Program Reviews

I truly could not recommend this trip enough.
The pre-trip organisation was excellent, and I went to Romania feeling very prepared. Upon arrival, I was met by Razvan - Oyster's Romanian representative, and shown around the accommodation, which was very modern and really lovely!
Spending time at the sanctuary was a dream come true. You can really tell that your money is being spent somewhere worthwhile, and that the work that you are doing there is really making a difference.

As I said before, I couldn't recommend this trip enough.
Excellently organised, and I felt that I had experienced a lot of the local area and culture through the organised castle trips.

I had an excellent time on my trip to Thailand. Oyster helped me get there and set up everything to make it all possible. I would go back for sure and definitely consult Oyster worldwide for other trips as they come up!
Oyster was very helpful and always ready to answer any questions I had. They kept in touch while I was on the trip and made sure I was having a good time and finding everything alright.

Africa pushed me out of my comfort zone. I went out there as the quiet, anxious one and then I ended up going shark cage diving in Plettenberg one weekend, getting tattoos with some of the group another week and trying new things like paddle boarding and hiking. Speaking of, the Wednesday hikes were definitely one of my highlights. I am not a hiker, I don’t climb and I don’t have the best coordination (proven when I fell on my face during one of the walks!). But the view at the top was amazing- in made the struggle up the cliff face, and my fearing death(!), all worth it. South Africa is a beautiful country; the coastline as well as the game reserves. And watching an African sunset is something that should be on anyone’s bucket list.
The volunteering itself wasn’t always easy work but it was so rewarding- we knew that we were working towards improving these animals' home. It felt good to help out the staff and work as a group with the other volunteers; proving that teamwork would get the best job done. Once, we managed to chop down 14 trees in the space of a couple hours, and another occasion had us all digging out concrete blocks, holding fence posts, and then lifting parts out of the way as a team. At the end of the day it just felt like we had achieved something, and I could say I had done tasks I never thought I would do.
Every single day, every game drive, every campfire or evening sat together watching films and every weekend, just surpassed my expectations. The breath-taking animals on this reserve stole my heart and I honestly could have watched them all day. But as much as I loved the animals, I have to say that the best part of the whole trip would be all of the incredible people that I met during my time out there. I went to South Africa with my best friend, and I came back having made a few more. Before arriving, I didn’t think that I would get so close to the people that I would meet, but when the time came to saying goodbyes, it was one of the worst things to have to do. You get to meet so many different people, from all over the world, and you go from strangers to roommates, to friends, almost instantly. These people become your family; they make you cry with laughter, talk with you like you’ve known each other forever, they are there for you when you’re down and they pick you right back up again (sometimes literally). You get to learn new things, like how New Zealanders call flip flops ‘jandals’, and you get to know some of their language and culture. In just 4 weeks I got to discover more about the world and other people’s lives. I have come back with many memories and inside jokes that no one else except the family will understand, but I know I am very lucky to have these and to have met these people.
So, if anyone has ever considered doing something like this; they want to do some good even in just a small part of the world, and want to challenge themselves, then I would 100% recommend and encourage this project. My experience gave me a confidence that I didn’t think I would ever have, and it led me to some amazing people. Thanks to Oyster, for providing me with a stress-free travel opportunity, I have some lifelong memories and friendships, and now I have more of the world to explore , for the sake of reunions!
I would happily do it all again.

I participated in the program last year in autumn. Living with a host family and teaching at local schools was a great experience and a very unique one as well.

Patagonia is an extremely remote place and Coyhaique (the town where the Programme is located) is just about big enough to have everything you need. This is one of the aspects that made this experience so special - it's just a special place to be and the surrounding landscapes are gorgeous.
Another aspect that I loved was the cultural immersion, by living with a host family, being treated as one of their children and working at the schools you get the chance to really experience the culture and learn a great amount of Spanish. It took me just about a month to bump into people everywhere in the streets!
I also got to joint the national junior championship for Cueca (Chile's national dance) and travelled down to Punta Arenas and Tierra del Fuego because my younger host brother was champion of the region. That was a fascinating week!

Regarding the teaching, I was admittedly quite unlucky with the teacher I worked with. He had never worked with volunteers before and did not seem to want us there at all. However, you can always get support and the local representative is there to help you change school for example.

Finally I would also like to mention the absolutely amazing travel opportunities. If you're an outdoor fan, Patagonia is your place! We the volunteer group did a Roadtrip down south to Patagonia's most incredible landscapes. You get to walk on glaciers, do hikes with amazing views and experience the endless wideness. At times, we didn't see anything or anyone at all for hours - just a few Guanacos passing by.

Sooo I would definitely recommend this Programme to everyone who is looking for a unique experience, to learn a lot of Spanish (you should learn the very basics prior to arrival tho - everything else is a missed opportunity because you need the basic grammar!!!!!), experience real cultural immersion and loves the outdoors.

Last year I was fortunate enough to travel to Nepal and spend four months teaching kids in a village in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. This was my first time travelling alone and Oyster made my trip amazing with their unwavering support from day one. Not only did I receive a highly detailed pre-departure briefing in the Oyster office but also received advice and support whenever I needed throughout my travel. Oyster also organised a representative in Nepal to aid me with any issues I may have had in the country. Not only was this representative, Basant, highly helpful he was also extremely friendly and made me feel at home straight away. This was the best trip of my life as a result of the fantastic personal support and planning I received from Oyster Worldwide. I highly recommend doing any of the Oyster Worldwide programmes as the level of care and interest they invest into each volunteer/ participant is fantastic!

Going away on your own is scary to say the least, but with Oyster I never felt truly alone. Different from other Gap Year companies, Oyster has a small team, all of which are friendly, passionate and experienced. They have tested the programmes, so they know what they are talking about. The programme had been something I'd dreamed of doing for ages, and as soon as I signed up, Oyster were on the phone the next day briefing me and making me feel as ease and all the more excited to go. While I was over there they were in touch whenever I needed them, always just an email or phone call away. I was only 18 and had never been away from my family. Oyster sent my parents all the information so they felt reassured. Nobody should have to give up on a dream for fear of doing it alone, and that, for me, is why I cannot rate Oyster highly enough. Since my time in South Africa, I have done a lot of other traveling by myself and no longer have the trepidation because Oyster helped me a little bit like putting L plates on a car. Oyster provide programmes where you can do some good in the world while feeling like you're in a safe environment and always have help on hand. I truly believe that anyone who goes away with Oyster will have the most fantastic time, because they always have that support in place.

This programme was more than I could have ever hoped for! Cliche aside - it was honestly the best thing I have done in my life...so far! I was going in expecting to enjoy the African wildlife and working hard to make a difference, but I came away with so much more than that. I made friends from all over the world - people who at home I probably would not have interacted with. I learned so much about the South African culture as well as the cultures of my fellow volunteers. The work we did was at times, very intense, but worth it. What you do has an immediate impact that you can see, as well as knowing your making an impact for years to come. The coordinators in the country became our family and there is nothing you cant go to them for. The opportunities to try new things outside volunteer hours are huge - but I would suggest if you want to make the most of them, to account for slightly more spending money to get the most of your experience. I can not say enough good things about this programme!!

My time in South Africa was absolutely incredible!! I went in my gap year to explore the world before University and I am so glad that I did! South Africa is a beautiful country, the other volunteers were amazing, the children I was teaching were amazing (although it was hard at times) and I found it hard to leave them as I had created such a bond with them in the 3 months that I was there! The project is very flexible so I did a bit of sports coaching and childcare as well which was awesome. And on the weekend we did activities like Skydiving, Safariing, Bungee Jumping, Shark Cage Diving etc. Overall, a phenomenal 3 months of my life with no regrets whatsoever. If you want an amazing experience in another country which is worth every penny then go for this one!

The disorganisation of Oyster's administration was apparent from the start when two of the volunteers were left at Balmaceda Airport without an address to go to or anyone to pick them up, we were also told by Oyster ahead of going out that we could fly into two airports in Coyhaique, when in fact one of those is a local light aircraft airport.
As soon as we arrived we were sold the 4 day Marble Caves excursion for what was retrospectively way over the normal price (you can see this from the amount of local companies offering the same package).
Before the excursion we had what had been sold to us as '5 days of intensive Spanish lessons' (also incidentally described on gooverseas.com as a '10 day language course') which turned out to be receiving some grammar sheets and playing a few games, receiving less than 7 hours in total.

When I arrived at my host family (they had hosted last year), it became clear that the situation had changed a lot since the last time. When trying to arrange a new host family, the Oyster office in England offered very little help/ support, and it ended up being sorted out by one of the other host parents. I felt undermined and as though I was making a fuss out of nothing, when in fact it was evident that the familial situation was not only very different to the other volunteers' but also very different from last year's. I did have a good time at my new host family but the whole situation could have been easily avoided.
We were also told to bring smart clothes and shoes for teaching, which we didn't need as even the Chilean teachers didn't dress as formally as suggested In the kitlist.

Although I would say that the Oyster member 'on the ground' did what she could to help, the support and communication offered by the Oyster office in England certainly does not reflect the price charged for the trip.

Whilst I did have an enjoyable time in Coyhaique and my Spanish improved a lot, I think the whole experience could be improved a lot with a change in Oyster's complacency. I would suggest doing a course similar to this one but elsewhere.

For me, the best part of this program was the opportunity to get whatever you want out of it. The way the trip is organised means you are provided with all the resources you need including in-country support, connections with the local schools and universities and local knowledge of all Patagonia has to offer, and it is then up to you to decide how you want to shape your 3 months.

Of course, the highlight of the trip has to be the unique opportunity to be able to live with a local family and become completely immersed in their day to day lives, my family were amazing and I felt immediately at home. Living with people who don't speak any English also forced me to massively improve my very weak Spanish and allowed me to really understand how different life was on the other side of the world. Admittedly one of the things that we all had to get used to was the somewhat disorganised Chilean culture, but again this was part of the experience and I certainly didn't fly half way across the world to live the same life I live at home! The host families really are something that sets the Oyster project apart, there is no way that you could set up the links with these people and the town on your own and I think it's safe to say that not many people my age have ever heard of Coyhaique or visited this area of Chile and for me that was a really exciting prospect.

I also really enjoyed exploring the area during my time in Chile, and my group and I definitely made use of all our weekends to get to know the area. We spent a week trekking in Torres del Paine which was amazing (particularly as a geography student) and went rafting, glacier walking, horse riding, cycling and mountain climbing at the weekends. Some of the other reviews have spoken quite negatively about the trip offered to Laguna San Rafael which I can't really relate to as I thought the trip was a definite highlight of my 3 months away. The glacier is amazing and is so far in the middle of nowhere that I really don't think it's something that could've been organised without Ian's help, and the marble caves too were beautiful. Whilst it was expensive I would advise anyone who can to take the opportunity, though it is in no way compulsory, because I think I definitely would have regretted not going and do believe that it was good value for money.

Finally, I think it's safe to say that I have made some amazing friends from my time in Chile, and we are still very close. It's an experience that much to my friend's dismay I never shut up about and probably won't for a long time yet!

I have made a YouTube video from my time away that for me sums it up nicely and will attach it below.