MSN Travel has come up with a list of the world’s safest cities. Each city was looked at for a variety of factors and given a numerical ranking. The United Arab Emirates cleaned up, notching the top three spots and five of the top six. The Netherlands had four cities in the top 20, while Switzerland, Norway and Croatia each had two in the top 30. The only North American cities in the top 30 were Merida, Mexico and Quebec City, Canada. No U.S. cities made the cut. Here’s the full top 30. Abu Dhabi, UAE, 88.9 Ras-al-Khaimah, UAE, 86.6 Read more
Australia
A look at where Canadians will be travelling this summer, as well as a new list of the best family beach vacation spots in the U.S. That and more in today’s blog post. BEST U.S. FAMILY BEACH VACATION SPOTS With the U.S. Memorial Day weekend pretty much here (it’s the unofficial kick-off to summer in the States), here’s a nice U.S. News list of the top 18 places in the US of A for a family beach vacation. Florida took home the top two spots and had a remarkable five places in the top 10. South Carolina has three spots Read more
It’s been a rough go for Hawaii of late. Visits from Canada are down, and they’ve struggled to regain their once super-strong Japanese market. There’s also, of course, the devastating fire that destroyed most of the lovely, funky town of Lahaina. Maui in 2023. On top of all that, the state suffered a series of devastating rainstorms over the past couple weeks when a Kona low, an unusual low-pressure weather system, parked itself over the island for days on end. There was some damage to roads and infrastructure, but I’m happy to report that the skies are sunny again and Read more
It’s a tough time to be a sun seeker from the US or Canada. In January, flights were disrupted to the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao) due to the US action in Venezuela. A few weeks later, flights to Cuba were halted because of an ongoing lack of aviation fuel, leaving Canadians and other visitors scrambling for alternative sun destinations. Many would-be Cuba visitors, including personal friends of mine, opted instead for Mexico. But some potential visitors are now spooked because of the violent outbreak in Puerto Vallarta on the weekend following the killing of a top Mexican drug Read more
Two Canadian hotels and 16 in the U.S. have attained the highest rating by Michelin Guide by earning “three key” status. U.S. THREE-KEY WINNERS Canyon Ranch, Tucson, Arizona (new to the list) Little Palm Island Resort and Spa, Florida (new) Kona Village, a Rosewood Resort, Hawai’i Island, Hawai’i (new) Sage Lodge, Montana (new) Amangiri, Utah (new) The Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills, California Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur, California Single Thread Inn, Healdsburg, California Hotel Bel-Air, Los Angeles, California Auberge du Soleil, Rutherford, California Meadowood Napa Valley, St. Helena, California Canyon Ranch Woodside, Woodside, California Aman New York, New York Read more
