Wildlife Volunteering in Guatemala with ARCAS: Petén Rescue Centre and Hawaii Sea-Turtle Project, Weekly Fees and Plans [2026]

ARCAS, a non-profit that rescues wildlife in Guatemala, takes paying volunteers at two projects: a Wildlife Rescue Centre near Flores in Petén and a Sea Turtle and Mangrove Programme at Hawaii, on the Pacific coast east of Monterrico. As of 4 November 2026 its Petén guidelines list three plans, from US$225 a week (Plan Mochilero) to US$480 for the first week with airport pick-up and a Tikal trip (Plan Completo), food and lodging included. ARCAS says the two projects receive over 500 volunteers a year between them.

TL;DR: Choose Petén for hands-on care of rescued macaws, monkeys and jaguars, or Hawaii for night beach patrols and the turtle hatchery (best from July to November). Prices are in US dollars; Mochilero and basic-plan fees can be paid in cash at the site, while Reserva and Completo are paid in advance. ARCAS asks volunteers to e-mail for the latest prices before booking, and its Hawaii fee page contradicts itself, so get the price in writing.

Whether volunteering is allowed on a tourist entry is a separate question, covered in our guide to volunteering on a tourist stamp. Read it before you go.

Quick summary

All figures from ARCAS’s own volunteering pages, read 4 November 2026.

The three ARCAS plans

ARCAS’s general volunteer page describes three plans:

• Plan Mochilero is for experienced travellers who speak some Spanish and get to the project on their own, without a reservation.
• Plan Reserva adds a reservation and, for Petén, airport pick-up.
• Plan Completo suits less experienced travellers who do not speak Spanish. It guarantees a reservation and includes airport pick-up and extra services depending on the project.

Reservations are not required, but ARCAS recommends them, especially in peak months when it often fills up. On arrival you register and sign a waiver; bring a copy of your passport’s photo page. ARCAS expects volunteers to look after themselves and to cover their own visas, special diets, medication and communication with home.

Paying: except for the Completo deposit, payment can be made in cash, in quetzales or US dollars, at the project site. Reserva and Completo payments are made beforehand. ARCAS also asks volunteers to contact it directly for the latest information on prices, transport and new projects, so treat the figures below as the published starting point.

Petén Wildlife Rescue Centre: fees and what you do

There is also a Q300 deposit (ARCAS puts it at about US$40) for your room key and sheets, paid on site and returned when you leave.

Worked out from those published rates, here is what a stay costs in total:

Totals are our arithmetic from ARCAS’s per-week fees, before the refundable Q300 deposit. CAD and GBP at Banguat’s rates for business day 3 November 2026 (exchange rates). From three weeks on, Plan Reserva costs the same as or less than Plan Mochilero and includes the reservation and airport transfers.

The work. Volunteers feed and care for rescued animals; ARCAS names scarlet macaws, mealy and red-fronted parrots, howler and spider monkeys, kinkajous, coatis, peccaries, margays and jaguars. Most of the work happens in the maintenance and pre-rehab areas; long-stay volunteers or those with advanced animal-care skills may feed baby birds or hand-feed young animals when staff say one needs it. ARCAS stresses that it is often not in an animal’s interest to be handled or given attention, so expect chores rather than cuddles. Other jobs include building cages, gathering wild food, enriching enclosures and education work. Releases happen 2 to 6 times a year.

A sample day, as ARCAS publishes it: animal care at 6:30, breakfast at 8:00, chores from 9:00 to 11:00, more animal care at 11:00 and 2:00, lunch at 1:00, free time from 3:00 for swimming, hiking or trips to Flores, dinner at 6:00 and bed at 9:00.

Living there. Volunteers sleep in bunk beds in a two-storey wooden building with screened walls, showers, toilets and US-style 110 V power, sharing a room with up to three others. The ARCAS boat goes to Flores twice a week; otherwise a taxi boat from Flores costs Q30 to Q60, depending on the boatman. There are banks in Flores, 10 minutes away. ARCAS enforces zero tolerance for drugs and alcohol at the centre. Its neighbour is the Petencito Zoo, and Plan Completo’s Tikal trip pairs well with a Tikal sunrise tour.

Hawaii Sea Turtle and Mangrove Programme: fees and what you do

The Hawaii project sits at Parque Hawaii, beside Hawaii village, 7 km east of Monterrico. ARCAS says it hosts more than 200 volunteers a year there, from abroad and from Guatemala.

Fees, as the page states them. The Hawaii guidelines contradict themselves:

• One paragraph asks for US$175 a week, including food and lodging, with US$200 more for Plan Completo, which covers a reservation, airport pick-up, transfers to and from the project and two nights in a hotel in Antigua.
• The next paragraph gives a basic plan at US$225 a week, where you get there yourself, and a reservation option at US$275 for the first week and US$225 a week after, with pick-up in Monterrico.

Ask ARCAS which figure applies before you pay, and keep the reply.

The work is mostly at night. Volunteers do 2 to 4 hour patrols for nesting turtles, collect eggs and rebury them in the hatchery, issue receipts to local egg collectors who donate, and record hatchery data. ARCAS says nests in the hatchery start hatching in late August; from then on, volunteers go through the hatchery several times each night, measure and weigh the hatchlings and release them. Other jobs include crawl counts, caring for captive-bred crocodiles, iguanas and parrots, and environmental education. ARCAS says community projects there need more experience and some Spanish.

Seasons, per ARCAS:

Living there. ARCAS provides three meals a day and bottled drinking water. Volunteers stay in three houses fitted with bunks, lockers and electric fans; ARCAS supplies mosquito nets and sheets but not towels. Monterrico, 7 km away, has banks and ATMs. For a short visit instead of a volunteer stay, see turtle releases in Monterrico and the Monterrico mangrove tour.

Before you book

1. Get the price in writing. ARCAS’s own pages say to e-mail for current prices, and the Hawaii fee paragraphs disagree.
2. Check your entry status. Read volunteering on a tourist stamp.
3. Bring cash. Mochilero and basic-plan fees can be paid in quetzales or US dollars at the site, and the Petén room deposit is Q300.
4. Consider Spanish first. ARCAS encourages long-stay volunteers to spend a few weeks at a language school in Antigua first; compare them in our Spanish schools in Antigua guide.

This guide covers ARCAS only, from its own website. It does not list volunteer-placement agencies or marketplace listings that resell placements.

Sources

• ARCAS, Volunteering for ARCAS (general information and plans), https://arcasguatemala.org/volunteering/ (read 4 November 2026)
• ARCAS, Volunteering in Petén, https://arcasguatemala.org/volunteering/volunteering-in-peten/ (read 4 November 2026)
• ARCAS, Petén Volunteer Guidelines (participation and costs), https://arcasguatemala.org/volunteering/volunteering-in-peten/peten-volunteer-guidelines/ (read 4 November 2026)
• ARCAS, Volunteering in Hawaii, https://arcasguatemala.org/volunteering/volunteering-in-hawaii/ (read 4 November 2026)
• ARCAS, Hawaii Volunteer Guidelines (fees and seasons), https://arcasguatemala.org/volunteering/volunteering-in-hawaii/hawaii-volunteer-guidelines/ (read 4 November 2026)
• Banco de Guatemala exchange rates, business day 3 November 2026, via our exchange rates page