Volunteering in Greece – Looking for Turtles

Posted by: Sofia B.

As soon as you get to the airport, there is someone from the organization waiting for you and ready to help you out. It’s a four hour bus ride from the airport to the campsite, but it’s a great time to get to know the rest of the volunteers and sleep a bit.

Everything is really well organized and straightforward. There are three shifts. Two at night and one in the morning and obviously, you will never get more than one shift per day. The night shifts involve walking along the beach looking for turtles and waiting for them to nest. If they nest you get to watch them lay eggs and help measure and tag them. It’s honestly an amazing experience because it’s something so different and unique. The morning patrols consist of writing down all the turtle tracks and finding nests to help secure them. You then have a lot of free time during the day to go to the beach which is where we spent most of our time. The beach is so beautiful and so clear. We would tan and rest and play with the volleyball in the water.

It’s also recommended to rest during the day at one of the hammocks in the campsite because I can assure you, you will need it. The shifts can be exhausting.

There is also a taberna where you can buy some food like ice-cream and Coca Cola and also get Wifi to talk to people back home. It was an amazing experience and a trip I would highly recommend volunteering in Greece at the Under 18 Sea Turtle Conservation project!