Oyster Worldwide Reviews 

The volunteer project at the bear sanctuary in Romania was such an inspiring and enjoyable experience. The volunteer work felt worthwhile but the emphasis was very much upon enjoying finding out about the bears and having an enjoyable experience with our fellow volunteers. My daughter and I did this together ( she is late 20’s and I am 61) so it’s suitable for all ages , but moving around the sanctuary does involve a lot of walking and some quite steep hills . But as long as you are reasonably fit it’s suitable . We were also treated to some good accommodation right in the centre of Brasov which is a lovely city, loads of nice shops and restaurants and near to Dracula’s castle . The company treat you to a meal out on your first evening and a trip to the castle. Drivers collect you from the accommodation to go to the sanctuary each day . The bears stories will move you , without doubt and you will come away feeling enriched by the experience. A special mention for Razvan , the Oyster representative who organises and liaises with you during the trip. He is very helpful , accessible and ensures your safety at all times. I recommend this project highly to anyone who
loves bears .

I’m on an 11 week ski course in austria. The set up is brilliant and oyster have been so helpful with booking. Regular phone calls and emails makes it feel very personable. I have been well prepared for this trip and I look forward to future adventures with oyster.

What a fantastic first class service from Oyster (special mention for Anne who has helped me from the very first moment of my enquiry). Everything booked with ease, then we had a pandemic but lots of updates throughout and although right now it’s not possible to do the trip we started out with I will defiantly be going back to these guys when we can travel again. Would recommend them without hesitation. It’s all very well getting it right when everything is OK but Oyster has shown they can come up trumps through the hard times too - thanks Anne and team!

The team at Oyster (a special mention for Anne) could not have been more attentive and helpful during what can only have been the most trying of times. I would not hesitate to recommend Oyster to anyone, young or not so young, considering volunteering. Absolutely first rate.

I had contacted Oyster to be part of a mission in Portugal which never happened but I was delighted to see how professional everyone was. I was contacted immediately when travels resumed and given the various options, I was refunded super quickly.

I highly recommend them and hope to be able to travel with them very soon!

Although we were not able to go away with oyster due to covid, their programme was very well structured and covered a range of activities. Georgie has been so helpful and reassuring throughout the process and the company put our safety first by cancelling the tour and issuing a full refund. Could not recommend them enough, hopefully will be able to rebook something with them after the pandemic.

Highly recommend Oyster. We are not the 'typical' traveller, I'm 55 and my son is 11, we planned to visit Riverside, the monkey sanctuary in SA followed by a 3 day safari in Kruger in July 2020. All cancelled due to Covid, however the communication, pre trip planning and advice all excellent, as has been the communication through lockdown. Having postponed our trip, due to a change in circumstances I regretfully had to request a refund, which was in my bank account within 24 hours. Crucial I think at the moment when travel plans are not guaranteed that you have this peace of mind. Will definitely book with Oyster again in the future.

Amazing customer service , I would highly recommend using oyster

I fond allot of info

Just want to say a massive thank you to Anne, one of the managers I have been dealing with when booking my trip to South Africa. She has been amazing and so helpful, quick to respond to answer my questions. Unfortunately COVID-19 has caused problems with my trip but hoping one day that I rebook with them!!

I had originally planned to go to South Africa for my dream trip to help elephants last year in April. Unfortunately due to the impending pandemic this was cancelled. I was able to delay my trip to this year at no extra cost thanks to Georgie and the Ouster team. With the lockdowns still ongoing I have now decided to cancel this trip altogether and turn it into a bigger one once travel can happen again. My refund was processed so quickly after requesting it. I cannot fault Georgie on her excellent customer service throughout all of this! I hope to use Oyster again in the future, really recommend to anyone to use them.

Unfortunately due to travel restrictions as a result of Covid-19, I was unable to travel to Australia as planned. Despite this, my experience with Oyster was excellent. Georgie was so helpful in preparing me for the trip: answering any questions and explaining the process. When I decided the borders weren't going to open in time for my adventure I was refunded so quickly! I really hope I can use Oyster in the future and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to travel.

I couldn’t recommend Oyster enough! I booked my gap year travels with them and they guided me every step of the way! They responded to any of my queries very quickly and kept me completely up to date with any slight change, even if it was out of their control. Sadly I couldn’t go travelling due to the pandemic but I got given 18 months to postpone the trip and if I couldn’t do that everything refunded. I opted to get it all refunded as I am not able to fit the travels into my university holidays, but the refund was arranged and in my bank account within 24 hours which is very impressive! There was no pressure to postpone or hassle with getting a refund due to their lovely team. If you are thinking about booking with them, just do it! The team at Oyster are so helpful and friendly which is really reassuring if you are planning to step out your comfort zone. I can’t wait to organise my futures travels with them and with the way they have handled the complications of travelling in the pandemic gives me so much confidence in the team! Couldn’t have been happier with my choice of company!

Allthough I made the difficult decision to cancel my plans volunteering in Africa with Oyster due to the virus and my mental health, they was so kind and understanding and reassured me that I would get a full refund. They are so honest and genuine with all their support and the website is very well put together with lots of useful information. Hopefully I can turn to Oyster and book again in the future

Due to Covid-19, my trip had to be cancelled to much disappointment but they are true to their word on giving the refund back. Also, this would’ve been my first time traveling out of the country AND by myself, and Anne worked patiently with me throughout the months to prepare. The website provides so much organized information and definitely doesn’t leave anything out. If I ever get the chance to have so much time off again, I will definitely be going through Oyster.

Me and my friend were meant to be going out to South Africa in January. Both of us were gutted it had to be cancelled but Anne amazing at reaching out to us and giving us a refund.

Oyster worldwide was great at giving us lots of pre departure information on the trip and it seemed very organised so I’m sure it would of been a great trip if we went.

I signed up for my 17 year old daughter to volunteer for a couple of weeks in South Africa. We paid the initial deposit for an oyster program amid the covid pandemic, but unfortunately was not able to attend because of the uncertainty of the virus and our circumstances have changed. Oyster, in particular Anne Smellie was incredibly understanding and money paid so far back. They also offered to transfer it to another program if I wanted to or another time later in the year. Anne's service has been outstanding right from our initial enquiry. While my daughter hasn’t done an oyster program yet, I can definitely say the service I received was great! I wouldn't hesitate to rebook through Oyster.

Just what I was looking for

I signed up and paid my initial deposit for an oyster program amid the covid pandemic, but unfortunately was not able to attend because of the virus. Oyster was incredibly understanding and gave me a full refund. They also offered to transfer it to another program if I wanted to or another time later in the year. Their service was unlike many of the other programs I spoke with because they were much more considerate and understanding. While I haven’t done an oyster program yet, I can definitely say the service I received was great!

This company was amazing! I had the lovely experience of working alongside Anne Smellie and I have never received such amazing, kind and honest customer service. Such a lovely tone, responded to all of my emails extremely quickly, even answered all of my mums questions as she was worried I was to be 17 flying to South Africa on my own. I was absolutely gutted I had to cancel my trip with them but even on that behalf, financially and money wise, they were secure and honest - unlike many horror stories I’ve heard of other travel companies. I would reccomend this company very highly to anyone!