A million Aeroplan miles could take you to some pretty amazing places. And they could be yours. The folks at Aeroplan have launched a special “Moments Worth Millions” ‘campaign, and you could win one of five prizes of a million miles. That’s a five million mile giveaway. That could take you, and probably your entire family, to just about anywhere in the world for a couple of unforgettable holidays. All you have to do is share your travel pics, videos and stories on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #withaeroplan. Don’t forget to tell them a bit about your Read more

This a crushing blow for the island of St. Maarten/St. Martin, one of the favourite Caribbean retreats for Canadians every winter. Sunwing, a popular supplier of flights from Canada to the Dutch/French island, says they’re pulling out of all flights through the end of next April because of major damage caused by Hurricane Irma. The island’s airport was badly hurt by the storm, and many hotels also were badly damaged. That’s hard enough on folks who live there, but losing thousands of Canadian visitors will mean an even bigger loss for an island where folks rely on tourism to feed Read more

Go west, young man is a famous quote about the settling of the American West, a call for folks in the crowded Eastern United States to pack up for California and other, less crowded areas to the west. It could well be the slogan for air transportation in the crowded southern Ontario market. There’s been talk for years of building a Toronto Pearson relief airport in Pickering. That could still happen. But, in the meantime, airline folks are answering the call to avoid Pearson congestion (and high fees) by inducing folks to fly out of Hamilton and Kitchener-Waterloo, both an Read more

Volunteer tourism has become a big thing in the world. And now Hurricane Irma has given the average person a chance to take part. You don’t have to go and build a house in St. Martin or Barbuda or Cuba, although that would be awesome. No, all you really need to do to help folks in Irma-stricken parts of the Caribbean (and Florida, by the looks of it) is do what many of us have done for years; visit. I wrote that a week or so ago. And now we’ve had more damage from Hurricane Maria, which has devasted the Read more

This item originally appeared in Postmedia newspapers and websites in Canada. BORDEAUX, FRANCE – Jordan Eudine is leading a group of AmaWaterways river cruisers on a bike tour through the rolling hills near Blaye. We pass small villages made of dark stone and gaze out on endless acres of brilliant green vines growing in the most famous wine region of the world. He stops to pick up some small Merlot grapes for us to try. “These will make good wine but not quite as good as places like Chateau Margaux or Lafite Rothschild,” Eudine says, citing a pair of legendary Read more

I was on a cruise in Bordeaux, France last week and had one of those introductory bus rides around the city. Out the right side of my window I caught a brief glimpse of what’s La Grosse Cloche, or The Big Bell. Later, after lunch, I borrowed a bike from the folks at Ama Waterways and set out to explore the city at my own pace. I was getting near the end of my ride when I suddenly remembered the bell. In the old days I would’ve fumbled for a clunky, paper map and tried to find it. Or asked Read more