If the trip has any significant element of personal pleasure or recreation, the costs aren't deductible.
Programs range from helping maintain wilderness areas to excavating archaeological sites.
But deducting these sorts of trips as a volunteer charity expense isn't easy. If the trip has any significant element of personal pleasure, recreation or vacation, the costs aren't deductible. For example, if you spend mornings working on an archaeological dig but have the afternoons free for recreation and sightseeing, the IRS says the cost of the trip isn't eligible for the charitable deduction.