Volunteer in Thailand with Friends for Asia

Dates for Volunteering and Internships in Thailand

Thailand Volunteer and Internship Dates

Girl at Children's Home

We understand that our volunteers want to make the most of the time that they spend on assignment in Thailand. To that end, we do everything we can to organize dates and schedules that are practical, convenient and effective. That aside, the volunteer project sites placements have their schedules to attend to. Sometimes, last-minute changes at a leaves us no choice but to relocate a volunteer to another site at the last minute. Flexibility and understanding of this scheduling will go a long way to being comfortable in Asia.

In both Bangkok and Chiang Mai, high season lasts from December to February. This is the high tourist season (but not FFA’s busiest), and guesthouses and hotels raise their prices accordingly. FFA’s project fees remain the same throughout the year.

Thai Holidays and Festivals

Volunteers can add some excitement and color to their experience by visiting during one of the major Thai festivals, particularly the following two:

Volunteer Thailand Orientation - City Tour 10

  • Songkran – Epic in Chiang Mai, but equally as fun and worthwhile in Bangkok, Songkran has evolved into citywide water fight that lasts for three days (April 13 through 15). This should be on everyone’s bucket list.
  • Loy Krathong – Compared to Songkran, Loy Krathong may come off as subdued, but by any other standard this festival of lights puts on about as brilliant a show. The festival coincides with the full moon, so dates vary accordingly. In Chiang Mai the celebration takes place over three days, with most activity after dusk. In Bangkok there are spectacular displays as well, and lots of fireworks, streetside concerts, launching of sky lanterns and offerings into the rivers, and of course amazing street food. Good times.

Visiting during a major festival is a spectacular way to enhance your volunteer experience. Just bear in mind that businesses close so that friends and families can spend time together during these major events. Count on volunteer schedules being disrupted during holidays like this. That only gives you the opportunity to enjoy the festival to its fullest.

Minimum Duration of FFA Volunteering and Internships in Thailand

The minimum volunteer and internship duration is two weeks, though many volunteers stay longer. The only exception to this would be our Elephant Camp Project, which now has a minimum duration of only one week. Officially, we are equipped to accommodate assignments of up to six months. Our busiest months at Friends for Asia are June, July and August. We host people from all over the world, so even the time you spend in the volunteer house will be a cultural experience.

Volunteer Thailand Orientation 20

All of our projects have official intake days. Project start dates fall on the first and third Mondays of each month. We host a mandatory orientation on the Saturday and Sunday before each start date. This gives us a chance to get to know our volunteers and get them up to speed on basic Thai language and culture before they plunge into their assignment.

We ask volunteers to arrive on the Friday before their project start date anytime between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. (Thailand time). Volunteers who arrive before Friday and book their own accommodation can arrange for an FFA volunteer coordinator to pick them up at their guesthouse or hotel, so long as it is located reasonably close to town.

Seasonal Availability or Restricted Availability

English Teaching Projects
School projects are available from mid-May to the end of September, and again from November to the end of February. We don’t allow starting a teaching project in mid-September or mid-February, as this is when students are testing.

Our Medical Internships in Chiang Mai
Medical internships need to be booked at least five weeks in advance of the start date to give the hospitals time to prepare.

2024 & 2025 Start Dates

The following are the start dates for 2024 & 2025 for non-teaching projects (Medical Internship, Children’s Home, Women’s Empowerment, and Elephant Camp Projects).

Thailand Non-Teaching Volunteer Project Start Dates for 2024

  • the 8th of January – arriving on Friday, the 6th of January
  • the 22nd of January – arriving on Friday, the 19th of January
  • the 5th of February – arriving on Friday, the 2nd of February
  • the 19th of February – arriving on Friday, the 16th of February
  • the 4th of March – arriving on Friday, the 1st of March
  • the 18th of March – arriving on Friday, the 15th of March (two week maximum before April break)
  • Closed for the April Break
  • the 6th of May – arriving on Friday, the 3rd of May
  • the 20th of May – arriving on Friday, the 17th of May
  • the 3rd of June – arriving on Friday, the 31st of May
  • the 17th of June – arriving on Friday, the 14th of June
  • the 1st of July – arriving on Friday, the 28th of June
  • the 15th of July – arriving on Friday, the 12th of July
  • the 5th of August – arriving on Friday, the 3rd of August
  • the 19th of August – arriving on Friday, the 16th of August
  • the 2nd of September – arriving on Friday, the 30th of August
  • the 16th of September – arriving on Friday, the 13th of September
  • the 7th of October – arriving on Friday, the 3rd of October
  • the 21st of October – arriving on Friday, the 18th of October
  • the 4th of November – arriving on Friday, the 1st of November
  • the 18th of November – arriving on Friday, the 15th of November
  • the 2nd of December – arriving on Friday, the 29th of November
  • the 16th of December – arriving on Friday, the 13th of December

Thailand Non-Teaching Volunteer Project Start Dates for 2025

  • the 6th of January – arriving on Friday, the 3rd of January
  • the 20th of January – arriving on Friday, the 17th of January
  • the 3rd of February – arriving on Friday, the 31st of January
  • the 17th of February – arriving on Friday, the 14th of February
  • the 3rd of March – arriving on Friday, the 28th of February
  • the 17th of March – arriving on Friday, the 14th of March (two week maximum before April break)
  • All Projects Closed in April, 2021
  • the 5th of May, – arriving on Friday, the 2nd of May
  • the 19th of May, – arriving on Friday, the 16th of May
  • the 2nd of June, – arriving on Friday, the 30th of May
  • the 16th of June, – arriving on Friday, the 13th of June
  • the 7th of July, – arriving on Friday, the 4th of July
  • the 21st of July, – arriving on Friday, the 18th of July
  • the 4th of August, – arriving on Friday, the 1st of August
  • the 18th of August, – arriving on Friday, the 15th of August
  • the 1st of September, – arriving on Friday, the 29th of August
  • the 15th of September, – arriving on Friday, the 12th of September
  • the 6th of October, – arriving on Friday, the 3rd of October
  • the 20th of October, – arriving on Friday, the 17th of October
  • the 3rd of November, – arriving on Friday, the 31st of October
  • the 17th of November, – arriving on Friday, the 14th of November
  • the 1st of December, – arriving on Friday, the 28th of November
  • the 15th of December, – arriving on Friday, the 12th of December

2020 & 2021 Teaching Start Dates

The following are the 2024 & 2025 start dates for teaching projects. There are fewer start dates for for our teaching projects due to school year breaks. The following start dates are for our English Education, Teaching Monks, Kindergarten Teaching, International University for Monks, and Low-Cost / Rural Schools Teaching Project.

Thailand Volunteer Project Start Dates for 2024

  • the 8th of January – arriving on Friday, the 6th of January
  • the 22nd of January – arriving on Friday, the 19th of January
  • the 5th of February – arriving on Friday, the 2nd of February (4 week project maximum before break)
  • Closed for Thai School Year Summer
  • the 20th of May – arriving on Friday, the 17th of May
  • the 3rd of June – arriving on Friday, the 31st of May
  • the 17th of June – arriving on Friday, the 14th of June
  • the 1st of July – arriving on Friday, the 28th of June
  • the 15th of July – arriving on Friday, the 12th of July
  • the 5th of August – arriving on Friday, the 3rd of August
  • the 19th of August – arriving on Friday, the 16th of August
  • the 2nd of September – arriving on Friday, the 30th of August (4 week project maximum before break)
  • Closed for Thai mid-school year break
  • the 4th of November – arriving on Friday, the 1st of November
  • the 18th of November – arriving on Friday, the 15th of November
  • the 2nd of December – arriving on Friday, the 29th of November
  • the 16th of December – arriving on Friday, the 13th of December

Thailand Teaching Volunteer Project Start Dates for 2025

  • the 6th of January – arriving on Friday, the 3rd of January
  • the 20th of January – arriving on Friday, the 17th of January
  • the 3rd of February – arriving on Friday, the 31st of January (4 week project maximum before break)
  • Closed for Thai School Year Summer
  • the 19th of May, – arriving on Friday, the 16th of May
  • the 2nd of June, – arriving on Friday, the 30th of May
  • the 16th of June, – arriving on Friday, the 13th of June
  • the 7th of July, – arriving on Friday, the 4th of July
  • the 21st of July, – arriving on Friday, the 18th of July
  • the 4th of August, – arriving on Friday, the 1st of August
  • the 18th of August, – arriving on Friday, the 15th of August
  • the 1st of September, – arriving on Friday, the 29th of August (4 week project maximum before break)
  • Closed for Thai mid-school year break
  • the 3rd of November, – arriving on Friday, the 31st of October
  • the 17th of November, – arriving on Friday, the 14th of November
  • the 1st of December, – arriving on Friday, the 28th of November
  • the 15th of December, – arriving on Friday, the 12th of December
or