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At Press Start Evolution, we are digital nomads, which allows us to travel for extended periods without impacting our work, as our entire team works 100% remotely—a mode we’ve adopted for the past 14 years.

This time, as business owners, we had the opportunity to travel for five weeks to Canada. Usually, to avoid the harsh Uruguayan winter, which we find difficult to get used to, we schedule our international trips mid-year. This time, we traded a few weeks of the Uruguayan winter for the Canadian summer, and in this blog, we want to share some valuable information about the services we have contracted in Uruguay that were essential for our personal and business experience during the trip.

The first significant advantage of living in Uruguay was the process of obtaining our Canadian tourist visa (If you want to know more about our experience living in Uruguay, we invite you to read this blog). As Colombians, we need a visa to enter Canada, and the visa is granted based on the validity of your Colombian passport. The times for completing the biometric process and collecting the visa were relatively quick and straightforward, given the low number of people who apply for this visa in Uruguay. We did the entire process online and in Montevideo with VFS Global. For Uruguayans, it is also necessary to obtain a Canadian visa; however, some Uruguayan citizens are eligible to apply for the Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA).

Another service that significantly enhances the experience of international travel is access to VIP lounges, especially when traveling with babies. In our case, with our Santander Uruguay credit cards, we have three free accesses per year per person. This is a considerable saving since airport food is expensive, while access to a VIP lounge where food and drinks are unlimited would cost around $35 USD per person if paid separately.

Another great advantage for our trip to Canada was having a mobile service plan with Claro in Uruguay, which includes free International Roaming for two consecutive months across the Americas. This benefit is substantial, as in Alberta, Canada, the average cost of this service is $15 CAD per day (equivalent to $11 USD daily), and that’s in the province with the lowest tax rate in Canada (5% GST). Our Claro plans cost approximately $10 USD per month per plan (a bargain), including GBs of data, unlimited minutes, messaging, and international roaming. We’ve used this service on previous trips to Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, and it has always worked very well.

Another service worth highlighting in Uruguay is the one offered by La Asistencial Médica, through which we annually contract international travel assistance coverage from Universal Assistance. We pay around $100 USD per person per year, and this international travel insurance covers all international trips we take within a year, with the limitation that it covers up to 60 consecutive days per trip starting from the departure from Uruguay. Having medical insurance is essential when planning a trip abroad, especially to a first-world country like Canada, where the cost of accessing medical services is extremely high.

Unfortunately, during our 5-week stay, we had to use this medical insurance. Without it, each visit to the emergency room would have cost $1,000 CAD ($725 USD) just for the consultation, regardless of the treatment received—and in our case, we had to go twice. Thanks to this insurance, we didn’t have to pay anything, and the cost of the prescribed antibiotics was fully reimbursed through a quick and easy process using the Universal Assistance app.

Living in Punta del Este, we are very fortunate that a medical emergency at Sanatorio Cantegrill typically involves a wait of no more than 1 hour, even on busy days. However, in Canada, where the healthcare system is public, emergency room waits can exceed 8 hours.

Throughout our stay in Canada, we were in the province of Alberta, where we traveled extensively and visited iconic sites like Lake Louise and Moraine Lake in Banff, the Banff Gondolas, Peyto Lake (considered one of the most beautiful lakes in the world), Abraham Lake, the Athabasca Glaciers and Waterfalls, Jasper, and more. On July 25th, the latter location suffered a severe wildfire, resulting in significant structural and wildlife losses. Thanks to the evacuation of over 25,000 people by the authorities, human casualties were avoided.

We must say that out of the 36 countries we’ve had the opportunity to visit with Press Start, Canada offered us postcard-perfect landscapes, crystal-clear lakes unlike anything we had ever seen before, snow-capped mountain peaks in summer at Banff, and sightings of bears and other wildlife along the roads. These experiences made our trip unforgettable, not to mention the emotions and experiences we shared while visiting family.

In Calgary, the time zone also benefited our work, as we were 3 hours behind Uruguay, 1 hour behind Colombia, and 2 hours behind the East Coast of the United States, where most of our clients are located. Additionally, we had the opportunity to purchase a new MacBook Air in Calgary, which was 35% cheaper than in Uruguay.

Adding to the tools and systems that facilitated our trip to Canada, we also had the support of the Uruguayan government agency Uruguay XXI, which managed the logistics for the mission to Collision in Toronto (where we were scheduled to go but, unfortunately, couldn’t attend due to our medical emergency). However, we witnessed the excellent work of the Uruguay XXI team, who, despite our absence, connected us with potential clients and investors interested in our work and digital products.

During the trip, we also observed other business events such as the External Development Summit in Vancouver, held in September. Both events are already on our radar for the coming years, as Canada serves as a key hub for exploring and entering the North American market.

At Press Start Evolution, our experience as digital nomads has allowed us to combine the pleasure of travel with uninterrupted work productivity. Our recent trip to Canada not only gave us the chance to enjoy breathtaking landscapes but also to test and appreciate the services we have in Uruguay that made the experience smoother. From efficient visa processing and VIP lounge access to the benefits of international roaming and medical insurance coverage, each of these elements was crucial in ensuring a hassle-free trip.

Looking ahead, we see that Canada, particularly Calgary and its surroundings, could be an excellent focal point for establishing a presence to expand into the U.S. and Canadian markets. This area is continuously growing, with the country’s lowest taxes, affordable housing, proximity to a city with significant economic activity, and organizations like Calgary Economic Development, which specialize in attracting talent and enhancing the city’s tech offerings.

The ability to work remotely and strategically plan our travels not only improves our quality of life but also strengthens our operational efficiency as a company. For this reason, we encourage other organizations to consider integrating advanced technologies and efficient services that can optimize both the personal and professional lives of their teams.

At Press Start Evolution, we remain committed to being leaders in augmented reality experiences and video game development for educational, advertising, and entertainment purposes. We’re here to help you integrate artificial intelligence and other technological innovations into your company. What are you waiting for? Let’s develop your project. Contact us.