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
Sooke
A town where they make beauty products out of seaweed and pies the size of a basketball. A prairie city with great Shakespeare and a nude beach. And not one but two towns with potato museums. Americans know about Toronto. I think most of them know it’s in Canada. They’ve probably heard of Montreal and Vancouver. But there’s so much more to Canada, some of it wacky. Here’s a look at some of the lesser-known spots you should check out this summer. With the U.S. dollar buying about $1.36 Canadian these days, Americans also will find their dollars go a Read more
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) sponsored my participation in this campaign. All opinions are my own. SOOKE, B.C. – The Grand Canyon sounds pretty darn grand. The Rocky Mountains conjure up images of stark, rugged peaks and picture-perfect alpine lakes in shades the Crayola crayon people never imagined. And just about everyone knows about Niagara Falls. But even a veteran travel writer like myself was baffled and left with a blank stare on his face when someone on a trip I took to B.C. last year with Tourism Vancouver Island said we would be visiting the Sooke Potholes. Being a polite Read more
The Canadian dollar is in freefall, dropping below 70 cents the other day for the first time in more than a decade. It’s great for the Canadian tourism industry, but not so wonderful for snowbirds who’re looking for greener pastures in winter. Luckily, there are ways to soften the blow. Here are some tips from a guy who’s been a full-time travel writer for the better part of 10 years and has spent a good many nights on the road in his lifetime. 1. STAY HOME: I don’t mean build a man (or woman) cave in your basement and pry Read more
Canadians, for the most part, live busy lives. Most of us reside in big cities with big traffic jams and big noise and big headaches. It’s important that we get away now and then, especially with the last big weekend of the summer upon us. With that in mind, here are five great getaways, mostly a little different than the usual ones, for residents of some of Canada’s biggest cities to try. SOOKE, BRITISH COLUMBIA This is a small town west of Victoria that’s right on the water. There’s a pretty park that rolls down to the ocean and also Read more
