A plethora of projects are available in and around San Jose, but the most popular areas for volunteering in San Jose include sea turtle conservation, teaching, and community development. But volunteer placements in San Jose sprawl a range of other areas too, including, but not limited to, working in orphanages, environmental research, health care or even farming or agriculture.

Sustainability is a huge focus of volunteer projects in San Jose, so volunteers should be aware of how they are impacting the environment and local communities through their volunteer work. Eco-tourism programs are also common in Costa Rica in general, and San Jose is not an exception.

Volunteering programs in San Jose vary in length from one week up to one year, and while Spanish is useful, it is not usually required. For those interested in learning Spanish or developing their language skills while volunteering in San Jose, Spanish classes are prevalently included in volunteer programs or at the very least available throughout the city.

Overall individual who choose to volunteer in San Jose will have any placement at their fingertips; many volunteer organizations in San Jose offer placements in literally 20 different focus areas and projects, so if volunteers arrive and decide they’d like to try something new after a few weeks, there will be plenty of options.