Further Information
Volunteer Travel in Guatemala

No formal teacher-training is required as each volunteer will be supported by GVI project managers or existing volunteers for the first few days. Teaching manuals, resource books, the Guatemalan curriculum and many other teacher resource books are available for the volunteers’ use. A weekly meeting is held in the communities to discuss structure, swap ideas and to work on the following week’s classes. A BBQ is also held for everyone to get together and unwind before the weekend!

50 trees will also be planted on the volunteer’s behalf during the planting season, usually June, July and August, in the surrounding areas of San Andrés Itzapa and Santa María de Jésus – regions which are desperately in need of some reforestation.

The Spanish Classes

Spanish classes are ESSENTIAL for those Volunteers with no previous Spanish experience and highly recommended for those who want to brush up on their Spanish language. The Spanish course is 40 hours, with the first week dedicated to Spanish Classes, practice and homework. After the first week, you will work full time in the community and finish off your classes after work, which gives you a chance to ask your teacher about words and phrases you have confronted whilst teaching. The Spanish courses available in the school range from beginner and intermediate, to advanced levels. The classes have an emphasis on grammar and conversation. See dates and costs for prices

Adventure Weekend Add On

For a small fee (see dates and costs) you can choose to take an unforgettable trip to Lake Atitlán, led by professional guides. The first day involves driving a couple of hours up to the drop-off point high above the Lake, unloading the bikes and speeding down around 40km to Panajachel, where you take the boat to a beautiful lakeside hotel for R&R! The next day the kayaks are taken out to a point around the lake, from where you will hike back a couple of hours to the hotel, before heading back to Antigua.

There are also plenty of opportunities in Antigua for cultural tours, museums, coffee and Macadamia nut plantations, volcano hikes, yoga, cookery and salsa classes, which have proved very popular with previous volunteers and also relaxing spas for those wanting to pamper themselves after a hard week’s work!

Guatemala is an incredible place for weekend travel, with the stunning Semuc Champey, the laid back Livingstone, the awe-inspiring Mayan ruins at Tikal or just the pure beach life of Monterrico! Honduras, El Salvador and Belice are also good weekend trips.