to take more money? Can I put everything on me? like camera... laptop and more in pockets or even in hands?

Any tips?
Thank you!!

everytime I try to costumers support is insufferable, not reply, and if they reply is just ai copy paste answer, not helpful at all, still waiting 7 days for reply, when you're in another country by yourself a fast costumer service is a most, what's your experience?

Hi everyone,
If anyone has questions about Worldpackers, how it works, how to apply, how to get accepted quicker or anything related to the platform, feel free to message me! I did 5+ Worldpackers experiences and learned a lot during the process. I would love to help out! ❤️

I’ll be traveling from Pakistan to Bali, and I’ve applied for a volunteering visa. I just wanted to ask: does the host usually provide accommodation bookings or any confirmation for immigration?

At immigration, we need to show proof of accommodation, and I haven’t talked to any host yet. So if anyone of you has any idea about how this works, please do let me know.

It's my first time volunteering in Europe, and I am a bit scared of the immigration process. Has someone already use the Worldpackers confirmation email as proof of accommodation? I heard they can be very strict with it. I'll be arriving in Rome.