Explore Animal Welfare and Conservation Volunteer Programs

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.

Oyster
With excellent communication, Oyster was very good in making me ready to go. There were all sorts of documents and items that I needed to take with me and before my departure, Oyster had ensured I had all of this. I felt comfortable and ready to go. I was put at ease as any questions I had were answered. Whilst the trip through oyster was quite expensive, the help provided before, during and after my trip over all areas/ topics was very much worth it. A couple of information points could do with updating though. Thank you!
South Africa
I spent three weeks volunteering in South Africa at a monkey and baboon rehabilitation centre. Working from 6:30/7 to 4 each day under the hot South African sun was by all means hard work but also one of the most amazing experiences of my life. The people I met there and the time I got to spend with the primates was priceless, making amazing connections with both people and primates alike. The centre relies on the work of the volunteers and does so much to help these great animals. The owners have an inspiring passion towards the project and I hope to return to the project again one day as it truly was an experience I’ll never forget.

From start to finish nothing was too much of a problem, there was no such thing as a silly question. I haven't travelled in years and it was the first time I had done it by myself. Oyster's UK office were superb at answering any question, inquiry or problem I had. They were exceedingly helpful and very easy to get in contact with. When I was out there I was looked after incredibly well and had the time of my life! Just wish it had lasted longer!