One of the world’s best beaches is getting bigger. Much bigger. I recently caught up with Brian Lowack, president and CEO of Visit St. Pete/Clearwater; one of the top destinations in Florida. He told me a beach renewal project that stretches from Sand Key on Clearwater Beach to St. Pete Beach will add 2.5 million cubic yards of sand, with roughly 200 feet of width. “It’s already great, but it’s going to be the most beautiful beach in Florida,” he told me in Toronto, where Visit St. Pete/Clearwater hosted media and travel agents at a Blue Jays-Yankees game. The cost Read more
Europe
Endless beaches. Swaying palm trees. Pretty coastal villages. Expedia says the world is in love with islands, and they’ve created a special list of the best islands for everything from relaxing to affordable luxury. They also have come up with a list of the top islands for Canadians. Expedia today (July 15) released its 2025 Island Hot List, a first-of-its-kind guide to island travel based on verified data and traveler insights. The inaugural report reveals global interest for islands is up 30%. “From the cultural richness of Jamaica to the sunny shores of Koh Samui, the islands on the 2025 Read more
Travel + Leisure has released its awards for best destinations, hotels and more for 2025. There are tons of categories – far too many to list here – so I’ll concentrate on some of the top awards for North America and a few world categories. WORLD’S TWENTY BEST CITIES San Miguel de Allende, Mexico Chiang Mai, Thailand Tokyo Bangkok Jaipur, India Hoi An, Vietnam Mexico City Kyoto Ubud, Bali Cuzco, Peru Florence Seville Granada Istanbul Siem Reap, Cambodia Mumbai Cape Town Rome Santa Fe Agra, India I was quite surprised to see Mumbai rated so highly, as I haven’t heard Read more
Most Expensive Countries to Visit: Iceland on Top; Air Canada New Flights to Peru, Mexico and Belize
A study by the Forex Complex has named the most expensive countries for Americans (and presumably Canadians) to visit. The study tallied daily costs for a typical visitor, including hotels or other accommodations, meals, transportation and other common expenses. In US dollars, here are the 19 most expensive countries they came up with in daily costs. ICELAND, $401.40 AUSTRALIA, $280.99 FRANCE, $263.21 GERMANY, $258.47 ITALY, $257.67 UNITED KINGDOM, $256.50 CANADA, $241.34 JAPAN, $229.96 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, $217.78 GREECE, $198.84 SPAIN, $187.79 CROATIA, $185.65 PORTUGAL, $163.81 COSTA RICA, $161.34 JAMAICA, $151.38 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, $148.51 MEXICO, $145.78 THAILAND, $81.87 INDONESIA, $70.23 I Read more
The people who run the Global Liveability Index have come out with an exhaustive ranking of world cities. The top ten list is dominated by Europe and Australia, but Canada placed four cities in the top 20, which is nothing to sneeze at. According to Time Out, The Global Liveability Index rated more than 170 world cities based on five major factors. They are stability (such as the threat of conflict or prevalence of petty crime); healthcare (availability of over-the-counter drugs, quality of public healthcare); culture and environment (temperatures, levels of censorship); education (availability and quality of private education) and Read more
