Berkshire Hathaway recently completed a study of the world’s safest cities and countries, and it’s fabulous news for Canada.
Montreal was named the world’s safest city, and Canada was named as the world’s safest country.
Here’s the top 15 for countries, and note the dominance of European nations (none in the top five, but ten in the top 15). I also love seeing New Zealand and Australia on the list, as they are two of my fave countries to visit.
An enthusiastic Canadian at Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa. JIM BYERS PHOTO
- Canada
- New Zealand
- Australia
- Iceland
- Japan
- Austria
- Ireland
- Netherlands
- Denmark
- Portugal
- Norway
- Switzerland
- Italy
- Spain
- Germany
Here’s the top 15 for cities. I love that Honolulu made the list as it’s a wonderful city, and it’s nice to see San Francisco in the top 15 given the negative (and unwarranted) media coverage the city sometimes gets.
Sunrise at Diamond Head in Honolulu. JIM BYERS PHOTO
- Montreal
- Zurich
- Amsterdam
- Tokyo
- Reykjavik
- Oslo
- Singapore
- Venice
- Sydney
- Honolulu
- Dublin
- Copenhagen
- Barcelona
- San Francisco
- Paris
WORLD’S WORST AIRPORTS FOR LOST BAGS
The website duel.com recently looked at the thorny, hand-wringing, head-banging issue of lost luggage at airports. According to their analysis, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is the world’s worst, while London Heathrow was second worst and Toronto Pearson third worst.
Toronto Pearson Airport
Here’s the top (or should I say bottom) ten airports for losing your luggage, along with a Baggage Risk Score.
- Amsterdam Schiphol 100
- London Heathrow 93.4
- Toronto Pearson 82.1
- Paris Charles De Gaulle 81.2
- New York JFK 78.2
- Barcelona El Prat 70.3
- Dallas-Fort Worth 66.8
- Chicago O’Hare 66.1
- Newark Liberty 65
- London Gatwick 64.8
WAILEA MAUI COMES TO TOWN
I had a chance to sit down with representatives from Wailea, Maui this week.
For those who don’t know, Wailea is a resort area on the southwest shore of Maui. The weather is perhaps the best of any place on the island, with little rain and a constant sea breeze.
The shoreline at Wailea Beach Resort on Maui. JIM BYERS PHOTO
Resorts and hotels are definitely on the luxury side. They’re beautiful but they’re expensive. Wailea, to its credit, doesn’t apologize for that.
There is a Marriott Residence Inn and an AC Hotel by Marriott, but the other six hotels in the Wailea group are the Fairmont Kea Lani, the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, the Andaz Maui Wailea Resort, the Grand Wailea (a Waldorf-Astoria Resort), the Hotel Wailea (a Relais and Chateaux Resort) and the Wailea Beach Resort, Marriott, where I stayed for a few nights a couple years ago and had a great time.
The Grand Wailea, a Waldorf Astoria Resort on Maui, Hawaii.
Bonus: Fairmont and Four Seasons are both Canadian hotel groups, and Wailea Golf is also Canadian-owned (the BC Golf Group).
There are 70 restaurants, cafes and lounges in the Wailea district. There’s also fabulous shopping. The Shops at Wailea have an exceptional and free Polynesian Show every Tuesday and Thursday evening, as well as other musical entertainment, and even lei-making and ukulele lessons.
The area features five gorgeous, crescent-shaped, golden sand beaches with mostly calm waters and fabulous sunsets, as well as vacation rental townhomes, stunning villas and condos.
Wailea Golf offers three spectacular courses with superb conditions and awesome ocean views.
The Four Seasons Resort at Wailea, Maui, Hawaii.
On top of all that, it’s an excellent area for snorkelling, and there’s excellent whale watching in winter and in the shoulder season months.
Fairmont Kea Lani, which has marvellous, spacious suites instead of “normal,” small hotel rooms, now has a Hawaiian cultural center on its grounds. The center is free to visit and is open 24 hours a day.
The Four Seasons, which was home to the original White Lotus TV season, has a new spa. The resort also has unveiled “The Queen’s Garden,” a new cultural experience that honours Queen Lili’uokalani, the last reigning monarch of the kingdom of Hawai’i.
