Welcome to HelpX
HelpX is an online listing of host organic farms, farmstays, hobby farms, lifestyle blocks, homestays, ranches, lodges, backpackers hostels and even sailing boats who invite volunteer helpers to stay with them short-term in exchange for food and accommodation. HelpX is provided primarily as a cultural exchange for working holiday makers, who would like the opportunity during their travels abroad, to stay with local people and gain practical experience. In the typical arrangement, the helper works an average of 4 hours per day and receives free accommodation and meals for their efforts.
This time range can vary considerably depending on the tasks at hand and the host's preferences. Some hosts may require just 2 hours per day for accommodation only, and ask you to provide and cook your own food.
Others may expect 6 hours per day in return for meals, your own room and sometimes other benefits such as free Internet use, horse riding, kayaking, bikes, local sight-seeing trips, yoga or English lessons, etc. Some will give weekends off, while others might allow you to put in 8 hours one day and later take a full day off. Helpers often live with the host family and are expected to join in and offer a helping hand with day-to-day activities.
Volunteer helpers are required to register for one of two levels of membership, Free or Premier. Helpers must upgrade to Premier membership to take full advantage of all HelpX has to offer. Premier membership costs 20 Euros for 2 years and allows the helper to contact all hosts and read all host reviews. Premier helpers can browse this site and contact hosts directly to see about making arrangements to stay.
Hosts wishing to add a free listing inviting helpers to stay will need to register. Registered hosts may update their details as often as they like and view helper profiles.
We advise both helpers and hosts to ask plenty of questions about each other in order to establish expectations from each party. Helpers should never turn up without prior arrangement.
Helpers can also opt to provide a self description for hosts to view who may then wish to invite the helper to stay with them. We advise helpers to include in their profile any skills or experience they may have, such as gardening, farming, agriculture, permaculture, fruit-picking; trade skills such as building, carpentry, landscaping, sail boat crewing; working with animals or an ability to care for and ride horses. Helpers can also look for travel companions.
HelpX (not helpex), operates worldwide including in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Europe including France.
Where will you go to next?
Australia
New Zealand
Europe
North America
Central America & Caribbean
South America
Pacific Islands
Asia
Africa
Testimonials
We have hosted helpx visitors many times over the years and have loved it! - in fact we are still in touch with some who have returned home years ago. in the past couple of years we have been away so have not been able to host for a while but have updated the listing and we, and our old dog who just loves meeting new friends, are looking forward to welcome new travellers. Thanks for this wonderful site.
Helpx is best way to exchange food and accommodation with skills. People can visit different corner of world without any cost, they learn cultural exchange and make world-wide friendships as family. Anyway I like Helpx.
We love being HelpX hosts. The wonderful young travellers we get to host usually go out of their way to help us with all kinds of tasks around house and garden. They teach us about their culture, spoil us with delicious cooked meals and play with our young son. To him becoming close friends with people who not long ago were strangers is now normal. We stay in touch with most of our helpers which means that for our next hiday there will be free accommodation in Paris.
For several years I had the pleasure of using HelpX. I have had helpers from various countries and different age groups. Although I`m not young any more, the youngsters, who I had the pleasure of visiting me, have been a joy and very helpful. With some, I`m still in contact. I have and still recommend HelpX.
We used Helpx in the first quarter of 2016 and it was just wonderful. The people who came stayed, working and living with us were just like our own families and we had such fun, despite some hard physical work. It gives the opportunity for great cultural exchange and in my case, to give a little back to the travelling community, after all the great times I had as a young backpacker. I definitely recommend Helpx!
Although we have registered with you folks this year, we already hosted several volunteers. It is a brilliant idea and was very helpful to have multi cultural and multi national helpers with us. They were really helpful and productive. While having a good time together, we put out a lot of work and products. We are looking forward to welcoming more helpers in the days ahead of us. Thank you for the good work.
We have been HelpX hosts since 2011 and have had a succession of delightful HelpXers from all over the world. Having younger people around is such fun, they also say they benefit from hearing about our experiences of life. The website is brilliantly designed and easy to use, keep up the good work.
Helpx has been a wonderful experience for us.Having such great people share our tasks makes it fun not hard! The travellers meet are honest, hard working and interesting and take us back to our days of being on the road. HelpX offers a terrific service we can`t thank you enough.
Helpx is the best thing that ever happened to us. Not only has it made our farm more fun, I believe that it has enriched our lives and the lives of our family. Our international visitors are very welcome at lambing time when the workload seems a bit too much to handle. Thank you for a great website! We welcome more visitors and hope that this can continue for years to come.
We have had great experiences hosting travelers on our farm. When I was young traveling I was hosted in many countries and those hosts made me feel safe and welcomed. It is a gift to continue this rich tradition of welcoming travelers into your home. We find the help beneficial and more importantly, the guests are fun, full of stories from their experience and a joy to spend time with. I highly recommend it.
We discovered HelpX a couple of years ago. Having enthusiastic young travellers who are motivated to work for their meals and lodging is a real bonus for us on many levels. Besides seeing wonderful changes in the garden and a neatly stacked woodpile we also get to learn about other countries, lifestyles and politics. Having travelled for many years ourselves, hosting travellers is a bit like travelling without leaving home. It`s a great program!
I love HelpX - could not do without all the lovely travellers we have hosted. We look forward to many more.
We have hosted helpx visitors many times over the years and have loved it! - in fact we are still in touch with some who have returned home years ago. in the past couple of years we have been away so have not been able to host for a while but have updated the listing and we, and our old dog who just loves meeting new friends, are looking forward to welcome new travellers. Thanks for this wonderful site.
Helpx is best way to exchange food and accommodation with skills. People can visit different corner of world without any cost, they learn cultural exchange and make world-wide friendships as family. Anyway I like Helpx.
We love being HelpX hosts. The wonderful young travellers we get to host usually go out of their way to help us with all kinds of tasks around house and garden. They teach us about their culture, spoil us with delicious cooked meals and play with our young son. To him becoming close friends with people who not long ago were strangers is now normal. We stay in touch with most of our helpers which means that for our next hiday there will be free accommodation in Paris.
For several years I had the pleasure of using HelpX. I have had helpers from various countries and different age groups. Although I`m not young any more, the youngsters, who I had the pleasure of visiting me, have been a joy and very helpful. With some, I`m still in contact. I have and still recommend HelpX.
We used Helpx in the first quarter of 2016 and it was just wonderful. The people who came stayed, working and living with us were just like our own families and we had such fun, despite some hard physical work. It gives the opportunity for great cultural exchange and in my case, to give a little back to the travelling community, after all the great times I had as a young backpacker. I definitely recommend Helpx!
Although we have registered with you folks this year, we already hosted several volunteers. It is a brilliant idea and was very helpful to have multi cultural and multi national helpers with us. They were really helpful and productive. While having a good time together, we put out a lot of work and products. We are looking forward to welcoming more helpers in the days ahead of us. Thank you for the good work.
We have been HelpX hosts since 2011 and have had a succession of delightful HelpXers from all over the world. Having younger people around is such fun, they also say they benefit from hearing about our experiences of life. The website is brilliantly designed and easy to use, keep up the good work.
Helpx has been a wonderful experience for us.Having such great people share our tasks makes it fun not hard! The travellers meet are honest, hard working and interesting and take us back to our days of being on the road. HelpX offers a terrific service we can`t thank you enough.
Helpx is the best thing that ever happened to us. Not only has it made our farm more fun, I believe that it has enriched our lives and the lives of our family. Our international visitors are very welcome at lambing time when the workload seems a bit too much to handle. Thank you for a great website! We welcome more visitors and hope that this can continue for years to come.
We have had great experiences hosting travelers on our farm. When I was young traveling I was hosted in many countries and those hosts made me feel safe and welcomed. It is a gift to continue this rich tradition of welcoming travelers into your home. We find the help beneficial and more importantly, the guests are fun, full of stories from their experience and a joy to spend time with. I highly recommend it.
We discovered HelpX a couple of years ago. Having enthusiastic young travellers who are motivated to work for their meals and lodging is a real bonus for us on many levels. Besides seeing wonderful changes in the garden and a neatly stacked woodpile we also get to learn about other countries, lifestyles and politics. Having travelled for many years ourselves, hosting travellers is a bit like travelling without leaving home. It`s a great program!
I love HelpX - could not do without all the lovely travellers we have hosted. We look forward to many more.