Working Holiday – Canada (For Australians)

Want to travel the world, but have no money? Or maybe you have some money but only enough for your airfare and one meal at McDonald’s? What if I told you, that’s all you need! What if I told you, that you can go to the other side of the world for under $2,000AUD! **Not including flights.

For Australians, we are blessed with a high minimum wage, so as long as you are capable of saving enough for an airfare and minimum $2,000AUD spending, you my friend can go to the snowy, mountainous, beautiful, land that is Canada. Yes, you will have to ‘earn your keep’ but honestly, when you are working in the mountains or on a gorgeous ski field, what’s not to love? Unless of course you don’t love snow… then I will perhaps suggest not going in Winter…

Early morning walk to work, Lake Louise Alberta

Why Canada? Well, Canada is part of the commonwealth government, so that means getting a ‘working holiday’ visa is super-duper easy for us Aussies. Also, if you are a student, and feel like you are at Uni, literally every single day of your life, you are in luck! Because our longest university break runs from end of November to end of February, that is the ‘busy season’ for the ski slopes up in Canada, so it’s the perfect time for you to jet set off to the other side of the world for a much-deserved break. And one more thing, if you need that extra bit of convincing, you will get to see this…

Breathtaking Lake Louise, Lake Louise Alberta

Or this…

Quaint Town of Whistler, Whistler Blackcomb

Or even this…

Peyto Lake, Banff National Park Alberta

Every-single-day-you-are-there!!

Now that you are already packing your bags, and booking your flights, a couple of key tips before you go.

VISAS: you can do your Canadian working visa online, try get this done at least 2-3 months in advance because sometimes it can take a while. You can start your application for your Canadian Visa here.

JOBS: now you can try and secure a job before you leave, just search up some of the key ski field mountains in the area, my top suggestions are; Lake Louise Ski Resort, Sunshine Village (Banff) and Whistler Blackcomb. Otherwise, you can just ‘wing it’ and apply for jobs when you are there as a lot of these places have “Open Days”, think of your University open day, but for Jobs!

PACKING: Canada, it’s cold… and unless you are in the lower half of Australia, most of our gear isn’t really catered towards Canadian winters, so I would suggest buying most of your warm coats and jackets and ski gear when you are there! There are plenty of Thrift Shops that have awesome, cheap 2nd hand gear, otherwise, even store bought stuff will be cheaper then back in Aus.

Now that you are all ready, you can start counting down to your winter wonderland of a trip and stop wander-lusting over these photos…