It’s a Millenials’ world, folks. You may have heard about the so-called “Instagram Hotel” in Sydney, Australia. No? Well, it’s a property called the 1888 Hotel that was designed to be incredibly photographable and thus appeal to folks who understand that words like “Hefe,” “Crema” and “Lo-Fi” aren’t flavours at Baskin-Robbins or types of stereos but rather filters you can use for Instagram photos. The hotel is not only achingly pretty to look at but they’ll give folks free rooms if they have 10,000 Instagram followers. They’ve received more publicity than many hotels with enormous p.r. budgets, so it’s been Read more
Australia/New Zealand/PAC
WestJet Encore began two years ago as a regional division of WestJet with two aircraft serving five cities. With today’s announcement that they’re adding a whack of new flights in the Maritimes and Newfoundland (as well as new options in Toronto, Calgary and Ottawa), WestJet’s Encore division is up to 16 planes serving more than 20 destinations, officials said. WestJet executives took to the tarmac at Stansfield International in Halifax today to unveil several new flights, including Halifax-Glasgow (May 29 on regular WestJet, not Encore), Halifax-Gander (July 15 on Encore), Halifax-Deer Lake/Corner Brook (July 15, Encore) and Halifax-Sydney (July 15, Read more
I’m constantly getting scrunched up faces from people at cocktail parties or dinners. I shower a lot and try to get to the laundry when I can, so it’s not that. No, what surprises some folks is that not even travel writers and former newspaper travel editors get to go everywhere they want. When I tell folks all the places that are still on m to-do list (Portugal, Poland, pretty much all of Africa, all of Central America and definitely all of South America) they look at me like I’m a little crazy. Some of it I can explain. Some Read more
Jim Byers photo Italy can be unbearably hot and crowded in August, but by September it’s cooler and far less congested. Try Sorrento, where I shot this cool cafe last November. I love summer. But it’s often the WORST time to visit so much of the world. It’s especially bad in Europe, mostly because it’s full of people like you and me. Especially me. And it’s hot. And the locals are all on holiday. Notwithstanding the fact I met my wife in August in Rome in 1979 (it’s our 33 rd wedding anniversary today, by the way, so HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Read more
FIVE GREAT PLACES FOR FIFTY PLUS TRAVELERS I get asked a lot about the best places to travel for folks who are 50 and over. Of course, I’m almost eight years into that category myself so I guess it’s a fair question. A lot depends, like many things in life, on what you’re looking for. If you’re a foodie, I probably would suggest a weekend in New York or maybe Vancouver. If you’re into wine, the Niagara Region of Ontario or, naturally, northern California works. Not to mention the interior of British Columbia, almost anywhere in France and several great Read more
