BootsnAll's Travel Community

I'd like to hear experiences from people who have WWOOFed. My boyfriend and I plan on WWOOFing in Nova Scotia this summer and will be WWOOFing in Europe on our RTW trip. We are big nature/living off the land people so we expect to gain a lot from these experiences. I would really like to hear from others who have WWOOFed abroad.

I wwoofed in Italy and LOVED the experience. It was back breaking working to be sure, but the I went to be every night stuffed on pasta and veggies and endless amounts of wine.

If you really want to work and not treat it as a holiday or free room and board situation, you'll love it. Otherwise, you stand to be disappointed I think.

I'd look for a host that has been doing it for a while, they seem to have to best results from talking around with other wwoofers and you'll have a better shot at being treated fairly.

Best of luck.

We just had our first wwoof experience here in Oz, and it was great. We stayed at a Platypus bush camp and did a few odd jobs around the place. The place was in the jungle and reminded me of swiss family robinson. We'll definitely do it again.

Hey go girl,

nice to hear a little about your experience! You don't have a blog so I like hearing teh tidbits here.Glad you are having a blast!

I've done something similar in NZ called 'Help Exchange' and had a great time! I worked with a family in their Eco Village type place for a couple weeks set on some of the more beautiful scenery I've seen and loved it. The setting was great and the 'back to nature' type living really inspired me. Not only will you learn how to do different jobs and things but you'll also meet people with lots of different lifestyles that you might not otherwise come into contact with unless you're part of that circle.

Love it, make sure you give it a go!

Hey WT, we do have a blog, but I don't always post the address. It's: RTW with Lucy My daughter started it, and we're finding it harder to post then we thought, but we have a few things up.

Your Wwoofing experience can vary quite a lot, depending on your host. I also went through HelpExchange, and found some very nice hosts. I have heard some horror stories though, about both hosts and Wwoofers.

I worked on a horse farm about an hour outside of Auckland. My hosts are from the UK, and treated me very well. My work was mostly lawn care and painting in exchange for an amazing room and very tasty food. They also taught me how to train horses, and I went on a few rides during the evening. I absolutely loved my experience and still stay in contact with my hosts. Just a week or two back I took my parents out to meet them, and we stayed with them a night. It was a great way to end their trip in New Zealand.

We're wwoofing in NZ and have had 1 waste of time experience, 1 that was fine and two which were just fab. As Ratguy says, the experiences can vary, but I guess this applies as much to the hosts as the wwoofers.

The two really good wwoofs (1 pet cemetary, 1 strawbale house) were such great experiences and I feel that we have made freinds for life as well as getting an insight into the lives of real kiwis.

General travel blog, including some info about the Wwoofs, at http://blogkirsten.blogspot.com.

KPG

Does anyone know if Help Exchange is better than WWOOf or is it same, same but different?

HelpX is pretty much identical, though when I used it it was totally free. I've heard a rumor that it might not be anymore?

HI I WWoofed in Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island, helped a couple move their cabin to make way for their dream house, chopped a bunch of fire wood, split some cedar shakes, lay a foundation and dug some trenches,among other things. they fed me well and introduced me to their friends and showed me the sights. It was a great experience away from the big city...it's the best way to travel!...stefano

i wwoofed for the first time this past growing season in new york, usa (to be fair, i found the farm on organicvolunteers.org). it was an amazing experience, and has inspired me to do much more traveling...

i'm currently in the middle of planning a trip through southern spain, hopefully going farm-to-farm, and from there seeing a bit of europe without as much work... anybody on the same page as me, drop me a line. it'd be nice to meet up with fellow food lovers along the way.

I WWOOFed in NZ and oz and thought it was great. I only had one so-so host and about 10 fantastic ones. I quickly learned that asking lots of questions before going to a host is vital. I usually asked about:

a typical day
what people do on their day off
how long others usually stay for
what the accomodations are like
why they are a wwoof host

The other thing is to follow your instincts, as always with travelling. If somebody seems like they're weird or somethings a little off, don't go. They're plenty of hosts to choose from if you are flexible with where you go. Also, if you have a bad experience, you should immediately let WWOOF know. If they've had other complaints, they will be removed as a host. Enjoy!

Be sure to ask about toilet facilies before you go! We just left one where the guy just had a hole in the ground to use for a toilet. He sort of neglected to say anything about it until well after we got there, and we'd already set up our tents and it was getting too late in the day to go elsewhere and when we went looking for the facilities that's when he pointed out the hole. We stayed for a couple of days because our sense of adventure is stronger than our common sense, but I was really irritated with him for not telling us ahead of time. On top of that, he was not a personable man--he seemed to be judging everyone else harshly for not living just like he did. So we got out quickly and got a campground with a good hot shower. Ahh. It really can vary.

Oh yeah and Rayguy, there is now a charge for helpx. I think it's about US$20. It's still less expensive than wwoof, and has the advantage of giving world wide listings rather than just Oz or whatever. We're going to go ahead and sign up.