Program Reviews

I spent just two weeks volunteering at the Zarnesti Bear Sanctuary near Brasov, but that incredible experience left a lasting memory. This is such a unique opportunity to spend time with these magnificent creatures, and contribute to their ongoing protection.

One of my lasting memories is of walking around the large enclosures, set within a stunning autumnal forest, and watching the brown bears pace along with me - it is a magical place, and an experience I will always remember.
I also really enjoyed living in the unit in Brasov, which is located within the walls of the beautiful medieval city.

The other great advantage of this program was the support from the Oyster team. Anne was so helpful - we talked over Skype before my program, and then she even took me out to a pub lunch when I visited the England office! And Razvan was the Romanian contact - he picked me up from Bucharest, helped with shopping and even drove me out to Bran Castle on one of the weekends. I've heard some worrying stories about big volunteering companies, so I would truly recommend Oyster as it seemed to me that they really do care about their volunteers and their programs.

If you want to do something different, if you care about the treatment of animals, and if you are not afraid of a little hard work, then you will have a great time on this program.

The highlight was releasing the hatchlings everyday as well as collection the turtle eggs whilst they were being laid, I loved the hands on experience. The project site was in the most beautiful and rural location, there was so much to see and do each day. I enjoyed the surf and playing football with the locals. Some patrols could be tough when it was raining heavily out, but seeing the turtles made it all worthwhile as well as being motivated by other volunteers.
Turtle conservation was the best experience of my life and definitely like to return one day to help some more! I would highly recommend going to save the turtles!

Nepal was one of the best experiences of my life. The country itself is just so diverse and the people you will meet are absolutely lovely. There is so much to do and to experience so living in the country for a couple of months really lets you soak up the culture... fabulous.

I cannot praise the Oyster programme enough. They placed me with a local family in one of the outlying villages of Kathmandu Valley, which wasn't nearly as daunting as it seemed. The family were lovely and had numerous kids who spoke English, and there was another volunteer placed with me which was really nice. Living with a Nepali family provided me with thousands of memories that I'll treasure forever: eating Daal Bhat with my fingers whilst sitting on the floor of the kitchen; chasing the family cow through the village when it had gone walkabout; collecting wood with the women of the family and carrying it on our heads back to the house; participating in loads of Hindu festivals, involving flower garlands and tikka on our heads; washing in the freezing cold water under the light of the moon. It was an amazing experience that you won't get anywhere else.

Teaching English was also fabulous. Having had no particular training in how to teach, I was pretty nervous when arriving to be told that I would just be handed a number of classes but I shouldn't have worried. The kids were enthusiastic and just wanted to speak English to you and I had great fun selecting things that I wanted to teach to them. I enjoyed it so much that I ended up doing a PGCE when I got home and have been happily teaching English in a high school in the North of England for the past 5 years!

The social side of the programme was also really good. There were 7 Oyster volunteers in Kathmandu Valley so each weekend we used to get the bus back into the city and meet up. Kathmandu has a great nightlife scene and we soon met other travellers who were completing similar projects. The treks that we completed were also really great (Tibet was closed during the year that we went due to political upheaval... typical) and one of the best things that we did was the Annapurna Base Camp Trek. I'll never forget watching the sun set whilst surrounded by 8000m high mountains. Chitwan National Park was brilliant: where else can you see white rhino from the back of an elephant? We also spent some time in a women's shelter, painting murals and exploring the Buddhist area of Kathmandu. Trips to Pokhara, joining in with the festival of Holi and watching the bodies be burned in Pashnupathinath were also some of the highlights.

I felt so supported when in Nepal. The local representative, Basant, was just so friendly and he treated us so well. His door was always open and he was always there to offer help and advice; be it ideas on where to go or even assistance in getting an Indian visa (a farse in Kathmandu!), he was always there. When my boyfriend flew in after our 4 months and we went travelling through India, Singapore and Malaysia, Basant let me leave a load of stuff in his office to pick up at a later date... what a legend.

I cannot recommend this programme enough. Having completed Camp America and going Interrailing during my university years, I thought that I was fairly well travelled however this trip was like no other. Actually living in the country, with a family, was such an amazing experience I would recommend it to anyone... just go for it!

My experience in Nepal was amazing. I started out a shy and very nervous girl with little life experience and 4 months later I came back to the UK very confident, with heaps of great teaching experience, unbeatable memories and lifelong friendships.

For me, Oyster offered an unbeatable programme of cultural immersion, voluntary experience and organised treks and excursions all added to a comprehensive timetable. As I had never been away without family before, having a fairly organised structure really helped. I was able to explore Nepal during activities pre-arranged by Oyster, but along with my group we also arranged our own trips, such as watching the sunrise over Nagarkot, and bungy jumping, on top of socialising every weekend!

Being a volunteer teacher was by no means easy, and I am incredibly proud of myself for overcoming initial nerves to teach classes of around 40 children. I learned an incredible amount as a teacher and (hopefully!) imparted some knowledge too! In fact I was so inspired by teaching in Nepal that I completed 2 years as a Teaching Assistant back in the UK and this September I start my PGCE at Cambridge in order to become a qualified teacher. In Nepal I found the one major thing which was lacking in the curriculum was creativity. All teaching was done using set text books. Therefore I decided, with permission from the headteacher, to focus on creative writing with the children. I felt well prepared for teaching, as we had some detailed training delivered during the pre-departure course.

A highlight for me, as well as the awesome treks and safari, was living in the village with a traditional Nepali family. This experience was like none other I have had or ever will have again. I learned so much about Nepali culture, eating the staple 'dal bhat' twice a day, going to weddings at least once a week and waking up to my Nepali brothers turkey squawking at 5am every morning are just a few memories I will never forget!

Thank you Oyster for a FANTASTIC 4 months. 6 years, 2 universities, and countless residences later... Nepal still tops all my experiences!

The program focus is very much on teaching. However, it is very much up to you to make sure you have a positive impact at the schools at which you are teaching. In your (relatively short) time there, make sure to quickly identify what problems your pupils are having in their understanding of the English language, and then identify which one's you can make a real difference on in your short time there.
Outside of school, there are plenty of things to do, as well. The school day is relatively short, so make sure you make the most of your free time. You'll be living with a working family so you'll definitely get a 'real' experience, but make sure to explore the local area to get a good sense of what its like to actually live in Nepal (rather than just holiday there).
I did lots of longs walks, and took trips around the country on the weekend. I went to Pokhara (Nepal's second city), went paragliding, bungee jumping, and hill walking. I also went on safari in Chitwan National Park, seeing elephants, rhino and monkeys. At one point, when I got a bit longer time off (during a school holiday), my group and I even went to Tibet! The Tibet trip is fantastic and really worth doing.
The support from the Oyster contacts in Kathmandu is fantastic. Basant's main business is as a travel agent, so he can actually help you out a lot in terms of organising things to do in your free time.

I have spent five weeks in the magic beach of San Miguel, Costa Rica. We have been volunteering on the sea turtle project. The work was mainly during the night, patroling the beach and collecting turtle eggs in order to prevent them from beeing poached. We have collected thousands of eggs and have released thousands of baby turtles. To see the hatchlings making their way in the pacific ocean is touching the Soul.
The work in combination with the inspiring volunteers has changed my life. After returning back to Switzlerand I have left the financial industry and I have started to work for our familiy Business.