Always fancied going to Canada.

Visa applications open up soon, and I was going to get a working visa for a year hopefully. However, part of me thinks I’d be better just saving up as much as possible over the next six months or so, then travelling as a tourist and just do my best to enjoy the place for however long I go for?

What would you do? No financial/family commitments

With the way Canadians usually handle visa and in fact any type of officialdom you’d be better off going as a tourist

I’d be applying through Bunac. Although I can’t really see where the £250 goes with them, I get the impression they have cornered that market..

I’m guessing you’re <30? The 12 month BUNAC visa looks like a good deal and I’ve met a few people out here who’ve done that. It frees you up to go for virtually any job, and if you don’t want to work in that time, you’ve not really lost anything.

Bear in mind that if you go for a permanent/ contract role, the standard holiday allowance here is 15 days per year, so you have to eke it out to really see much of the country. If you wanted to *live* here, you obviously want the visa; if you just want to visit and see some cool places, theoretically you don’t, but a BUNAC visa would always allow you to get a bar job for a couple of months, or something more serious if your prospects change.

Yup, 25 next year. I’d like to be near somewhere for skiing (although not very fussed about off piste at this stage) and biking at some stage would be nice.