FAQs

The placement opportunity with LAMAVE is not a form of voluntourism. The placement offers an opportunity to do real marine research and contribute to marine conservation. This requires long hours of work that includes in-water and on-land duties. There is only one day off per week for volunteers when they can enjoy the local area and nearby tourist destinations.

There is free time during the evenings to be spent with the project team. However, there are curfews for every project site requiring volunteers to be in the project house by a specific time, these are generally inline with the curfew implemented by the village council.

The nature of the work we conduct requires volunteers to keep pace with free swimming whale sharks and free dive at least 10m to obtain identification shots. We therefore request volunteers to bring free diving fins. If volunteers have problems finding suitable free diving fins, staff are available to advise what type to get and where. Information on where to buy free diving fins in the Philippines is available in the Team Manual that you will receive once you sign up.

Using scuba diving fins in these projects isn't recommended because they don't provide as much thrust. Following whale sharks and turtles in the water is much more taxing with scuba diving fins, so free diving fins are really necessary.

The Philippines does not have a visa system for volunteers, so you must enter the country on a TOURIST VISA. Upon arrival, most nationalities are allowed to stay in the country for 30 days without applying for a visa, but please check the terms for your nationality on the Bureau of Immigration website, this also applies to the information below.

Visas may be arranged at the Philippines embassy in your home country prior to your departure. Embassy’s generally issue visas up to 59 days, but this can differ depending on your embassy - be sure to check the website of the Philippine embassy in your country.

You can also obtain a visa extension in country. On arrival, most nationalities are issued a period of 30 days. Prior to the expiration of this initial period, volunteers must travel to an Immigration Office near their assigned project site to renew their visa. Your Project Leader will be able to advise you on the closest office once you are at the base.

If volunteers do not have their own dive equipment or prefer not to bring their diving equipment along with them to the placement, it is possible to rent equipment through the dive shop LAMAVE partners with. It would cost roughly USD100 to rent BCD and regulators for a month. If a volunteer requires more equipment, they can discuss these needs with staff before their placement to understand what is available and at what additional cost.

No vaccinations are required to enter the Philippines. However, we suggest you check with a travel doctor before arriving in the Philippines. These are official lists of vaccination recommended by an international travel organization and the UK government.

As a tropical country, the Philippines does have an existing burden of mosquito born diseases, namely dengue and malaria. However, the risk of these diseases are fairly low and manageable.

Dengue Fever: Dengue is a viral infection spread by mosquitoes. It's widespread in many parts of the world and does exist in the Philippines.

Malaria: Malaria disease does occur in the Philippines but the country is inching towards elimination, according to the Department of Health. Only a few provinces still have local transmission of the disease.

In some cases, dengue and malaria can be very serious and potentially life threatening. There's no specific treatment or widely available vaccine for dengue and malaria, so it's important to try to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes when visiting an area where the disease exists.

LAMAVE has safety protocols in place, but it is still every volunteer’s responsibility to take precautionary measures to reduce the chances of getting bitten by mosquitoes. All volunteers must pack long sleeve clothes and pyjamas to be worn during placement and apply mosquito repellent. It’s every volunteer's duty to take responsibility for their well-being.

It is possible that you will spend 1-3 hours a day, 6 days a week swimming in the ocean. Each session of swimming is the equivalent of at least 1 km. When conditions are rough or there is current this can be physically challenging. Also, whale sharks are large animals and can swim very quickly, therefore in order to obtain an ID shot you may need to keep pace with the shark for a prolonged period of time. Physical fitness is a key aspect of research work.

LAMAVE has had vegetarian and vegan volunteers before and also has some staff members with the same diets. So, it is possible to follow these kinds of diets at the project site. However, volunteers need to understand that the food options at the project sites are limited, because they are quite remote. So, volunteers cannot expect to have the usual food options they have in their cities or countries to support their diets. So, they should be prepared to limit the variation of food in their diets or bring their own food supplies to supplement the food options at the project site.

Volunteers have to be 21 years old and above. However, applicants 19 to 20 years old may still send in their applications, as they may be considered for placements in a year or so. LAMAVE keeps these applications on file, so volunteers can apply for their placements in advance.