Marine Conservation Volunteering in South Africa

At International Volunteer HQ (IVHQ), we unite people from over 96 countries who want to make a meaningful difference while exploring the world. With 300+ projects in 40+ destinations, IVHQ offers the widest selection of volunteer programs globally—from Teaching and Childcare to Wildlife Conservation, Medical Outreach, and Environmental Sustainability. Since 2007, IVHQ has supported over 147,000 volunteers on life-changing journeys. We specialize in fully-hosted volunteer trips that are safe, affordable, and accessible—starting from just $20 per day. Your experience includes airport pick-up, accommodation, meals, and round-the-clock support from our local teams. With flexible booking options and no change fees, planning your volunteer adventure has never been easier. Our programs run year-round and are available for 1 to 24 weeks across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Pacific, South and Central America, North America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. Volunteering with IVHQ is about more than giving back—it’s about growing, learning, and building genuine global connections.

Travel to South Africa and make a positive impact in the country with the top volunteer organization, African Impact. Participate in a life-changing journey in a country consistently rated as one of the best travel destinations in the world. We specialize in award-winning volunteer programs that collaborate with a broad range of charitable projects throughout the country. You could be researching Africa's Big 5 in the Greater Kruger, improving skills in wildlife photography, or doing a veterinary internship. Through African Impact's programs in South Africa, balance volunteer work with various experiences such as safaris in the world-famous Kruger National Park, shark cage dives, or a drive through the world-renowned Garden Route.

GoEco is one of the world’s top volunteer organizations, with award-winning and ethical programs selected by sustainable travel experts. Since 2006, tens of thousands of volunteers have taken part in projects and internships worldwide, focusing on wildlife and marine conservation, education, and medical initiatives. GoEco operates in over 50 countries, providing unique cultural immersive experiences that aim to make a positive impact on the environment and society. The organization also offers internships and academic programs for students. GoEco provides safe and meaningful experiences while promoting sustainable travel and reducing carbon emissions.

If you can’t decide on a travel itinerary when visiting Africa, join our African Marine and Wildlife Volunteer Adventure Tour! This five or six-week program is a combination of adventure activities and volunteering opportunities in various locations: Kruger National Park, Swaziland (now called Eswatini), and Mozambique. Spend weeks 1 to 4 in Mozambique where you gain an international diving qualification and learn techniques in marine monitoring and data collection. The work you do contributes directly to larger research initiatives. In the final week, dive into the culture of Eswatini and explore the outdoors on foot or on a bike. Then, see the Big 5 and other wildlife in Kruger and even experience camping in the wild for four nights! This volunteer and adventure tour is perfect if you’re studying or interested in marine biology, zoology, conservation, or wildlife management or if you’re fond of the outdoors and wildlife. The trip is definitely the adventure of a lifetime!

Join the 6-month Gap Year, an extraordinary six-month journey of learning, adventure, and making a difference. This gap year program is the perfect blend of excitement and enrichment, offering a language and culture study course in Spain, environmental initiatives, and addressing social and economic issues in South Africa, turtle conservation in Sri Lanka, and a community preservation, building and gardening volunteering in Cambodia. Eligibility requirements: - Must be in good physical and mental health - At least 18 years old during travel - Have a fluent understanding of English - Have a clean background check if working with minors Broaden your horizons and nurture a deep sense of cultural appreciation that will extend beyond the end of the program. Visit our website and inquire today to get specific details about this program.

Experience what it’s like to work as a marine scientist and professional diver whilst helping with vital ocean conservation projects. During this program you’ll live and work in the greater Cape Town region and conduct underwater research in a global hotspot for marine biodiversity. You’ll join a marine field station dedicated to furthering knowledge of our oceans so as to develop effective methods of protecting marine life and ecosystems. Based in an area of unique significance for marine science, False Bay, they conduct a range of research projects to better understand marine life and identify its greatest threats. A large part of their work relies on citizen science which they use as a means of mass data collection and broadening the reach of their community engagement and awareness drives. This is where you come in. Working as part of a team of passionate, experienced marine scientists you’ll go on research dives, survey populations of marine species, monitor habitats, and help their citizen science activities & eco-tourism expeditions. Aside from helping with important research ocean conservation work, you’ll get to experience training divers and leading them on dives.

The Sibuya Wilderness Experience welcomes participants from all walks of life. Volunteers, adventure-seeking travelers, gap year students, adults taking work sabbaticals... Anyone with a passion for nature conservation. This is the perfect Eco Volunteer Program if you are looking for a meaningful travel opportunity abroad that puts your passion for nature, environment, and wildlife to good use, trying to make a difference. Our unique itinerary runs on a two-week program, wherein the content is only covered twice in a month, making a four-week stay the perfect getaway to experience everything at least twice. Nowhere else in South Africa is a volunteer itinerary this diverse.

At Projects Abroad, we’re passionate about travel with a purpose. Since being founded in 1992, more than 130,000 volunteers have traveled to over 20 destinations around the world. Our programs will make you step out of your comfort zone and engage with your new friends from around the world. These are long-term projects, led by local people and aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. By taking part in our programs, even for a short time, you will be contributing towards a sustained effort to support the communities that host us! We believe no other provider offers the safety and security to their volunteers and interns that we do. You'll receive 24-hour staff support from our trained staff, alongside a gold standard of safety planning of your trip - so you don't have to worry about a thing. Choose a project you are passionate about from working with children to medical internship, conservation, and wildlife volunteering. We offer projects starting at one week in over 20 stunning destinations across Asia, Africa, Latin America & The Caribbean, South Pacific & Europe. Ready to make a difference? Follow the link to visit our website!

Find out why more and more people are choosing to become a Love Volunteer! Love Volunteers is the most affordable way to volunteer and help local communities in developing countries! Why are we cheaper than other organisations? Firstly, we are just a handful of passionate people working hard to help volunteers and local communities around the world. We don't have huge overheads - no company cars, no downtown office - we're just volunteers who knew we could do a better job. Secondly, we work with local organisations wherever we can to keep administration costs to a minimum and also to feed as much money and skills into the local communities where we operate. All of Love Volunteers partner organisations have been fully vetted to ensure that, not only does a genuine need for assistance exist, but that the environments that we place our volunteers are safe and of high quality. Choose from one or more of our 200+ amazing community-based programs in 37 developing countries around the world. Every program has been personally visited by one of our dedicated staff members and is regularly audited to ensure it meets our high standards in terms of safety, sustainability, and local impact.

Looking to apply your talent and expertise to a good cause? Find a program that matches your interests and skills through Volunteer World! We are the largest volunteer abroad comparison platform around the globe, enabling you to seek and compare offers from major travel agencies as well as smaller grassroots NGOs and local specialists in more than 80 countries. All these with just one click! Find projects in wildlife, teaching, community development, and several other areas. Simply choose your desired destination and desired travel date, and our search engine will compare the best volunteer abroad programs on your behalf. Whether you wish to gain experience at a wildlife sanctuary in South Africa or teach English at a monastery in Nepal, we've got you covered. Volunteer World guarantees a quick and easy application. We will guide you through this process, as well as help plan your next meaningful trip. We provide free access to quality-checked projects and flexible options. And if anything goes wrong, we've got your back with our qualified support team and our refund guarantee.

Make a meaningful impact while gaining international experience with Connect-123’s Human Rights internship program. With placements available in Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Dublin, and Sydney, you’ll have the chance to contribute to organizations working on some of today’s most pressing human rights challenges. Our network includes watchdog groups, nonprofits, advocacy organizations, lobby groups, and think tanks. Depending on your placement, you may help develop educational workshops for immigrants, conduct peer education training, monitor and evaluate community-based initiatives, research political or gender rights issues, or contribute to reports on human trafficking, child labor, and other critical topics. Each internship is tailored to your background and interests, giving you the opportunity to build practical skills, expand your global network, and contribute to work that truly makes a difference. With flexible start dates and customizable program lengths, your life-changing global internship begins on your schedule.

The South Africa projects are dotted around several different reserves within the country, each focused on assessing the environmental impact of the game and large mammal species, especially elephants, within the reserves. The projects are two to six weeks in length, with some of them involving an additional week at our marine site in Sodwana Bay, where you can learn to dive. Operation Wallacea is a research and environmental organization working alongside university and college academics to build long-term data sets to put toward various conservation management goals. We recruit volunteers to help out with data collection, training them in the skills and background needed to help effectively. There's also the option to complete dissertations or senior theses at our sites.

Good Hope Volunteers offers numerous meaningful volunteer projects throughout South Africa. This huge, fascinating country is rich in natural wonders, culture, and history. Some of our volunteer projects are located in remote areas, allowing you to get a feel for real Africa. It might take you longer to get used to this environment; but once you are hooked, you will want to come back repeatedly. Most of our projects focus on conservation, which involves helping take care of wild animals. In some projects, you can combine conservation with social volunteering. We also offer ocean and marine conservation programs and social and community projects throughout South Africa and Namibia.

Based in the iSimangaliso Marine Protected Area, this program offers a practical introduction to ocean conservation on one of Africa’s most diverse coastlines. Sharklife is a long-standing marine conservation non-profit with an established field station in Sodwana Bay, providing a secure and professional base for all activities. Volunteers take part in guided snorkelling sessions, intertidal and beach-health observations, turtle-nesting awareness walks (seasonal), and short workshops that build a clear understanding of local marine ecosystems. You’ll learn how to identify common reef and coastal species, understand key conservation pressures, and develop confidence in the water under the guidance of Sharklife’s field staff. Activities are structured, simple, and purposeful—designed to offer real exposure to conservation work without requiring research experience. The program suits anyone seeking an immersive, ethical, and accessible ocean-focused experience. Optional scuba diving and additional ocean-skills activities can be added directly through Sharklife. No prior experience is required.

This multi-faceted marine conservation project allows those with a love of the ocean and its inhabitants to experience the following while working inland and on the sea with a skilled team of experts, including marine biologists: - Whale, dolphin, shark, and penguin research and monitoring - Community Education - Environmental issues - Ecology and ecotourism You will take on various tasks, depending on the current activities and season—if it’s whale migration season. Assist with research on the feeding, behavioral, and migrating habits and other aspects of sharks. Research activities include recording sightings, tagging, dorsal fin identification, and taking photos for an ongoing database in conjunction with various national and international academic research institutions. For those wanting to work with penguins and seabird rehabilitation, feeding takes place twice a day. You can volunteer for two weeks or longer, arriving in Cape Town on Sunday for an early morning Monday collection. We encourage volunteers to spend a few days in Cape Town, too, for sightseeing.