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
Tokyo
Both Skyscanner and Hotels.com have come out with handy suggestions for travel this summer, as well as information on where Canadians are heading for their vacations. HOW TO SAVE ON HOTELS: TRAVEL TIPS FROM HOTELS.COM As travellers watch their wallets, new data from the Hotels.com 2026 Hotel Price Index reveals travel lovers don’t have to sacrifice luxury to save this summer. New data shows savvy travellers are redefining high-end travel and saving big while doing it. Here are the top three takeaways for Canadian travellers: Booking last-minute pays off: Reserving less than a week in advance nets Canadians an average Read more
A new report maps out the world’s most Instagammable destinations for 2026. Dubai, New York City and Paris did extremely well, as did Banff, Alberta and Niagara Falls, Ontario. California cities also scored highly. Here’s the Players Time list of most Instagram-worthy cities for this year. Dubai London Paris Barcelona New York City Istanbul Los Angeles Mexico City Tokyo Singapore Amsterdam Bangkok San Diego San Francisco Rome Santiago (Dominican Republic) Seoul Kochi, India Budapest Prague World’s Most Instagrammed Landmarks Burj Khalifa, Dubai Eiffel Tower, Paris, France Grand Canyo, Arizona Times Square, New York City Shibuya Scramble Crossing, Tokyo Taj Mahal, Read more
A new list of the top 10 food and wine cities in the world leads with Hong Kong. I also have updates on ambitious, new plans to boost tourism in Toronto and across Canada, plus Expedia tips on where to go in Canada and Europe this year, and the ideal time to book your trip. Food and Wine magazine also looked at the world’s best cities for food and wine. Here’s their top 10 for world cities: Hong Kong (truly spectacular cuisine) London (it wouldn’t have made the list 25 or 30 years ago, but the city has come a Read more
Vancouver International Airport has once again been named Best Airport in North America as part of the Skytrax World Airport Awards. It also has cracked the list of the top airports in the world. YVR finished 10th in the world in the latest rankings from Skytrax. That’s up three spots from #13 last year, and up a solid seven places from 2024. Vancouver International has earned the title Best Airport in North America 15 out of the last 17 years and is the only airport ever to receive the award 15 times. Other Canadian airports didn’t fare as well. Montreal Read more
