Volunteer with Bears in Romania

LOVED my time in Braşov and at the sanctuary. The fact that it’s a different set up to previous volunteer work that I’ve done took a quick minute for my brain to adjust - but this small scale, utterly unique experience was really special. I’m totally happy working on my own, especially with a view out to the adolescent bear’s enclosure. Brilliant. Razvan is obviously the key factor in why it works so well despite the language barriers on site. I’ve never met an on-location rep with such attention to detail and proficiency…….especially seeing as he is completing these duties alongside a full time job! I made zero effort top learn any Romanian and to be honest I think even if I’d invested hours of time my capabilities would have been poor. Google translate, bad miming and Razvan at the end of the phone from the 1990s is enough to get by. Some of the sanctuary workers are more keen to interact than others but that’s all fine - just an observation. Personally I would have liked more to do. The vagueness of the arrival time for the afternoon delivery was a tiny bit frustrating but that’s just the way it is. Not the end of the world……I’m just not good with feeling that I’m not being 100% productive ALL OF THE TIME. More my own OCD totally neurotic character trait. I could definitely do with being a bit more Romanian Laid Back!! My suggestion would be to have a back up list of extra/optional jobs that could be done around the food prep area………perhaps cleaning based - scrubbing down the walls, hosing out the food crates, organising stuff inside the fridge. The flat was great, everything I needed, warm and comfortable. Loads to do around the town, culture, restaurants, people watching, hiking. I was never bored and it was easy to fill any time off. Bolt transfer was efficient and I really liked the driver Ovi, we discussed every topic under the sun. Very amusing, great company - I learnt a lot about family life in Romania with 2.4 children.

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.

From the very first day, I felt incredibly welcome. Razvan is always there when you need him, and the town of Brașov is such a special place with a wonderful atmosphere. The sanctuary itself is incredibly peaceful, truly one of the most enchanting places I’ve ever been. Traveling to Romania to work at the sanctuary is definitely worth it!