I saw this in Shape Magazine of all places and thought it sounded offbeat and cool. There’s a program where you travel to Provence and help restore medieval structures that are rapidly deteriorating. Since I work in international aid and development, I definitely support voluntourism programs focusing on poverty and the environment, but I thought this one was particularly cool for being different.
Rates start at $655 per week for accommodation and meals, which is actually a pretty good deal (voluntourism even in developing countries can be prohibitively expensive). Bonus: you get to live in one of the renovated buildings! Meals are prepared by a chef using local produce and served family-style for all the volunteers. Most afternoons are free for exploring the small town of Saint Victor la Coste, hiking, visiting vineyards, etc.
Volunteers work with craftsmen, helping to preserve not only the physical structures, but also the skills and culture.
For more information, check out: www.sabranenque.com
Since I’m still not allowed to use power tools unsupervised (bad things tend to ensue), I’m not entirely sure that it would be a good idea for someone to let me near ancient ruins with a chisel, but it’s hard to deny my friends the inevitable story — “So, there was this one time that I was working on a rampart…”
I just ran across a blurb in an old 
The coolest one I found is called 
Mike at 
surprisingly large number of refurbished prisons now serving as luxury hotels around the world. Amsterdam’s 
don’t need to bribe anyone to get out of the Lloyd, you’ll have to pay a pretty hefty ransom to get into it; the most austere of their accommodations costs nearly US$150 per night, and the rate climbs to more than $700 for the ginormous suites (like the one in the photo above). Another luxurious incarceration option: the 
the ‘Hippest Hostels in the World’ by 
can play volleyball in the stone courtyard where prisoners used to recreate, take part in evening musical jam sessions, or retire to the metal-framed beds in their cells. But that’s about it. That peculiar, bare jailhouse charm seems to have been preserved in full, although the owners did some minor reclamations of the interior. Dorm beds start at about US$18 per night.
luxury travel? For the traveler who sleeps more soundly after the harrowing infliction of mental and emotional trauma, try spending a night at the 
Pictured at left is the Karosta concierge/warden, who seems to be receiving a security briefing from Popeye (though it’s difficult to identify him with his forearms sleeved). A night’s stay at the Karosta Prison will set you back 8 Lati (about US$18), unless you are eligible for the 5 Lati special: “There is a special offer to schoolchildren — an opportunity to spend a night in prison cells on bunks and mattresses.” Please, not the schoolchildren! Check the hotel’s highly entertaining 
I love this concept! You pick your travel month and they tell what’s at its peak. There’s a wide variety of activities, from trekking to see gorillas, to traveling the trans-Siberia railway – the suggestions have something for everyone and cover all corners of the globe. I bought this book in the Bangkok airport with my last remaining baht and have been using it to day dream ever since! We did hit up 
In Aceh, Indonesia, home to both the worst damage of the 2004 tsunami and a guerrilla war waged on the government by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), a small, budding tourism idea has taken root — guerrilla tourism. Former GAM members take tourists on what 
I’ve actually stayed in some of the hotels listed on this website, including the ice hotel in Quebec (more about that later). I think the weirdest one may be the two-storey beagle that you can stay in for $92 a night. Where is this fantastic find you ask? The middle of Idaho where the list of local attractions includes a drive-in movie theater.
