2023 Jimmy Awards: Best Travel Experiences In Australia, The Caribbean, Scotland and England

I had some great visits outside of Canada and the U.S. this year, visiting Sydney, Tasmania, Western Australia, Dominica, Puerto Rico, Martinique, Scotland and England. Here are some highlights.

BEST RENTAL CAR EMPLOYEE

My reservation was all messed up and the Budget Rental Car counter was closed when I landed at the airport in Esperance, Western Australia. I called the phone number for after hours help and reached a very kind woman named Hope. She was about to head off to a gender reveal party but said she could drive out and get my car set up for me, which she did. People in small towns are amazing.

COOLEST HOTEL SCOTLAND

The Virgin Hotel in Edinburgh is extremely stylish, and in a great location on Victoria Street; just a few steps from the Royal Mile.

BEST PUERTO RICO SUNSET

This one, taken at Hacienda Campo Rico in San Juan. (I am putting Puerto Rico into my Caribbean section, but I do realize it’s part of the United States. A very cool part. Thanks.)

BEST ROOFTOP POOL

The new W Hotel in Sydney, Australia, has a spectacular rooftop pool with tremendous views of Darling Harbour and glittering tiles.

BEST GOLF EXPERIENCE

Shiskine Golf Club is a delightful, quirky and thoroughly enjoyable layout on the Isle of Arran in Scotland. Entertaining and engaging locals really made this a fun round.

BEST TOUR GUIDE, DOMINICA

Jenner Robinson is a lovely guy who seemingly knows everyone on the island of Dominica and leads great tours. He also owns a rental car company called Happy Car Rentals, which is handy if you need one on the island.

MOST INSANE BEACHES

Western Australia does it again. The beaches around Esperance are mostly pure, white sand, with blue-green-turquoise waters you have to see to believe, and red rocks all around. I loved Twilight Beach and West Beach, as well as Hellfire Bay and the east end of Lucky Bay, but there are way too many to mention. There are also amazing beaches in the Margaret River region, including Boranup, Injidup and Smiths Beach.

BEST CITY TOUR WITH A MUSIC THEME

We had a terrific music-oriented tour of Glasgow with Fiona Shepherd, a local music writer. A very enjoyable city to explore.

COOLEST BEACH TOWN, CARIBBEAN

Saint Anne in Martinique. Super laid-back and not too touristy.

CUTEST VILLAGE

Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds Region of England. Utterly adorable.

BEST NATURE TOUR

Elise Parker from a company called Walk Into Luxury took my wife and I on a fine hike along Injidup Beach in Western Australia, explaining local flora and stopping to give us some yummy treats from a bakery in the city of Busselton. Walk Into Luxury arranges a variety of amazing walks, with great food and tremendous places to stay along the way.

BEST RUM MIXING/COCKTAIL EVENT

Ron Del Barrilito distillery in  San Juan, Puerto Rico. So much fun.

 

COOLEST RUINS

At Botallack Mine in Cornwall, England you’ll find amazing atmosphere from old mines shuttered more than 100 years ago It’s no surprise they use this as a setting for the TV show Poldark.

BEST TASMANIA VIEW

Gazing down at spectacular Wineglass Bay in Freycinet National Park.

BEST OUTDOOR RESTAURANT

 

Batibou Beach is a luscious stretch of sand near the funky, seaside town of Calibishie on the north side of Dominica. Sisters Irma and Jacqueline Douglas have a thatched roof tiki hut and fire up amazing lunches served on a deep green banana leaf.

FAVE SCOTTISH ISLAND

Okay, I only visited one. But I absolutely adored the Isle of Arran. They say it’s a microcosm of Scotland, and I’d have to agree; cool villages, lovely beaches, great golf, a couple whisky distilleries, amazing hiking, an historic castle, and more.

COOLEST ANIMAL EXPERIENCE

Feeding and petting orphaned kangaroos as part of my nocturnal tour with South West Eco Discoveries in the Margaret River region of Western Australia. Kangaroo fur is amazingly soft.

WORST CAR RENTAL EXPERIENCE

Driving a massive SUV on the teeny, tiny roads of Cornwall, England. Damn near gave me a heart attack a couple of times.

BEST IN-ROOM DECOR TOUCH

Our room at the W Hotel in Sydney had a giant stuffed shark on the bed.

BEST DOMINICA SUNRISE

This one, taken at Wanderlust Caribbean Adventure Travel Boutique Hotel in Calabishie. Nice owners, and pretty rooms near a couple of the island’s finest beaches.

BEST HISTORIC CITY TOUR

We had a marvelous tour of Edinburgh with Veni, a guide from Mercat Secrets of the Royal Mile Tour, who dished out tons of fun stories and historical information about the city. 

MOST STUNNING THEATRE

The Minack Theatre in Cornwall, England, is carved out of a rocky cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Gobsmacking, unimaginable majesty.

MOST COLOURFUL CITY PLAZA

Plaza De Armas in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Our Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) meetings in March were just down the street at the lovely Hotel  Palacio Provincial, so I came to the plaza several times. A great spot for a morning or afternoon coffee!

BEST WINE TASTING

Leeuwin Esate in the Margaret River region. Luscious Cabernet Sauvignon that’s not too big and jammy but not too lean and flinty. The Goldilocks of Cabernet Sauvignon, you might say.

FAVE CORNWALL SEASIDE VILLAGE

Impossible to choose. I visited Mevagissey, Charlestown, Mousehole, Fowey, Marazion, St. Ives, Padstow and Port Isaac and loved them all.

BIGGEST LETDOWN

A friend told me that Mousehole, England actually is pronounced Moh-zool. Damn.

BEST FLYING EXPERIENCE

Fly Esperance runs a completely fabulous “flying pub crawl” experience in Esperance, West Australia, where you fly in a small plane and visit three fabulous pubs. You also get to admire dozens of pink lakes and the sensational beaches along the coast.

BEST FOUR BY FOUR RIDE

We drove more than 50 kilometers along deserted, white sand beaches (and sand dunes, and one VERY large and steep granite outcropping) on our ride east of Esperance, Western Australia. Thanks to Fly Esperance for this one, as well.

BEST PUERTO RICO SUNRISE PHOTO

This one at El Morro fort in Old San Juan.

MOST GLAMOROUS HOTEL, SCOTLAND

The regal Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh has hosted royalty and Paul McCartney, which are kinda the same thing in my book. It’s a sturdy, handsome hotel with wonderful food, lovely rooms and a real sense of place. Not to mention a whisky bar with more than 500 types of liquid gold.

HIPPEST STREET

Henry Street in Fremantle, Western Australia. Cool coffee shops and restaurants, including the achingly beautiful and artsy DaRawNature Studio Gallery, plus a great independent bookstore.

BEST FLIGHT CREW

We got to ride in business class from San Francisco to Auckland with Air New Zealand in November. The crew was kind and helpful and just remarkably nice. Thank you.

CUTEST CRITTERS

The little tiny crabs that scuttled about on the floor at the waterfront restaurant at Club Med Buccaneer’s Creek in Martinique. I think one peed on my friend’s purse.

BEST BIKE RIDE AND NATURE TOUR

Cameron from the Margaret River Adventure Co. gave us a fine tour of the area around Boranup, and set me up for a fun, downhill ride on a fat tire bicycle.

MOST TRAGIC STORY OF THE YEAR

The murders of Canadian hoteliers Daniel Langlois and Dominique Marchand in Dominica. Such nice people, and they were doing amazing charity work on the island.

BEST ABORIGINAL VISIT

Nick Abraham from Warrang-Bridil treated me to a smoke ceremony on the banks of the Swan River in Perth, Western Australia, told me about local aboriginal history and showed me around the exterior of Optus Stadium, which is surrounded by park lands featuring native plants. The stadium’s exterior has the words to a poem that inter-weaves 11 verses of Indigenous Noongar prose with six verses of English text.

BEST TOUR GUIDE, MARTINIQUE

Marius Edward, Top Tours Antilles gave a group of us a fine tour of Martinique, a lovely Caribbean island that’s part of France. Air Canada now flies directly to Martinique from Toronto, as well as Montreal.

FUNNIEST DISTILLERY WORKER

Michael Heard at Old Young’s Distillery in Swan Valley in Perth. I can’t repeat his funniest bits, but suffice to say he’s as irreverent as all get out. If you go, ask him to name the six seasons in Western Australia. Just don’t bring the kids along.

BEST BAR I DIDN’T HAVE A DRINK AT

The Rum Sailor is a teensy bar carved into a rock wall in Charlestown, Cornwall. Much of it is covered in graffit, and it’s got a ton of atmosphere. Wish I’d had a glass of something. 

BEST CARIBBEAN ISLAND VIEW

Scotts Head, Dominica. Been twice, and I’ve loved it each time. Maybe the best view in the Caribbean.

BEST CITY TOUR, AUSTRALIA

The Hidden Hobart Storytelling Tour we had with Frederick Cygnet, arranged through the MACq 01 Hotel on the waterfront. He’s a born storyteller and wove a series of wonderful yarns about the city’s colourful history. A super nice guy, to boot.

BEST SPA EXPERIENCE

Jungle Bay Resort, Dominica. Very casual and enjoyable place for a massage, with soft winds and warm Caribbean air blowing into the room. It’s a lovely, quiet resort with good food, detached bungalow rooms, and gorgeous coastal views.

COOLEST MUSEUM

MONA Hobart, the Museum of Old and New, is like nothing you’ve ever seen. It’s a monolithic, underground spot with wild and sometimes wacky art, including a wall of white mouldings of a female body part made famous in a Seinfeld episode where he calls a woman “Mulva.”

BEST HOTEL RESTAURANT

Peppina Restaurant, at The Tasman hotel in Hobartserves up luscious seafood and Italian cuisine. The Tasman a beautiful hotel, especially the historic rooms, and is part of the Marriott Luxury Collection. The hotel bar, called Mary, Mary, also is terrific.