To kick off the new year, Vrbo® has released its top drive-to destinations for 2022 based on vacation rental demand. Vrbo is the vacation rental site and app, part of the Expedia Group Brands, where families and travellers can book cottages, condos, waterfront properties and every space in between. With the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, an increase in flight disruptions and cancellations, and changing international travel restrictions, families are again opting for domestic road trip destinations within a few hours’ drive from home. Vrbo’s top drive-to destinations from major city areas across Canada include [1]: From Toronto: Collingwood, Ontario Read more
Muskoka
This is an excerpt from my new book, “Ontario Escapes: 19 Great Places to Visit Right Now.” It’s available from Apple Books (and only for Apple devices) for just $4.99 Canadian. What a deal! Here’s the link for the book: https://books.apple.com/ca/book/ontario-escapes/id1523750857 Chapter 11: Gravenhurst and Muskoka WHAT: There’s a reason some folks call Muskoka Toronto’s playground. Located just two hours (maybe less given COVID-19 traffic, or lack of same) north of the city, you’ll find amazing lakes strewn with rocky islets and towering, deep green trees. It’s as pretty as a postcard, and easy to reach. WHERE: Gravenhurst, the Read more
I’m paddling gently through a shallow creek that runs off the south branch of the Muskoka River on a perfect, early summer’s day in Bracebridge. I hear the call of unfamiliar birds echoing through the trees as I skim along the surface of the creek in my brilliant orange kayak. Off to my left, an iridescent, small, blue and black dragonfly comes to rest on a brilliant yellow pond lily. A few feet away, I spot a small turtle sunning itself on a log on a 22 Celsius morning. My wife and I ease our kayaks back out into the Read more
A fabulous addition to a classic Muskoka getaway. And a new way to get there. I was lucky enough to spend a little more than 24 hours up in Muskoka last week, allowing to take a quick peek at the new Deerhurst Resort outside Huntsville and also to fly home from Muskoka to Toronto on the first Porter Airlines flight. More on that in a bit. I can’t quite figure out how it happened, but this was my trip to Deerhurst in maybe 36 years. Which is pretty crazy for a travel guy that absolutely adores Muskoka. But there you Read more
MUSKOKA – The magic of Muskoka comes in a shiny, bright new package at JW Marriott The Rosseau Muskoka. I’ve been around the world and have yet to find a place I’d rather spend a summer’s day in then Ontario’s Muskoka region. I get up to the lake district north of Toronto several times each summer, and the sights and sounds leave an indelible mark on my consciousness; the sun’s rays bouncing off the deep blue water, the dark and bright green trees that arise out of the tiniest moss and lichen-covered islands and the quiet, rhythmic “galumphing” sound the Read more
