Media Reviews and Endorsements

"Hands Up Holidays offers a chance to meet Katrina survivors, learn about the fascinating history of the area, and help with New Orleans' recovery, through volunteer work such as rebuilding houses, sorting clothing donations, teaching skills to the unemployed, or entertaining the elderly in assisted living homes."

" Recent research backs up something many travelling families know intuitively: Travel just may be the best education of all."

Swim with turtles at Parque Tayrona, Colombia
"In the quest to discover the Caribbean's last undiscovered corners, all but the most determined over look the jungle lined beaches along Colombia's northern coast."

"As a parent, I feel so good knowing that I am showing and teaching my kids about themselves and others through volunteer travel; they experience self-reliance in carrying their bags, they learn adaptability in eating different foods..."

Two members of the voluntourism or volunteer holiday industry go head-to-head over the oft-debated benefits and pitfalls of a holiday choice that continues to grow in popularity.

"Combining luxury travel with volunteering, Hands Up Holidays takes you on a trip you won’t soon forget. Experience New Orleans and assist those affected by the oil spill, whether yours is a modest or splurgy budget." or read an older article featuring Hands Up Holidays

Dolce Vita Magazine gives you a taste of our Natural New Zealand in Style trip.

"They take you to exotic places. You travel 5-star. And you can feel good about your vacation because an element of true green volunteering is woven in. Among a multitude of other projects and while seeing the world,..."

"Hands Up Holidays are taking this trend a step further, and offering green travellers the chance to combine a family holiday with helping researchers to preserve these magnificent mammals."

Katy Holland: Holidays with a heart – they're all the rage for adventurous families

Are we there yet? Whether through 'voluntourism' or donation schemes, 'holidays with a heart' are the hottest thing in family travel.

Hands Up Holidays named as a Transformative Vacation by Travel + Leisure Magazine in the US

"Few travelers get to do more than scratch the surface of [Rio de Janeiro], ...where golden coastline and buzzing nightlife districts abut gritty, overcrowded favelas...Hands Up Holidays gives volunteers a deeper look at the city and a chance to make a difference." 

Hands Up Holidays named in Harper's Bazaar as one of the Top 10 Ethical Tour Operators 

Green Traveler Magazine: Voluntourism: how to combine luxury and labor
"...Hands Up Holidays, a website that promotes “adventures that count … luxury travel with a conscience.” Pick a country or world region, a type of volunteering you’re interested in, whether you’re traveling as a family, solo, as a career break, even on your honeymoon."   (Read More...)

Hands Up Holidays is endorsed by Dame Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop

'See The World & Make A Difference In It'

"I met the founder, Christopher Hill, of an inspiring travel company called Hands Up Holidays – who offer trips that blend sightseeing with authentic, meaningful interactions with local communities through ‘tasters’ of volunteering...For an adventure that counts I recommend Hands Up Holidays!"

'Voluntourism: a guilt trip?'

"By day three, I’m on first-name terms with at least a dozen of the older children, and dangling a toddler off every fingertip. Some are even catching snakes just for me – one has a full-grown toad inside it. I’d trade any number of riverboat cruises and five-star suppers in Kanchanaburi to spend a few more days here.

But it’s time to go. On balance, I reckon I’ve got more out of my stay than the Baan Dada orphans. But I will definitely do more volunteering - and Chris later confides that, with short-term volunteers, that’s secretly the point."

"Did Imogen and I contribute much to Bali Island through our volunteering? Not enough - we should have spent more time planting and less birdwatching. I’m sure we got a lot more out of India than we gave back - and both of us are desperate to go back, especially if we can repeat the experience of staying in - and becoming part of - a small community again. But the low impact, sustainable tourism practised by Help Tourism and Hands Up Holidays is bringing money into the area, improving education and health services and hopefully convincing the Indian government that the Sunderbans – and its most royal resident – are worth preserving."

'Queensland: The turtle rescue centre that gives an insight into the Aboriginal way of living'

"Aboriginal camp ranger Lawry Booth is utterly passionate about the turtles – and ensures that our nights are spent on Flinders Beach wallowing in their majestic presence. We watch as they nest, we count and measure the turtles' unhatched eggs – noting those that have been disturbed – and when a nest erupts we count hatchlings (they feel like warm, soft leather). In between the action, we flop on the sand and try to locate the Southern Cross in the brightest star-filled skies I've ever seen."

'Passports, Tickets, Conscience'

"The travel industry, is shaping up to extend the season of giving and compassion. Volunteering, or “voluntourism” as it is sometimes known to those with a shorter commitment, is on the rise.... and saw that rewarding glimmer of light in pupils’ eyes when they realised they really could converse with a foreigner."

Hands Up Holidays 'Sunderbans Smiles' trip named 'Ultimate Eco Trip'

"Guests in this brave new breaking-down-the-barriers type of tourism can spend part of their time spotting flora, fauna and tigers, or on conservation projects...which means it's a win-win-win situation"

VIDEO!
New Zealand's leading Primetime Current Affairs show, Campbell Live, made a mini-documentary about our Fiji trips (View it here...)

'Avoiding the Guilt Trips on a Feel-Good Holiday'

"The number of people inspired to spend their holidays doing something for others is rising...Doing something "worthwhile" with your annual leave has always held a certain appeal for those with a social conscience: digging a well in an African village, perhaps, or painting an orphanage in India has got to be a better way to spend time than lying on a beach topping up the tan.

'Good Times With Good Deeds'

"In just a few days, apart from the practical help, visitors bring as many insights and as much cultural enlightenment as they take away. It is a fair exchange and one worth putting your hands up for."

New Zealand's leading newspaper's travel editor profiles Hands Up Holidays and its founder, Christopher Hill.

"...Such occasions can be even more rewarding if you're able to give something back to the community that has made you welcome by doing something such as - in the case of the Fijian visit - providing books for the school and clothes for the children."

(Read more...) and "This firm provide opportunities for both sightseeing and aid in places as varied as Tibet, Uganda, Vanuatu, Guatemala and Laos. After a look around the area, you'll team up with local aid projects and do jobs like teaching, building, office work or childcare. On the Borneo trip you'll spend time trekking in the bush and riding in longboats before working on a community development project, alternating doing renovations and teaching English, while staying in the headman's section of the tribal longhouse every night."      (Read more...)

'Single Divas – Help Clean the Oil Spill Oct 10-16!'

"Are you as sick about the oil spill as the rest of us here at Dating Diva Daily? Well, then why not put your holiday where your heart is.

Hands Up Holidays, a company that promotes trips with a volunteer-based element has put together a solo travelers excursion to New Orleans where participants can enjoy some down time in the French Quarter, help Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans by boosting tourism AND donate some of their time to containing the effects of the recent BP oil spill."