Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. Beth Rankin. CC BY 2.0.

With a tropical climate and gorgeous scenery, Costa Rica, which is Spanish for “rich coast,” more than lives up to its name. The country, located in Central America, is filled with National Parks that provide activities such as hiking, river rafting, zip lining and cave tubing. Aside from its National Parks, Costa Rica is known for its varying landscapes as the country has beaches, volcanos, rainforests and mangrove forests. This volunteer program is located in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, and provides volunteers the chance to enjoy the historic city’s museums and restaurants. On this trip, volunteers will work to help abandoned animals and wildlife. Volunteers have the opportunity to work in dog and cat shelters to support educational programming about the treatment of animals, veterinary care, obedience training and much more.

This Maximo Nivel volunteer program has the goal of helping communities while giving volunteers a one-in-a-lifetime experience. All Maximo Nivel volunteer programs are supported by professional program managers, multilingual teams, and 24/7 in-country support. This project ranges from one-to-four weeks and costs $745 for one week and $1565 for four weeks. Airport transfers, breakfast and dinners, three-to-four hours per day practical work (Monday-Friday), a letter of recommendation, an emergency contact number and accommodation are included.