Banff 2012-13 Anyone?

Hi,

I’m coming to the end of my travels in Australia and want to figure out my next move…i’m thinking Canada as i would love to do some skiing so why not kill two birds with the one stone and get paid whilst i’m doing it?

I’ve been looking at going with: http://www.gapyearcanada.com/index.php?Page_ID=1

Has anyone been with them before? Are they any good?

For eight months(Oct-May) accommodation it only costs CA$5500 which is only about 3500GBP and they guarantee you a job out there too.

Seems like a good deal but would like 2nd opinions.

Cheers

Whilst I’m now fairly against programs such as this… I had several friends who came through Gapyearcanada.. and they rated them highly. The bonus is that accomodation can be fairly hard to come by in Banff (but not that bad if you go alone)..

The only thing is I would say 98% of the kids on the UK gap year canada program were 18/19 who Mummy and Daddy had paid for to come out.. and it was their first times not living with Mummy and Daddy…. (Gapyearcanada has several houses around Banff so you’ll be stuck with them)

Also should you decide to move on you will have lost all that money (I spent 2 months in Banff and loved it but then moved onto Whistler, which I also love).

To be honest as long as you hit it in the right time you will find it easy to get a job (say early october, or if you want a job on the skihill then check when the hiring fairs are) (I hit it at the “wrong time” and still managed to get a job within a week).

I’ve done a very lengthy post on Canadian working holiday in the ski and snowboard travel section. But if you want anymore info feel free to ask.

Also.. since visa apps have just opened I’d say apply now!!

If you are looking to go to Canada for a Ski/Snowboard season then you can’t go wrong with Banff.  It is such an awesome place!  As Kiwi_hayley says t is hard to find accommodation for the season.  If you are not too fussy about what job you want to do out there, then maybe look at getting your visa sorted out and then look at places like the Banff HI Alpine Centre.  It’s a hostel that I have stayed in (for 3 months at time) and they are always recruiting people to work there, and the best part is you get free accommodation!