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Internship Veterinary Wildlife Costa Rica!
Are you pursuing a career in veterinary medicine and looking for hands-on experience? How would you like to get the experience you need while traveling in paradise?
Costa Rica is an animal lover’s paradise. Living in its large swaths of rainforests and cloud forests, you’ll find sloths, magnificent birds, four species of monkeys, and countless other extraordinary species. In the waters off the shores of this country’s spectacular beaches, you’ll find whales, dolphins, sea turtles, and a whole ocean of life beneath the surface.
On your journey towards your veterinary career, you need to gain hands-on experience to learn the skills you need to succeed. Veterinary schools and jobs are quite competitive, and candidates need to set themselves apart from the crowd in order to stand out.
Become a veterinary medicine intern in Costa Rica and get the professional experience you need! Help out a wildlife rescue veterinary clinic and rehab center, or work with dogs and cats at a shelter and much-needed castration and vaccines clinics! Help animals in need while advancing your future career!
Contact Global Crossroad to learn more about volunteering in veterinary medicine in paradise!
Volunteer Responsibilities & Impacts
Wildlife rescue interns will shadow and assist in the veterinary clinic with injured wildlife or animals confiscated from the illegal pet trade. You’ll help rehabilitate animals for their release back into the wild, and you’ll help care for the animals in the wildlife sanctuary by making sure they have fresh food, clean enclosures, and enriching their space.
If you prefer to work with dogs and cats during your Costa Rica veterinary internship program, you can opt to help out at a local shelter. You’ll be caring for dogs and cats, feeding, walking, playing, and helping them find new homes. If you have the skills and experience, you can run much-needed vaccine and castration clinics for low-income locals.
This program will have a huge impact on your future veterinary medicine career. You’ll learn so many valuable skills and have amazing experiences you will never forget. Traveling to another country and working with the animals there really makes you stand out and gives you a great start in your future profession!
Skills and Qualifications
We welcome enthusiastic volunteers who are pursuing a career in veterinary medicine. You’ll need to be going to school, or have graduated, and have some experience working with animals. This is your chance to build your skills!
Speaking Spanish is a plus for Costa Rica veterinary internship opportunity, but not required. If you’d like to work on your Spanish, speak to us about enrolling in a language program and learn while you travel!
Each day will hold something new and different, and you will be learning so much about working with animals and veterinary medicine. It is the nature of the work to be variable, changing, and unexpected, so keep an open mind and be ready to pitch in however you are most needed at the time.
You can expect to intern an average of 5 hours per day, Monday-Friday. Your actual hours will vary based on your final placement, but here’ s a sample schedule to give you an idea of what to expect.
- First Day: On your first day, you will be escorted to your placement by our helpful local coordinator and introduced to the vet and the local project staff you’ll be working with. You’ll have an orientation to get you started with your project.
- Orientation: Learn all about the work you’ll be doing, rules about handling animals, important safety protocol you’ll need to follow, and everything you’ll need to know to succeed as a volunteer.
- Weekdays: A typical day for a veterinary medicine internship program in Costa Rica might look something like this:
- 7.00 to 7.30 AM: Enjoy a nice cup of Costa Rican café and a traditional breakfast with your welcoming host family.
- 7.45 AM: Go to your project site, and have a fulfilling day helping animals in need and learning valuable skills which will help you in your future veterinary career.
- 12.00 PM: Break for lunch and eat with your host family or ask for a lunch to go to bring to your project. This will give you the chance to bond with your fellow Costa Rica veterinary medicine interns.
- 3.00 PM: When you’re done volunteering for the day, you can explore your beautiful surroundings in your free time! You’re in paradise!
- 6.45 PM: Head back to your host family for a traditional dinner, and a chance to practice your Spanish. Get a behind the scenes look at daily life in Costa Rica.
Internship Veterinary Wildlife Costa Rica: Dates and Fees
Dates: Volunteer in Costa Rica
All volunteer programs in Costa Rica start every Monday of each month. However, if there is travel constrains, you can start any project on any day.
Fees: Volunteer In Costa Rica
Global Crossroad is committed to offering the most affordable and highest quality volunteering programs in Costa Rica. We strive to keep our costs low. The humanitarian side of the business is our passion.
Global Crossroad's volunteer program in Costa Rica application and registration fee cost US $299. The application fee covers the cost of advertising, program promotion, and office expenses (rent, utilities, and staff salaries in USA office).
In addition to the application fee, you are required to pay a weekly program fee. You will pay your weekly fee directly to the country coordinator, who in turn will allocate it to your host family, project and other in-country support we offer to our volunteers. This way, the fees that you pay will benefit those who rightfully deserve them, and not for company profit.
| Duration | Veterinary Wildlife |
|---|---|
| 1 Week | $260 |
| 2 Weeks | $445 |
| 3 Weeks | $630 |
| 4 Weeks | $815 |
| 5 Weeks | $1000 |
| 6 Weeks | $1185 |
| 7 Weeks | $1370 |
| 8 Weeks | $1555 |
| 9 Weeks | $1740 |
| 10 Weeks | $1925 |
| 11 Weeks | $2110 |
| 12 Weeks | $2295 |
Mandatory comprehensive travel insurance $3.49 a day »
How your fee is allocated?
Program fees cover:
- Accommodation (volunteer house or host family)
- Food (local food 3 times a day)
- In-country support
- Personalized project
- Pre-departure information
- Certificate of completion
- Fundraising ideas and letters
- Discount for returning volunteers
Program fees exclude:
- Visas
- Airfare
- Personal expenses on soft drinks and foods
- Daily transportation
- Airport return transfer
Airport Pickup /Transfer Packages for Puntarenas and –Ciudad Cortes, please click here to find the details
We will manage the following airport transfer services for you:
Option one: If you arrive in international Airport of Juan Santa Maria -SJO, Alajuela early in the morning (before 12 PM), you will be able to come to Ciudad Cortes in the same day by bus. In this case, it is possible to purchase the following pick up service package:
Osa/Pick Up (same day service- for one person): $50
Includes: airport picks up, transfer to the bus station, orientation and assistance and again to the bus station. The last time we recommend leaving from San Jose to Ciudad Cortes is on the bus at 2:30 PM (volunteer should land before 12:00 PM for this option)
Option two: If you arrive after 12 PM in Alajuela, you will stay one night in Hostel Dorm Room in San Jose, before transferring to Ciudad Cortes the next day.
Osa/Overnight Hostel Dorm Room with Transfer (for one person): $70
Includes: Transfer to a hostel from the airport, where you will spend the night. Dinner will be provided. Overnight stay will be in 10 people mixed gender hostel dorm room, and transfer to a bus station in the morning. The orientation and assistance will be at the bus station.
Option Three:If you arrive after 12 PM in Alajuela, you will stay one night in the family home (private room) in San Jose before transferring to Ciudad Cortes the next day.
Osa/Overnight Family Home with Transfer (for one person): $90
Includes: Picks up from the airport and transfer to a private family home to spend the night. Dinner will be provided. Transfer to the bus station in the morning, and orientation and assistance at the bus station.
The volunteering overseas in Costa Rica program fees will cover expenses that will begin on the first day of the program (usually the first or third Monday of the month) to the last day of the program. If you arrive before the first day of the program or you decide you stay beyond your program’s last day, you will be responsible for the additional expenses, which would typically be around $30 a day for room and meals at a hostel.
Accommodation and Meal
Our veterinary medicine interns in Costa Rica will be staying in a true home away from home with one of our welcoming host families. You’ll be sharing space with other volunteers while still immersed in the local culture. You’ll also share three local meals a day with your host family.
Free Time and Weekend Exploration
You’ll be working hard helping animals and learning about veterinary medicine, but you deserve a break! You’ll have your evening and weekends free to get out and explore Costa Rica! Relax at a beautiful beach, hike in the rainforest, go surfing, or go in search of all that amazing wildlife you’re sure to find here.
Discover what to do in your free time and weekends in Costa Rica.
Safety and In Country Support
Global Crossroad has been helping volunteers travel abroad since 2003 without a single major incident, and that’s because your safety is our top priority. We carefully plan every aspect of your trip and are there for you every step of the way. If you need help while veterinary medicine internship program in Costa Rica, reach out to our in-country team.
Internship Veterinary Wildlife Costa Rica: FAQs
You probably have a few questions, and we’ve got some answers for you. Here’s some great info to know when traveling with us:
Arrival and Departure
You will fly into Juan Santamaria International Airport in San Jose, Costa Rica. Your airport pickup is included in your fee, and we will have someone waiting for you when you land who will take you safely to your accommodations.
When you complete your veterinary medicine internship program in Costa Rica, you will need to arrange your own departure transportation as it is not included in your volunteer fee. Just speak to the local project staff if you need advice on booking a taxi to the airport.
Visa
You may be eligible to simply ask for a visa stamp after your arrival at the airport in San Jose as you pass through immigration. However, do your research to learn the requirements for your home country before heading out on your Costa Rica veterinary medicine volunteer trip.
Most volunteers will be eligible for a 90-day tourist visa. You should know you will need to provide proof of onward travel. If you have a round trip ticket, this will serve as all the proof you need. Research the visa requirements at the official Immigration site of Costa Rica:
Vaccination
Make sure you get up to date on your vaccines before you travel to intern in veterinary medicine in Costa Rica. Beyond the usual shots, you may want to consider getting vaccinated for Rabies since you’ll be working with animals. It takes a few boosters, so talk to your doctor well in advance to see if it’s right for you.
You should be up to date on your routine vaccines, as well as Hepatitis A & B and Typhoid. You can also find information on CDC website.
Why Internship Veterinary Wildlife Costa Rica:?
Advance your future veterinary career
You’re still in school or maybe you just graduated, but you’re ready to get hands-on experience working in the veterinary field. This is your chance! Get to work with amazing animals like sloths, monkeys, and parrots, and set yourself apart from the crowd with an exciting and educational internship in Costa Rica!
Help cats and dogs find homes
If you’re at our Costa Rica domestic veterinary internship program, you’re going to be helping care for poor animals who need your help. Help these guys get out of the shelter and out into homes of their own!
Live your dream of rescuing wildlife
If you’ve always dreamed of rescuing wild animals and helping them on the journey of rehabilitation, this project is your dream come true! Rescue animals who are injured by human encroachment or victims of the illegal pet trade and help them become wild and free again!
Travel to exciting Costa Rica!
If Costa Rica has been on your bucket list, it’s time to check it off! This beautiful Central American destination is your gateway to amazing animals, volcanoes, beaches, rainforests, and adventure travel. Get out there and find what’s waiting for you!
Contact Global Crossroad today to learn about advancing your veterinary career in Costa Rica!
Other Volunteer Opportunities Available in Costa Rica:
No matter your passion or interests, we offer a variety of life-changing, volunteer programs in Costa Rica such as
childcare,
medical,
coffee plantation,
teaching,
indigenous tribe and much more.
For more information on our exciting programs in Costa Rica, contact us today.