The annual Trip Advisor Best Beaches List is out again, and there’s plenty to like. For the world, Trip Advisor users named Baia de Sancho on the idyllic island of Fernando de Noronha in Brazil as the top beach, followed by Eagle Beach in Aruba and Cable Beach in Broome, Western Australia. I haven’t made it to Cable Beach, but I can tell you that beaches in Western Australia are some of the best – and least crowded – in the world. In world voting, Grace Bay in the Turks and Caicos was fifth, Varadero Beach in Cuba ninth and Read more
Kauai
Ontario residents have a new way to reach one of the world’s most popular destinations. Porter Airlines is taking to the skies for two new routes to Orlando International Airport today, with flights departing from Toronto Pearson International Airport and Ottawa International Airport. The start of service to Orlando marks the third new Florida destination that Porter has touched down since the start of November, following Tampa and Fort Myers. Flying aboard the new Embraer E195-E2 aircraft, Porter brings its genuine hospitality and elevated onboard service to a new market with free, fast WiFi, a selection of premium snacks, and Read more
The planned re-opening of West Maui for October 8 appears to be partly in doubt. Hawai’i Governor Josh Green last month declared that the West Maui communities of Kā‘anapali, Nāpili, Honokōwai, and Kapalua will fully reopen on Sunday, October 8, two months after the August 8 wildfires that destroyed Lahaina. But that seems unlikely to happen after Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said this week that the reopening will happen in phases. Bissen said the most northerly part of the West Maui tourism area would open October 8 and would include everything from Kahana Villa to the The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Read more
Victoria, British Columbia has been named the world’s best city in this year’s Conde Nast Travellers’ Readers Choice Awards, while Canada owned the top three picks for world’s friendliest cities. Victoria was third in the friendly category, while Edmonton came second and Calgary was first. Dublin, Ireland was fourth and Quebec City fifth, giving Canada four of the top five spots. I might push for St. John’s or Saskatoon or Regina as the friendliest city in the country if I had a vote, but I suspect Conde Nast readers aren’t as familiar with them as they are with the winning Read more
As someone who’s been going to Maui’s Ka’anapali Beach for 50-something years, I was pretty happy to see Trip Advisor name it as the best beach in the U.S. in this year’s Travelers’ Choice Awards. It’s a fabulous, three-mile stretch of sand with great snorkeling, paddleboarding, boogie boarding and swimming. It’s also fronted by a long foot path lined with towering palm trees, and has some of the island’s best hotels and resorts, as well as the delightful, open-air Whalers Village Shopping Center. Among my fave hotels on Ka’anapali are the Ka’anapali Beach Hotel, the Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa Read more