The end of summer is more than three weeks away, but the unofficial end of summer weekend is coming up fast. Labour Day Weekend is a great time to get out and enjoy fabulous destinations near major Canadian cities to try wine tasting, great hikes, small-town shopping and more. Here are suggestions for easy getaways for residents of Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary and Halifax. HALIFAX The Eastern Shore is an easy drive from Halifax and features wonderful Lawrencetown Beach, as well as beautiful bays for kayaking or canoeing. Taylor Head Provincial Park has a lovely beach and rugged hiking trails. Wolfville Read more
Halifax
Cue the sad violin: it’s about time to bid summer adieu. The folks at KAYAK say that you can still leave town for Labour Day Weekend for $429 or less. So here are some ideas. First up: KAYAK’s Trendiest Searches. Folks are eyeing these destinations more than usual this Labour Day weekend. Orlando, Florida (59% more popular this year, with great food and fun neighborhoods to explore, such as Mills 50) Fort Lauderdale, Florida (33% more popular this year, and another fab food city with great beaches ) Edinburgh, Scotland (27% more popular this year, and one of the world’s Read more
Leisure travel is booming in Canada. The loyalty program is going strong. And there are new Marriott hotels coming across the country. I recently sat down with Paul Cahill, the Senior Vice-President for Canada Operations for Marriott International Inc., to talk about Marriott Bonvoy’s portfolio of hotels in Canada. There are currently 275 Marriott properties in Canada, and 90 more are in the pipeline. Cahill said Marriott is especially focused on lifestyle, upper-midscale and extended stay brands. Ninety new hotels is a lot, but Cahill noted that Marriott saw leisure revenue in Canada increase by a remarkable 36% in 2023, Read more
Porter Airlines is responding to strong demand for its service by more than doubling capacity to Florida this winter. The new schedule features up to 126 weekly departures across 14 routes from four Eastern Canada airports in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax. The line-up of destinations includes Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and the new addition of West Palm Beach. Seasonal service between Toronto Pearson International Airport and Palm Beach International Airport begins November 14, with one daily roundtrip flight. New service from Montreal-Trudeau International Airport to Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers starts this winter. Porter is the Read more
The Victoria Day weekend is behind us, which means it’s practically summer. Which makes it a great time to get out and explore great areas of Canada. Here are a few of my faves from my travels over the past few years. SOUTHWEST ONTARIO After spending most of my spare time in Ontario in regions north of Toronto, I started visiting this part of the province on a regular basis about 10 years ago. Amherstburg is a growingly sophisticated town with great shopping and food. Former Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment chief Richard Peddie owns a couple of lovely stores, Read more
