Maybe I’m a little sensitive about my home country these days. Many Canadians are, given the “51st state” talk and other nonsense about Canada coming from a certain U.S. president.  But I was scanning some travel websites today, as Canada’s Travel Guy is wont to do, and noticed what I thought would be a nice list from Travel + Leisure, a publication I’ve come to respect over the years. This was a list published in January of this year that lists the world’s 25 most beautiful cities. I looked at the top of the list and nodded my head in Read more

It’s shaping up to be another “Summer of Europe,” with more flights than ever for both Canadians and Americans and a surging demand. Here are five of fave, mostly lesser-known places to explore. CIRQUE DE GAVARNIE, FRANCE     The drive to get here is nice. But nothing prepared me for the moment when I came around a corner and was confronted with a truly massive, craggy circle of stone and ancient rock rising up at the end of an impossibly beautiful, green valley. There are jagged edges and smoothly worn bowls and patches of snow in shady pockets in Read more

A new survey finds Ontario residents are eager to explore their own province and other areas of Canada. More than one-half are likely to visit another country, but not too many appear keen on trips to the US. A survey conducted by Context Research Group on behalf of Destination Ontario found that nearly nine in ten Ontario residents (87%) are likely to take an overnight pleasure trip within the province in the next year. Only a quarter indicated they are likely to travel to the US and less than one-third (29%) said they feel welcome there. “Several key barriers discourage Read more

Air Canada is marking the inauguration of its newest international flights linking Vancouver and Manila, solidifying the airline’s presence in Southeast Asia and supporting Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy. The launch of service to Manila also positions Air Canada as the North American airline serving the most destinations non-stop in Southeast Asia. Celebrations at the airline’s Vancouver/YVR hub were held on April 1 and again prior to the departure of AC017 at 01:55 on April 2. The flight was due to arrive in Manila at 06:20 local time on April 3. Air Canada’s Manila flights represent the airline’s 12th route in its Read more

Tina from Mexico was listening to classical music and wanted to talk about Canadian politics as she drove us to dinner one night. Mohammed was blasting out hurtin’ tunes on a country music radio station as he shepherded us from an evening meal. And a young guy whose name I forget was bopping away to Marvin Gaye and other soul artists from the 1960s and 1970s as he drove us to the Museum of Latin American Art. During a three-day visit to Long Beach, California, I found some of the nicest and most interesting rideshare drivers that I’ve met in Read more

It’s the first day of April, and there are a couple of fun stories to talk about.  AIR TRANSAT RENAMES ATLANTIC OCEAN Air Transat announced today that it is officially changing the name of the Atlantic Ocean to the Canadien Ocean. Effective immediately, the new name is featured in onboard announcements across Air Transat’s network. To rally nationwide support, the company is launching a petition to make the rebranding permanent on official governmental documents and maps. The initiative was celebrated last night on the very first flight over the newly named Canadien Ocean, one of up to 184 crossings Air Read more