Wildlife & Animal Conservation Volunteer Programs Abroad

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. 🙂🐻

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!!

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.

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!

I really enjoyed my experience with Oyster Worldwide. I'd never booked a volunteering project on my own, so I was grateful at how friendly, welcoming and helpful the team were. They were regularly in contact and redirected me to someone who could help with booking flights when I was struggling to find a good one. I booked for a week at an animal sanctuary and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. Oyster provided airport transfers, which made the whole thing a lot less scary! I'd never been to the country before or travelled alone, so this was very reassuring.

When I arrived at my accommodation, a guide was there to greet me. He had also brought me a welcome meal, which I greatly appreciated as it was really late by the time I'd arrived, meaning there was no time for me to do any shopping. Essentials were provided in the apartment. These included: washing up liquid, toilet roll, hand wash, towels and washing powder. I thought that this was an unexpected but nice touch, as I ideally didn't want to waste money on buying these things if I was only there for a week. The accommodation was really safe, quiet and comfortable. A few other volunteers shared with me, which was nice for the social aspect. I was also given the opportunity to go visit some iconic places whilst I was there, one of which transport was provided by Oyster.

After the weekend, I began my experience at the sanctuary. Oyster arranged for a driver to pick us up and bring us back to the accommodation every day. We started work at 9am and finished around half 2 in the afternoon. One volunteer would be in charge of a phone given to us by the guide, which he used to stay in contact with us whilst we were at the sanctuary. If there was ever a problem, the guide sorted it out immediately.

Whilst I would've liked to spend more time at the sanctuary, what work we did do was rewarding and fun. The sanctuary allowed us to embark on the feeding tour too, which was amazing. We got to see a lot of what the tourists didn't, which felt special and worth every penny. My only regret is that I didn't stay longer!

I volunteered at the brown bear sanctuary in Romania for a week in May 2019. The sanctuary is set in an amazing rural location in the mountains and has a welcoming dog brigade. I was impressed with the conditions provided at the sanctuary. My most memorable highlight of the project was observing the pleasure on the bears faces as they enjoyed taking a therapeutic dip in the water.
Most of the volunteer work involves food preparation and it can be monotonous at times but it can also be fun and it is important to the bears since bears need a lot of food.
We were able to observe the bear feeding process on the last day and it was an amazing experience to watch the bears come out of the forest for the food and to see the bears enjoying the food we have prepared.
Brasov is a lovely town in a central location and the standard of accommodation provided by the project was excellent.