Volunteering in Thailand FAQs

As we are not medical professionals, we are unable to offer professional medical advice. We do recommend following the recommendations of your family doctor along with reading and following the recommendations of the Center for Disease Control's page for travelers to Thailand.

Our project start dates are normally the first and third Monday of each month. These dates sometimes change due to holidays. We require volunteers to arrive in Chiang Mai or Bangkok between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on the Friday prior to their project start date.

There are many buses and trains traveling between these destinations. For volunteers traveling before their project, getting tickets a few days in advance is ideal. Flying is also an option. The following airlines offer flights between Bangkok and Chiang Mai:

• Thai Airways
• AirAsia
• Nok Air
• Bangkok Airways

Please keep in mind that AirAsia and Nok Air are budget airlines, and their tickets cost about half that of the other two. Furthermore, there are two Bangkok Airports. Nok Air and AirAsia fly exclusively out of Don Muang Airport and do not provide service to or from Suvarnabhumi Airport (the larger airport). Opposite this, Thai Airways and Bangkok Airways use only Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Our volunteer coordinators pick up volunteers from their arrival point. On Fridays (arrival days), the coordinators wear Friends for Asia logo shirts and hold a sign with the arriving volunteer's name on it.

We can sometimes make arrangements for volunteers to extend their projects, but this is based on availability. It is best if we have a clear picture of a volunteer's project(s) as early as possible. We only change projects for volunteers and interns when it's absolutely necessary. When possible, we feel that it is best for volunteers to fulfill their commitment to their project before changing to another.

The type of background check will depend upon where you are coming from. We accept background checks issued by the volunteer’s national government as well as those conducted by local police stations.

We have a washing machine in each of our accommodation spots. There are also laundry services that wash, dry and iron clothes at relatively cheap rates. Our Accommodation page and video covers this area in greater depth.

Our average volunteers are in their mid-twenties; however, we do have volunteers of all ages and from all walks of life participating in our projects. Through our family volunteer projects, we’ve had volunteers as young as 14. Our oldest volunteer to date has been 81.

Yes, we do allow volunteers to stay in their own selected accommodation during their project, if they wish. More than 95% of our volunteers and interns stay in the accommodation that we provide for them. We are unable to offer any discount on the project fee for volunteers staying in their own selected accommodation.

This will greatly depend upon the meals you choose to eat, the shopping you do and the souvenirs you buy. Living frugally, a person could reasonably get by in Chiang Mai on less than US$3 per day. Western food, beer and other alcoholic drinks will increase your daily spending dramatically. Bangkok is more expensive, but still very reasonable, especially for an international-class city.

No, volunteers and interns do not need to speak Thai to participate in our projects. We do have two short Thai lessons during orientation, and we suggest volunteers and interns try to learn and use as much Thai as they can during their project.

This depends on how much time you plan to use it during your project. All of our volunteer accommodation sites have free wireless Internet for volunteers and interns to use. We also have two new desktop computers in each of our volunteer accommodation spots (4 total) for volunteers and interns to use. There are also very inexpensive internet cafes near our volunteer and intern accommodation spots. If you plan to keep up with friends and regularly update your social networks, then yes, you may want to bring a laptop or tablet with you. If you plan to e-mail friends and family at home once or twice a week, we recommend leaving the computer at home and just using our own volunteer and intern computers at the accommodation spots, along with Internet cafés to keep in touch. There are also three certified Apple stores in Chiang Mai, where one can purchase new Apple devices, along with get them repaired.

Thai cell phones and service are relatively inexpensive. One can purchase a cheap cell phone for around $20, and buy prepaid calling cards at almost any corner store or at 7-11s. We recommend buying an inexpensive cell phone upon arrival and selling it before departure. This prevents you from being subjected to heavy international roaming charges. Furthermore, we’ve seen many volunteers receive confirmation from their service providers that they will be able to use their cell phones in Thailand, only to arrive and find out that this is not the case.

Additionally, we also provide volunteers in the Elephant Camp Project, Single Mother’s Home Project and the Orphanage Project use of a cell phone during their project.

No, we require volunteers and interns to start only on these dates. We provide a mandatory two-day orientation prior to each start date and are unable to provide this for just one or two people.

Yes, our volunteer projects run from Monday to Friday, leaving you the weekends to explore Chiang Mai or set out on regional excursions. Trekking, zip-lining, rafting and many other outdoor activities are easily booked through local travel agencies.

The term “NGO” is ambiguous at best. Friends for Asia is a registered non-profit foundation in Thailand and is not connected to or affiliated with any government or religion. We have no political ties and are completely independent. We have held legal registration as an organization in Thailand since November of 2007.

As Friends for Asia is not financially supported by any government, religion or large corporation, we require volunteers to submit a project fee to help financially support our organization. A portion of the project fee goes to paying for vehicles, accommodation, office space, staff salaries, utilities, etc. This project fee includes various services and benefits that differ from project to project. Some of the basics included in the fee are accommodation, airport pick-up, two-day orientation, meals, 24-hour emergency assistance, program coordination and documentation of project participation.

This depends upon the time of the year. We are busiest during the North American and European summer holiday months of May to August. In Chiang Mai, the number of volunteers ranges from 15 to 40.

Due to our privacy policies, we are unable to provide applicants with the personal contact information of previously serving or current volunteers. Many of our previous and current volunteers have subscribed to our Facebook page. By posting messages here, applicants may receive a response from volunteers or interns who have previously participated in Friends for Asia’s projects.