Volunteer Locations: Santa Cruz

We are not currently sending volunteers to programs in Bolivia. We have decided to concentrate our efforts on our programs in Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador and Mexico.

Santa Cruz is Bolivia's largest city and currently has a population of over 2 million people.

Although it has enjoyed an economic boom lately, the city still retains an attractive frontier feel, with palm trees, beautiful colonial buildings, open markets and friendly people. Time away from your volunteer project can be spent exploring Santa Cruz's many museums, cathedrals and spots for picnics, swimming, bowling or watching movies. Weekends are great for exploring nearby rain forests, 18th-century Jesuit missions and archaeological sites.

The main streets of the city are structurally organized in circles of concentric rings, which are crossed by avenues that are laid on the radians directed towards the center or "old city", where the main square is located.

Volunteer Programs in Santa Cruz
Art and Culture
Community Development
Conservation
Eco Tourism
Media
Sports Coaching
Teaching

Carnaval Cultural Tour and Volunteer Work

This February we are offering a fantastic volunteer/ cultural program combining volunteer work with a cultural tour in Oruro and Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

Carnaval takes place in Oruro which is called the “Folklore Capital of Bolivia”. All participants will enjoy an 11 day cultural tour in Oruro which includes Carnaval festivities, museum tours, a gastronomic tour, a trip to a Natural Spa, and a Bolivian folk music concert.

Participants will then go to Santa Cruz where they will receive 10 hours of Spanish lessons and then work 11 days as volunteers teaching in local schools and within community development projects.

Dates: February 9th 2007 – March 2nd 2007
Price: $750

General Santa Cruz Information

Accommodation
All of our Bolivian projects are home stays, in each home stay you will get your own private bedroom and you will share a bathroom, kitchen and living area. If you are traveling with a friend/ partner we will endeavor to place you together although it is likely that you will have to share a room.

Food
Travel to Teach do not provide our volunteers with food so volunteers will need to take care of this themselves. Bolivian food is extremely varied and there is a wide range of both meat and vegetarian dishes. Most traditional food is also quite spicy, so if you do not like chillies or spicy food you should take care when ordering. As well the numerous Bolivian restaurants there are also a wide range of international restaurants around Santa Cruz with prices ranging from $1.50 to $6.

Volunteers may also find themselves invited to eat with their host family or with friends and staff from their volunteer placement. The standard of kitchen facilities varies depending on the home stay, but most volunteers can expect at least a basic standard of cooking facilities to be available to them.

Weather
Santa Cruz is located on Bolivia's Eastern lowlands. The climate is warm (often hot), humid and rainy. Climate doesn't change a great deal throughout the year, although the summer months are warmer and wetter.

Arriving in Santa Cruz
Volunteers can arrive to Santa Cruz by road or air. Viru-Viru International Airport is located 20km north of Santa Cruz and Travel to Teach will meet all volunteers arriving by air at the airport. Volunteers arriving over land should make their own way to the Travel to Teach office. Volunteers will then be given a tour around the city and introduction to Bolivian culture and the Spanish language. Our Bolivian representatives will prepare you for your placement, discussing program details and formalities.

In the past volunteers have chosen to fly to Lima and then travel overland to Santa Cruz as this can work out considerably cheaper than flying directly to Santa Cruz, although the journey from Lima to Santa Cruz by road is a long one so we don't necessarily recommend this.