Volunteering in Spain: At a glance
- Volunteer work in Spain is available year-round with programs starting every month
- 5 meaningful project options
- Volunteer opportunities in Spain are based in Barcelona, home to architectural treasures and tapas
- Accommodation in a dormitory-style hostel in Barcelona
- Affordable program fees from US$625 (approximately £484) for 1 week
- Program fees include airport pick-up, orientation, accommodation, meals and 24/7 support in Barcelona
- Low-cost Spanish language lessons are available
- Between 5 and 15 volunteers start in Spain each month
Volunteer opportunities in Spain

Assist a local animal shelter for cats and dogs, keeping the animals fed, clean and active so they have the best chance of being successfully re-homes.
Animal Care in
Animal shelters play an important role in protecting lost and abandoned animals in Barcelona, but often they can be overcrowded. As a volunteer on this project, you’ll support the shelters to cope with the significant number of animals and improve the conditions for these cats and dogs.
Volunteer support is crucial in playing with the cats and dogs to keep them active and healthy, so they can be adopted or re-integrated with local families. Your core role is to walk and play with animals so they have time out of their enclosures each day. You can also help with cleaning, feeding and raising awareness in the community about animal abandonment.
The long term aim of volunteering with animals is to have them ready to be adopted. That means they should be healthy, happy and appealing for local families who come into the shelter looking to adopt.
You will be working alongside local volunteers as well as shelter staff to support their day-to-day tasks. Your duties will vary and depending on your skills and the length of your stay.
All dogs in the shelters are fully vaccinated. This project has a minimum duration requirement of 2 weeks.
Project Highlights
What you need to know
- Volunteer in a animal shelters for abandoned and rescued cats and dogs
- Help to keep the animals fed, active and clean
- Suited to enthusiastic volunteers who like working with animals
- Minimum duration requirement of 2 weeks
- Volunteering for up to 4 hours per day
Destination Highlights
Spain at a glance
Also available in Spain
Our project options
Animal Care Volunteer Project in Barcelona - Spain Creative Technology Volunteer Program in Barcelona - Spain Marine Conservation Volunteer Program in Barcelona - Spain Special Needs Support Volunteering in Barcelona - Spain Youth Support Volunteering in Barcelona - SpainOther programs you might like
Our programs in Europe
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Volunteer with a range of good community initiatives, using your experience to provide valuable assistance in web development, marketing material, film and photography.
Creative Technologies in
A unique volunteer project that involves using your creative and digital skills to help Barcelona NGOs develop their online presence and boost their charity initiatives. Volunteers with a range of technical skills and expertise can make a significant difference in helping important local causes gain much-needed exposure. These kinds of professional skills are often unaffordable for non-profit NGOs, but can make a significant difference for them.
Volunteers with a range of skills can assist on the Creative Technologies project:
- Experienced website developers can help build or update websites incorporating relevant content and media to support charitable initiatives.
- Graphic designers can help to create a range of marketing materials, which could include flyers, print advertisements, website content, social media posts or logos.
- Volunteers with experience in videography or film can create promotional videos, and those with photography skills can help NGOs document their activities and provide images for social media and marketing material.
NGOs generally won’t have the necessary resources available, so you’ll need to bring your own laptop, design software (Adobe Creative Suite or equivalent) and/or camera equipment. Please ensure you include all relevant qualifications and/or experience in your application for the program.
Project Highlights
What you need to know
- Volunteer with local NGOs, providing technical expertise to increase their reach and exposure
- Help to develop websites, design marketing material or take film and video
- Suitable for skilled professional volunteers, or those with relevant marketing experience
- Volunteer for up to 6 hours per day
Destination Highlights
Spain at a glance
Also available in Spain
Our project options
Animal Care Volunteer Project in Barcelona - Spain Creative Technology Volunteer Program in Barcelona - Spain Marine Conservation Volunteer Program in Barcelona - Spain Special Needs Support Volunteering in Barcelona - Spain Youth Support Volunteering in Barcelona - SpainOther programs you might like
Our programs in Europe
Belgium Croatia Greece Italy Portugal Romania Spain All Europe
Learn and improve your scuba diving skills to clean and research the marine environment off the coast of Barcelona, helping to remove rubbish and preserve the ecosystem for marine life.
Marine Conservation in
Environmental forecasts are painting a bleak picture for the long term health of the ocean, and it’s predicted that by 2050, there could be more plastic than fish in the sea. Marine Conservation volunteers in Spain have the unique opportunity to provide support to underwater clean-up efforts that reduce ocean pollution and conserve marine life.
As Marine Conservation volunteer, you’ll be based at a local dive club, using and improving your scuba diving skills while being actively involved in restoring the natural state of the marine ecosystem of Catalonia and the wider Mediterranean. You’ll help to collect trash from the sea, log information on items collected, learn more about the marine ecosystem and how to protect it and observe and identify fish. If you’re volunteering in summer, you can also help children from disadvantaged backgrounds to dive and learn about helping the environment.
All volunteer efforts on the project work towards the vision of healthier oceans, thriving ecosystems and a clean coastline. You don’t need to have prior diving experience; however, you will have to gain dive certification before engaging in any underwater conservation activities.
The Program Fee covers the cost of the required online and in-person training, the use of full scuba equipment and volunteer supervision from an experienced dive instructor. For safety, all diving is weather dependant. Volunteers are required to be flexible if diving cannot be carried out due to bad weather.
All volunteers complete internationally-recognised CMAS diving certifications. The diving certification you complete will depend on your current diving experience and the length of your stay. The courses range from Open Water Diver through to Advanced Open Water Diver, and specialties such as marine ecology and fish identification.
When applying for the Marine Conservation project, please note any current dive certifications you have. If you do have certifications already, you will need to send a copy of these along with your diving log book through to our local team in Barcelona prior to your program starting. All volunteers are also required to provide a medical certificate which clears you for diving.
You can choose to give back on this project for 1-12 weeks.
Project Highlights
What you need to know
- Help to preserve and conserve the marine ecosystem off the coast of Barcelona
- Assist a local dive club with environmental protection efforts
- Suitable for fit volunteers who enjoy scuba diving
- Inexperienced divers can earn certifications before volunteering
- Maximum duration of 12 weeks
- Volunteering for up to 6 hours per day
Destination Highlights
Spain at a glance
Also available in Spain
Our project options
Animal Care Volunteer Project in Barcelona - Spain Creative Technology Volunteer Program in Barcelona - Spain Marine Conservation Volunteer Program in Barcelona - Spain Special Needs Support Volunteering in Barcelona - Spain Youth Support Volunteering in Barcelona - SpainOther programs you might like
Our programs in Europe
Belgium Croatia Greece Italy Portugal Romania Spain All Europe
Volunteer in centers for the disabled, assisting with activities, care, therapy, exercise and operational tasks.
Special Needs Support in
For people with disabilities, individualised care can make a huge difference to helping them live meaningful lives. However, that care can be hard to come across. As a volunteer on the Special Needs Support project in Barcelona, you’ll be based in centres that care for individuals with a wide range of physical and mental disabilities.
The aim of this project is to help provide one-on-one care for people with special needs, many of whom are adults, enabling them to be more integrated within their community and to live a less stigmatised life. You’ll be helping a team of local staff and volunteers, assisting in activities such as arts and crafts, physical therapy, exercise and activities including swimming or walking dogs. Volunteers also help with operational tasks such as preparing food, serving meals, cleaning and helping with personal hygiene.
This project is well suited to compassionate, patient and caring people. As the education system is not set up to accommodate those with special needs, your time on this project will be both rewarding and highly valued by the local community.
You’ll be working closely with the local placement staff, so you’re not required to have previous experience working or volunteering with disabled people. This project has a minimum duration requirement of 2 weeks.
Project Highlights
What you need to know
- Volunteer in {% tt terms.centers %} for people with physical and mental disabilities
- Assist with activities, therapy, exercise and operational tasks
- Suited to caring and compassionate volunteers
- Minimum duration requirement of 2 weeks
- Volunteer for up to 4 hours per day
Destination Highlights
Spain at a glance
Also available in Spain
Our project options
Animal Care Volunteer Project in Barcelona - Spain Creative Technology Volunteer Program in Barcelona - Spain Marine Conservation Volunteer Program in Barcelona - Spain Special Needs Support Volunteering in Barcelona - Spain Youth Support Volunteering in Barcelona - SpainOther programs you might like
Our programs in Europe
Belgium Croatia Greece Italy Portugal Romania Spain All Europe
Volunteer in after school programs for underprivileged young people, enabling a safe environment for productive spare time, extra curricular activities and supplementary learning.
Youth Support in
There is a growing poverty divide in Barcelona, and those who grow up in underprivileged communities don’t commonly have access to support services that exist in other parts of the world. Volunteers on the Youth Support project you can help forge meaningful connections with young people and help give them tools to break the cycle they were born into.
After school centres aim to provide a safe, supportive place for students to be productive with their free time, and volunteers play an important role in fostering an inclusive environment for all who want to attend. You’ll help with personal development and establishing life skills that can change young people’s expectations for themselves and their futures.
Youth Support volunteers assist students between the ages of 5-18 with homework, organising activities, teaching English, mentoring and simply spending time with the young people who attend the centres. During school and summer holidays, you can also help with trips to the beach or on summer camps outside town
You’ll work closely alongside the organisation staff and other volunteers to promote better outcomes for young people in Barcelona. This project has a minimum duration requirement of 2 weeks.
Project Highlights
What you need to know
- Help on after school programs for students from underprivileged communities
- Assist with games and activities, homework and lessons for students aged between 5-18
- Act as a positive role model, encouraging students to set and achieve goals for themselves
- Suited to volunteers who enjoy working with teenagers
- Minimum duration requirement of 2 weeks
- Volunteer for up to 4 hours per day
Destination Highlights
Spain at a glance
Also available in Spain
Our project options
Animal Care Volunteer Project in Barcelona - Spain Creative Technology Volunteer Program in Barcelona - Spain Marine Conservation Volunteer Program in Barcelona - Spain Special Needs Support Volunteering in Barcelona - Spain Youth Support Volunteering in Barcelona - SpainOther programs you might like
Our programs in Europe
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- Most affordable fees - as the world leader in affordable volunteer travel, we’re able to keep our fees low by partnering with a local organisation in Spain to support meaningful community projects and local employment.
- Superior support - your experienced IVHQ Program Manager, teamed with our local team in Spain will ensure you feel supported every step of the way - from planning to volunteering.
- Responsible projects - we’re dedicated to ensuring that our projects are responsibly run and have sustainable positive impacts that are supporting local needs.
- Online training - as soon as you register on an IVHQ program, you will gain access to our interactive volunteer training to ensure you’re well prepared for your program.
- Safety-first - volunteer safety is a top priority for IVHQ and we have clear standards for risk management on each program. You can feel confident that you are placed with trustworthy institutions, organisations and families that have been screened by our local teams.
- New friendships - as an IVHQer, you’ll always be in the company of friendly locals and like-minded volunteer travellers who will quickly become your life-long friends.
- Epic weekend adventures - you’ll have your weekends free to explore Spain with your new-found friends.