Oyster Worldwide Arvostelua 

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!

I planned to travel with Oyster Worldwide to South Africa this summer 2020. Due to the Covid pandemic, I had to cancel the trip. Despite this, Oyster team, I would like to thank you for everything you have done. Your work is absolutely professional, you are helpful, kind and your communication is fast. I would definitely choose you again in the future and recommend you to my friends. Best wishes, Dasha

My daughter was so excited about her planned veterinary experience trip to South Africa this summer with Oyster Worldwide. The booking and facilitation process was a breeze and we were of course very disappointed when the trip had to be cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.
We have found our experience with Oyster to be highly professional and supportive and even when we made the difficult decision to cancel our trip for the time being and ask for a refund Oyster complied and reimbursed all the expenses incurred without question. I am so grateful to the team at Oyster worldwide and would highly recommend booking with them. We will definitely be hoping to re book next year! Thankyou Oyster

I booked an experience in a bear sanctuary in Romania but, unfortunately because of COVID-19, it has to be cancelled. Anne at Oyster called me to personally advise me on my situation. As my travel dates (due to my job) are very restricted, I can’t commit to a postponement so they were refunded me whatever I’ve paid so far; super efficient and hassle-free. I’m definitely praying for the time when we can travel again and I’d book through Oyster again in a heartbeat!

Unfortunately our trip to Costa Rica was cancelled but the experience with Oyster was great! Hopefully we will be able to book again soon!

Oyster has been an absolutely incredible travel agency, sorting out my trips to South Africa and Borneo whilst maintaining close and friendly contact! Nothing but positive feedback for Oyster and I highly recommend this organisation!

Unfortunately we've had to postpone our trip to South Africa which we were so looking forward to. The whole team at Oyster Worldwide has been incredibly supportive and friendly during these crazy covid times, especially Anne who I have dealt directly with. We're hoping to be able to re-book soon.

I was meant to be travelling to Thailand in July for the Elephant Sanctuary trip. I booked in Autumn time and from the moment I enquired about the trip I was treated with absolute respect. Anne, the destination manager was wonderful and extremely accommodating my needs and any questions or queries I had. When we first went into lockdown and they were obviously flooded with emails and questions yet they still were able to answer questions within a few days. As soon as it became apparent that the trip wouldn't be going ahead, I had frequent phone calls from Anne to keep me updated on how rescheduling or refunding the trip would work. I had my trip refunded within 3 days of deciding that is what I would like to do. I only asked for a refund because I am a student so I needed the money for university as I haven't been able to work due to lockdown restrictions and working in hospitality- but I will be rebooking my trip for next summer and will definitely be using Oyster Worldwide for my trip. I cannot recommend them enough!

Like many of the reviews written from around April 2020, my trip, like many others, couldn't go ahead due to the small issue of a global pandemic!

I was meant to be travelling to South Africa for the Veterinary experience and garden route tour. I'd booked my trip over a year and a half ago and had been saving up for even longer! I didn't mind working in my gap year and using all the savings I had because I knew that I had a once-in-a-lifetime trip booked!

All through the booking process Anne, my destination manager, was So helpful with answering any of my queries or concerns, from what bag would be best to take to how much spending money I would need... nothing was too much trouble.

Roll on to March 2020 when the UK entered lockdown and the world stopped. I was naturally, yet almost selfishly, very concerned about my trip. Anne was very optimistic about the outcome and encouraged me to stay hopeful (but working in a scientific environment had shown me that these sort of events, although rare, hang around for a long time!).

Oyster weren't the first to 'cancel'. My flights which were booked through the Flight Centre (I highly recommend using them), had been cancelled and along with the FCO advise advising against all but essential foreign travel, there was no way I was getting to South Africa. Also you now require a visa to enter the country and the SA borders were closed. Although disappointing, I wasn't surprised. A bigger challenge was yet to come...

Getting a refund is always a challenge, especially for a small business like Oyster Worldwide. At first I was encouraged to postpone my trip but I couldn't see this as a viable option as my original trip was booked for 5 weeks and I wasn't sure when I'd have that sort of free time at university (I'm even more glad I don't postpone now as my university has said they are shortening holidays in order to allow for social distancing... and who knows what will happen if people continue to ignore the lockdown guidelines!). I can totally see why postponement or credit notes were encouraged, yet this just wasn't the right solution for me.

It took a while to hear back from Oyster about what would happen next, but this was due to the shear number of calls and emails they were receiving. There were some scary moments during this time as I was unsure if I would get a refund and originally, I was only offered a partial cash refund with the rest on a credit note.

By this point, many of the wonderful staff at Oyster had been furloughed and so I've mainly spoken to the equally wonderful Rodger in the past few months. In order to get a refund, I was told to first put an insurance claim in. This was an incredibly long and painful process and my review for the company I used will be less than positive! It took longer than my trip length to hear back from them, only to find out it had been, unsurprisingly, refused. At the start of my claim, all I was offered was my final instalment back, but as time went on, and various developments occurred, I was offered my whole payment back.

This is a really challenging time for almost all businesses, especially for those in the travel industry. I really feel for Rodger and all his employees at Oyster! :-(

Although this has been a long and drawn out process ( a bit like this review!), I received a full refund today. (I'm still waiting on the flight money but thats a whole other battle!).

Rodger and Anne have been great and very understanding! I'm gutted that I couldn't go on my trip, but I'm so relieved that the money is bank in my account so that, when the time is right, I can start to plan another trip (and of course I'll use Oyster again).

Im sure if my trip could have happened I would have had a wonderful time and made lifelong memories!

Overall, minus some stress over the 'cancellation', my experience with Oyster has been great and I would certainly recommend them to other Gap Year travellers!

Very helpful from the very start to the very end unfortunately trip didn’t go ahead due to the virus, however, they were straight on it with providing alternatives and postponements along with extra support in all areas. Highly recommend!!

i would definitely recommend oyster to anyone wanting to travel in their gap year & for most of the stress to be taken out of their hands! whilst unfortunately my trip to southeast-asia wasn't able to happen this year because of covid-19, their correspondence throughout the process was efficient, personal and friendly, & they did their best to accommodate me through the changing global situation. i was given many options including open postponement & full refund cancellation. while sadly i was not able to postpone on this occasion, i am hoping & intending to book with oyster again once the global situation has cleared up! thank you for providing a quality service.