Making travel work since 1962
About BUNAC
Hey, we're BUNAC! Founded with mullets and a mission, we've been shaping the way generations of 18-30s see the world for 60+ years.
Part of the JENZA Travel Group – a family of work, camp + intern brands for students and 18-30s
Why Bunac?
Crew since '72
With access to 800+ American summer camps and a team who’ve been – we’re always in your camp.
No middle folk
As both the camp agency and US visa sponsor, we have one of the lowest program costs and highest camp salaries.
Pass it on
5% of profits go to our Youth Access Scholarship Fund so that more young people can work the world.
Our story
A bit about us
Where it all began...
About BUNAC
Founded on campus by two students in 1962, our travel-trailblazing founders knew that crossing borders had the power to break down barriers and build cultural connections (they were also British, so understood that staying in the UK for the summer could be meteorologically dicey). So, they chartered a plane, got a gang together, and started running cultural exchanges to the USA. Ten years later, BUNAC launched its famous Summer Camp USA program – and we’ve been saving summers from average jobs at home ever since!
Why the history lesson...
Why BUNAC
60+ years later, our purpose has never been more important. We believe that travel is one of the most impactful things you can do in your twenties – and we're on a mission to open up as many cabin doors as we can for our travellers. A heritage brand with a challenger spirit, BUNAC has led the way in shaping the camp world – always pushing for the highest salaries and even pioneering the first camp hiring pool to give our travellers more choice over their camp placement.
A brief history of BUNAC
1962 The British Universities North America Club (BUNAC) was officially founded as a non-profit by university students, Christopher Harbour and Martin Truscott
1963 BUNAC chartered its first transatlantic flight program with 1,530 travellers – a return flight was just £59!
1966 The Exchange Visitor Program – now known as Work USA – was created for UK university students to work over in America
1972 BUNAC’s Summer Camp USA program was established, sending 351 happy campers to work for the summer in the States
1986 After years of lobbying, the Canadian Government gave its approval for a flexible work program – to later become JENZA Work Canada
1988 Our UK program welcomes Australia, New Zealand and Canadian students – now called JENZA Work UK
1989 Our Work Australia program is launched – now known as JENZA Work Australia
1992 BUNAC turns 30 and sends its 150,000th traveller to work overseas
2009 BUNAC becomes a UKVI sponsor for the GAE visa program, now known as JENZA Intern UK
2018 Too cool for ski school, we launch our Work Japan ski season program – now called JENZA Work Japan
2022 We recruit our first Youth Advisory Panel (YAP) of 18-25 year olds to help keep Gen Z voices at the centre of what we do
2023 The JENZA Travel Group, now made up of BUNAC and USIT (our sibling work and travel brand in Ireland), launch our new global work and travel brand JENZA
2023 We launch our Youth Access Scholarship Fund, where we donate 5% of profits to open up work overseas opportunities to more young people
2024 Going back to our 1972 camp roots, BUNAC becomes our global Summer Camp USA provider, with all work and intern programs moving over to our JENZA site
2025 Heroes on the working holiday scene since 1975, our long-standing Canadian partners SWAP join the JENZA Travel fam!
2025 BUNAC joins forces with IENA American Summers to create the ultimate camp dream team – championing one of the lowest program prices in the market
The good stuff
Working on our mission
Committed to our three values – Authenticity, Accessibility, Accountability (and our un-official fourth value of not being an A-hole) – we're working towards doing better for our people, our community and our planet. We work with our Youth Advisory Panel of 18-25 year olds to help keep youth voices at the heart our business, we're on track to become B-Corp certified, and we donate 5% of profits to our Youth Access Scholarship Fund to help support young people to have the life-shaping experience of working overseas.
Jenza Travel Group
Working the world together
One global team with one mission – BUNAC is part of a wider travel group (AKA the 'grown ups') of like-minded youth travel brands. Our travel fam includes: USIT in Ireland, SWAP in Canada, our global work and intern brand JENZA, and US visa sponsor and cultural exchange champions, IENA. United in our belief that working overseas is one of the most transformative (and fun) things you can ever do, we open up a world of opportunities for students and 18-30s.
Visa sponsors for Intern UK
Founding our first student exchange program to the UK in 1966, today, BUNAC remains one of the largest A-rated visa sponsors for our JENZA Intern UK program. If you're an international student looking to get ahead with a 1-12 month UK internship, head to our JENZA site for all the internship intel!
FIND OUT MORE
The rest of the world...
Searching for our working holidays and internships?
Same team, same programs - different name! Head to our JENZA site for working holidays, ski seasons and international internships in Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the USA and UK.
TAKE ME THERE
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JENZA Travel International Ltd, trading as BUNAC, is a company registered in Dublin, Ireland with Registered Company No. 707281 and registered address at 29-31 South William St, Dublin, Ireland, D02 EY96.