- Volunteers
Expedition costs and calender
ReefDoctor has expeditions starting monthly with durations of 4, 6, 8 or 12 weeks as standard. We can also tailor expeditions of 5, 7, 9, 10 and 11 weeks all you have to do is let us know and prices will be generated accordingly, as outlined in the expedition costs section below.
As part of any 4 to 8 week expedition we provide all those who have no dive certification with PADI dive training and certification from PADI Open Water to Advanced Open Water, as part of the standard expedition costs. Anyone joining for the full 12 week expedition will also have the opportunity to be trained and certified to PADI Rescue Diver for FREE.
In addition all volunteers on any expedition duration will be trained and certified to PADI Emergency First Aid Responder for FREE!
All volunteers MUST be at least PADI Advanced Open Water certified (or equivalent) to undertake our scuba-based survey methods.
However if you are a certified diver and do not require any dive training expedition costs are reduced accordingly to the certification we require.
2012 Expedition start dates
| Start Date | Season in Madagascar |
| 1st Feb | Summer |
| 1st Mar | Summer |
| 1st Apr | Autumn |
| 1st May | Autumn |
| 7th Jun | Winter |
| 1st Jul | Winter |
| 1st Aug | Spring |
| 13th Sep | Spring |
| 15th Oct | Summer |
| 1st Nov | Summer |
| 1st Dec | Reduced costs cyclone season |
Each expedition has a maximum of six places available every month for newly incoming volunteers and availability during the second part of an expedition cycle varies depending on the total number of volunteers staying 8 and 12 weeks, with a maximum of 12 volunteers on site at anyone time.
Expedition Costs
Our prices are the lowest around undertaking daily diving activities and we do our utmost to keep our prices as low as possible. However please understand that undertaking marine based projects does cost more than terrestrial based projects because of the high costs of running and maintaining boats and the outboard motors, breathing air compressors, generators and scuba equipment.
To help people to join us for as long as possible and reduce turnover, cheaper rates are available for progressively longer expeditions so the longer you stay the cheaper it gets:
£350/wk for 4 weeks, £300/wk up to 6 weeks, £275/wk up to 8 weeks, and only £217/wk for stays up to the full 12 week expedition!
In addition we provide discounts to expedition costs for all those who are already PADI (or equivalent) Open water certified or are already PADI Advanced open water certified.
And, special rates are available for expeditions beginning in December going through to end of January, being this is the main cyclone season and there may be less diving opportunities due to the weather/sea conditions.
| Duration (weeks) |
Non-certified divers | Open water certified | Advanced open water certified |
| 4 | £1,400 | £1,300 | £1,200 |
| 6 | £1,800 | £1,700 | £1,600 |
| 8 | £2,200 | £2,100 | £2,000 |
| 12 | £2,600 | £2,500 | £2,400 |
| 4* | £1,200 | £1,100 | £1,000 |
| 6* | £1,500 | £1,400 | £1,300 |
| 8* | £1,800 | £1,700 | £1,600 |
| 12* | £2,200 | £2,100 | £2,000 |
*Special rates for December/January
Services included in these expedition costs
• Airport pick-up in Tulear, hotel in Tulear (if necessary due to late arrival though food and drinks paid for by the volunteer) and taxi to ReefDoctor’s base in Ifaty
• Arrangement of hotel in the capital city Antananarivo if required (usually includes pick up by hotel from airport)
• All meals Monday-Saturday lunch cooked for you with Sunday meals being cooked by team members on a rotational basis;
• Filtered water, coffee and tea
• Lodging: shared bungalows with bed sheets, pillows and mosquito net provided
• First-aid medical care
• Internet access and electricity for charging cell phones, laptops, etc.
• Dive training: Open Water and Advanced Open Water dive certification included in the costs for all 4-8 week expeditions, and all dive courses through to Rescue Diver are provided to participants of the 12-week expeditions
• PADI Emergency First-Aid Responder (EFR) certification to all on any expedition duration
• Project equipment – dive slates, paper, pens etc., all required for your working activities
• Dive equipment, including: Buoyancy Control Device (BCD), full regulator set, weights and tanks
• Occasional excursions to help some of our conservation partners in the area, such as HONCO (mangrove conservation and re-plantation) and HO AVY (forestry re-plantation of the famous spiny forest)
• Science training—level of training will vary according to the expedition duration, dive certification and personnel qualifications and experiences
• Project creation for all those wishing (needing) to undertake a project for their university degrees or if they just wish to gain further field work experience
• Pre-departure support and pre-departure guides – advice on flights, equipment, Madagascar, medicals, vaccines, insurance etc.
• Support throughout the volunteers stay with reefdoctor via the UK based HQ for friends and family
• Fuel, equipment and personnel to make this all happen!
• Any additional money you will need during your time with us is small, just to cover some trips if you want to see surrounding areas (local guide to the famous spiny forest is just behind us), to trips further afield which we arrange over weekends to see the famous national parks such as Isalo and Ramanafana. And to buy some snacks in Ifaty or personnel supplies in Toliara (also to cover accommodation, food, drinks when travelling and in Toliara) during your expedition.
Services NOT included in the expedition costs
• Round-trip airfare and visa
• Diving, travel and medical insurance and cost of vaccines
• ReefDoctor standard recreational dive medicals (forms provided by us to be filled in by a medical professional)
• PADI dive instruction manuals and PIC cards —all participants in the dive training courses MUST purchase their own manuals, as per PADI International Rulings May 2006, and bring these materials with you. PADI PIC-cards are required to process each level of all PADI courses we offer – you can buy these PIC cards from local dive shops or off us for an extra fee of £25 (29Euros) per PADI course and £15 (17Euros) for the EFR course
• All volunteers must bring their own wetsuit, mask/snorkel, fins and booties, time piece and/or dive computer, weight belt
• Food and lodging while in Tulear for personal reasons or snacks form the village
• Any personal excursions (often groups of volunteers plan excursions to nearby national parks or other areas of interest)
• Anti-malaria drugs
**High Malaria season starts approximately mid-December, with the onset of the cyclone season and depending on how bad the cyclone season is, the risk of malaria may last until the beginning of February through mid-March.
• To learn more about ReefDoctor’s operations budget, see the Where does my money go? section of our website
Planning and scheduling your expedition
As all arrival/departure dates are subject to flight availability, we are fairly flexible with the starting/ending dates of your expedition—an advantage of being a small organization with low volunteer numbers.
However, in order to coordinate the dive training for all of our volunteers and to optimize the time that you are here with us, we do have to follow a strict dive-training schedule.
If you have NO scuba certification
The first week (7 days) of all expeditions is reserved for dive training and thus all volunteers whom have no dive certification and need to undertake their PADI Open water certification with us are asked to arrive to the city of Tulear (Toliara) on the scheduled expedition dates posted above. In addition it is also advised to arrive 1-2 days before the posted start dates to allow yourself time to rest and settle in after your long trip.
If you do have a scuba certification of PADI Open Water or above
All volunteers whom are already open water (or equivalent) certified and above are asked to arrive 7 days after the posted expedition dates above.
NB – we are flexible and if you can only arrive on the scheduled date and are already dive certified then this is not a problem.
Please note when planning your arrival that there are not always daily flights from the Capital Antananarivo (where all international flights arrive) to Tulear, thus you may be required to spend 1-2 nights in Antananarivo. Remember we are happy to arrange hotel accommodation in the capital if needed and this does usually include the hotel picking you up from the airport.
Further information to joining dates and getting to us will be provided in each volunteer’s application documentation.
