The Voluntary Traveler: Adventures from the Road Best Traveled [Paperback]

Julie Schwietert (Author), Nola Lee Kelsey (Creator), Roberta Beach Jacobson (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2009

Part anthology and part travel guide, this book opens new worlds through intriguing real-life stories by travelers who have walked the walk of volunteer travel. The collection also includes a detailed volunteer guidebook section, listing charities needing volunteer assistance and organizations coordinating service-oriented travel.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The Voluntary Traveler gives wonderful insights into life as a volunteer traveler as well as what it means to face up to real problems and issues at ground level. Most importantly, it provides great points of entry into some of the most inspiring programs (and people) around the word.”  —David Miller, MatadorAbroad

About the Author

Nola Lee Kelsey is a zoologist, the managing editor of Dog’s Eye View Media, and the author of Dogs: Funny Side Up! and Let’s Go Visit Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. She has worked as a dog caregiver for Best Friends Animal Society, a reptile keeper, a marine park trainer, a penguin handler, and a wildlife rehabilitator, as well as a serial volunteer for global animal rescue organizations. She lives in Hot Springs, South Dakota.

Product Details

• Paperback: 488 pages
• Publisher: Dog's Eye View Media (August 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0980232368
• ISBN-13: 978-0980232363
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,107,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #42 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Travel > Specialty Travel > Adventure > General
  • #67 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Travel > Reference & Tips > Reference
  • #81 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Travel > Reference & Tips > Essays & Travelogues

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can be the first step towards making a difference when and while journeying to anywhere else in the world, September 13, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Voluntary Traveler: Adventures from the Road Best Traveled (Paperback)

There is a new and growing trend. Men and women leaving their homes for vacations that will take them to other lands and other peoples. Then instead of simply seeing the sights, they participate in directly helping those communities by volunteering their labor and expertise to accomplish whatever tasks are needed to elevate the standard of living and/or the quality of life for the people who reside there. In "The Voluntary Traveler: Adventures From The Road Best Traveled", Nola Lee Kelsey has compiled and edited the personal stories of more than twenty men and women who have engaged in traveling around the globe to become more than simple tourists, participating in helping, often through the focus of a charitable organization, those communities they have visited. As 'volunteer travelers', their personal service brought memories and feelings of accomplishment that ordinary tourists and recreational visitors could never know. From Thailand, India, South Africa, and the Marshall Islands, to Mexico, Romania, Nepal, and Cambodia, these are personal stories that illustrate and exemplify what volunteer travel is all about. Of special note is the final section profusely listing additional volunteer organizations, resources, opportunities, and more. For anyone seeking adventure beyond their own local communities and ordinary lives, reading "The Voluntary Traveler" can be the first step towards making a difference when and while journeying to anywhere else in the world.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written, funny and inspiring, October 1, 2009

By 

L. Arakelian (CT, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Voluntary Traveler: Adventures from the Road Best Traveled (Paperback)

I just cannot believe some of the things people have done! Its amazing..the stories are awesome, inspiring, humorous, happy, sad...every single one of my emotions was wrenched! A great read especially while traveling.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TEN star wonderful well written book, August 17, 2009

By 

MotherLodeBeth "MotherLodeBeth" (Sierras of California) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Voluntary Traveler: Adventures from the Road Best Traveled (Paperback)

Wonderful wonderful wonderful book. Reading it I was reminded of all the working vacations we have taken. The author writes in a manner that you will feel as if you are there in the situation she is in. And the stories of her experiences are so varied, which is a treat, because you never ever get bogged down, thinking or wishing you could read something different instead of the same thing, but different location.

And I love the extensive travel guide sections where you can see a Voluntary Guidebook where the author lists a group and what type it is, their website, countries where they are in, age requirements and address, languages spoken, cost, meal and accommodations if any, maximum stay allowed, health requirements, and whether they are in need of help all year round or only certain weeks or months.

Volunteer organizations on pages 435 thru 4 have websites listed and country and a more in depth description of what the organization does. Starting on page 449 the have an Index that lists the dozens and dozens of countries, alphabetically and what groups they have and how many volunteers they have. Was amazed to see some groups literally have hundreds and hundreds of volunteers.

When Dogs Choose You starting on page 109 hooked me. It reminded me of why I like animals more than most humans. And why people who love animals often are better people overall.