Wildlife & Animal Conservation Volunteer Programs Abroad

Yanacocha has captured my heart with both the staff and animals playing a huge role in my experience. The other volunteers are friends I will have for life, 4 weeks living together and working in such a unique and amazing environment bonds you in a way nothing else can. We were given experiences that others can only dream of; releasing a huge boa among other animals back into the amazon rain forest after assisting with its rehabilitation in the park is definitely a highlight. Feeding the animals was always entertaining especially when the monkeys couldn't decide if it was more important for them to get cuddles from the volunteers or eat the fresh fruit we were giving them. You won't be disappointed if you chose to volunteer at this park, I already want to go back.

In December 2018 I had the pleasure to spend 2 weeks on a Big 5 Conservation program in South Africa.
I can honestly say, the weeks I spent there were some of the best weeks in my life - thanks to the place and the people there. The nature and wildlife are great. I can only recommend this trip to all nature lovers. The work you do is varied and rewarding. Sometimes, regarding the weather in the summer months, you feel exhausted from previous days, but – and I very appreciated this attitude – nobody is forced to work and you can stay back and relax enjoying the beautiful place. The volunteers feel free to go on the activities.
Personally, I tried to participate in every activity as it makes fun to work with all the people together and you learn a lot from the rangers. (Almost all the work is conducted in the nature inside the reserve and many times you go on a game drive)
When I left, I left not only this beautiful place and the (great !! and helpful) stuff there but also many new friends from all around the world. This experience was really amazing!

Oysters Worldwide provided great support and did a great job. I was feeling more than very well prepared before leaving. I received all necessary information and prompt responses for all questions I had. They kept in touch with me during and after the trip to ensure that everything’s fine. So overall, I had the feeling that they really care about you and that you get the most out of your trip.
A big thank to Oysters for providing me this unique opportunity.

After this great experience I want to continue with travelling and volunteering around the world and now I first check if Oyster offers something I'm looking for.

Thanks to Oyster Worldwide for providing this beautiful project for me, I got to work closely with these amazing rescued animals from Thailand. Although their stories of what brought them to the sanctuary absolutely broke my heart, it filled me up knowing that they are at the sanctuary now and are being so well taken care of, and that I got to be a direct helping hand!
This experience was so rewarding and nothing like I have experienced before. I got to meet so many people from around the world and form lasting relationships with both the volunteers and the staff. I only went for 3 weeks, which was a good amount for a first time, but I was just getting used to the workload and getting comfortable as I was leaving so I say: go for it! Go for a few months if you have the time and money. I know many people who are there for 4 months and it’s completely life transforming. I miss everyone, including the animals, so much. I will definitely go back to both the country and the sanctuary.

Booking my trip to South Africa with Oyster Worldwide was the best way to go. I am 19 years old and had never travelled alone before, especially not to the other side of the world! And so, understandably, my parents were quite concerned for my safety and I was also very nervous about navigating through a completely foreign place. However, thanks to Oyster I actually didn't feel alone. Every aspect of my trip was organised, and no matter how silly or irrelevant the question may have seemed, Oyster (Georgie in particular!) gave me a thorough answer in no time at all. Even when Georgie was away I did not have to wait as one of her colleagues handled my problems. During the booking and planning of my trip and also during my time in South Africa, Oyster was only ever a phone call or email away. I am extremely grateful to Georgie and everyone at Oyster Worldwide for helping me to have the most incredible experience volunteering in South Africa.

The actual experience in South Africa was once in a lifetime. It was very hard work, but there wasn't a second where I wasn't willing to do it. Although I was tired, hot, sweaty and sometimes doing tasks that aren't particularly exciting (for example, washing hundreds of mangos!) I never felt like I didn't want to do the work. This was for many reasons, firstly the people who you are surrounded by are all lovely - this includes the owners, the staff there and the other volunteers. Also, the work is so rewarding. I would wash mangos for the rest of my life if it meant I could see just one monkey or baboon go through the incredible rehabilitation process that this project provides. Watching primates who have been so poorly treated in life just completely come out of their shells and interact with other monkeys is an amazing sight to see. It's so rewarding to literally see the difference you are making to these animals' lives. Nothing is as beautiful as this.

If you are considering taking part in this project then please do, the monkeys and baboons are so deserving of all of the help that volunteers provide.

The information provided before the trip was informative and accurate, so I knew what to expect and it all happened as described. The transfers and pickups at all stages of the journey went smoothly - everyone involved turned up when they said they would and took me to the next stage of my journey. So, I felt safe and well taken care of.

The magic of seeing baby turtles hatch and come out of the ground from their nest never left me - it was simply a delight. The privilege of seeing adult turtles come out of the sea and lay eggs also stayed with me for the whole month I was there and still gives me a warm feel now I am back.

It was lovely walking along a sandy beach in the lovely Costa Rican climate. The people were great and the food cooked by two local women was good and they catered for all needs. If you wanted to go on trips or change you travel arrangements that would be organised for you.

The gentle pace of things on the station was restorative and therapeutic. There was lots of down time when there was nothing specific to do so I was glad I had taken various activities with me to do. I did a lot of drawing and painting, reading, practicing my ukulele and trying to learn to juggle.

The lack of internet access and phone contact I found a delight - it enabled me the escape from the world for a month. Once a week we went to the CREMA office where we could get internet access, however I was more interested in the lovely ice cream that could be bought from the nearby bakery - I usually had two during our 1+ hour visit along with buying a few snacks from one of the two tiny supermarkets there.

I would definitely go back again if I can fit it in round all the other places I want to go to ….I will use Oyster again as the quality of there organisation was great and kept me feeling safe and well looked after

I used Oyster's services to travel to Costa Rica in order to volunteer on the sea turtle conservation project. I had not expected the majority of the work to be done at night, but you hardly notice it getting to spend your whole day resting on the beach. My project was at Costa De Oro which was a beautiful and quiet beach front. I will quite possibly never experience anything like having eggs laid into my hands from a creature far older than me from another world, watch her babies be born, and then bring them to the ocean. To help out a living creature in that way while also protecting their habitat with people from all over the globe was touching. The connection i was able to make to nature and people has inspired me to continue to use travel as a way to connect myself to the world around me, but also to help other studetns have these experiences as well.

Oyster could not have been more fantastic to work with for this vacation. They made me feel safe and well prepared every step of the way. I had to get out of my comfort zone with the accomodation and traveling within the country, but this did not deter me from enjoying the experience and i would do it again in a heartbeat. Oyster Worldwide did a great job setting everything up and I could not be more thankful to them and the Turtle Trax team.

The greatest trip I have ever been on yet. Everything went exactly to the plan and ran smoothly. There were no bad experiences and nothing went wrong because oyster worldwide is amazing at organising and planning. Transfers were always there and on time so we never got stranded or arrived anywhere late. Everybody was so friendly and helpful. The hostels we stayed at were lovely and so were the people running them.

The Riverside monkey sanctuary is a truly life changing experience that will stay with me for ever, not just because of my time with the amazing monkeys but also because of the life long friends I have made and the people I have met. It truly is an amazing experience and time with the monkeys and learning about them, caring for them is something you'll keep with you for life. The people are lovely the animals are amazing and I really would recommend to anyone to that if they love animals and aren't afraid of hard work that they should definitely go.