Wildlife conservation and community volunteer projects and internships worldwide
June 6th 2026
There is a particular kind of quiet that falls over a research boat when the engine cuts. Sails settle. Binoculars come up. Twelve volunteers lean toward the same patch of blue, and then the sea exhales.
A fin whale – the second-largest animal to have ever lived – rolls through the surface twenty metres off the bow. Longer than the boat itself.
This is what volunteering in Italy can look like. Not a city break. Not an internship in a lab. A summer spent on the open Mediterranean, living aboard a 70-foot sailing vessel, helping a team of marine biologists protect one of the world’s most spectacular concentrations of whales and dolphins.
Apply for the Italy Dolphin & Whale Project →
The research vessel operates inside the Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean Marine Mammals – the only high-seas Marine Protected Area in the world dedicated entirely to cetaceans. Covering 87,500 km² of the Ligurian Sea between the coasts of France, Monaco, and Italy, it was designated precisely because these waters are unusually rich in nutrients, drawing cetacean populations in numbers rarely seen elsewhere in the Mediterranean.
The sanctuary is bounded by the Côte d’Azur to the north, Tuscany to the east, and northern Sardinia to the south. The project’s home harbour sits in Sanremo, Italy, close to the French border – a beautiful base on the Italian Riviera.
For volunteers, this geography matters. You’re not hoping for a single sighting on a day trip. You’re living inside one of Europe’s great whale and dolphin habitats, scanning for hours across a sea that holds something extraordinary just beneath the surface.
The Pelagos Sanctuary supports a remarkable cast of cetaceans. As a volunteer researcher, you’ll be working to spot, photograph, and record:
Fin whales — reaching up to 27 metres long, these are the second-largest animals on Earth. Watching one pass along the hull of your boat, unhurried and vast, is a moment that takes time to absorb.
Sperm whales — the deep divers, recognisable by their squared-off heads and the way they raise a glistening fluke before descending. Sperm whales have the largest brain of any creature ever to have lived.
Striped dolphins — fast, acrobatic, often arriving in pods of dozens to bow-ride alongside the vessel at dawn. The striped dolphin is one of the most beautiful and abundant cetaceans in the Mediterranean.
Common and bottlenose dolphins — both species are regularly encountered and are among the most charismatic of animals to observe at close range.
Risso’s dolphins — distinctive for their pale, scarred bodies, Risso’s dolphins are a quieter, deeper-water species that volunteers learn to identify by their blunt heads and unique markings.
Pilot whales — highly social and vocal, pilot whales travel in tight-knit family groups and are among the most behaviourally interesting species you’ll encounter.
Cuvier’s beaked whales — rare and elusive, a sighting is a genuine event even for experienced researchers.
Loggerhead sea turtles — not a cetacean, but a regular surface visitor, often spotted resting in the sun.
Eight-plus cetacean species in a single stretch of sea. This is why the Ligurian Sea is one of the best places in Europe, arguably the world, to do this kind of work.
No previous research experience is needed. The marine biologists leading the project train all volunteers in the methods used, and there is meaningful work from day one.
A typical day at sea involves:
Visual surveys — systematic scanning of the horizon from observation points on deck, using binoculars and the naked eye. This is the primary method for detecting cetacean presence, and it takes practice to do well.
Photo-ID documentation — when an animal is spotted, volunteers help photograph dorsal fins and flukes for individual identification. Photo-ID is the backbone of long-term population monitoring: matching individuals across years allows researchers to understand survival rates, range, and social structure.
Behavioural logging — recording what animals are doing, how many are present, what direction they’re travelling, and how they’re interacting with the boat. This data feeds directly into peer-reviewed research.
Acoustic monitoring — cetaceans communicate and echolocate. When conditions allow, hydrophone recordings capture underwater sound, a window into animal behaviour that visual surveys alone can’t provide.
Data entry and review — evenings on the boat often involve entering the day’s data, reviewing photographs, and discussing sightings with the team. It’s where the science takes shape.
“This was an invaluable experience. I not only learned so much about cetaceans and the conservation work carried out to help preserve these animals. I learned a lot about myself and where I would like to expand my skills as a scientist.”
— Victoria, UK · rated 4.8/5 from 18 reviews
You live on the research vessel for the duration of your stay. The boat is a 70-foot sailing craft, and it crosses the full range of the Pelagos Sanctuary, in French waters, Italian waters, deep blue offshore passages.
Life at sea takes adjustment: the motion, the close quarters, the rhythm of watches. But volunteers consistently describe it as one of the most immersive and unexpected parts of the experience. You are not visiting the marine environment; you are inside it, around the clock.
Cabins are shared. Meals are communal. The crew and scientists become your teammates quickly.
When the boat moors in Sanremo, the Italian Riviera opens up. Old-town streets wind up through the hillside, lined with cafés and gelato; the marina is close and the beaches are swimmable. The pace shifts from research intensity to something gentler.
If you have a day free at the end of your stay, Monaco is a short train ride away — an easy and surreal afternoon. The French border is close enough that the culture blurs pleasantly between the two coasts.
For anyone combining a European summer trip with meaningful conservation work, the location is hard to beat. You are not sacrificing the Italian Riviera experience for the research; you are getting both.
This project suits a wide range of people. WorkingAbroad has run it since 2018 and the participant base reflects that breadth.
It works particularly well for:
Practical things to know:
No prior research or marine biology experience is required. The scientists onboard train volunteers in survey methods, photo-ID techniques, and data recording from the start of the trip.
The project runs May through October each year, the peak season for cetacean activity in the Ligurian Sea. This is also the best window for Mediterranean sailing conditions.
Stays run from one to four weeks. Most volunteers do two weeks; longer stays give a significantly richer experience as you develop your identification skills and see a wider range of conditions.
The Pelagos Sanctuary is the world’s only high-seas Marine Protected Area dedicated to marine mammals. It covers 87,500 km² of the Ligurian and northern Tyrrhenian Seas, designated under a trilateral treaty between France, Monaco, and Italy. It is the richest cetacean habitat in the Mediterranean.
Yes. Families with children aged 10 and over are welcome. It’s one of the few genuine wildlife research projects accessible to younger volunteers.
Prices start from £825 per week and include accommodation on board, meals, and all research activities. Travel to Sanremo is not included. Full pricing and dates here.
The Ligurian Sea is home to fin whales, sperm whales, striped dolphins, common dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, Risso’s dolphins, pilot whales, and Cuvier’s beaked whales, plus loggerhead sea turtles. No guarantees, but sighting rates in summer are high.
WorkingAbroad is dedicated to ensuring every project we work with is personally vetted by us for research practices and the treatment of animals and people. Research is conducted non-invasively, observation, photography, and acoustic recording only, and feeds into ongoing conservation science for the Pelagos Sanctuary.
The project runs May to October each year. Summer spaces are limited by the size of the research vessel, typically just a handful of berths per departure. If you are considering this summer, early enquiry is recommended.
Check current dates and availability →
Some experiences rearrange you a little. A summer spent reading the surface of the sea, waiting for something vast and wild to rise; this is one of them.
The Ligurian Sea has been home to fin whales for as long as there have been humans on these coasts. The Pelagos Sanctuary exists because enough people cared enough to protect it. Volunteers on this project are part of that story, not as spectators, but as scientists gathering the data that keeps it going.
Apply for the Italy Dolphin & Whale Research Project →
Or enquire if you’d like to talk it through first.
Also worth exploring: Dolphin Research Volunteer Project, Greece · Dolphin & Whale Research, Portugal
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