Adventure and Outdoor Guides Training Abroad: Safari, Survival & Scuba

Maximo Nivel

Maximo Nivel offers world-class Adventure & Culture programs in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Peru, and a standout opportunity is earning your PADI Open Water Diver certification. In Costa Rica’s Manuel Antonio National Park, swim among volcanic rock formations teeming with sea turtles and tropical fish. Guatemala’s Lake Atitlan offers a unique high-altitude dive into a volcanic crater, complete with underwater rock formations and freshwater marine life. Peru’s Mancora lets you explore waters where the Niño and Humboldt currents merge, revealing over 2,700 marine species.

You can also get certified as a professional Yoga Instructor (RYT)! 

Involvement Volunteers International (IVI)

Looking for an adventure that makes a real difference? Join this marine conservation program in Nosy Komba, Madagascar! To participate, you need to be at least PADI Advanced Open Water certified, but don’t worry if you’re not—you can complete your certification on-site. 

As a volunteer, you’ll help protect vibrant coral reefs, sea turtles, and diverse marine life. Activities include conducting underwater surveys, data entry, beach cleans, and educating local communities about environmental care. You’ll receive thorough training in marine wildlife identification and survey methods—key skills used globally to monitor coral reefs.

Accommodation is simple yet comfortable, nestled in the lush surroundings of “Lemur Island.” Meals are traditional Malagasy dishes prepared by local cooks. You’ll need to bring your own diving gear, but the unforgettable experience of contributing to vital conservation efforts is well worth it. Dive into this unique opportunity to explore and protect one of the world’s most stunning marine environments!

Global Vision International (GVI)

Global Vision International (GVI) offers high-quality and high-impact volunteer, intern, and study programs worldwide. Founded in 1997, GVI places 2,000+ travelers abroad each year, in 21 locations in 13 countries around the world. Its programs are designed toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

GVI partners with prolific organizations such as Save the Children, the Red Cross, WWF, SANParks, and the Jane Goodall Institute, as well as smaller, community-based organizations with grassroots initiatives. Safety is paramount with GVI, and staff undergo complete background checks as well as off-site safety training. Any local services offered to participants, including accommodation, transport, or tour providers, have undergone an in-depth risk audit.

PADI Instructor Apprenticeship in Mexico

Teach scuba divers around the world when you train with GVI’s PADI Instructor internship in the Yucatan Peninsula. This training program is well-rounded and comprehensive, designed to help you become a highly qualified and specialized PADI instructor with marine conservation training. 

Your career will skyrocket with this professional program, which is transferable to any dive industry application. You’ll be able to work and teach anywhere in the world thanks to the experience you’ll gain in diving, marine conservation, and biology. Your internship will be spent on the following training:

1. Marine Conservation Training – 12 weeks
2. PADI Divemaster Course (internship and placement) – 12 weeks
3. Instructor Development and Master Scuba Diver Trainer courses – 6 weeks

Before you start the internship, you will need to be qualified to at least PADI Open Water or equivalent. 

International Field Guide Course in South Africa

Become an accredited guide and launch your conservation career in one of the best wildlife locales in the world: the iconic South African Lowveld! The Safari Field Guide course with GVI places you in the bush for six months, with an optional six-month work placement when you’re finished! 

You’ll become a trained professional with skills such as wildlife tracking, shooting competency, 4×4 driving, outdoor first aid, wildlife photography, wildlife surveying techniques, and in-depth knowledge and practical application of subjects such as conservation, ecology, reserve management, geology, and animal behavior. You’ll enjoy the opportunity to work and guide around dangerous game, such as elephant, lion, rhino, leopard, water buffalo, and even hippo. 

Marine Conservation and PADI Divemaster Internship in Fiji

Dive into a successful career as a professional conservation scientist and scuba diver with the PADI Divemaster and Marine Conservation internship with GVI. This internship consists of two 12-week placements diving in the crystal-clear waters of the Lomaiviti Island in Fiji. You’ll gain hands-on experience with marine ecosystems, as well as commercial scuba instruction. 

During the first half of your internship, you’ll conduct coral reef and marine life surveys, participate in training sessions and beach cleanups, assess marine debris, and more, depending upon the project’s needs. You’ll dive or snorkel twice a day, five days a week as you conduct research. The second half of your internship places you at a dive center on a work placement, learning leadership techniques, equipment maintenance, advanced marine survey skills, and more diving. 

Fronteering

Ready for an adventure that’s off the beaten path? Fronteering offers trips, expeditions, and volunteer programs in unique places worldwide. Destinations include unspoiled locations throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australasia, with adventure travel from the open desert, to dense jungles, to the highest peaks in the world.

Expedition Course in Belize

Learn how to survive in the unspoiled jungles of Belize on an expedition course with Fronteering. You’ll take turns leading the team through the rainforest thanks to hands-on training by ex-U.K. Special Forces instructors and other specialists – you will need an interest in the outdoors, as you’ll be spending most nights under the stars, sleeping in a hammock. Belize is famous for its wildlife, including jaguars, tapirs, and howler monkeys. Chill on Caye Caulker and sightsee Maya pyramids on this trip of a lifetime! 

Pantanal Guide Experience

Travel to Brazil and visit the world’s largest wetland with Fronteering on the Pantanal Guide Experience. With the highest diversity of plants and animals on the planet, this is an eco-tourist’s dream come true! You’ll work with experienced guides to help develop sustainable tourism practices on a two-week trip where you’ll learn off-road driving, canoeing, horseback riding, and other life lessons, both in the class and in the tropics. 

As a volunteer, you’ll work in the fields of tourism, hospitality, conservation, and ranching – skills you can transfer to an exciting career anywhere in the wild. 

Jungle Survival in the Amazon

Think you can cope in a South American jungle with only a pocket knife? Find out with Fronteering’s Jungle Survival course that places you in the pristine locale of Guyana in the Amazon. This two-week adventure trip places you with Fronteering instructors and Amerindian guides, teaching you how to provide for yourself in the jungle with almost no gear. 

Learn how to find water, build a fire, make animal traps, hunt with a bow and arrow, and assemble shelter. Never get lost again as you leave signs for rescuers, and find your own way out of the remote rainforest. Stay for two weeks and gain bragging rights when you survive the isolation phase!

Naturally Africa Volunteers

Naturally Africa Volunteers invites travelers to participate in its impactful programs such as medical care, teaching, sports, and more – and its director has considerable experience as a Field Guide. This organization not only gives you the opportunity to generously donate your time to help others, but also to build the skills for an amazing career as a qualified guide, offering FGASA Level 1 training, advanced trail guide training, and more. 

If you’re looking for professional development that keeps you out of an office, look no further than one of Africa’s best wildlife training providers.

Field Guide FGSA Level 1 Course

Conduct game drives and guide safari guests to the best wildlife spots when you complete the Field Guide FGSA Level 1 Course with Naturally Africa. This amazing 55-day experience gives you a solid base of knowledge and the practical skills you need to launch a career anywhere in the world. Some of the subjects you’ll study include basic bush and survival skills, geology and soil, plant uses and wildlife identification, animal tracking, 4×4 driving skills, animal behavior, rifle handling, conducting game drives and walks, and even astronomy as you camp in the wild. 

You’ll stay in two different camps to broaden your experience, sleeping in either tents or thatched lodges. You’ll need to be at least 18 and have first aid certification for the FGSA Level 1 qualification. Read more here!

Trails Guide Course

If you’ve already FGSA Level 1-qualified, the next step in your training is the FGASA-accredited Trails Guide course through Naturally Africa Volunteers. This 28-day course helps you gain a true appreciation of the environment and its wildlife, and develop your personal guide skills. Learn how to plan and conduct walks in the bush, experience life at a big-game wilderness camp, and then develop and practice the skills you’ve already acquired with an emphasis on safety and sensitivity. 

This course includes navigation and orientation, tracking, situational awareness and walking in the dangerous game country, anticipating dangerous animal behavior, and rifle handling, safety, and ballistics. Click here to apply!

Safari Guide Course

The Safari Guide course through Naturally Africa Volunteers is an incredible experience for anyone passionate about wildlife and interested in the life and work of a traditional Safari guide. This program is a condensed version of the Field Guide Level 1 course, designed to give you a new perspective for future safari holidays. 

This laid-back trip gives you an authentic wilderness experience, while you gain practical and theoretical knowledge of the natural African environment. You’ll stay at big-game wilderness camps, and enjoy walks or game drives twice a day. Learn how to identify the unique flora and fauna of the area, and gain skills in guiding, including vehicle and radio procedures. Enjoy the art of bushcraft, and even learn about astronomy! You’ll need to be at least 16 years old to participate, and you’ll have the opportunity to earn an EcoTraining certificate. Read more and register here.

Ready To Travel?

Challenge yourself with an expedition to a South American jungle, pitting yourself against nature while you hone your survival skills. Or, pursue a career that places you in the Savannah, working alongside professionals in the bush, guiding tourists as they experience the cultural and natural heritage of Southern Africa. Or grab your swim fins and mask and plunge into a scuba career, leading divers into the deep, exploring coral reefs, and saving sea turtles.

Whatever your choice, it will be an exciting one that changes your life – and the planet – for the better.