Barbados is celebrating its 60th anniversary as an independent nation. I first visited in 2009 or so, and have been at least four or five times since. It’s one of my fave places in the world; beautiful and safe and relaxed, but with many elegant places to stay. This list is mostly about food and drinks, so here’s a link to a story I wrote after a great food tour of the island a few years ago. Barbados Food & Rum Festival – One of the Caribbean’s premier culinary festivals brings together renowned local and international chefs each year. Meet Award-Winning Read more
Banff
Canada is blessed with dozens of top-notch hotels, and I’ve been privileged to spend the night in many, if not most of them. Here’s one travel writer’s look at some of the best options Canada has to offer. VANCOUVER: It’s not fancy, but The Burrard is a stylish and affordable spot on the edge of downtown Vancouver. Rooms aren’t large, but it’s a fun environment, and close to downtown, Davie Village and Granville Island. BC Place, which is hosting Vancouver’s World Cup football games, is only a kilometre away. BANFF: The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel is the granddaddy (or grandmommy) Read more
The first game of the FIFA World Cup in Vancouver will be played on Saturday, June 13, with Australia matched up against Türkiye. Vancouver might be the most beautiful city on earth in terms of the proximity of towering mountains and the ocean. I’m from San Francisco, but I’d say Vancouver is even more striking. Cape Town is nice, and Sydney, too, but the combination of open water and snow-capped mountains give Vancouver the edge. I’ve been a good 10 to 15 times and have probably spent a couple months of my life in the city, including a month for Read more
Today’s blog looks at top places in the world for summer travel, as well as Trip Advisor’s lists of top world and top U.S. attractions. I also have an update on tourism in New York (which garnered four spots in the Trip Advisor list of the top ten attractions in the States). THE INDEPENDENT’S TOP PLACES TO TRAVEL IN JULY: CANADA TAKES TOP PRIZE The Independent (UK) has come out with a nice list of the top places in the world to visit in July. Canada came out on top. The Independent cited Canada Day fireworks in Niagara Falls and Read more
A look at a very disapointing list of the world’s most colourful cities, and also some thoughts about Slovenia, tourism in Boston, a nice Greek Islands cruise deal , and a great sale from the folks at Rocky Mountaineer. All in today’s travel blog. WORLD’S MOST COLOURFUL CITIES LIST MISSES BY MILES I liked their overcrowded destinations post from the other day, but MSN badly misses the mark with this list of the most colourful cities on the planet. Where is St. John’s, the ultra-colourful capital of Newfoundland and Labrador? It’s a city that’s far more colourful than Lisbon (somehow Read more
