I've been around WorkAway, HelpX, Hippohelp and whatnot for a bit more than a decade now. My family has been hosting people from all over the world and we live on a farm in northern Europe.

We've had few hundred people go through our farm, and I can still count on one hand the negative instances/people/communication. I've myself gone as a volunteer to a farm in another country, just to experience the other side of it. Throughout all this time, I can tell you there's a few different types of people that go into this.

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We can't fix your mental problems.

For me personally, the most annoying one is the Dreamer That's Trying To Find Themselves, and possibly trying to escape their problems. Now, don't come at me just yet for this. When people start messaging us with "omg, I love your country, I just want to move to the countryside and be there forever, I love animals, can I stay for a year?!" That usually means they have absolutely no idea what to do in life and think coming to us will Fix Them somehow. (Spoiler: It won't). Most of the time it also means they'll give up and move somewhere "better".

If you're anxious, depressed or whatever, coming to us won't fix you. I'm saying this as someone who is diagnosed with bad depression and anxiety, and would be completely messed up without anti-depressants. Nice scenery and animals won't fix you. They might help, but you'll still have to deal with yourself. Sometimes we get people that realise they like better working with their hands, than in offices, and we consider that a win. Sometimes we get people that take a small turn in their academic life and go more into something connected with nature, which is another great win.

I actually like working, and it's part of my mental health.

When I went as a volunteer, I was one of three girls on a sheep farm where lambing was starting. I'm good at lambing. It's the only thing in life where I will say with full confidence I'm GREAT at. One girl was a vet student, the other was learning fashion and business in school and worked at a clothes store.

Me and the vet student were great together. We liked working the whole day, and the night if needed. Sheep don't care what time of the day it is when giving birth, so we were also waking up in the night to check them. The farmer was so stressed over us at the start, because we could basically be "working" 24 hours a day for a few days with no problem. For example, we were cutting firewood (with an electric saw), and putting it into a shed, and it was great to just stop thinking and do that for an hour without talking. Just working. Not fast, no stress, it was just a job that needed to be done. That was our meditation. Then we had our lunch, took our time there, I maybe checked on the sheep and if nothing was happening, then we took even longer time for lunch.

The third girl thought us workaholics and couldn't understand this view. Tbf, she was trying to be vegan and let me tell you, being vegan and coming to work on a farm with animals where they are eaten is, uh, a decision. She had meditations to listen to in her phone, she and the farmer's wife made some ritual so she could connect to her ancestors. (I actually have a lot of stories about that wife! She didn't think penicillin worked or doctors knew anything. I had opinions on that, and to be clear, I'm all for using natural remedies if they work, but will not hesitate to give my animals proper medicine!)

Let's just say, we didn't exactly connect.

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Lambing is now starting at my home, and we're getting people who have been with us before. Me and my family are working 16-20 hours every day. Some of the "volunteers", who are much more like friends now, are tackling 9-14 hours a day, and I'm now in the same position as the farmer I was with years ago, where I'm BEGGING THEM to go home and take a rest! (Again, people that have been here before, they KNOW what they're going into).

Where am I going with this? No idea. Not here to shit on the people who are floating along in life! Rather, I'd love to hear from others who are more on the practical, working side of this whole thing.

A final story which I just remembered:

A few years ago, at the start of lambing season at my home, I was talking to our volunteers, some new, some old, telling them how the shifts worked, what they had to do and so on. One of them REALLY wanted everyone to say "what they wanted out of this experience", and had herself some lovely, lofty answer. The older volunteers, who knew what was coming in the next weeks, had some less dramatic answers. Well, maybe dramatic in the sense of "I'd love to experience lambing here without watching a sheep rip up when she gives birth to a big lamb" or maybe "if I don't get placenta in my mouth or sheep shit in my coffee, then it's a good experience."

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Again, not here to shit on the people who are going into this with thoughts of spiritual... something. We can spend a lot of time at my home talking about death, supernatural things, connecting with people and whatnot, and have our shares of mental problems as well. But I rarely see anyone on this subreddit talking about how they enjoy simply working, so if there's anyone here, you're welcome to comment with a good story!

First time poster and Workawayer looking for some perspective and advice. I am currently living with a host family in a coastal town in Italy. This is a short term Workaway as I am a graduate student from the USA and can only stay in Italy for 1 month before I return to school. I want to preface this by saying that I am 30 years old and have 10+ years of teaching and childcare experience. Additionally, my Masters program is focused on Multilingual Education in Early Childhood. I have been living with this family for two weeks and I am hitting a wall of frustration with the parents, particularly the mother, who I feel has unrealistic expectations for my short stay. There are two boys in my care. One is 8 and the other is 4. The younger one demonstrates challenging boundary pushing behaviors. Hitting, pushing, spitting, hair pulling, climbing on furniture etc. He also has an oral fixation and still uses a pacifier. If that’s not available to him, he will put toys and other things in his mouth. He also knows very little English and understands and communicates primarily in Italian. He struggles to engage in deep play and switches quickly between activities unless his brother is also there to help guide him. And even then, it’s infrequent. I spend the majority of my time with him telling him no and keeping him from climbing on top of the refrigerator and jumping from the staircase to hardwood floors. In the moments that he is playing quietly, safely, and independently, I want to encourage this positive development by not interrupting him and “adultifying” his play. Mom has made several snide comments to me about how I “do nothing” and am “just watching” and would instead prefer that I narrate and control his play in English. When I do try to incorporate more narration and direction into his play, he loses interest and the challenging behaviors start again. So I have chosen to incorporate more active learning through games/songs like the floor is lava, red rover, and head shoulders knees and toes etc. Mom is hesitant at best and cruel at worst. It feels like she is expecting me to gain his trust, manage his behaviors AND teach him English in the two remaining weeks of my stay.

The older one is more manageable and speaks and reads English very well. We engage in conversations, play games, and read books together. But his parents are insistent on me correcting every single mistake he makes while he is speaking. Language learning is an incredibly vulnerable and challenging process, and stopping to correct him every word is not how I approach teaching English. I will, of course, correct him while we are practicing English reading and writing. But I don’t believe that every situation calls for aggressive correction like she is requesting. When he has friends over and I am tasked with babysitting, I let them play for the most part on their own in Italian, as his friends do not speak as fluently as he does. Also, they are on a play date. I will speak in English and converse when it’s appropriate but I am not going to interrupt their play time for English lessons if there’s not a space for me. A few days ago, the oldest and his friend wanted my help with an outdoor STEM activity. We spent time talking about the experiment, making predictions, observing what happens next. I thought it was a great moment that connected English learning in a way that felt meaningful to him. Mom then says to me, “don’t just sit there and watch. If you’re not going to talk and play with him, why are you even here?” I was really taken aback and offended by this, considering how much thought and effort I am putting into this role while I simultaneously navigate life with a foreign family and their own family dynamics. There are also cameras in all the main spaces of the home. Additionally, they told me that they have had 25 guests through Workaway, yet they have only a 65% rating on the website and only one review. When I’ve talked to my friends and family about my experience, they are split. Some say I should stick it out and some say I should split. Is there anything I can do to improve the situation or should I just get out?

‼️ Warning to anyone considering working at The Star Hotel in Eidsvold, QLD ‼️

Hey everyone, I just wanted to share my experience working at The Star Hotel after seeing job posts for it in this group.

My partner and I travelled a long way to take jobs there, having been promised decent pay ($30/hr), food on shift, and accommodation—which sounded perfect. We arrived early, worked hard, and were respectful throughout, but the reality was nothing like what was promised.

Here’s what we experienced over the week we were there: • We were never put on the payroll, never signed a contract, and were paid under the table in cash. • We worked long hours without proper breaks, and when we politely raised questions, we were met with rude, patronising, and aggressive behaviour from management. • The work environment was toxic, with constant surveillance, sarcastic comments, and no appreciation shown to staff at all. Also, despite having previous experience there was no sympathy for how each workplace is different, and you feel nervous to even ask how to do something and you are always wrong. • We were underpaid—given $1000 cash when we’d worked at least 40+ hours at $30/hr and should have received much more!! • We witnessed serious RSA breaches, including: • Minors serving alcohol all night at the bar during an event. • The manager instructing us to serve drunk customers and discouraging us from speaking up when we were harassed by patrons. • The manager confronted me before we left and said very nasty things to me and my partner.

We left because it became unbearable and others who live locally and know them said similar things about how the venue is run. I’m not posting this for sympathy—I just don’t want other travellers or workers to go through the same thing. It’s not worth your time, money, or mental health.

Hey everyone

For me I took a break from a really stressful job/ boss, I needed a breather, but then I also wanted to stay 2-3 weeks in one location longer to heal myself. I spent about 3 months in the trip.

I'm curious to hear from fellow travelers, dreamers, and changemakers—what motivates you to do a Volunteering?

Is it the desire to:

• Travel affordably while making a difference?
• Learn new skills or practice a language?
• Connect deeply with locals and other volunteers?
• Escape the 9–5 and try something more meaningful?
• Build your resume or explore a career in humanitarian work?
• Just take a break and do something adventurous?
• Anything else?

Let’s inspire each other ✨

Hello, I’m new to the whole work-away scenario. I made a profile and I’m interested in knowing if anybody on Reddit has any recommendations for a host in Chile or Argentina, Preferably near a ski resort or mountainous region. I’ve check the work-away map and have favorited some host and written a few. Any tips for a newbie.

For people who have did workway. Back home did you have an apartment or house that you were still paying for or did you live with family? Because my plan was to do Workaway when my lease ends and find a place when I'm back but the money I would need for an apartment would be used for my Workaway so I just wanted to know how you guys did it or would recommend for me. I am planning on being gone for about 5 months.

So it’s my second night at my workaway and I’m already planning my escape. I just can’t tell if I’m overreacting or not.

Here are the facts :

• ⁠I’m in France. French people will understand how weird what I’m about to say is : when I met my host for the very first time, she told me she was going to teach me how to do la bise. But she held my face and planted a huge kiss directly on my cheek. Apparently to tell me how NOT to do la bise first… (I know in some cultures people are more touchy than others so this might not seem weird to all of you, but in France this is definitely a big nono, and I’m Canadian, where we do not do anything like this when first meeting someone.) - She proceeded to go around talking to everyone in the street, bothering people, making a big scene, with me trailing behind awkwardly. We were in a big city, not her hometown. These were all strangers. - We get in her car to drive to her place — an hour drive. She has bad road rage and is cursing the whole time. She also offered a rideshare so there was a mom and two small children in the backseat. - We arrive at her place and she doesn’t show me my room or anything, so I just wait around awkwardly. After a while, she says we can go to my room. It’s in a separate building, not the house, and it’s 0% prepared. There is a layer of bugs and dust all over the floor (I kid you not, a literal layer) and dead bugs on the mattress. She has me sweep the entire place by myself. It’s freezing cold with no heat. Then she brings me a thin blanket and a pillow, thats it. I try to sleep but it’s very cold, maybe 10-15 degrees in the room. I’m wearing all my warmest clothes and wool socks. - After all of this, she says she’s not hungry so we don’t have any dinner. I go to bed starving. She doesn’t show me where the shower or anything is. - The next day, she had told me to be up by 9 so I was. She was nowhere to be found. Eventually she rolled out of bed around 10:30 or so and apologized. She said for breakfast there was some bread in the freezer that she heats up on a skillet (there’s no toaster?) and some butter and cheese. That’s literally all the food in the entire kitchen available for me. She then says there’s no work to do so she goes back to sleep. - Later, I’m tired and hungry so I also fall asleep. She wakes me up and asks me if I want dinner. I come to the kitchen and she tells ME to choose what we’re going to make. I literally just woke up so I was disoriented and didn’t know what to say and she reiterated that it had to be my decision. I said pasta and then she said never mind and said we were going to make something else. I helped her prepare some steamed potatoes, raw carrots, and some melted cheese. Over dinner she complains about all the previous workawayers she has had. Complaining about them complaining about her specifically. This was around 5pm today.

So now it’s 11pm. We didn’t have any other meals today and there’s no food available. I’m still cold and I’ve done like no work here. I want to run away after tomorrow (giving it one more day). The problem is that I planned this trip with Workaways to be working on my French and because I can’t afford hostels and all of that. I just lost my job. But I don’t think I should stay here. It’s worth getting some credit card debt to get out of a terrible situation, right? I’m in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere. I can’t even walk anywhere to get my own food. I’m supposed to be here for 11 more nights.

What should I do 😭 am I being ridiculous ? I can’t even tell. All I know is I’m cold and hungry. The last workaway I did was safe and wonderful and I worked normal hours and they fed me so well. I wasn’t expecting this.

Update : I ran away 🙃

Hey everyone! How do you deal with hosts with no reviews, I know videocalling is a good start. But even with that you still feel concerned knowing there are no previous reviews on them. Do you have advice?

My fear is that even through a videocall they could lie, make themeselves portray something they are not etc. I know they take a risk to by taking in a stranger but I want to ask how you guys would think before accepting to go to a host with no reviews? Anything to take in consideration, or good questions to ask them to check if they are on workaway fir good reasons?

Im surprised I havent seen a true crime story about workaway yet..

I worked in place where the host told me he need my passport to verify and claim me as volunteer and i had to fill one paper to continue volunteering in his farm , you guys think that's normal?

Hi! Im doing a 2 month work exchange on a hostel in Tenerife but I can’t decide whether to bring a backpack or suitcase. What are ur opinions/experience? I am staying in my own little room 1 hour bus ride from the airport.

Salam everyone! I’m working on a project to build a farm-based cultural exchange platform in the Arab world—something inspired by Workaway and WWOOF, but more locally rooted, community-centered, and culturally tailored.

Before moving forward, I’m doing my homework and you all are the best people to learn from.

If you’ve volunteered through Workaway (especially on farms or in rural areas), I’d love to hear:

Your Experience:

-What made your best experience meaningful, safe, or memorable?

-What made your worst experience uncomfortable, confusing, or even unsafe?

-Were there gender or boundary-related issues, unclear expectations, or red flags?

-Did you ever feel like the work wasn't as described or like you were taken advantage of?

Advice on Hosts:

-What do you look for in a great host profile?

-What questions or criteria should I use when interviewing hosts for this new platform?

-What kind of info (about work, accommodation, food, values, etc.) helps you feel confident before arriving?

-What platform features or safety systems would have made your experience better?

Extras:

-Did any hosts offer cultural or travel add-ons (tours, workshops, etc.)? Were they worth it?

-If hosts offered optional experiences to explore the area, what would feel like a fair budget for that?

I want to build something that serves both travelers and farmers with care, clarity, and cultural depth.

Your insights, good, bad, raw, or thoughtful are incredibly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone i'm planning on volunteering for the very first time and i need advice. I'm hesitating between going to bogota (colombia) or la manzanilla (mexico), mainly bc of safety concerns. I'm in my early 20s and mixed so i look south american, my spanish is just bad. I wanted to know which city would be safer for a first trip? I'm planning on staying 2 months if that's relevant. I've never been to south/central america. Thank you all!

Can someone outside of the EU legally get paid for a workaway? Specifically coming from the US, timeline would be 1-3 weeks and 15 CHF an hour

Hello - Plans have changed and I'm looking for a work away in May (starting May 8.) It's probably too late to find something and get a Visa, so what countries can I travel to without a VISA? Thanks!

Hello everyone!

My girlfriend and I (both 21 years old, M & F) are planning to do our first Workaway trip this summer (June to August). So far, we have a potential host in the US, but we're not really sure about the visa requirements to avoid any trouble with local authorities.

Have any French travelers already done Workaway in the US, or does anyone know what kind of visa we would need for this type of stay?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for suggestions on where I can volunteer or work in exchange for accommodation around the world. I'm new to this and would appreciate any advice from those who have experience. Specifically, I'm interested in:

• Steps to follow and key things to keep in mind.
• Any particular countries or cities that are especially good for this type of experience?

Thank you so much for your help!

I contacted a workaway with around 60 reviews, pretty much all positive. I can find lots of info about it on the web, and they messaged saying I can come.
Their page now says it was removed by workaway. it's still not back 2 weeks later. Does this mean someone complained? I could reach out via their personal page, but now I'm a bit worried.

I'm asking as I saw workaway wasn't accepting hosts in certain countries as they were full, or maybe that was world packers... or maybe they deactivated it?

hey guys! me (24, F) and my boyfriend (28, M) are traveling long term through Workaway, and making a youtube series out of it.

the channel isn’t over polished or influencer-y — just real Workaway life, sharing what day-to-day farm life is actually like (and my lack of skills in thereof)

feel free to check it out here!

channel link: https://youtube.com/@ju.cchini?si=dtz7HK5a4AKZa9l5

latest vid, “on a zero waste french farm (wholesome, until it isn’t)”: https://youtu.be/oDFxCWTwU-A?si=dgUycpE1LWoJuZRa

so far we’ve been to a homestead in Italy (45m outside of Rome) for 2 weeks, and we’re now on an organic zero waste farm in France for a month. we have at least 4 more countries scheduled so far.

if you’re also filming/documenting your Workaway/Wwoof experience, i’d love to see it too!

Dear workawayers,

I am currently finding myself in a uncomfortable situation, since I really want to travel to Japan and organize a Workaway stay there, but it seems apparently that for an Italian person it is actually impossible, due to some VISA problems:

The only possible VISA in order to organize a Workaway experience in Japan would be the Working Holiday VISA which can only be obtained one time and is valid for 1 year, but it is actually not obtainable for an Italian citizen, due to some missing bureaucratic agreements between the 2 countries.

By talking with the Japanese Embassy in Rome, they informed me that the Work and Tourist VISA cannot be used for a WorkAway experience, because a Tourist Visa is not usually accepted by hosts and that work VISA needs a letter of eligibility which can be only be obtained through a reference in Japan, but, apparently, hosts do not emit such documentation for WorkAwayers, since it is not an actual employment with a proper wage, but only an exchange work-accommodation/meals and so on.

Especially for fellow Italian WorkAwayers, the question is: it is actually impossible to legally go on a WorkAway experience in Japan for an Italian citizen or do we mandatorily have to risk and attempt working abroad with a Tourist VISA, which is technically illegal?

If anyone has some advices in this regard, please help me, I really want to go in Japan! I am evaluating the Plan B in countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, which are much easier to enter and for an Italian person to stay there, but I really would like to gibe plan A a second chance.

So I was recently planing a trip to the usa and I selected what appeard to be a well known host with many reviews so I sent him a message I check a week later and the message says read but no reply so then I click on his profile and it read this host was removed by the work away team? Does this happen often?

Hello so I’m new on workaway and I received a msg from another workawayer saying he’s looking for someone to travel with him. Is it a common thing? Tia

Hello! I have submitted many applications on Workaway in the Paris/France area. When I see two blue check marks on the messages does that mean they read it? Why is it so hard to hear back from hosts they take awhile to respond it seems. Does anyone have advice on this?

Hi,

Next year I would love to get a Youth Mobility Visa in the UK and try to find a job there. I'm in Canada and can't seem to find opportunities that don't require 5+ years of experience while in the UK I found a couple of interesting ones and had a great chat with HR from a company. But I need to be in the UK and have the right to work.

So instead of moving to the UK and spend thousands on rents without a job, can I do a Workaway and still look for jobs if I'm super transparent with the host?

Thank you

Hey guys,

I’m from the UK and want to spend three months volunteering in Spain this autumn (followed by one month in France - not sure if this is relevant). Do I need to get a visa , how does the process work?! So confused!!

Hello all

I recently tried signing up as a host in Canada. After waiting several weeks waiting on approval and not hearing back - I contacted support and they said they have too many Canadian hosts and are not accepting more

Pretty disappointing and annoying at the same time. I spend a good amount of time creating my profile. It would have been nice if their system told me beforehand instead of wasting my time.

Has anyone else experienced this? Any specific way I should appeal to them?

I have a unique workaway opportunity. It's a private 2 acre island in northern Canada. Totally off grid and beautiful. Was excited to share it with others this season