• Swim in Greece's Ionian Sea and help marine biologists with dolphin conservation efforts.greece image by athanassios from Fotolia.com
  
  Relax, help a charitable organization and maintain a vegan diet. Finding a vacation to fit this list of requirements seems a tall order. Volunteer vacations, however, are plentiful, and some groups arranging such retreats design meal plans to accommodate vegans. In addition to your diet, other qualities to look for in a volunteer vacation include the physical demands of the work, your abilities and your interests. Other volunteer trips can mean surviving rough conditions like a lack of running water. Programs exist to fit every ability and interest as long as volunteers take the time to find the right one.
  
  

Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

• Explore the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park while volunteering at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah. Best Friends is the nation's largest no-kill sanctuary for abandoned and abused pets. The trip begins in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Luxor Hotel where volunteers are picked up and taken by bus to the animal sanctuary for a five-night stay. Volunteers stay in cabins and cottages near pot bellied pigs, horses, goats and other animals. Activities are divided between helping with the care of the animal residents and exploring the facility's more than 3,000 acres. Prices for the trip range from $1,390 to $1,167 per person, as of August, 2010, and include accommodations, 14 vegan/vegetarian meals and transportation from and to the Luxor Hotel.
  
  Green Earth Travel
  
  7 Froude Circle Cabin
  
  John, MD 20818
  
  888-246-8343
  
  greenearthtravel.com
  
  

Kibbutz Lotan

• Travel to the Israeli desert and experience life on the Kibbutz Lotan. This volunteer vacation isn't for the faint of heart. The kibbutz lacks toilets and running water and gives volunteers a very eco-friendly vacation. Expect to cook for yourself and have use of the organic garden for your vegan diet. Visitors stay in geodesic domes made of straw and mud. Previous volunteers constructed the domes and new volunteers help with similar construction projects, gardening, composting and creative recycling. The kibbutz offers lessons on topics like ecological design, permaculture and living a green lifestyle. For $550, as of August, 2010, ecological volunteers stay a minimum of two weeks and receive primitive accommodations and food for cooking. Volunteers must be 18 or older, in good physical shape and willing to work in a desert climate.
  
  Kibbutz Program Center-Takam-Artzi
  
  18 Frishman St. Circle
  
  Ben Yehuda, Tel-Aviv 61030
  
  972-3-5278874
  
  kibbutzlotan.com
  
  

Dolphin Conservation

• Study dolphins in the eastern section of the Ionian Sea in Greece and help marine biologists preserve dolphin populations. Global Vision International (GVI) sponsors this dolphin conservation volunteer vacation in Galaxidi, Greece. Since 1991, volunteer vacationers have collected and processed information on bottlenose dolphins and short-beaked common dolphins. Work alongside researchers at sea and take part in lectures inland. The dolphin was listed as endangered from 2003 to 2005 in the Ionian Sea and GVI continues efforts to maintain dolphin populations. After collecting information, volunteers relax and enjoy area restaurants and tourist activities. The guests stay at the field station, with project researchers, in apartments where everyone shares cooking and cleaning responsibilities. Guests must specify vegan dietary requirements before arrival. The trips are available from April to September and cost around $900 per week, as of August, 2010. Volunteers must be 18 years or older and prepared to spend four to five hours on inflatable boats at sea.
  
  Global Vision International
  
  66 Long Wharf
  
  Suite 562 S.
  
  Boston, MA 02110
  
  888-653-6028
  
  gviusa.com