Life and travel can be funny sometimes. In the past 13 years, I’ve probably been to a couple hundred destinations around the world, from Thailand to Tahiti and Scotland to Saint Lucia. I’d been all over the globe, but somehow I forgot about one of the great cities a mere 10-hour drive from my home in Toronto. My wife and I visited Boston before we had our first child, and I thought it was terrific. A few years later I became one of the Toronto Star’s baseball writers, which allowed me to cover Blue Jays’ games at Boston’s fabled Fenway Read more

Canadian cities scored highly in this year’s Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Awards. And Chicago was named best U.S. big city for the tenth year in a row. Victoria was named the world’s best small city for the fourth year in a row, which is quite the accomplishment. Here is what the magazine had to say: A popular day trip from Vancouver, British Columbia’s capital city deserves a standalone visit. Arrive via one of the world’s most scenic ferry rides across Swartz Bay and check in to the bucket list-worthy Fairmont Empress, where the Fairmont Gold rooms include access to Read more

As Holland America’s 2026 Alaska season ends, the cruise line is looking ahead to next summer’s milestone season celebrating 80 years of exploring the Great Land. For eight decades, Holland America has built a depth of knowledge in Alaska, helping shape an experience that brings the destination to life both on board and ashore. That expertise gives guests more ways to see Alaska’s wildlife and witness its glaciers than any other cruise line, from immersive wilderness exploration to signature glacier-viewing. That deep Alaska knowledge comes through in the details of the journey, from fresh, local seafood served on every Alaska Read more

The World Economic Forum has come out with its biannual list of the world’s best countries for tourism and travel. And the news isn’t great for Canada. The highly respected group looks at factors and policies that enable sustainable and resilient development in the travel and tourism space, under broad pillars like air transport structure, price competitiveness and safety and security and then comes up with a Travel and Tourism Development Index. Japan, which is seemingly near the top of everyone’s travel list these days, came out on top, rising from number three last year. The U.S. was second (the Read more

I had the good fortune of spending some time on a call this week with Shin Kawai from Japan Communications. Kawai represents the Japanese island of Kyushu, and also works with Tokyo. Our chat was focused on Kyushu, which is in the far southwest of Japan, just southeast (maybe 135 miles or 215 km’s) of South Korea and has a subtropical climate. The island is home to Nagasaki and several other major cities, including Fukuoka, which is home to Kushida-jinja, a beautiful 8th-century Shinto shrine. I was also quite interested to hear about Yanagawa, which has a series of canals Read more

If September is the new August, maybe October is the new September? The tenth month of the year can mean cooler temperatures for those of us in North America, or parts of Europe. But it’s a great time of the year to visit both northern climes, where you can enjoy sweater weather, fall colours and (in most places) fewer tourists, as well as more southerly destinations, which haven’t reached peak visitor season and probably won’t for another couple months. With all that in mind, here are some fine options. IRELAND – Ireland claims to be the home of the original Read more