• Food preparation: Unloading the food from the van, sorting all the produce (meat, fruit, vegetables, bread and dairy products).  You will either put it in storage or start to prepare it for the bears, removing any packaging and cutting up the food.
• Bear feeding: You may have the chance of seeing the bears being fed your carefully prepared food items. They normally get fed by throwing the food over the sides of the enclosures or using the sanctuary vehicle. This is quite a difficult task, so you will probably just get to sit back and watch the bears come out the forest one by one for their food, often a highlight for volunteers.
• Monitoring: Once the bears are fed, you might be able to get involved with monitoring work.  This involves observing the bears’ behaviour, health, hibernation, interaction and how they are adjusting to life outside.
• Ad hoc tasks: You may may be asked to take part in medical procedures, checking the enclosures, walking and checking the site around the sanctuary and feeding the other animals at the sanctuary (wolves, donkeys, cows, chickens and dogs).

The staff at the sanctuary find the volunteers to be a great help and always have jobs for you to do, although the tasks will vary depending on the bears and their needs whilst you are there. Other tasks can include working in the educational centre, telling visitors about the bears and your volunteer experience, and helping with any ongoing promotional work.

You can read about returned volunteer Luke’s experience as a volunteer at the bear sanctuary.

Bears have long been used as forms of entertainment and to attract tourists in Romania. This meant that many bears were being forced to live in cramped conditions outside hotels and restaurants, perform in circuses or live in dreadful circumstances in tiny enclosures in poorly constructed zoos. For years many charities, including WAP, have campaigned against this treatment, and finally in 2007 things had to change when Romania became the 27^th country to join the EU.

Upon joining the EU, Romania had to introduce a new law on conditions in zoos with stricter regulations. Suddenly many zoos faced closure, leaving more than thirty bears needing a new home.

WAP, along with many local charities, raised significant funds in order to purchase a 30 hectare site outside of Brasov.  Here they built what is now Eastern Europe’s largest bear sanctuary.

The bears were rescued quickly, and the sanctuary has grown over the years. It is now home to over 100 bears, both young and old, rescued from all over Romania, and sometimes even further afield.

These bears all have moving histories, which are all the more poignant when you see the beautiful haven that they are living in today, living in relative freedom and far from the cages and prying eyes of keen tourists.

The bears have come from all types of backgrounds, many of them tragic, so don’t be surprised to find this quite an emotional experience. You will pick up lots more information at the sanctuary, and also from the book that you receive on arrival in Romania.

You can follow the link to find out more about brown bears in general.

The great thing about being a bear sanctuary volunteer is that it really gets you close to the bears in a natural environment, in a way that is positive for the bears.

Volunteers are not allowed to touch the bears at the sanctuary. As the bears are recovering from previous ordeals at the hands of humans, they need time to fully rehabilitate. Physical interaction with the bears is counter-productive to the aims of the sanctuary.

All volunteers have plenty of time to watch the bears, get to know them and perceive their different personalities. Without exception, volunteers return home with a favourite bear that they have taken to their hearts while working at the sanctuary.

Oyster assesses projects carefully to ensure that they offer high standards of animal welfare and environmental practice. We also check that volunteers understand key points of good practice before working with animals. To find out more, see our animal welfare policy.

Whilst late-availability is possible, we would advise booking as soon as you can to guarantee your ideal dates. Our projects are very popular and spaces can fill up several months in advance, especially for the months of June to September.

There are four distinct seasons in Romania:

Spring: March – May. Temperatures range from 10 – 20 degrees celsius during the day time, but can get quite cold at night time. Average 30 – 80mm of precipitation each month.

Summer: June – September. Temperatures range from 20 – 30 degrees celsius. Average 80 – 100mm of rain each month.

Autumn: September – November. Temperatures range from 10 – 20 degrees celsius during the day time, but can get quite cold at night time. Average 30 – 50mm of precipitation each month.

Winter: November – March. Temperatures range from 10 – 20 degrees celsius during the day time, but can get quite cold at night time. Average 30mm of precipitation each month.

We would recommend taking £60 – £100 per week for food, drinks and treats. You should budget separately for any outings or meals out that you might like to have.

We recommend taking at least one or two cards (debit / credit) and a small amount of cash.

Typically you won’t need a visa for stays up to 3 months. You should make sure your passport is valid for the duration of your stay.

Most of our volunteers are independent travellers and you will become part of a group of people from around the world here. You are more than welcome to travel with friends or as part of a small group too however- more the merrier!

The simple answer to this question is, yes absolutely!

It is important to bear in mind however that this may not be like other holidays that you have taken. Remember that you are volunteering, and this means that you will be put to work! This sort of holiday is a world away from sun loungers and cocktails, with our volunteers often heading home tired but immensely satisfied. If you think that you will need a bit of relaxing time on your trip too, do make sure to factor this in when your time on the project is complete.

You should visit your doctor or travel nurse to find out what vaccinations you will need. Your routine vaccinations will need to be up to date, it is likely that you will need Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B. Rabies is a possibility. You should follow your doctors advice.

See below for where the closest hospital to the project is – your doctor may ask to know this so that they can provide information on rabies.

For any information related to Covid-19, please see the Fit for Travel website or the UK government’s travel advice page for Romania.

Brasov has many excellent medical facilities, varying from pharmacies to local doctors to hospitals. These can all be accessed within 20 minutes and are of good quality.

Brasov is a beautiful and small medieval city, located at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains. It is a very warm and welcoming place, and has become very used to tourists. This makes it a very safe destination, however it is important to always be sensible and responsible. Brasov is a relatively safe place with very little crime, although pickpockets target tourists so take care of your belongings. If you want to walk or trek ask for information on the wild bears! Going more off the beaten track you will receive a few more stares as these areas may not be quite so used to tourists. You will be given information on buses and the local area however so you will be well prepared for this. We give you full health and safety information before departure, as well as upon arrival.

No you do not need to learn to speak Romanian.

On this project you will be working closely with Romanians on a daily basis. To be able to make the most of this opportunity it is highly recommended that you learn some Romanian before departure. A little will go a long way- and a good amount will go even further! Some of the local staff will have limited English and really appreciate you trying. There are many good resources online as well as books and online aids to help you learn. Noroc!

Wifi is available for free in the flat. There are also plenty of WiFi hotspots in town. Most of these are free.

Very good reception in Brasov and at the bear sanctuary.

Romania is 2 hours ahead of GMT (GMT +2)

Romania has European two-pin plugs.

We arrange a half day trip to Bran Castle for those on the transfer package, covering the cost of transportation. If you stay for 2 weeks or more, for an additional cost, our representative can organise a trip to Peles Catle at cost – usually around £55 for a return taxi.

The two options are:

• A trip to Bran castle (Dracula’s castle). Entrance fee: approx £8
• Trip to Sinaia, a nearby town with the beautiful Peles castle. Entrance fee: approx £5

There are plenty of places to visit in Brasov and the surrounding area. Situated in the heart of Romania, Brasov is a charming medieval town with an ancient history and plenty of interesting monuments. It has great transport links to other wonderful cities in Romania, and even further afield.

You will have evenings and weekends free.

You are very much encouraged to photograph the bears and the sanctuary – indeed, this is one of the great highlights of the project. Please be aware however that you will be asked to pay a fee of around 40 euros if you have a camera with a telephoto lens.

Supervision will be fairly intensive during the first few days, when you will receive a thorough induction and work-related training. Once you are comfortable with things, you might not always have a supervisor working alongside you, but there will always be staff and other volunteers around to help, and you will always be accompanied for any high risk activities.

Staff at Oyster’s head office and in-country will be responsible for your safety and welfare while you are at the project. This will start from the moment you are picked up from the airport until the time you are dropped back there should you take the transfer package. Before and after these times, you will be outside Oyster’s responsibility and should make sure that you act safely and avoid risk. This is also true if you choose to leave the project during your time off. We will give you plenty of guidance and advice about this.

Oyster has personally hand-picked some of the best volunteering projects out there. With so much amazing choice, it can be hard to make a decision. Our Animal Welfare guide is here to help you to choose the best animal volunteering project for you.