Program Reviews

I booked this trip because I love bears but I had no idea just how great it the experience was going to be. The communication and organisation of Oyster both before and during my trip was excellent.

Beforehand, Georgie was in regular contact and also answered any questions I had in record time. The MyOyster feature was also a great tool with lots of information about the trip. While I was in Brasov, Razvan kept up the great communication and was available any time if we had any questions. He also brought us on a tour of Brasov which was very informative and fun.

There was one day of orientation at the sanctuary on the Saturday before work began on Monday. Here, you get to go behind the scenes a little and visit the teddy bear museum and the bear viewing area and learn a bit more about the work the sanctuary does. Every morning before we left for work, Razvan would meet with us to let us know what jobs we were to do each day. He also checked up during the day and then again in the evenings to make sure everything was okay and everyone was happy. The work was mainly food prep for the bears and farm animals (there are also horses, donkeys, sheep, goats, chickens, a cow, a turkey and other small animals in the small farm area).

The work hours are 9 to 3 and there is transport arranged. Our driver, Ovi, was great fun. His English was perfect and we learned lots of Romanian history as well as talking about anything and everything.

I can’t recommend this trip highly enough. It is obviously sad that so many bears need to be rescued but seeing them living their lives happily in the sanctuary was so good. It is also such an amazing experience watching the bears wandering around being bears. I don’t think there is any other trip available that lets you get to see so many bears so close (behind electrified fences of course!) and to witness their natural behaviour.

It was also nice to know I was helping out in a small way in the sanctuary because they do amazing work. 🙂🐻

So I booked a Working Holiday in Australia - I realised quite soon after booking that the company had totally ripped me off. You can book directly with Ultimate Travel if you want the same service but without Oyster Worldwide being involved. When I addressed this with Oyster, I got a very angry response from Georgie who is in charge of the Australia trips who told me that my son was not suitable for these trips anyway. Really really recommend not booking with Oyster as they just make a few hundered quid by being the middle men between Ultimate Travel and the customer. In addition, Ultimate are nothing more than a travel outfit. They don't provide proper support for a working holiday visa. If you want to go for a working holiday visa I suggest you do it all by yourself because you do it by yourself anyway with one of these companies. Its a real scam.

I have recently come back from my gap year and while I was there I spent a month working on the relationships between humans and elephants.

So why would I recommend Oyster?
I am so glad I picked to do this project with Oyster because they made me feel very well taken care of and looked after me before and during the project. They talk you though everything you need to know before the project takes place and what clothes and necessities you may need to pack.

So what does the project consist of?
I would do this project a million times if I could, and if you don’t believe me lots of people who were doing the project had already done it before and had come back because of how much they enjoyed it.

So the project is on a two week program and you have the option to stay from two weeks to 3 months. The first week is amazing because you build walls for the local community. Some days some of the locals will come and help, or a few kids will come and keep you company, that is amazing because you feel so immersed, it’s definitely a once in a lifetime experience.

The second week is spent tracking elephants. This was my favourite out of the two because you learn all about the elephants foot prints. We also managed to see a two day old elephant which we were lucky enough to name !!!

So why pick this project?
I think this project and Oyster have a lot of selling points. For starters Oyster takes very good care of you and help you organise yourself before the project starts so it doesn’t feel overwhelming. Secondly you are in the middle of the desert, I don’t think you could get anymore rural than that. You don’t really have much service so it’s lovely to disconnect for two weeks. You get to spend some time with lovely people who you may not meet on a day to day basis, people from different countries, locals, and different ages. You camp under the stars which is also amazing. Overall I would always recommend this amazing project, such a special experience!!

An incredible experience that I will cherish for life. South Africa is a stunning country! I took part in farm work, community outreach projects, work in the zoo and aquarium, and game capture. I had support from beginning to end, and all of my questions were answered.
The practical experience gained was fantastic, something that will stand me in very good stead for university. I made new friends, and gained so much confidence both in meeting new people and travelling solo.
Weekends were free to do whatever you wanted so you had plenty of time to explore and have fun. Would definitely recommend!

A hands on experience working at the bear sanctuary including bear food prep & any other basic manual jobs that need to be done.
Be prepared to get mucky & just embrace it all.
You have privileged access to all areas in the sanctuary, that paying visitors dont get to see, enabling plenty of time to watch the bears doing bear things, which is so rewarding.
The bears' stories are so sad so it is such a pleasure to see them enjoying their new lives doing bear things amongst trees, grass & pools

This experience was absolutely life changing. I realized exactly what the baboons and vervet monkey took to just survive. The owners , Bob Nd Lynne, I cannot day enough. Even though very demanding ( at times did not think I could make it, but it was so rewarding and I learned strength I never knew I had. The poverty and government are devastating and the fact I felt I made a difference changed my life. I met friends I will keep for life and actually plan on going back next year. If it wasn’t for. Anne Smellie with Oyster I would not have had this experience. Thank you for all.

The staff were really supportive and interactive. Very hands on, full of practical opportunities and staff that really cared about your experience. I would really recommend this placement to anyone that is contemplating a career in vet meds or as a vet nurse. Opportunities you wouldn’t get anywhere else in my opinion and the social life of the placement is great and you get to know so many different people from across the world and also the local people are fantastic and are very helpful. If i ever have the chance i would like to go back!

If you have an interest in Bear’s this is one of the most amazing trips you will go on in Romania. You get to meet over 100 bears & work with them. You will also get to meet other animals there as well. You will stay in the beautiful town of Brasov where there is so much sightseeing you can do & so many different places to visit.
It is a very beautiful & amazing place to visit. Oyster worldwide were an amazing company to go with as they support you right from the very moment you book, they can organise your flights as well as lots of other things. They are there for you throughout your trip & support you on your return home. The one thing I would say is just go with an open mind & don’t put any expectations on the trip, just go with & have the most amazing adventure of a lifetime.

What an absolutely remarkable time I had at WFFT in Thailand. It was truly life changing, from the friends I made to the fond love I grew for elephants. Not only was it hands on and physically demanding, the intellectual staff educated us on the laws surrounding animal cruelty and the awful trauma that elephants go through when used for tourism, of which I was ignorant of prior to my trip.

Daily tasks were assigned to us, and we worked with different elephants each day which was really exciting, as all of them are so different. They all have great personalities, from sassy to gentle. The day started at 6.30am, finishing at 5pm with a breakfast and lunch break in between lasting an hour each. Although the work was tough it was so amazing to be surrounded by the beautiful elephants, and it was truly surreal, especially when walking and showering them. We had one day off per week, which was lovely to relax (as it was well needed) and also it gave us a chance to visit the local town or get a taxi out a little further to explore Thailand even more. WFFT also organised evening trips such as evening markets or bat caves for after dinner, which was also lovely.

It was truly so wonderful! The other volunteers were lovely and the staff always were enthusiastic and happy to help. I would recommend this trip to everyone, as it is really worth doing! I came to WFFT mainly for my Gold duke of Edinburgh award, and the staff sign the paperwork for you on site which was super handy. I was also lucky enough to go with my sister, but it would also be a great experience alone, as many other volunteers came alone. You meet people so easily and quickly.

Thank you Georgie from oyster worldwide for guiding me every step of the way. You were amazing and so helpful, a true asset to the oyster worldwide team! Also, thank you WFFT, what an amazing sanctuary, I will be back!

Whilst in the hospital, we were in the operational theatre for a couple of days and we got to see many surgeries for example a: C-section, brain surgery, cholecystectomy, fistulotomy, skin graft, ovarian cyst removal.
Whilst being in the physiotherapy department we saw a variety of different patients.For example, we had a patient who had had a stroke 35 years ago, had a car accident 5 years back and a bolt to her head, and also had a diabetic left foot. Do to all of this, she had joint weakness and a very limited range of movement. The physiotherapist then conducted stretches and did chest physiotherapy on the patient.
The organisation of the trips we had (e.g. visiting the palaces, forts and tombs such as the Taj Mahal) was very well thought out - we learnt and visited so much. I especially enjoyed the Monkey Temple we visited during the Golden Triangle Tour, where we got to feed monkeys.