Hi Brenden, good luck with your adventures. I can't help with your volunteering question, but in terms of expenses, Brazil, Argentina and Chile are generally considered the most expensive.

I would not want to learn Spanish in Argentina or Chile (different accent and the latter speak too fast!)I think Columbia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia are all generally considered to have easy accents. Those countries would be less expensive and I would probably spend more of my time there at the beginning until you see how far your money is lasting.

Hi Brenden, good luck with your trip, you must be really excited. As for ideas for places to go, I was going to suggest that you have a look at my travel blog of a trip we took in 2008 but I just got an email to say that you had already subscribed! http://blog.travelpod.com/members/candcthai

My wife and I volunteered with VSO in Sierra Leone and learned a lot about volunteering and its effects on communities from our experiences there and even more from the extensive pre- departure training. I applaud your decision to do this but would urge you to choose the organisations with which you will work very carefully. Some " voluntourism" groups are little more than thinly disguised travel operators which, in reality, do little to effectively benefit the communities they work in. The main beneficiaries are often the organisers themselves.

Some of these organisations can actually have a negative impact on the community. If, for example, you were to volunteer to help build a school and say lay bricks, you would be depriving a local bricklayer of work etc..

That said, there are organisations around that do an excellent job. We stumble across Hearts Cafe in Ollantaytambo, Peru and stayed for three weeks to help out with some stuff. Then, it was run by a terrific Englishwoman in her 70s who set up http://www.livingheartperu.org/ which does great work out in the mountains around the Sacred Valley. I can personally vouch for them and their effectiveness.

It is great that you are learning Spanish as any volunteer would be pretty ineffective without it. You also might like to consider getting a TEFL qualification before you go. Many think the aching English is easy but nothing could be further from the truth.

It would be worth joining www.saexplorersclub.org it has some great facilities and clubhouses in BA, Lima, Cusco and Quito and is probably THE best source for finding out about volunteering opportunities and getting up to date info on travelling.
I concur with mlgb re costs in South America and language study. We got on really well learning Spanish in Peru, or so we thought until we reached Chile and could not understand a word anyone said! I would also add that most of the volunteering opportunities will be found in the less developed countries on the continent, I doubt you will find many in say Argentina.

I hope this helps a little. If you have any specific questions please let me know. We are off to South America in May, starting of in Quito, moving down through Peru and Bolivia and Chile. If I come across any good volunteering opps I will let you know either here or via your blog..

Crellston, you are amazingly helpful...I am sending your recommendations and the links on to some people who asked the same question as the OP. Lucky for all of then you were on line.

Hi Guys,

It's great to see some replies. I was beginning to think I didn't have any as I didn't get any emails to say I had comments.

Thank you for your respnonse MLGB. I am learning Spanish with a Colombian so hopefully this pays off and I can understand a little once I start in Argentina. As for cost factors I think I may do some WWOOFING in Argentina, such a big Country and can be expensive by the look.

I think I may travel around to the places I want to see and move on. I was thinking I may need to spend a while in Argentina due to its size. I want to spend most of my time in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Colombia.

And a big thank you Crellston you have been a great help and yes I did find your blog and subscribed! It's great to find others who have similar interests.

your right its hard knowing which volunteer organisation is not just for tourism! thats exactly what I don't want. I really like the look of living heart. What did you two do their?

I have also looked into the TEFL courses. I am unsure if that is something I would like to do over there? Do a lot of the people wish to learn English?

the www.saexplorersclub.org link does not seem to work right now. hopefully the page is down temporarily as this sounds very helpful.

Again you have been a great help I really appreciate your time and effort here. I am looking forward to reading about your travels in May!

The biggest question at this stage is knowing how much money I should need for a year long trip.. Nothing flash, bus travel, camping, hostels etc. I am not looking to do any tourist trips apart from possibly the Galapogos and maybe Machu Picchu. This relies entirely on funds.

Thanks again guys.

Firstly Brenden, as A newcomer here, you won't be aware that, unlike Tripadvisor, Fodors does not send emails when you get a reply , you just have to keep looking!

Secondly, my apologies, I gave an incorrect link the right one is http://www.saexplorers.org/ ( and it works!).

Financing a trip such as yours is, of course the biggest and most difficult question to answer. Here is a link to a blog which has some current info on cost from a couple who travelled in Peru and Bolivia http://www.neverendingvoyage.com/digital-nomad-budget-bolivia-peru/ they have even designed an app to keep track of costs! Travelling as a couple is clearly different from travelling as an indvidual. You may be happy to sleep in a dorm in a hostel, whereas we would always go for a private room where available. Lonelyplanet and Rough Guides provide estimated costs for travel on in their guides. RG quotes $15-20 per day for a budget traveller in Ecuador, but I have met people who spent a less. www.hostelworld.com www.hostelbookers.com will provide costs for dorm beds and rooms which should give an indication.

Argentina and Chile will be the most expensive, Bolivia and Ecuador the cheapest with Peru somewhere in between. Travelling by bus is the most cost effective means of getting around and, in the main is relatively cheap, reasonably comfortable and usually efficient. Air transport is prohibitively expensive. If you get volunteer assignments then these are likely to be for a month at a time and will likely reduce you average per day costs. Travelling form place to place will hike up your costs so " less is more" in more way than one!

Wherever you go, you will find that costs are massively lower than in Australia!

WWOOFING in Argentina would be a good way to go. Do you know of ay places in the country? I thought this was just an Aussie / kiwi thing?

Special trips like Machu Picchu and Galapagos will undoubtedly ramp up the cost but some experiences just should not be missed when travelling all that way!

Hi Crellston, Thanks again for a superfast reply.

I was lazy and I managed to find the website for South American explorers. It looks promising with plenty of information there! Are the memberships yearly? I think I will wait until closer to the trip to join. Although it would be great looking through everything.

I really enjoyed your blog (well what I have read of it so far) I am not great with my reading, very slow. I enjoyed your trip with Miguel, what kind of costs are you looking at for a trip like this? I would love trips like this due not not paying a huge tourism company! always best to keep things local where you are befitting to the community.

Thanks for the referral to neverending voyage. I have already come across this and they have some great information.

WWOOFING is indeed in most countries in SA. Each have their own annual fee, I think Argentina is the most expensive of $38US. There are 70 listings in Argentina so plenty of places to contact. I think this will be the main thing for me to go for in Argentina. http://www.wwoofargentina.com/what_is_wwoof.htm

Originally I was looking at spending a year in Ecuador and Galapagos, volunteering, hiking, photography. But the more I looking into SA as a whole I decided I wanted to do more.. But I wonder if a year will be enough, I purchased a return ticked that is valid one year after departure.

If you have any more suggestions or know people with blogs etc all the information will be greatly appreciated and put to good use.

Hi Brenden. I stumbled across the following site which you may find useful http://www.volunteersouthamerica.net/ it seems to have some good links to low or zero cost organisations