The Airbnb network presents an incredible opportunity to enhance your travels by allowing you to interact with locals. We recently searched their experiences section, where you can find tons of local experiences and tours. The foundation of the experiences section is “discovering local things to do.” We wanted to see if we could find some interesting local experiences with positive social impact.
Below are some of the great Airbnb experiences we found:
Top Social Impact Experiences in Airbnb
Support Rescued Animals in Bali
This experience takes place in Friends of the National Parks Foundation, lasts 6.5 hours and costs $25 per person.
FNPF is a conservation nonprofit organization working to protect local wildlife and habitats. But they also support local communities.
This experience starts with a short tour of the organization’s grounds. This way you can meet the animals. Your tasks will include cleaning the animal enclosures, preparing food for the animals, and making enrichment for the animals. You might get to do more things if you have any experience as a veterinarian.
You are asked to bring your own mask, glove, camera, sunscreen, insect repellent.
Go Wildlife Spotting in Costa Rica
By going on this tour with KSTR Wildlife Sanctuary, you will be helping them fund their awesome projects. These projects include reforestation, animal rescue and protecting sloths.
The tour is basically going around the sanctuary’s grounds while meeting the rescued animals and learning all about the species and why they need help.
Their fees are $60 adults/$45 children under 12, free for children under 3. But you do need to make a reservation to make sure that there is a guide available.
This experience lasts about 2.5 hours.
Help Protect Whales in Iceland
You can catch this experience by visiting Reykjavík. It costs $68 per person and lasts four hours.
You will be travelling with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). IFAW rescues individual animals, safeguards populations, preserves habitats, and advocates for a better future.
By participating in this experience, you are helping inform travellers about the importance of not eating whale meat, therefore saving minke whales in Icelandic waters.
This two-hour itinerary provides an educational, peer-to-peer campaigning experience that highlights and promotes whale conservation in Iceland.
The experience will start with a one-hour guided educational tour of the new Whales of Iceland exhibition and an introduction to Icelandic whale hunting and whale conservation initiatives. You then get to eat lunch at the popular Röst Bistro in the Old Harbour (included in the price).
Then you will visit the Elding information boat, where you will learn more about the whale meat industry and its effect on Iceland’s waters, culture, politics and more.
Guided Bicycle Tour of Khula Village, South Africa
WOWZULU, an initiative of Africa, offers this experience. This is a rural development agency that works across KwaZulu-Natal. Its focus is on women, youth, and enterprise development.
This bicycle tour takes you deep into the community, where you will learn about life in Khula village, giving you a real feel for village life. Your guide is a local who has grown up in it, making him the best source for insights as you go.
Some of the things you will do during this 5 km route include planting an indigenous tree on the edge of the Wetland area, contributing to the conservation of this important World Heritage Site and having a drink at the Gugulamandlovu tavern.
This experience costs $33 per person, lasts two hours, and leaves from Saint Lucia, Africa.
Murals for Social Change in Mexico City
MasterPeace offers this activity that lasts half a day. The adventure starts with a visit to the Secretary of Public Education (weekdays) or the Bellas Artes Palace (weekend), where you will learn about the history of post-revolutionary muralism. Then you will see some murals created by contemporary artists.
MasterPeace is a global grassroots non-profit peace movement currently existing in more than 45 countries around the world. Their mission is to inspire everyone to work for peace.
This experience goes for $81 per person.
Spend The Day At A Wildlife Orphanage
You will spend the day at DAKTARI. Their mission is to educate and inspire the local children to value their environment and stimulate community development.
You will be taken on a tour to meet the animals of the orphanage. You will participate in the feeding, care, and enrichment of the animals according to the day’s needs.
100% of what you pay for this experience goes to DAKTARI Bush School & Wildlife Orphanage.
This experience goes for $85 per person.
There are tons of other meaningful experiences to be had around the world. There are, of course, a ton more listed on Airbnb. Take a look at this link to find more.
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*originally posted July 2019.