Project Activities | Itinerary | Price | TRIP REVIEWS | Trip Reports
Volunteer in the Virgin Islands!
The beautiful Virgin Islands National Park is a wonderful place to visit, especially for people who want a break from cold weather during the northern hemisphere’s winter months. Join our volunteer trip to enjoy the beauty of this island paradise and at the same time help the Park with important conservation projects. The project activities on our volunteer trip include maintenance and preservation of historic trails and internationally important cultural sites. Join us on this remarkable adventure for an exceptional travel experience and help this amazing paradise. Reserve your spot now!
Your volunteer project activities will help Virgin Islands National Park improve and maintain trails and restore fragile natural and cultural resources, while enjoying vistas of the beautiful Caribbean.
No prior trail maintenance or restoration experience is required. The volunteers are teamed with experienced leaders who will provide training in all aspects of the work. As always, your education and safety are priorities.
What follows is a general description of activities you can expect on the Virgin Islands Volunteer Trip. Please note, however, that every trip is unique. Because local conditions and the Park’s needs continually evolve, detailed plans are often finalized or revised after the group arrives and the trip leaders review the conditions at the site in light of the capabilities and special interests of the volunteers. Tasks may include:
- rehabilitating unauthorized trails
- improving trails to better shed water
- clipping or removing vegetation and removing rocks from the trail tread to improve trail safety
- clearing vegetation from historic structures in the backcountry of St. John to preserve the structures for future generations
To carry out the project work, you should be able to hike up to three miles a day on uneven trails which may be steep.
The Virgin Islands National Park is a wonderful place to volunteer. Conservation Volunteers International Program is pleased to offer this exciting opportunity to protect a national and international treasure.
Look through the tabs on the left for more details about the itinerary, price and gear list or to read reviews and prior trip reports
Day 1: We meet in the U.S. Virgin Islands at 5 p.m. at Cinnamon Bay Campground on St. John Island. After you arrive at St. Thomas airport in Charlotte Amalie, you can take a convenient taxi van to the St. Thomas Redhook Ferry Terminal, where a quick 20-minute ferry ride will transport you to Cruz Bay on St. John Island. From there, hop on one of the open-air taxis that will take you directly to the beautiful Cinnamon Bay Resort & Campground entrance. If you arrive earlier in the day, you can enjoy a short hike, hit the beach located a 5-minute walk from our camp, or just relax until the 5 p.m. orientation. After orientation and a delicious dinner, we will take a leisurely 2-minute walk to the beach for stargazing.
Days 2 – 6: This period is a perfect mix of meaningful volunteer project activity in beautiful surroundings with breathtaking views, and rest time where you can choose your own activities. The exact schedule depends on the project locations, weather, and the time needed to move from one location to another. We get to experience the joys and excitement of Island Travel!
On the days when you engage in volunteer activities, after returning to camp you will have time to relax in camp or on the beach until dinner. Each evening, there are engaging talks about turtle and coral reef preservation, local arts and crafts, drumming sessions, and even learning about medicinal plants.
On our rest day, you are free to unwind at the campground or join in local activities like hiking, snorkeling, or exploring the local shops. If the weather permits, the leaders will host you on a memorable sunset cruise. Breakfast in camp, packed out lunch and dinner will be provided each day. Each volunteer makes their own box lunch which they enjoy at the project site.
Day 7: Following breakfast, the trip ends, and we say farewell! You can choose to spend more time in the Virgin Islands, or plan to catch a flight home from St. Thomas with a departure time of noon or later.
Note: Although we do our very best to adhere to the schedule above, the itinerary is subject to change for numerous reasons beyond our control, including changes in the local project needs, weather, and terrain conditions.
IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING AIR TRAVEL: Before purchasing your airline tickets, please check with us to ensure the trip has the necessary minimum number of participants required to operate.
To see what is included in the price, click on the tab on the left labeled”03 PRICE”.
$1,050 for seven days (single supplement $250, subject to availability)
(Note: Your trip expense may be tax-deductible. Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page and consult your tax advisor for details.)
Price includes:
- all meals from dinner on Day 1 through breakfast on Day 7
- lodging at the campground in large, stand-up tents on platforms with a maximum of three people per tent (or single occupancy is available for an additional fee)
- transportation from arrival at camp to departure from camp
- gratuities for services provided to the group
- project leadership and support staff
- group tools
- orientation and training
- Friends of Virgin Islands annual membership
Price does not include:
- airfare to/from Charlotte Amalie
- airport taxes and baggage charges
- local transport between the airport on St. Thomas Island and St. John Island
- medical immunizations
- insurance (emergency medical and evacuation insurance is mandatory for this trip)
- alcoholic beverages or soft drinks
- personal items
Payment terms:
A deposit of $400 per person is required at the time of signup; final payment is due at 90 days prior to departure. The payment and refund policy can be found here.
Group Size: 8 – 10 plus trip leaders
Submit your review | |
This was my third CVIP and each one has been an amazing experience and brought together some amazing like-minded people. The work on this trip is hard and meaningful as we worked to preserve historical heritage sites and National Park trails. The play and fun is equally abundant to balance it out. The campsite is less than a 5 minute walk from amazingly warm and beautiful sandy beach/ocean. Susan and Mark are great leaders who take care of everyone on the trip with great hearts, great cooking and great knowledge.
This is a great opportunity to do meaningful work maintaining trails and ruins in the National Park. Every day we got to see beautiful scenery on hilly trails overlooking turquoise coves with sandy beaches. On our rest day, we snorkeled in one of the bays - the water was clear and we saw many beautiful fish. Some of us saw turtles and rays. Mark and Susan are excellent leaders and did a wonderful job of cooking for us at the camp. Additional activities of seeing a live band and going on a catamaran cruise were a bonus. The only caveats I would have are be prepared for moderately hot/humid weather on some days and for mosquitoes - long sleeves/pants and repellent are essential if you tend to get bitten easily.
This was my third CVIP trip - wonderful way to travel for purpose, learn about/explore new places and meet and work with like-minded travelers. If you live in snow country like I do helping preserve and maintain the rock ruins and trails in a NP while overlooking beautiful turquoise water is the perfect winter break. Camping accommodations were good but do bring a good blow-up sleep pad, pillow, bungee cords/carabiners and small solar light for in the tent. Leaders Mark and Susan are fun, well organized, and a wealth of knowledge about CVIP and St. John NP.......and most importantly good cooks!
Oerall an outstanding excursion. Mark and Susan are fantastic leaders. The setting is drop dead gorgeous. The work is hard, purposeful and rewarding. Take an air mattress to put on top of the cot, A backpacker's pad did not provide enough support over that many days.
This was my third USVI trip. The amazing beauty of the location, Susan and Mark as exceptional leaders and the importance of the work we accomplish has kept me coming back. Every Conservation VIP trip I’ve participated on has been amazing groups of people, many of whom are now friends. I highly recommend this experience.
Very well organized. Very rewarding work with nice people.
This trip was very rewarding - we could see the results of our efforts as we were working and we got thanks from the hikers on the trail for doing the work. The location was beautiful & scenic & we had time to enjoy touristy activities. Given that our time there was unseasonably warm & humid, for this "senior" the trip was a bit challenging - take electrolytes. This was camping at its best - a big tent to myself & bathrooms sufficient for the group size & the cold showers actually felt good after working in the heat - but be prepared to stay sweaty if a breeze is not blowing. Our leaders Mark & Susan were outstanding & were attuned to everyone's needs. They had everything so well organized, prepared great meals, encouraged us to do the extra activities, & made sure we worked within our limits. Suggestions for the tents - I wished I had had more cushioning for my cot & a better pillow; & I was glad I had earplugs, lighting, a couple of bags for trash, & bungee cords for hanging things in the tent. Loved this trip &, again, being with like minded people.
I had a great time the team leaders Mark and Susan were terrific. They made the experience that more enjoyable. Other than the bug bites, I would recommend this to anyone wanting to make a difference in regards to maintaining our national parks and historic buildings.
Volunteers wrote a lot of great five-star reviews about our earlier volunteer trips to Virgin Islands National Park. Unfortunately, all those positive reviews were stored on REI Adventures’ website, because we had partnered with REI to recruit volunteers. When we had to cancel the trip because of the damage from the hurricane in 2017, the reviews disappeared from their site and we did not have the foresight to keep copies! So to hear what volunteers thought about our previous trips to the Virgin Islands, look at these videos on our YouTube channel:
The key to staying comfortable while on an active trip is layering. To get maximum comfort with minimum weight, you need versatile layers that mix and match to create the right amount of insulation, ventilation and weather protection. The gear list has been created to help you in choosing your equipment for the trip. View the Gear List.
Please click to view Trip Report PDFs.
February 2024
November 2023
February 2023
December 2022
February 2022
November 2021
February 2020
April 2017
November 2016
November 2015
April 2015
November 2014
Also, visit the Impact Summary page and see the difference you make!
Please check with your doctor to see if any immunizations are recommended for you.
ConservationVIP has always focused on our volunteers’ safety. Traveling with safety concerns requires some extra planning and flexibility both for trip leaders and trip participants!
To prevent illness or injury on the trip, participants may have to follow procedures such as mask-wearing, social distancing, methods for carrying and using tools and other site-specific procedures as instructed by the trip leader. More specific safety instructions will be provided on the trip.
Participants will have to comply with the regulations established by the U.S. Virgin Islands and the National Park Service at the time of travel.
About Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands National Park is one of the crown jewels of the U.S. National Park system. The remarkable landscapes in the Virgin Islands include pristine beaches and crystal-clear waters. The mountains rise above the natural beauty of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean on the Islands of St. John, St. Thomas and Hassel Island. These special features, along with the beautiful bays, underwater coral gardens and rich history compose the Virgin Islands natural and cultural resources. The Virgin Islands are spectacular by any measure.
Virgin Islands National Park covers roughly 60% of St. John Island in the United States Virgin Islands. Often thought of primarily as a place of natural beauty, the park also preserves the history and tells the stories of the rich cultural mix of peoples in the Caribbean–Native Americans from South America, enslaved Africans, European colonists, and, after 1917 when the Virgin Islands became part of the United States, Americans. Today, visitors to St. John can marvel at the beauty of the island, enjoy a variety of outdoor recreational activities, and learn more about the Native Americans and European colonization in the Caribbean. Come explore America’s Paradise, and dive into 3,000 years of human history.
