GVI Avis 

GVI Limpopo isn't a tourist trap. It's a highly functional, boots-on-the-ground research hub. My time in the bushveld here was nothing short of life-altering. The team operates with extreme efficiency and a genuine commitment to ethical wildlife conservation (especially birding). You aren't just observing, you are actively pulling your weight and contributing to critical field data. For anyone serious about stepping out of their daily infrastructure to do real, impactful work in the South African bush, this is the baseline. Operational excellence meets raw nature. Highly recommended. #Proud GVI Ambassador

GVI literally changed my life! I had the best experiences with GVI on two different projects. One in Thailand where I was a volunteer for 6 weeks and then when I returned I came back as staff to work in Costa Rica. I believe it is thanks to GVI that I am in my current role today. I can’t wait for my next trip!

GVI has cancelled my daughters Costa Rica program less than a week before she is due to travel with no transparency as to why or support moving forward. Emails have been ignored or have received out of office replies. Phones not answered. Absolutely zero confidence in the organisation especially now seeing all the negative reviews and similar experiences of others which is so disappointing as our children have previously enjoyed GVI programs. Their website is a colourful and well decorated collage of lies. The Ghana program is still advertised even though we were told it had shut down earlier in the year and she could no longer do this program. Please do not hand over any money to this company.

My GVI experience in Kekoldi, Costa Rica was indeed amazing! I've met a lot of friendly, cool people, I had the opportunity to study and to gain knowledge from field work, books, presentations, and I saw a lot of interesting animals, since I signed up for a biodiversity conservation programme. I do recommend GVI :)

GVI was recommended to me by both of my universities. My first impression was that they put in a lot of effort to encourage you to book and spend your money with multiple zoom calls after applying. As soon as you spend the money however, they disappear and leave you to figure things out for yourself and the attitude visibly changes. Fast forward to my trip, I leave the UK and fly to Doha however my flight is delayed and I end up missing the connecting flight. This then means that I will miss all of my next flights, including a hotel reservation at the destination and the pick up time to be taken to the project. As I can't make it on time to the project anymore, I have to change my flights to come back home mid journey which was very stressful. I used all of my savings on this very expensive trip which I worked for for years and the airline, hotel and GVI will not refund anything. This seems wrong as it was not my fault and I wanted to go on the trip. I have contacted GVI multiple times since getting home and booked in multiple cancellation calls which were either missed completely by them or cancelled with an hour to spare and no explanation. I was not offered cancellation waiver as the website suggests on booking which seems wrong. DO NOT BOOK WITH THEM. They seem to be a company who just wants to take your money and then disappear with no help or feedback and take advantage of young people who don't have the money to spare. I have now lost all of my money and have nearly nothing left. Not mentioning all of the additional costs lost that go along with a trip. I have previously volunteered with IVHQ and would recommended them instead, they are cheaper and I had no problems with them.

I was lucky enough to complete two programs with GVI, an internship at the Nosy Be, Madagascar base, and a volunteer program at the Limpopo, South Africa base. Both experiences were amazing and I couldn't recommend GVI more to anyone who wants to travel but also feel like they are making a difference.

I would fully recommend this experience to everyone I know, even though I was only there for 2 weeks it felt like home very quickly and the whole group was very kind and welcoming.
I will definitely be using this company to go to alternative locations for conservation in the future

I have been here for the apprentice position at kekoldi - the staff are dedicated and I’ve enjoyed it very much I’ve learn a lot about serveys and how to ID species as well as leadership skills ! I do think the staff are underpaid especially with the amount of money being paid by participants I’ve heard the majority of participants woundering where the money is going ?
But apart from that an amazing experience

I enjoyed my experience with GVI. Although it may be expensive, it was definitely worth it.

As an unathletic individual It was definitely as difficult as they described to walk through the forest for surveying so if you’re looking to challenge yourself physically I’d definitely recommend this.

Be prepared to LEARN. the staff are full of knowledge and information. It can be overwhelming at first if you don’t know much about the topic of animal and their environment. I can’t say I remember everything but I can say you’ll walk out of there feeling pretty smart.

Not only are the staff great but the people you meet there will amaze you, including the people that live there. Having weekends off was great to be able to see the culture and community in town.

I will say the one thing that was slightly iffy was actually registering for the program. It was a difficult and complicated process that could have been handled better but the trip itself made up for it.

I went on two trips with GVI, one to Tenerife to do whale and dolphin conservation, and one to South Africa to Limpopo to do wild animal conservation out there. Both trips were absolutely amazing and I felt well looked after throughout. I made friends on both trips that I am still in touch with and see today and I learnt so much when out there about conservation and felt like I was really making a difference. Accommodation and food were all lovely and I would highly recommend travelling with GVI for anyone.

I had booked a trip to the Seychelles on a marine conservation course for April- May 2026. After many hours of research, webinars, and a lot of money spent on essential diving equipment (required on the course) I ended up extremely disappointed. 3 days before the course start date I received a phone call from Jerome, explaining that the course would not be going ahead due to issues with staff.
I was offered a full refund or to transfer to any other course in another location.
I ended up transferring to a turtle conservation course in Thailand. Not long after spending MORE money on flights, insurance and pre accommodation hotels etc , I was then informed of the general itinerary for the “turtle” conservation course, which somehow included no turtles, only mangrove tree research. So very misleading and mis-sold advertisement. After lots of fretting and confusion I decided it was best to cancel the course all together and opt for a full refund.
I was told by Jerome that I would expect a full refund and up to £500 compensation for their last minute changes, to cover additional costs incurred eg: flight changes.
I have since then heard very little from GVI, have not received any refund and was told that they won’t provide the extra £500, and will have to wait until October before I would receive the course refund.
I questioned why it would take so long, to which they responded “we are still investigating that.”
I have now just discovered that the Seychelles base is no longer even operating and have been ignoring their customers. I’m extremely disappointed by the lack of professionalism and infuriated by their failure to issue my refund.
Basic communication is really not too much to ask for when you are spending such a large amount of money, scammers. Do not book with them.

This was truly an incredible experience. The staff and the locals and house families were so kind and accommodating. And obviously, the elephants. What can I even say? Not only getting to observe them, but the education that I received about elephants was amazing. I will absolutely be back

I waited a few days before writing this review. I still cannot believe how unprofessional, disrespectful, and completely untrustworthy GVI is.
My daughter is a marine biology student and was looking for an internship in marine conservation abroad for autumn 2026. That’s how she discovered GVI.
She contacted GVI to get more information about the Coral Reef Ecology and Conservation Internship in Seychelles. She exchanged messages several times with a certain Griffin, the enrollment manager, and eventually received an offer with a 50% discount on the advertised price for a 10-week internship in Seychelles.
She was made to believe that the site was extremely popular and in high demand, and was given only a couple of days to complete the payment (over 5000 EUR) and secure her place.
We immediately realized that something was off. The offer she received lacked essential information; only the price and payment terms were clearly stated.
At the same time, we had been trying to find out more about the programme, and that’s when we discovered many recent and very negative reviews about GVI — particularly regarding Seychelles — including several ongoing disputes over fees that have not been refunded.
At that point, I contacted GVI myself asking for clarification. My emails remained unanswered, but I eventually managed to get hold of him on the phone.
To cut a long story short, Griffin put me in contact with his manager (a certain Jerome). What we found out is that, although still being advertised, the Seychelles programme is currently not operating. The base was shut down by the local authorities because it did not meet minimum sanitary standards. According to the information I was given, the site has since been renovated, but the permit has still not been granted, and there is no guarantee as to when — or even if — this will happen at all.
The manager also suggested that we go ahead with the booking and, if the site did not reopen, they would offer my daughter the possibility of moving to a different location. When I raised concerns about plane tickets and all the administrative procedures required to enter and stay in the country, I was told that it would be best to wait before arranging any travel — or, even better, to choose a different destination directly, such as Fiji.
They promised to send information about Fiji and Mexico, but we never received anything. On the contrary, Mr Schreiber still called my daughter a few days later urging her to proceed with the payment, as the deadline had supposedly been reached.
We were lucky enough to stop the process before any payment was made. Yet my daughter wasted a great deal of time and energy in the process, including attending one of their webinars.
I never received any explanation as to why they continue to advertise — and worse, enrol participants in — the Seychelles programme if the site is not operational. To me, this is nothing short of fraud.
My advice: stay away from GVI

29.05 following reply from GVI:
Not sure exactly what more should be discussed. We spoke already several times on the phone. You promised to send information that never reached us. I also asked why you keep offering Seychelles if the site is not operational and got no reasonable explanation.
That’s not what I expect when such large fees are requested.

It was an insightful and inspiring experience. It was my first time traveling on my own, and the environment put all my anxiety at ease.

My two-week volunteering trip in Madagascar with GVI was honestly one of the most unforgettable experiences I’ve ever had. From the moment I arrived, I was massively overwhelmed with the huge change in setting, meeting all new people and the jetlag. But the staff were incredibly welcoming, and supportive. Their knowledge and encouragement created such a positive environment throughout the entire trip.

One of the highlights was how educational the experience was. I learned so much about marine conservation, especially coral reefs, seagrass ecosystems, and marine biodiversity. Through scientific snorkeling surveys, we were taught how to identify different coral species, monitor seagrass health, and recognise over 100 species of fish. It was amazing to gain hands-on experience while contributing to real conservation work, and every day felt both meaningful and exciting.

The location itself was absolutely breathtaking — crystal-clear water, stunning beaches, incredible sunsets, and some of the most picturesque scenery.

I made such an amazing group of friends during those two weeks, and they made the entire experience ten times more fun.
It was the perfect combination of education, adventure, and friendship, and it’s a trip I’ll never forget.

The rep I was given uses AI to generate his responses. If you care about volunteering and conservation you should know how bad it is for the environment and its just dishonest. Wouldnt recommend. Very money first

I couldn’t be more excited to be part of a team that cares so deeply about creating a positive impact to our home planet earth! 🤍🌎🌱

My experience was amazing as I learnt so much about elephants and the biodiversity and what is going on in Thailand. The staff were very helpful and supportive when you ask for help when needed.

I went to Trang, Thailand in May to put my environmental studies into practice. The entire team were so absolutely wonderful. Suni made me feel so welcome and comfortable the entire trip; she is so lovely and accomodating, I honestly could not fault her beautiful aura and approach to her work and life. She is also an expert in birds and will have you just as excited by the end of your trip. Marcos is an absolute weapon in all things oceanography. I had the chance to have one on one time working with GIS and 3D modelling with him, I was so appreciative of the chance to tailor to my interests. Wendy is absolutely brilliant, she is a pleasure to sit and chat with, we could talk for hours! She works with the children and community in teaching English; I was lucky enough to join in on a few of her wonderful lessons. Sara is the Thai connection to community. She has brilliant knowledge of the country and culture that is required for all the work done on base.

Overall the entire team made me feel so welcome and integrated into the people and work. I couldn’t fault the experience they delivered. The ability to do wonderful work and connect with people on a human to human level is not lost at all. I will truely miss the wonderful environment they cultivate. This will definitely not be my last GVI trip!