How to Drive While Volunteering Abroad with Camp America?

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Driving while volunteering with Camp America can bring many great perks to your summer camp experience. How does it all work out, and how can you apply? Listen to this week’s Questions episode to find out!

Transcription from the Podcast

Hello and welcome to the Question series by There’s No Place Like Summer Camp. In this episode, we’re taking a look at how you can drive while out volunteering with Camp America. So without further ado, play the intro.

Q U E S T. He’s on a quest! He’s on a quest!… No, he’s not just answering questions.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode, a Friday episode of There’s No Place Like Summer Camp. I’m your host, Andrew Waterhouse. And each episode we are looking at different questions that people have around volunteering with Camp America. Well, we do that every Friday, and on every Tuesday, if you’re new here, we take a look at other broader topics.

Driving with Camp America when British

But in this episode, we’re taking a look at how you can drive while out there volunteering with Camp America. I have to preface this video with some not so much warnings… But a bit of a head’s up this video… This podcast and blog are specifically for those that are British,

I’m pretty sure that other countries will follow a similar kind of process. But this podcast is for those that are volunteering from the UK to apply through a program like Camp America, Camp Leaders or any of those sorts of places.

My experience of driving in America while volunteering

Now, to be able to drive in America, I do have to give you a bit of a backstory because I have done two summers of Camp America myself. In the first summer of going over there, I had no idea that I’d even be needed to drive cars. In the second summer, however, I was more than excited to get my name down and have a vehicle to be able to drive out of camp and do not only my job of doing the campout, the campfires taking kids on hikes, canoe trips, and all those sorts of things, but also more fun things as well. So I could like drive out and get some takeaways and bring them back into camp and do those sorts of shenanigans.

How to drive in America when volunteering at summer camp

So let’s address the question of this episode. How do I drive if I want to go out into America? So what you really, really need is a driving license. Of course, you need to have a driving license from the UK. Before you go ahead with any of this if you don’t have a driving license, why are you even contemplating driving in the U. S, A. without one!? So make sure you get your driving license first in the UK, then you apply for an international driving permit.

International Driving Permit

Now this permit allows you to drive in countries where a UK driving licence alone is not sufficient. And these countries include the USA, Brazil, Japan and some others. So as soon as you get this, you’ll be able to drive in all of those, not just the USA. Now there are over 140 countries that are would require something like this document, as well as your driving license for you to be allowed to drive abroad with your license.

So what do you need to do?

Well, the first place that you really need to head to is the post office, the post office handles all of these. And what you want to take with you is your photo card, a driving license, a passport-sized photograph, which pretty much is a passport photo as well. And your passport as well as proof of ID. So you take your driving license, you take your passport photo, you take your passport, as well as a proof of ID. And then you go and find a post office that is able to give these out. So please do check on the post office websites for nearby post offices that allow international driving permits to be produced there as well. You take all these documents, and you queue up in a normal post office, and you have a £50 application fee to pay.

That is all you literally take all these documents, you put them in front of the post office worker, they go and stamp a few papers and write your name down and that sort of thing. And then they hand you back all of those things, as well as an international driving permit, specifically international driving permit 1949. And that’s it.

There is no extra test – just paperwork!

So with all these documents now you’re actually free to go abroad and start driving and make sure of course you have to bring your bring all of these documents with you. So you want to bring your visa, of course, that allows you to get into the country. You want to bring your passport that allows you to get in the country and you want to bring your driving license, as well as this slip of paper that basically says he’s allowed to drive in the USA, there’s not much to it at all. There’s no like hidden terms and conditions. And it’s no more expensive than £50, I really don’t understand why we need to sign this sort of thing, because there’s no test. There’s no background checks, there’s nothing whatsoever other than bring in some forms give us £5 and we’ll stamp a piece of paper for you to say that you’re allowed to go.

Becoming a driver at your camp

So once you get to your camp, this isn’t done through Camp America. By the way, if you want to be a driver at your camp, it’s all done through your camp. It’s not done through Camp America, I don’t think I’m 96.4% certain that you don’t apply through Camp America to be a driver. If you want to be a driver, you get hired as a normal specialist or counselor first at your camp.

And then you can go over to your camp and say, look, I’ve got all these documents. I really want to drive his all the stuff that you need. Am I okay to do this? And they should be able to go yeah, here you go. Here’s a car, and you can take it for a spin.

What about insurance?

Now everything to do with insurance and that sort of thing. That’s all covered through camp, whether they have insurance or not depends on what state and what regulations they have to follow. But 90% of the time, you’re all covered. It’s all cool.

So I think that pretty much sums up everything you need to know about the international driving permit, which allows you to drive in the USA, with Camp America, and all that sort of thing. Of course, this actually lasts between one and three years depending on how how much you want to buy this thing I think they asked you at the desk.

Can I drive after camp?

So even after your camp has finished, you’re able to still go ahead and drive in the States if you want to. And with that episode we’re at the end.

Guys, I hope you enjoyed this one. Catch me on Tuesday where we’re going to be discussing the questions you can expect from being a Brit working in Camp America, its going to be a fun one guys.

Keep safe and productive.

Keep thriving and surviving.

I’ll see you next Tuesday guys.

Peace out.

My story of volunteering with Camp America for the first summer is available now on Amazon. Check it out if you’d be so kind! Click here.