Five inches of rain in Toronto this morning has me thinking that maybe instead of cool-weather vacations, which I mentioned in this space yesterday, it’s time to look at dry-weather destinations. I don’t normally dream of the desert in summer, but maybe it’s time to look at places where you’re vacation is unlikely to require a heavy-duty umbrella and thick, rubber rain boots. With that in mind, here are some great, dry (not in an alcohol availability sense) vacation places you could think of. The Atacama Desert, Chile There was a pretty good rain here a few years ago, but Read more

There’s no denying it: this summer is absolutely sizzling. If the only things getting you through the season are chafe sticks and ice in every liquid (even soup), it might be time for a coolcation – or a trip to somewhere temperate. The folks at KAYAK have rounded up our cheapest flights to chiller-than-average cities. So you can dial the temperature down from a boil to a simmer. 1. San Francisco, California ($539) Highest average temperature: 18°C 2. Seattle, Washington ($539) Highest average temperature: 23°C 3. Reykjavík, Iceland ($860) Highest average temperature: 11°C 4. Lima, Peru ($925) Highest average temperature: 18°C 5. Dublin, Ireland ($965) Highest average temperature: 18°C 6. Edinburgh, Scotland ($1089) Read more

A new, user-friendly website. More ways to earn points. And 40 million points to give away. Aeroplan is celebrating its 40th birthday this year with a 10-day party that involves giveaways and prizes galore. It’s also a time to reflect back on four decades of what has become one of Canada’s top loyalty programs. In a one-on-one chat earlier this week, Scott O’Leary, Air Canada’s Vice President of Loyalty and Product, said Aeroplan had about 4 million members in 2020. Today that number is more than 8.5 million. “Most of that growth is in the last 24 months,” he said. Read more

A couple days after Hurricane Beryl ripped the roof off the home of a Grenada Tourism Authority worker on the island of Carriacou, some of her fellow employees hopped on the first available boat to see if they could help. “She really tried to be strong, but she broke down in tears,” Sekou Stroude, the authority’s Director of Sales for Canada, told me in an interview this week. “It’s gut-wrenching, because she’s such a selfless person; someone who’s always willing to help with whatever’s needed. She’s a real sweetheart, and seeing her go through that kind of pain breaks our Read more

Travel + Leisure released its Readers’ Choice Travel Awards for 2024 today (July 9). California had the top city hotel in the U.S. while Toronto had the top Canadian hotel. I usually find Vancouver wins the most hotel awards in Canada, but this time Toronto stole the show with the number one pick overall and three of the top six. For the U.S., California had two entries in the top 10 but Boston had two in the top four, so they definitely win the grand prize for 2024. Travel + Leisure also had readers name their top hotels in the Read more

Aeroplan, Canada’s leading travel loyalty program, is marking its 40th birthday with a special Aeroplan-niversary celebration and as special guests of honour, Aeroplan’s 8 million+ members are being given a chance to win 1 of 40 prizes of 1 million Aeroplan points each, in addition to enjoying 10 days of exclusive offers to save big and earn more. “Thanks to our members, Aeroplan has become one of the best travel loyalty programs globally. To celebrate this achievement, we’re excited to team up with our premier travel and everyday partners who help our members tap into their full earning and redemption Read more