Build a school, help orphans or care for chimpanzees: volunteering breaks have never been so rewarding
Whether it's helping children in need in far flung areas of the world, or getting your hands dirty with a bit of dry stone walling in Wales, there's a volunteer holiday to suit all types...
Lend a hand: Assisting children in need or building walls, there's a charity cause that needs your help
Excavate a fabulous Roman villa amid wild sea views in rural Italy. No archaeological experience necessary, everything,including tuition in the art of separating treasure from dirt, is provided.
Work involves hunting for remains such as pottery shards, mosaic pieces, coins and metals.
It’s run by the British environmental charity, Earthwatch Institute, and trips take place this June, September and October, and include lectures from archaeologists.
Stay in a simple but comfortable apartment in a village south of Livorno, not far from the dig. Moderately demanding work, but suitable for teens and up.
Earthwatch Institute, 01865 318 831, www.earthwatch.org/europe
BA flies from London to Pisa from £97 return, 0844 493 0787, or visit 
Monkey business: You can feed and look after rescued primates in Spain
HELP FOR HANOI
Support disabled children in Vietnam while seeing some of the finest sights in this great country.
The 18-day Hands On Hanoi trip,run by The Adventure Company,takes you by rail and road to Hanoi, Saigon and the Mekong Delta, while staying in good hotels.
You spend two days in the Thuy An Rehabilitation Centre, outside Hanoi, which cares for 170 children affected by chemical warfare and disease.
Your job is to help with projects improving classrooms and the playground.
Details: 18 days from £2,129,with international and domestic flights, accommodation, most meals and all transport.
0845 287 1198, or visit www.adventurecompany.co.uk
Get your hands filthy helping out at a charitable community project on the beautiful Lleyn Peninsula in North Wales.
Stay on a 23-acre farm and build mud walls in traditional cob style, plant organic vegetables or lend a hand with thatching.
aim of Felin Uchaf is to teach traditional rural construction skills
while encouraging a sense of community. And, it’s free, including basic
accommodation in a stone-built farmhouse or Celtic roundhouse. Food is
Details: Stay from one day to three months; free to volunteers.
Felin Uchaf, 01758 780280, or visit www.felinuchaf.org
Voluntourism: A rewarding few days can be spent helping at a dig in Italy
COUNT ME IN, ROMANIAHands Up Holidays has a range of trips for people who want both a holiday and to help the local community.
The ten-day Touch Of Dracula Romanian experience takes small groups or couples on tours of historical Bucharest and the Count’s Transylvanian haunts.
There are also trips to the surrounding Carpathian and Fagaras Mountains and a boat ride on the Danube Delta.
Three days of the trip are devoted to aiding the lives of elderly Romanians by helping with repair and renovations of dilapidated houses, before a final rest stop in the capital, Bucharest.
Details: Ten days costs £1,350, with flights, accommodation, breakfast, 020 7193
1062, or visit 
Stonewalling: A volunteer can learn traditional skills and techniques on a break to build walls in Wales
Join a small group working in 220 glorious landscaped acres of Ashburnham Place, a grand country mansion near Battle in East Sussex.
Owned by a Christian trust, the grounds were designed by Capability Brown in the 18th century and include three lakes.
Working with BTCV (formerly the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers), you will spend six days on woodland management, clearing scrub, managing the care of young trees and looking after woodland rides.
Details: Each holiday lasts six days and runs from September 11 and October 9.
Cost: £150 including food and accommodation (own bedroom), 01302 388 883, or visit 
Hundreds of Britons were touched by the plight of Indian youngsters when the hit movie Slumdog Millionaire came out.
Greenforce has come up with one of the most colourful — and useful — ways to offer help assisting in a Delhi or Daipur orphanage. The trip lasts four weeks, but there’s a seven-day holiday within the break, touring major sights like the Taj Mahal.
PITCH IN, IN PERU
Enjoy trekking in some of the most beautiful sites in Peru while taking four days out of your holiday to put something back into the community.
World Expeditions runs a 16-day trip in July, flying to Cusco for trekking before going to the village of Pomatales.
You spend four days helping to build a new school library for a tiny community on the side of a narrow gorge close to the Sacred Valley of the Incas.
Then you get on with your holiday, with a rail trip to the ruins of Machu Picchu. Accommodation is split between hotels and camping.
Details: 16 days costs £1,590, with accommodation and most meals.
International flights can be organised from £850:Phone 020 8545 9030, or visit www.worldexpeditions.co.uk
Blacktoft Sands, on the south side of the Humber Estuary, is the largest tidal reed bed in England, crowded with colourful flocks of 270 species of bird, from bitterns tobearded tits, marsh harriers and wildfowl.
Around 26,000 visitors a year walk through this lovely RSPB reserve. You can make a more permanent mark by becoming a resident volunteer for a week or more.
Land management, species protection and bird-survey work are all part of the job. Accommodation is in a nearby modern two-bedroom house. The only costs are for your own food and travel. Volunteers are welcome at most RSPB reserves.
Details: Minimum residential stay one week, but you can experience a day first.
Phone 01767 680551 or visit 
Cosy up to chimpanzees in Spain. Organised through Responsible Travel, these short breaks of two to four days put holidaymakers in direct contact with rescued primates.
You are given a chance to help clean their quarters, prepare their food and even help design toys to keep them amused. If you like monkeys, this is the trip for you.
The lovely city of Girona is nearby if you want to extend your break and explore its winding streets and the beautiful surrounding countryside.
Accommodation can be in a hotel or hostel. It is claimed to be the only scheme of its kind outside Africa that allows such close involvement with these charismatic creatures.