Leaving our hats in the bedroom closet. Forgetting our passports. And leaving our kids’ favourite toys under the bed at home. Just in time for the Christmas holiday season, the folks at booking.com have released a fun survey that shows the most common mistakes Canadians make when they leave for a winter vacation. We’re pretty good at remembering to take our kids with us (no Home Alone situations, thank goodness), some 88% of Canadians routinely forget to take their child’s favourite toy or comforter/blanket when they go away. This is easy to do when one has to remember travel documents Read more

CARNEROS, CALIFORNIA – Some of the top chefs in the state. Fantastic local wines. And a table for 500 people that stretched down a hill in the middle of a vineyard on a perfect fall day. Visit California, the tourism board for one of the world’s largest tourist destinations, staged a truly remarkable event on Tuesday that raised tens of thousands of dollars for charities that help workers affected by the recent California wine country fires in Napa and Sonoma. “I think there are a thousand people here today to celebrate that the fires are over, that Napa County and Read more

This story originally appeared on Postmedia and Sun Media websites in Canada… HALIFAX – This is one of the great cities of Canada; a vibrant but super-friendly spot where people aren’t in a rush and where drivers stop to let crazed Torontonians jaywalk across a busy street at rush hour. You’ll also find a wonderful waterfront, terrific food and trendy neighbourhoods to explore in a city that’s seeing a big boom in downtown condos. DINING 2 Doors Down is owned by the same folks who run the popular Chives restaurant. It’s modern and airy but also cozy, with lots of Read more

This item appeared earlier on Postmedia/Sun Media websites in Canada. The Caribbean is open for business. Yes, there was damage to a number of islands from hurricanes over the past couple months. Canadian airlines have pretty much shut down winter service to battered St. Maarten. Puerto Rico is still in bad shape, as is Barbuda, Dominica and parts of other islands. But there was little or no damage to most major Caribbean destinations, including Jamaica, The Bahamas, Barbados, Antigua and the Cayman Islands. In destinations that were hit, work is proceeding nicely and many hotels and resorts have already re-opened. Read more

“The first time I went to the area a friend showed me Sebastian’s Inlet. It was so pretty. And then there was a quiet, almost private beach with manatees.” “I fell in love.” Lori Booker is communications director for the Orlando-Melbourne International Airport, a growing facility that’s becoming a popular way for Canadians to fly to central Florida. Porter Airlines flies to Orlando-Melbourne on a seasonal basis from Toronto, as well as from Windsor and Ottawa. “It’s a wonderful way to fly,” Booker told me on a visit to Toronto last week. “You get great service and wide, leather seats Read more

This just came in on Friday afternoon: Disney is offering 20-25% off for some tickets for Canadians. With Canadian visits down in Florida the last year or two, the state has been struggling to lure folks from north of the border. They recently launched a program that offers substantial discounts to Canadians who buy various packages. And now comes the Disney deal. For Walt Disney World in Florida, Canadian residents can save 20% on advance purchase of 4-Day or longer Magic Your Way Tickets until Feb. 10, 2018. For Disneyland in California, Canadians save 25% on advance prrchase of 3-Day Read more