HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA – Fantastic restaurants. Beaches that stretch on just shy of forever. A great, walkable downtown. Amazing chocolates. A great harbor tour. And a luxurious, family-friendly resort. I grew up in California and spend a good deal of time there. But somehow I’d never spent a night in Huntington Beach until last month. My flight from Toronto to LAX was delayed eight hours, so I pretty much had only one day. But I got a pretty good idea how you could make a great visit work, so here’s my experience. WHERE TO STAY I was able to spend Read more

Cruise vacations are still a favourite choice among Americans, according to new consumer research from the American Automobile Association. Forty-one percent of U.S. residents say they are considering a cruise in the future. Millennials are even more eager, as more than half (52%) say they are ready to take a cruise. AAA Travel booking data shows that cruising is making a strong comeback, with 2022 bookings nearing pre-pandemic levels. Of those Americans who say they are likely to cruise again, 41% cite a better understanding of the risks presented by COVID-19 as influencing their decision. “The cruise industry has done Read more

Apple Maps are bigger, bolder and better than ever. As of today, Apple Mapls delivers new, beautifully detailed experiences to explore great Canadian cities. Maps adds a three-dimensional city view with rich detail, enhanced navigation, immersive walking directions, and more for Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver The Apple Maps city experience is now available in Canada, offering users rich three-dimensional details for Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. The newly enhanced city experience —which expands on the new map that Apple spent years building from the ground up —includes enhanced navigation and amazing details for road markings, land cover, trees, elevation, and public Read more

Lynx Air, Canada’s new ultra-affordable airline, takes to the skies in just two weeks and today the airline is providing a sneak preview of its crew uniforms. The uniforms will feature the signature red and white colour scheme of the airline’s bold but friendly brand.  The distinctive Lynx paw print makes a cameo appearance in sky blue, roaming across a snow-white neck scarf. To celebrate the upcoming launch, the airline is announcing a competition to win a weekend away from Vancouver to Calgary, Toronto, or Kelowna.  Each weekend getaway package includes two return Lynx flights, flying on the airline’s brand-new Boeing 737 Read more

Transat A.T. Inc., its employees and customers will be supporting the humanitarian efforts of SOS Children’s Villages in Ukraine. The company is launching a fundraising campaign to assist SOS Children’s Villages, its long-time partner that has rapidly scaled up its response in Ukraine to meet the critical needs of approximately 500,000 vulnerable children and families affected by the conflict. The campaign calls on its employees, as well as those of the nearly 300 travel agencies that make up its distribution network, the largest in Canada with 2,000 travel counsellors. Air Transat passengers are also being invited to make a donation Read more

Canadians are booking trips to Europe and the U.S.. Cruise companies are expanding rapidly. And new hotels are being built in Canada around the world. The latest RBC consumer tracking figures for Canada finds that travel spending recently touched pre-COVID levels for the first time as pandemic restrictions eased. “The domestic tourism recovery continues to outpace international travel but Canadian spending on restaurants and hotels abroad has also been rising,” RBC said. Meanwhile, the American Automobile Association this week said cruise bookings during the past four weeks are twice as high as this time last year. Just 612 Canadians visited Read more