For most people going on holiday is a chance to kick back, soak up some rays and chill out. However, if you’re one of those who like to do something, well… a little more worthwhile, there are plenty of options. And even if some of these sound like hard work, you’ll be amazed how good saving the world feels.

Become a sponsored explorer

One fantastic way to take a holiday of a lifetime and do something for your fellow man is the sponsored adventure. Think of a suitably impressive challenge that involves a well known global landmark and then find yourself a good cause and a boatload of sponsors.

The indigenous tribes of Borneo have been fighting to save their forests from loggers and palm oil companies for 30 years. They could sure do with some help.

Ed Stafford, for example, is attempting to be the first man to walk the length of the Amazon, from the source to the sea. He started on April 2nd 2008 and hopes to finish by August 2010. So far he’s been on the march for 699 days.

Clearly you don’t have to attempt something quite so hardcore, but you get my drift.

Give an education

You may think that your education isn’t worth the paper it’s written on, but in many places in the world it makes you professor material. In the Peruvian Andes, successive governments have neglected the indigenous kids’ schooling for years, and volunteer teachers are welcomed with open arms.

Alternatively, just turn up at the local school and arrange to teach for a few hours that week, then give out as many pens and pads as you can afford. Trust me, you’ll be the hero of the day.

Africa needs you!

If you thought volunteering involved giving up months of your life, then you’re much mistaken. Of course there is the Peace Corps’s years away option, but there are also plenty of shorter breaks. Though you’re spoilt for choice when it comes to locations, if you want to combine good deeds with breathtaking scenery, choose Africa.

Never pay for the privilege of helping out, though. There are lots of organizations that will charge you 2k for the privilege of working for free. Avoid them and find yourself a place at www.idealist.org

The call of nature

Everywhere you look, Mother Nature is getting a kicking. Take Borneo, the third largest island in the world. Once covered in dense rainforest, it has in the last 30 years been utterly decimated, at a rate unprecedented in human history.

The people on the front line to save the rainforest are the people who live there. The indigenous tribes of Borneo, for example, have been fighting to save their forests for 30 years. Why not help them fight to conserve their lifestyle and our planet?