As featured in The Telegraph Gap Year directory

Want to explore the world AND make a difference?
Hands Up Holidays will help you turn your well-deserved luxury break into the journey of a life time. All our experiences combine fun and interesting destinations with fulfilling volunteer experiences. Dig deeper into the fabric of a country and really get to know the local people and culture. At the same time give them your time and valuable experience, so that they can improve their own lives.

You have worked hard, so it is natural to want to enjoy a special journey to an exotic destination. Stay in luxurious accommodation, visit fascinating sights or challenge yourself to some extreme sports, the choice is yours.

However, don’t just leave it there. As well as unwinding you have the chance to share those in depth moments with the local people that can transform a trip into an experience. Be part of a pioneering set of individuals that don’t just talk about change but actually put their ideas into action.

Book your career break with
Hands Up Holidays and get:

• A personalised tailor-made itinerary that meets your exact travel and volunteer preference

• Meaningful interaction with the local people, to deepen your career break experience

• An authentic volunteer project that can benefit from your skills and/or your enthusiasm

• To travel in the level of comfort to which you are accustomed, including whilst volunteering

One recent example:
Lolita Cortes left her design job in London, England last October. She chose to spent the next seven weeks in India, exploring Delhi, Calcutta, Varanasi, Agra and Rajasthan, as well as the Himalayas.

Then she spent one week giving design advice to a women’s handcraft cooperative in the Sunderbans, and two weeks developing a brand and website refresh for an inspiring school in a deprived area of Delhi.

This is what Lolita had to say:
"The trip of a lifetime! Little did I know that when Christopher was helping me plan my trip to India, it was going to be the trip of a life time.

From Kolkata, to the beautiful and remote Sunderbans and Kerala, to luxurious Rajasthan, exotic Darjeeling and most specially to Delhi and Project Why, where the children and the Bakshi family stole my heart, and where I seemed to find myself again. All the places were so special, that when I arrived to a new place, it took me 24 hours to adapt and to say to myself I love this place too.  

Behind the lines, Hands up Holidays was threading the web to make sure that transfers, flights, guides and foremost experience was as it should be, they went the extra mile so that everything was exactly what I wanted.  Even though I travelled on my own, I never felt lonely or worried, as I knew I had Chris looking out for me every step of the way and through all the places I kept on adding to the trip.

I now look back on all the things I did, the things I learned and the lovely people I met, and I need to thank both Chris, and India for making it all possible.

I cannot wait for another experience with Hands up Holidays."