Masters in Marine Sciences
At Lake Skadar in Montenegro, help protect aquatic habitats alongside national park rangers. Based in the village of Godinje, the internship combines shoreline clean-ups, habitat restoration and visitor education.
Duration: 4 to 24 weeks.
Who is it for? Students in environmental science, ecology and natural resource management.
Erasmus+ funding may be available, subject to your institution’s approval. Partner institutions can use Freepackers’ Erasmus+ identifier E10393852.
Support and logistics fees: see the dates and prices section for amounts, included services and additional expenses.
Explore shoreline restoration, the monitoring of human pressures on a protected area and the creation of educational materials. Patrols during the fishing closure are seasonal. The work takes place on a lake and its wetlands.
Lake Skadar is the largest lake in the Balkans and an important wetland habitat. Based in Godinje, you work with the national park team to help protect the lake and its ecosystems.
Activities address plastic pollution, invasive plants, illegal fishing during the breeding season and visitor education.
The programme focuses on four main areas of activity, taking place from Tuesday to Friday. Each week follows a typical structure, adapted to weather conditions and the park’s priorities.
You will take part in clean-up sessions on the lake’s beaches, trails and small islands ; some of which can only be reached by boat or kayak. It is physical work in a stunning setting: you will explore places that few visitors get to see while directly contributing to keeping the area clean.
You will participate in ecological restoration activities, including removing invasive plant species that threaten shorelines and wetlands, followed by replanting native species to support the natural regeneration of habitats. This work is part of a long-term approach directly coordinated by the park’s scientific teams.
During the closed fishing season (February to May), you will assist park rangers with lake patrols. These patrols aim to prevent illegal fishing and protect fish populations during breeding periods. You will work directly alongside environmental protection professionals and gain first-hand insight into the daily work of a national park.
You will contribute to the park’s visitor centre by helping with visitor reception, creating multilingual information materials and writing educational signs about the lake’s ecosystems and Montenegro’s five national parks. This awareness-raising work has a lasting impact ; every sign installed continues to inform hundreds of visitors after you leave.
Send Realstep your field and year of study, preferred dates and duration, and your institution’s requirements. Clarify the tasks, supervision, internship agreement and expected deliverables. Your institution decides whether the placement can be recognised as part of your course.
The fees cover support and the practical arrangements for your stay. Services include accommodation and meals as specified, transport to the park, training and local supervision. A donation to the project is also included.
Check the dates and prices section for amounts by duration and the full list of inclusions and exclusions. Request a breakdown for your dates and chosen arrangements to plan your budget. Any stipend or allowance must be clarified with the host organisation.
Share your studies, year, dates and preferred duration to discuss opportunities suited to your project.
This organisation specialises in internships and volunteer programs in various fields and countries, including Montenegro. “Our mission is nothing less than to ‘unite the world’. Our goal is to bring together people from different cultures so that they can learn from one another, understand each other, and work together to improve living conditions on this planet.”
This programme is available for 4 to 24 weeks. Check the prices listed by duration. If your preferred duration has no listed price, contact Realstep for a breakdown of supervision and logistics fees.
Housing is allocated by local NGOs, not by Freepackers - the descriptions are there to give you an idea of the type of accommodation, as it is very likely that conditions will vary on site depending on the number of volunteers, weather conditions, availability, etc. Each volunteer will be accommodated according to the stated conditions, but it is possible that the accommodation may not match the description or images shown on this site word for word, for example, in the case of annexed housing, renovations, relocations, etc.
You will stay in a guesthouse located in the heart of Godinje village, directly on the shores of Lake Skadar. Rooms are shared and separated by gender, with a maximum of 4 people per room. Bathrooms are shared and equipped with Western-style toilets.
The guesthouse is equipped with air conditioning and fans, laundry facilities, individual lockers (please bring your own padlock) and access to a basic kitchen with a refrigerator, microwave, cooking hobs and kitchenware. Wi-Fi is not available on site — a local SIM card is available for approximately €15 with 500 GB of data.
A beach is located 1.2 km from the guesthouse. The village of Virpazar, with its cafés, grocery store, ATM and clinic, is accessible in 5 minutes by car or 30 minutes on foot.
Three meals a day on weekdays, with brunch and dinner at weekends. The cuisine is traditional Balkan cuisine, prepared with fresh ingredients sourced from the village and surrounding farms.
Typical dishes include varivo (vegetable and meat stew), ćevapi (grilled meat served with onions and fries), vegetable soups and salads. Breakfast alternates between pancakes, priganice (fried dough balls served with honey or cheese), fresh fruit and toast. Vegetarian diets and food allergies can be accommodated upon prior request.
The village water is safe to drink and comes from natural mountain springs.
The programme starts on Sunday. You will arrive at Podgorica Airport (TGD), located approximately 25 minutes by car from the guesthouse in Godinje. Airport transfer is included in the programme — a member of the local team will be waiting for you upon arrival.
If your flight is changed, please inform the local team as soon as possible before your arrival so they can adjust the pick-up arrangements.
Transport to the national park and activity sites is included from Monday to Friday. Some activities on the lake take place by boat or kayak, which are also included in the programme.
Departure takes place on Saturday, with check-out before 2 p.m. Return transport to the airport is not included. The local team can help you arrange a transfer according to your needs (taxi approximately €35 or train approximately €1.70).
You can find all ressources on the World Organization Website, in the Travel Advice section A vaccine vial.
For all international projects, Realstep requires participants to take out travel insurance covering accidents, illness, and repatriation, as well as civil liability for professional activities abroad.
For complete protection while studying or interning abroad, you can take out Cap Student insurance online by following this link Student insurance abroad | Chapka Assurances, which will give you a 5% discount.
If you take out another insurance policy, we will ask you to send us a copy of your certificate in English.
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Internships during a gap year are varied, and you have a wide choice of fields:
There are many diverse destinations: Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America—all around the world!
No, most of the internships we offer are unpaid, but this can vary depending on the host organization, the duration, and the country.
Yes, many students have validated their internship through Real Step projects. Our placements meet schools’ academic requirements.
Internships during a gap year are varied, and you have a wide choice of fields:
There are many diverse destinations: Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America—all around the world!
No, most of the internships we offer are unpaid, but this can vary depending on the host organization, the duration, and the country.
Yes, many students have validated their internship through Real Step projects. Our placements meet schools’ academic requirements.
