Great Travel Tips from Expedia. Trip Advisor lists best beaches and top destinations for 2026. A Mexico tourism record. New flights from Canadian airlines. And a worrisome note about Canadians feeling unsafe in the U.S. Today’s travel report has a little of everything.
EXPEDIA TRAVEL TIPS AND FLYING PET PEEVES
The folks at Expedia Canada have a new report on the best days of the week to book your flights and the least and most expensive airports to fly from in Canada. They also have an amusing take on Canadian travellers’ pet peeves, which include seat kickers and people who bring smelly food on board the plane.
The Expedia report finds that Monday is the cheapest day to book flights, while Saturday is the most expensive day. The study also said flying on a Thursday instead of Saturday can save up to 8%, while Friday is the cheapest day to fly domestically in Canada.
The experts at Expedia also say the most affordable booking window for domestic economy flights is 31 – 45 days before departure, averaging $185 CAD less than bookings made more than six months out.
Looking for a cheap airport to fly from? Abbotsford, BC, Kitchener, ON and Hamilton, ON are the most affordable Canadian departure airports. The most expensive? Montreal, Quebec City and Ottawa.
Suhyeon Choi/Unsplash Photo
On the etiquette side, 39% of travellers said that having their seat kicked is the ultimate pet peeve, above seats reclining too far and crying babies. Top oddities seen by travelers on a flight include bringing smelly food (23%), nail-cutting (17%), followed by seeing someone flossing their teeth at the seat (12%) and seeing a couple (ahem) heading to the toilet together (12%).
Expedia also found that more than one-third of travellers (36%) have asked a stranger or flight attendant to swap seats. Among those seat‑swappers, the leading reason was to sit with family or friends (58%), but 30% admit they did it in the hopes of snagging a window seat. Tsk, tsk!
In addition, Expedia’s report said 41% of travelers say they now fly carry‑on only, with 29% confessing they would wear extra layers to dodge baggage.
TRIP ADVISOR BEST DESTINATIONS AND BEACHES FOR 2026
The folks at Trip Advisor have some out with their annual “Best of the Best” reader awards, and there are some classic Canadian destinations on the list, as well as fabulous vacation spots and beaches in Hawaii, California and Florida.
The best beaches in the world list was topped by Isla Pasion in Cozumel, Mexico, followed by Elafonissi Beach in Crete and Balos Lagoon in Crete. Makes me think I should probably book a trip to Crete sometime soon!
Seventh on the best world beaches list was La Jolla Cove in San Diego, with Manly Beach in Sydney, Australia coming ninth and Boulder’s Beach in South Africa (home to adorable penguins) taking the 10th spot.
For the U.S., the best ten beaches were La Jolla Cove (San Dieg0), Clearwater Beach (Florida), Po’ipu Beach Park (Kauai, Hawai’i), Waikiki Beach (O’ahu, Hawai’i), Lanikai Beach (O’ahu, Hawai’i), Siesta Beach (Siesta Key/Sarasota, Florida), Punalu’u Black Sand Beach (Hawai’i Big Island), St. Andrew’s State Park (Florida), Santa Monica Beach (California) and Honeymoon Island (a personal fave I’ve often mention in Dunedin, Florida, spring training home of the Toronto Blue Jays.)
For those of who keeping score, that’s four for Hawai’i (all in the top seven), four for Florida and two for California.
The San Diego coastline is especially beguiling around La Jolla. JIM BYERS PHOTO
BEST DESTINATIONS
Trip Advisor named the world’s top destinations in this order:
- Bali
- London
- Dubai
- Hanoi
- Paris
- Rome
- Marrakech
- Bangkok
- Crete
- New York City
The top 15 Canadian destinations were as follows:
- Banff
- Vancouver
- Niagara-on-the-Lake
- Montreal
- Whistler
- Victoria
- Tofino
- Toronto
- Quebec City
- Jasper
- Halifax
- Calgary
- Lake Louise
- Niagara Falls
- Ottawa
That’s four spots in the top seven for British Columbia and four in the top 13 for Alberta. Quebec had two mentions in the top 15, while Ontario had four.
You can’t beat the view at the patio at the Rundle Bar at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Top 20 U.S.A. Destinations
- New York City
- Las Vegas
- O’ahu
- Nashville
- New Orleans
- Chicago
- Charleston
- Key West
- Washington D.C
- Boston
- Maui
- San Francisco
- Miami
- Sedona (Arizona)
- San Diego
- Mount Desert Island (Maine)
- Miami Beach
- Hawai’i Big Island
- Los Angeles
- Kauai
Again, for anyone who’s keeping track, that’s four spots for Hawaii, three for California, and three for Florida.
CANADIAN AIRLINES EXPAND ROUTES TO CARIBBEAN, CANADA, U.S. AND MEXICO
Both Porter Airlines and Air Transat this week announced new flight routes.
In Canada, Porter will offer new seasonal service between Ottawa and Deer Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador, starting June 10, 2026. This route complements existing flights from Toronto Pearson and Halifax. Deer Lake is a great jumping off point for visits to Western Newfoundland, which is home to such features as majestic Gros Morne National Park and the L’Anse aux Meadows Viking settlement.
A boat ride at Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Expanding Porter’s U.S. network are year-round flights between Toronto Pearson and Austin, Texas, starting May 21.
On Sept. 1 of this year, Porter’s Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ) service to Chicago is moving from Midway (MDW) to O’Hare (ORD), providing travellers with access to the city’s primary airport and an increase of flight frequency to three per day. Porter has served Chicago from Billy Bishop since 2008, and passengers will now benefit from the new U.S. CBP Preclearance facility opening in the coming weeks at YTZ.
Air Transat, which recently trimmed flights from Canada to Florida, and which, like other airlines, has been forced to temporarily cancel flights to Cuba, has announced several new flights to the sunny south.
On Wednesday, Feb. On February 18, Air Transat operated its inaugural flight between Quebec City (YQB) and Pointe‑à‑Pitre (PTP), becoming the only airline to offer non-stop service between Quebec City and beautiful Guadeloupe. Operated every Wednesday until April 29, 2026, this flight creates a new direct connection to Guadeloupe, a region renowned for its vibrant culture, tropical landscapes and warm atmosphere.
The Caribbean nation of Guadeloupe has a series of lovely islands you can explore, including Terre-de-Haut. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Air Transat has also celebrated the first flights of three new seasonal routes, now active for the winter period:
- Windsor to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The inaugural flight took off on December 19, 2025. The service is offered every Friday until April 10, 2026.
- Charlottetown to Cancun: The route was inaugurated on February 18, 2026. One weekly flight is offered every Wednesday until April 22, 2026.
- Fredericton to Cancun. The first departure also took place on February 18, 2026, with flights offered every Wednesday until April 22, 2026.
MEXICO TOURISM SOARS TO NEW HEIGHTS
Mexico’s tourism industry reached a historic milestone in 2025, welcoming 98.2 million international visitors, marking a 13.6% increase over 2024 and setting a new record for the country.
According to Secretaria de Turismo de Mexico (SECTUR), the surge reflects sustained demand for travel to Mexico across leisure, cruise and cross-border markets.
“The figures for 2025 confirm that Mexico is experiencing a solid and sustained period in tourism. Never before in our country’s history have so many visitors arrived in a single year,” said Josefina Rodriguez Zamora, Secretary of Tourism of the Government of Mexico, in a translated media statement. “This result reflects a strong, resilient sector with a clear vision for the future.”
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Travel experts say Canadians who are skipping trips to the U.S. are increasingly choosing vacations in Mexico as an alternative. Air Canada recently announced a series of new flights to Mexico. As mentioned in the above note, Air Transat recently boosted its flights from Canada to Cancun.
A recent report said there are now more flights to Cancun from Toronto Pearson than from any other airport in the world.
CANADIANS WORRIED ABOUT SAFETY IN THE U.S.
I recently mentioned a Flight Centre survey that found Canadians are increasingly leery of trips to the United States. A new Longwoods study adds fuel to that fire.
The Longwoods survey found that only 35% of Canadians perceive that the U.S. is a “safe place to visit.” That’s down eight points from 43% back in April of 2025, and should be a real warning sign for U.S. tourism officials.
