There are reports today that the Canadian-U.S. border will remain closed for another month. Meanwhile, Hawaii has extended its quarantine requirement for incoming visitors from Aug. 1 to Sept. 1. Also, Canadians appear to be having trouble getting good travel insurance. My Future of Travel blog for July 14. U.S. Border Not Opening Soon Canadians have made it pretty clear they don’t want any part of an open border with a virus-ravaged United States. The Prime Minister appears to agree. The Globe and Mail today reports that sources indicate the border will remain closed to all but essential travel until Read more
Toronto Pearson
Toronto moves to stage two of its COVID-19 recovery plan tomorrow, while the city’s main airport has introduced a new health and safety plan. New York City moved to stage two on Monday, and Chicago is moving to stage four on Friday. I also look at American and Quebec travel attitudes and the top 10 small cities in the U.S. Stage Two for Toronto: At Last! One of Canada’s most popular cities for tourists (and my place of abode) is beginning to waken from its long slumber. After some three months of lockdown, Toronto restaurants with patios are allowed to Read more
Anyone who travels knows that sinking feeling you get when you’re hungry prior to a flight but worried about getting through a long security lineup. You kind of say to yourself, “Hey, this is a big airport. I’ll go through security and then get a meal on the other side.” So you line up, take off your shoes and belt and go through the scanners. Then you get to the other side. And, whammo. Not a restaurant in sight. Instead of dining on a bowl of fresh pasta and that arugula salad with a glass of good Italian wine you Read more
I was travel editor for five years at the Star. I’ve been travelling the world (on and off) for 25 years or so. But I still can’t figure out why Asian airlines are able to do things North American airlines can’t. Or won’t. There’s just something about the service you get when you fly an airline like Cathay Pacific that you won’t find on American or Delta, and probably not WestJet or Air Canada. It’s little things, I think, such as nicer bathrooms and hand lotion even in economy washrooms. Not to mention a TV screen that showed passengers what Read more
We all know that it’s generally cheaper to fly to our favourite destinations from nearby American airports. A new study shows us just how much cheaper. The folks at cheapflights.ca looked at flights in August of this year to some of our favourite places, such as Los Angeles, Montreal, Miami, London and Bangkok, and compared prices from Canadian airports versus ones near the Canada-U.S. border. It’s a big area to cover but it’s fascinating – and surprising – stuff. Topping the affordability index was Bellingham, Washington, with an average ticket price of $316. Next was Kelowna (surprised a Canadian airport Read more
