Georgia on my mind ... Goodbye Andy Griffith ... Chicago makes tourism push

Mountains with crystal-clear streams perfect for fishing or kayaking. A fabulous coastline with historic hotels and terrific golf courses. Gracious plantations with porches big enough for a game of croquet. And one of America’s biggest cities, with a renowned aquarium and tons of great food and other attractions.

Georgia is a surprising place, as Governor Nathan Deal told me last week.

“I think it’s more geographically diverse and so much larger” than some folks expect, Deal said. “We have 100 miles of coastline and Savannah, a broad agricultural belt, Civil War trails, the Appalachian Mountains. There’s a real revival in interest in our mountains, and more people are making their permanent homes in the area. There’s a growing winery business in the foothills, and state laws now allow tasting rooms.”

Jekyll Island (see photo), which has the outstanding Jekyll Island resort (an old Victorian style place with class and beautiful grounds and a million activities), has a new convention centre that’s right on the Atlantic. Deal says it’s the largesst convention centre on the ocean south of New Jersey, and that Jekyll also new hotels and restaurants to lure customers.

It’s a lovely for spot for long walks on the beach and for biking as it’s relatively flat. There’s fine dining but also terrific barbeque in the area, and the Jekyll Island golf courses are fun and affordable.

You also can live it up at the Cloisters of Sea Island, which has some of the most beautiful coastal golf in the South as well as old-world service in a solid, romantic building that will make you feel like one of the Rockefellers.

They’ve apparently taken down some of the dams on the Chattahoochee River in Columbus (see photo of the city's riverwalk), over on the Alabama state line, and it’s created some great, urban rapids for whitewater fans. It’s said to be one of the largest urban whitewater stretches in the world.

Deal said nearly a million Canadians visited his state in 2010 and that visitation has gone up significantly, as has spending. Of those Canadians, by the way, 65 per cent are from Ontario and 24 per cent from Quebec.

I’ve never been a huge Atlanta fan but there are fabulous restaurants both downtown and up in Buckhead and the aquarium gets tremendous reviews. The Martin Luther King Jr. center is definitely worth seeing, and a lot of folks get a charge out of the World of Coca-Cola.

You can find special offers at exploregeorgia.org.

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Speaking of the south, there was a great outpouring of emotion down in Mt. Airy, North Carolina after the passing last week of Andy Griffith. Folks flocked from all over to pay their respects at the visitor centre and Andy Griffith Museum. According to a story in the Mount Airy News, visitor centre volunteers “love to tell tourists that there is a Snappy Lunch, a Floyd’s Barber Shop, Pilot Mountain and the Andy Griffith Museum.”

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The Chicago Tribune reports the city of Chicago has combined two tourism offices into a new one that’s called Choose Chicago.
“The city launched Choose Chicago this week with an announcement of new international offices, improved visitor centers and a goal of attracting 50 million visitors by 2020. Choose Chicago combines the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau and the tourism part of the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture. A release from Mayor Rahm Emanuel's offices says reducing overlap saves $2 million a year.”

A great town, for sure, and one that’s making a bigger push for Canadian visitors, as well as for business from South America and Asia.

 

 

Happy Canada Day: a look at my favourite places in this great country of ours

A golden sand desert that stretches up to the majestic mountains of The Yukon. The sound of small waves galumphing in and out of a lichen-covered rock on a morning canoe paddle in Ontario. The glorious pink cherry blossoms that blanket the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia in May.

I haven’t seen all of this country, not by a long shot. But I’ve seen enough of Canada’s endless coasts  and wondrous lakes and colourful cities to know we should be celebrating pretty hard when the clock strikes midnight on Sunday and the calendar jumps to Canada Day.

I’ve been hugely fortunate in this job, and in previous posts in my nearly 31 years at the Star, to have seen some magical things. In no particular order, and recognizing I haven’t yet made it to the far north or to Manitoba or Saskatchewan, here’s one very lucky man’s list of some great things to do in a very great country.

-         Sip away in the Okanagan Valley. I’ve been to vineyards all over the world, but none I’ve seen are more beautiful than here. Great wines, too.

-         Tour around in Twillingate, Newfoundland (see photo at right). Majestic icebergs, rocky coasts with romantic lighthouses and signs that say things like “Private Land – Foot Traffic Welcome.” The people here are as nice as advertised. And then some.

-         Drink in Muskoka. Too crowded, yes, but you can still find times when the loons are calling and a lonely canoe paddles past and the pines are lit by the pale morning light and all is right with the world. Hit the Kee to Bala when Blue Rodeo’s in town for the ultimate Canadian weekend. Don’t forget to stop at Weber’s on Highway 11 for a burger.

-         Take a trolley ride on the High Level streetcar in Edmonton. It’s a great old line with vintage cars and guys dressed up like old-time conductors, and you get great views as you cross the North Saskatchewan River.

-         Stroll Rue du Petit Champlain. I like the upper town just fine, but this street perhaps is the most fun in Quebec City. Have a drink at the top of the stairs on the north end and watch the tourists go by, then bed down around the corner at the luxurious Auberge Saint-Antoine or upstairs at the Chateau Frontenac, where they also have a great bar.

-         Ride the peak to peak gondola in Whistler. When you’re finished, tee it up at Big Sky in Pemberton (see photo) an underrated golf experience in Canada. Or rent a bike and check out the forests or ride helter-skelter down the ski hill.

-         Watch the fog roll in from the deep Atlantic on Signal Hill in St. John’s, then retire to a two-person Jacuzzi tub at the Murray Premises hotel. You can make up the rest.

-         Check out the sidewalk cafes of Mile End in Montreal and nosh on a St. Viateur bagel. Stop in for a bologna/salami sandwich with mustard at Wilensky. But don’t dare to ask for substititions. Or request it be cut in half.

-         Take a long walk on the beach in Tofino and watch the winter storms roll in. Splurge and spend a night at one of the country’s top hotels, the Wickaninnish Inn.

-         Drive the Niagara Parkway, preferably in a convertible or on a bike. A tad precious, but one of the prettiest drives in Ontario for sure.

-         Walk along Parliament Hill in the snow, like Pierre Trudeau. It’s a quintessential Canadian experience.

-         Take the gondola to the top of the hill in Banff and watch the sun rise over what feels like the roof of the world.

-         Check out the rhododendron garden in Stanley Park in spring. Then change things up at night with a mai tai in the wonderfully kitschy tiki bar at the Waldorf Hotel in East Vancouver.

-         Ride a bike in a Toronto river valley. We take these playgrounds for granted but our ravines — and the Toronto Islands — are superb spots to enjoy a different side of our city.

-         Take in a lobster supper in a PEI church basement. No pretense, just fabulous shellfish and great, down-home people.

-         Catch the sunsets along Ontario’s Lake Huron shore. There are a million beaches to choose from, but I like Southampton and Port Elgin a lot.

-         Drink in the views of the luscious Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia. In spring, the valley floor is a carpet of deep green dotted with pink cherry and white apple blossoms, and tall, white church spires rise into the sky. Check out the cemetery in the town of Paradise. Then think about it.

-         Take a drive from Haines Junction and check out Kluane National Park in the Yukon. You might see 10 cars in an hour if it’s a busy day, and the mountains are just as majestic and craggy and moving as those of Banff or Jasper.

Next on my list: Saskatoon, Lake of the Woods, Northwest Territories

Got any suggestions? Drop me a line at jbyers@thestar.ca. You also can follow me on Twitter @jimbyerstravel

 

Another tragedy in Thailand ... Travel news up and down California

More bad news for Thailand tourism. An Australian travel agent has been killed in Phuket, a popular holiday/beach destination in the southeast Asian nation.

Michelle Smith, 60, a travel agent from Western Australia, was killed during an attempted purse snatching on the island. PerthNow in Australia reports that "Mrs Smith had been walking with a friend, a 42-year-old woman,  near their hotel complex in Kata Noi Bay, on Phuket's west coast, about 10.30pm last night when they were attacked by two men who approached on the bike.

The men had circled the pair several times before attempting to steal their handbags and lashing out with a knife when they couldn't grab them.

The second woman suffered a slash wound to her arm and was taken to hospital in Phuket, but was allowed to leave early today after receiving stitches."

Travelmole and other services report there has been a spate of bag snatching by youths on motorcycles on the island and that women walking on isolated streets are particularly vulnerable.

A young German visitor had her thumb cut off in a similar savage incident in Krabi Town, a province nearby, earlier this year

Just a few days ago, two young women from Quebec were found dead in their hotel room on the Thai island of Phi Phi, apparently victims of poisoning. Travelmole reports six tourists have drowned on Phuket beaches in the space of one month and a day, which is a ridiculously high number and makes me think there's something seriously wrong at play.

CALIFORNIA DREAMING ... ON SUCH A SUMMER'S DAY!

Hey, I'm flying out to San Francisco tomorrow for a family gathering. And I'm looking forward to cooler weather.

Yeah, it's not everyday we here in Toronto want to flee to the Golden State for lower temperatures. But even a heat lover like me is getting knocked out by the high temps and humidity in the Big Smoke the last few days.

As luck would have it, the California tourism folks stepped into the Southern Ontario oven on Tuesday for a soiree at The Courthouse on Adelaide. I also had the chance to chat with tourism folks from Santa Monica, San Diego and Sacramento, as well as Sonoma and the Livermore Valley wine area, which doesn't get enough credit and, yeah, I'm a little biased cuz I grew up not far from there.

San Diego I don't know so well, but they tell me there are more craft breweries - some 40 of them - than almost any city in the U.S. I also was told the La Jolla Playhouse has sent a number of shows to Broadway or London, including Hands on a Hardbody, Peter and the Starcatcher and Jersey Boys.

"The stereoype is conservative folks and the beach," said tourism official Candice Eley. "And the zoo and Sea World. But there's a great food and art scene, and the city has really embraced being a border city."

The pictures she showed me look more like urban San Francisco than "traditional" San Diego. Little Italy (see photo) apparently has become quite the diverse neighbourhood, and looks like it's worth checking out.

Up the road in Santa Monica, Kelly Nagle tells me the LEED certified Shore Hotel is open for biz and that the Fairmont is bringing in a new lounge, The Bungalow, which promises a "Beach Boys/Doors/Led Zeppelin" vibe, whatever that might mean.

The city has a new bike centre where you can rent bikes and also drop off your bags and rent lockers and have a shower. They have bike itineraries for folks who want to check out the beach or the local food scene or arts and culture or even spa/wellness programs.

The Expo Line, which will connect downtown Santa Monica to downtown LA via public transit, is a few years away. But the eastern Santa Monica station should open next year in the Bergamot area of town, which Nagle tells me is filled with art galleries and other fun stuff.

We here in Toronto don't hear a lot about Sacramento, the state capital, but there's a lot to like. The sidewalk cafes go on forever, and there's incredibly inventive food and a great coffee culture in town. There are some 200 wineries within an hour or so of the city, including the burgeoning Lodi area (good, old-vine Zinfandel) and the lovely Amador County wine region, which is up in the lower foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains and has a ton of fun, quirky towns as well as great wine and a casual atmosphere.

I like the Livermore valley quite a bit. The town of Pleasanton is cute a button and also has fabulous cafes and shops and is home to the Alameda County Fair this time of year. Great wineries and golf courses abound, as well. Livermore used to be more of a cowboy town but has become increasingly trendy and boasts such fabulous wineries as Wente, Concannon and Steven Kent.

 

Transat suffering in Europe. .. Happy Father's Day to a great traveler!

Interesting that Transat is looking at Asia to supplement - or make up for - their European operations.

Faced with Eurozone issues, Transat on Thursday said it's Europe business was down 3.7 per cent in the last reporting period, compared to 2011.

Brent Jang of the Globe and Mail said today the trouble is more with inter-Europe travel, versus a lack of Canadians heading to the continent. Still, Transat CEO Jean-Marc Eustache said his company is "facing a difficult market in Europe." And it's being reported that capacity from Canada to Europe could drop by four per cent.

According to Jang, Transat is looking at Asia to diversify its traditional offerings. Which only makes sense. Even with the slowdown in China, the Asian market appears to be in relatively good shape.

The Aussies are travelling a lot these days because of the strength of the Australian dollar, as well.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

A friend sent me a note during coverage of the U.S. Open golf tourney yesterday, commenting on the Olympic Club in San Francisco - where this year's tourney is being played - and asking if I'd played it before.

Alas, I haven't. But I told him I DID get to play at Flemingdon Golf Club in Toronto yesterday.

For those who don't get the joke, Flemingdon, or Flemo, or the Royal Flem, is a nine-hole course tucked into a valley near the Don Valley Parkway and Eglinton. Not remotely fancy, but a fun little course that's in good shape and is an absolute joy to walk on a lovely day like yesterday. Good food, too, and a great little patio.

But the best part of playing it yesterday was playing with one of my boys and with my Dad.

Golf has always been a big part of holidays with my Dad. We've teed up in together all around the East Bay in the San Francisco area, where I grew up. But we've also had trips together and played in Hawaii (the photo of us is from this year, sitting under the giant Banyan Tree in Lahaina, Maui), Arizona, South Carolina and Florida. And here in Toronto.

My Mom was a travel agent for many years, and my Dad likes to say I got the travel bug from her. But he's just as much of a wanderer as my Mom. At age 80, he's thankfully still going strong and making trips galore; Alaska cruises and Europe trips and occasional forays to Australia or New Zealand. And lots of trips to Toronto of late to catch up with his grandchildren's graduations and take in dinners and golf games.

Our first big trip as a family, at least the one I remember the most, was a driving trip from San Francisco up to British Columbia, then over to Banff, down to Yellowstone Park in the U.S. and then down to Salt Lake City and back to northern California. We stayed at a dumpy motel near Vernon B.C. with a train that seemed to roll through the bedroom every couple hours, but we still laugh about it and the scenery was glorious and my sister and I somehow survived without a DVD player or power outlets.

The next big one was Niagara Falls, New York City (including a climb to the top of the Statue of Liberty), Philadelphia, Washington D.C. (including an endless loop around the Jefferson Memorial and $5 cokes from room service), then Florida and Jamaica and New Orleans. Wow, what a trip that was.

I remember taking a taxi outside of, I think, Ocho Rios and winding along and bumping and grinding (so to speak) along a small road as we headed for an airport. Finally, we looked up and saw a smooth stretch of asphalt in the middle of some trees.

"Great, the highway," my Dad said to our taxi driver.

"No, sir," the driver replied with a grin. "That's not the highway. That's the runway."

I can't even count the number of times we've been to Hawaii, mostly Maui but also Kauai and the big Island and Oahu. My family has always loved the people and the sights and smells of Maui; the sunseets and the golf and the food and the beaches. We usually stayed at Kahana Sunset, a small, perfectly beautiful family condo with a small beach and a lanai and great barbeques!

We play Kapalua a fair bit, the Bay Course, but we really love teeing it up at the Maui municipal course in Waiehu, where there are more holes on the ocean than any course on the island and you meet up with colourful locals and don't have to worry about a thing.

Once, a buddy and I and my Dad made a trek to one of the high-end courses on Maui for a real treat. We got to the club house and the guy told my Dad that we couldn't play because my friend and I were in cutoffs.

"Strictly proper golf attire," the man said, dripping with attitude.

My Dad hates that sort of uppity stuff and said something like, "you can stick a four-iron up your locker," or words to that effect.

"Come on boys," he said, "let's go over to Maui muni."

I'm sure we were a little disappointed. But I've always been proud of my Dad for that; sticking up for my friend and I and all.

We got to the municipal course and my Dad forked over some cash.

"How old are da boys," the guy at the muni course said.

"Seventeen," my Dad replied.

"No, I think they're sixteen," the clubhouse worker said.

"I think they're seventeen," my Dad said.

"No, sir," the man insisted. "It's a reduced rate if they're sixteen. Dose boys are sixteen."

My Dad loves that story. And I love my Dad for his generosity in offering to take us to the posh course and for standing up for my poorly attired buddy and I and for his honesty at the muni course - and in a million other moments.

I've been hugely lucky in my life. My Dad has instilled in me a love of travel and a respect for other people of the world and a sense of fun and adventure that has helped me along in more ways than I can count. To get to play a little golf with him this week and go for celebratory family lunches and dinners and tinker about in the house (there he was yesterday, fixing one of my family-room windows) and in the garden is just about the best way to spend Father's Day I can think of.

 

 

2012 a great year for Northern Ireland ... A quick look at Variety Cruise lines

There are few things better than a good breakfast, and an Ulster fry certainly qualifies. Today they were celebrating the launch of the 2012 Northern Ireland tourism campaign in Canada "Your Time, Our Place," it's called) and put on a great show with eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes (natch) and broiled tomatoes, not to mention croissants and fruit and all that. I'm still stuffed.

More important, it was a chance to talk about the wonders of Northern Ireland, which doesn't get as much press at it deserves. I was there two years ago for what remains possibly the best trip of my life; a great time in the south followed by three days in Northern Ireland, which was a surprise and an absolute delight.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Belfast, which has outstanding architecture, great neighbourhoods, fabulous pubs such as The Spaniard and the Crown Liquor Saloon, a terrific museum about The Troubles, cutting-edge restaurants and lots more. Of course, they also have a ton of Irish people, which makes any place on earth a good one.

The First MInister, the delightful Peter Robinson had everyone in stitches yesterday, talking up old legends and newer ones. The deputy, Martin McGuinness, had a few jokes of his own.

Interesting fact: they come from different backgrounds and diferent parties in a part of the world where that hasn't always worked so well. Robinson is from the Democratic Unionist Party, while McGuinness is Sinn Fein. But they form what together might be the best comedy duo I've seen in years.

It's funny in a way, but also quite revealing that these two men work together so well.

"The conflict is well and truly over," said McGuinness. "I'm proud that compromises were made."

Heady stuff.

On a less political level, this year, as most of the world knows, marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. The new Titanic Belfast Experience opens March 31 and promises to draw a ton of tourists. It's a six-storey affair that covers everything from the ship's origins to its construction, launch and sinking. www.titanicbelfast.com

There's also a Titanic Belfast Festival in town from March 31 until May, with plays, tours, exhibitions and more, and a giant MTV Titanic concert in April. There's also a Peace One-Day Concert in Derry-Londonderry on June 21. www.peaceoneday.org. Derry-Londonderry is the UK City of Culture for 2013.

Further north, they're adding a new visitors centre at the fabulous Giant's Causeway this summer. The causeway is a remarkable series of basalt columns - about 40,000 - that jut out of the ocean on the wonderfully scenic north coast.

This year also marks the playing of the Irish Open golf tourney at legendary Royal Portrush golf course; as pretty a links course as there is in the world.

ANOTHER MESSY DAY FOR AIR CANADA

Sounds like things got a little hairy for Air Canada passengers at Pearson and in Montreal today. Last I heard, the "work action" by disgruntled employees had slowed and things were operating in a more normal fashion. Still, it seems the airline simply can't buy any labour peace these days, and I fear more of this sort of thing to come in the near future.

VARIETY CRUISES - SOUNDS GOOD

Interesting today to learn more about Variety Cruises, a Greek-based company that offers up cruises that are more like a yacht charter.

"The concept is smaller trips where you can learn more about the history of a place and go to ports without the usual crowds," explained Constantine Venetopoulos, the sales manager and grandson of the company's founder.

"Our average is 50 guests per ship, with en suite baths and mini-fridges and free wi-fi. Plus all rooms are outside, meaning a window or at least a port hole. Because of the size of our ships, we can go into villages and there's no tendering and no lines when you get off the ship. People think it's a private yacht when they see it, and the captain can drop you off in the water at a small beach if you like."

Some of the ships can cruise under sail power, while others look like the fanciest of yachts. They have a new, super-luxury ship called the Voyager, which will be "five-star plus" with cabins up to 300 square feet.

"We aren't a Disney cruise with entertainment," Venetopoulos told me. "We tend to attract an older clientele, plus honeymooners. And we tell people that because of the size of our boats we can be affected by weather. It's possible we won't be able to make a place on our itinerary.

"But it's a great experience and a wonderful way to see the world."

Many cruises take in various Greek islands, but they also include spots the big ships often don't take in; Paros (a personal fave), Folegrandos and others. But also the "usual" spots such as Santorini.

They also have ships for Cuba, as well as Abu Dhabi/Oman, The Seychelles and the Gambia River in North Africa.

Definitely worth checking out, I'd think, if you're a cruise fan.

 

 

 

 

Lovely Fairmont Mayakoba a great spot on the Mayan Riviera in Mexico

Canadian golfer Stephen Ames is a guy known for speaking his mind. So when he tells me he thinks the Fairmont Mayakoba resort in Mexico is a "fantastic property," that says something.

Ames was playing last week in the Mayakoba Classic in Mexico and was staying, along with a bunch of other players, at the Fairmont. It's a beautiful property (with a five-star rating from the American Automobile Association) that's quite secluded, with plenty of room (45 acres) to roam about.

There are 401 rooms, but some 90 per cent of them are behind the mangrove line that's behind the beach so as to protect the fragile environment. Only 34 units are in the beach area, many of them with private pools and all with butlers at your service.

The units are spread out along a vast network of canals that are home to dozens of species of fish, as well as herons, ibis, ducks, turtles and the occasional crocodile, which usually gets whisked away as quickly as possible. You can't - and wouldn't want to - swim in the canals, but they're a relaxing backdrop to the resort. There are free boat rides (all electric boats with overhead covers called lanchas) through the mangrove forests; a great way to learn about the environment and the local wildlife. They even had an ecology manager on site to make sure things are done right.

The beach is a little remote from the units for some folks' taste, but Paulina Feltrin, the resort's public relations director, tells me beach shuttles run all the time and that nobody has to wait more than five minutes for a ride. You also can hop on a BMW bike any time you wish and take a short ride to the beach or the beachside pool or the restaurant Las Brisas, where they serve a wonderful blue crab tostada and will make you a margarita with cucumber or tamarind if you wish. All the seafood they serve is sustainable, Feltrin says. And the views out onto the Caribbean and over to Cozumel are wonderful.

(The food is great but watch the habanero hot sauce. Just a small drop is enough to satisfy all but the most avid chile fans.)

The Fairmont Mayakoba also has a beautiful spa with 20 treatment rooms and Maya-inspired treatments and several enormous swimming pools, one an adults-only facility. There's also a kids' program and a nice pool with a small waterslide to keep youngsters entertained. It also is the only Fairmont in the world that has an all-inclusive program for those who wish one.

The hotel is right alongside the El Camaleon golf course, which is a beauty. A couple of the rooms have fine views of the course.

Mayakoba is an area north of Playa Del Carmen, a fun place to walk about and have drinks or dinner, and the city of Cancun. So it's a shorter ride to the airport in Cancun than many of the resorts on the Mayan Riviera.

Feltrin says Mayakoba's seclusion makes it one of the safest areas along the Mayan Riviera, which many folks say is the safest part of Mexico. I certainly had no problems during my recent week at the Barcelo Maya Beach resort south of Playa Del Carmen, and I wouldn't hesitate to go back again.

 

Great spots to think about for a spring holiday this year

Nice item from Christine Sarkis at SmarterTravel.com, listing places folks can go for a reasonably priced spring holiday.

Because of our winters, we Canadians tend to travel a lot in January, February and March. And a lot of families do Disney World or other trips in the summer, when the kids have more time out of school. Consequently, a lot of us tend to stay home in April and May, and that means there are some pretty good deals - and often less crowds.

April and May are awesome times to visit Europe; as the massive tourist hordes haven't yet descended. The weather is decent in places like Paris and London in spring. It can be downright glorious in southern Europe; often near 20 degrees during the day.

Here are the spots Sarkis recommends, with the odd thought of my own as I veg out on a beach on the Mayan Riviera on a short holiday...

PORTUGAL The average hotel for spring is said to be about $100 in this country, and that's remarkable. Heck a chain hotel in Belleville is likely to cost you that much. And when you wake up and stumble outside you're in Belleville and not at a small cafe in Lisbon. The city of Guimaraes is the European Capital of Culture for 2012, meaning plenty of exhibits and concerts and such. Great golf and lovely beaches and superb wine in this affordable European haven, as well.

ORLANDO Okay, not quite as exotic. But with Disney, Legoland and the Harry Potter park at Universal, there's tons to do. Also, the food and drinks scene is surprisingly sophisticated, and the shopping is excellent. The beach isn't far away, either. Sarkis wrote that Disney Resorts has a 30 per cent off deal for April 13 to June 4 if booked by Feb. 28. I haven't had time to check it out but it would be worth noodling about on the Internet for shoulder-season deals in Orlando. Oh, don't forget the great golf at a time when Ontario golf is still something of a dicey affair from a weather standpoint.

SEATTLE A bit far away for us, but if you're visiting Vancouver it's a great side trip. Lovely food and a great waterfront for moseying about. Not to mention fine wines grown in state and great brewpubs, and, of course, Pike's Market. There are a couple major shows for culture lovers, too; a Gauguin exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum through April 29 and a Tutankhamun exhibit at the Pacific Science Center starting May 24.

HAWAII A personal fave for four decades, it's a great spot in the spring as crowds have thinned considerably. You can almost always find a clean, decent room in a hotel near Waikiki Beach in Honolulu for $100, and often for $80 or less. Food and wine can be expensive at trendy waterfront spots but if you eat a little further inland you can eat well for very little money in a city that's a real melting pot of Asian cultures. Terrific Chinese, Japanese and Thai places, plus touches of Portugal and, of course, American cuisine. Sarkis says Pleasant Holidays is offering 3-night packages from San Diego or San Francisco for $555, and that's a great deal. You could fly to San Diego or San Francisco for a few days, then soak up the sun in Hawaii before returning home to Canada. Check WestJet or Air Canada vacations for other deals, or the other Canadian tour companies.

PUERTO RICO Not a lot of Canadians head here, but I'm told that's changing a little. San Juan has beautiful, historic streets with colourful buildings and a gorgeous waterfront fort. The beaches are lovely and you also can find stunning rainforests and, if you wish, casinos.

A few other ideas worth thinking about include the Florida Panhandle, which warms up nicely by April. Ditto for Myrtle Beach, which is easy to reach via Porter Airlines. Washington D.C. or New York are great for culture. And the weather is usually terrific in southern California by the time the calendar hits April.

The Greek islands can be terrific in May. Ditto for South America, where it'll be fall.

Want to venture a little further? It'll be fall in New Zealand and Australia and a lot of tourists have gone home to the U.S., Canada or Europe, so it's a good time to check out either country at more affordable prices than their summer (our winter).

And don't forget Canada. The weather starts warming up nicely out west in April, so it's a great time for Vancouver or Victoria. Ditto for Montreal or Quebec City, especially as we get closer to May. Or just settle in for a great weekend in Niagara-on-the-Lake or a spa weekend or one-night stay at someplace romantic, such as Ste. Anne's Spa in Grafton, Ontario; very close to the GTA and a real sanctuary.

Enjoy! I'll be back with my nose to the old blog grindstone on Monday....

 

 

 

 

Florida joins the tourism wave with record arrivals ... Porter starts Myrtle Beach

Tourism numbers appear to be up just about everywhere these days. I seem to get alerts most every day about great numbers in New York and British Columbia, not to mention the sounding of "didn't we do good" trumpets in Los Angeles and even Manitoba.

The latest one I spotted was from a place near and dear to most of our hearts; Florida. State officials this week said they welcomed a record 85.9 million people last year; up 4.4 per cent from 2010.

Perhaps more important psychologically, it's the highest number since 2007. Which means the bad old days of warnings about oil spills and all seem to be - temporarily anyway - behind them.

State officials said the rebound was helped largely by a hike in visitors from Brazil - a group President Obama is courting rather strongly - and by a dramatic turnaround in visits to the beaches up in the Panhandle, which have come on strong since the oil spill in 2010.

Visit Florida said they received a three per cent increase in domestic visitors and a 5.7 per cent hike in visits from Canadians. So take a bow, folks; you're helping a fine state boost its leading industry. But don't get too complacent; overseas visitors to the Sunshine State jumped a whopping 16 per cent.

PORTER TO MYRTLE BEACH STARTS UP AGAIN

A sure sign of spring is here. Not snowdrop leaves peeking up out of that small icy patch in the garden or the Leafs struggling to make the playoffs, but something better; as in Porter Airlines' returning to Myrtle Beach.

Porter's annual winter/spring service to that South Carolina mecca of sand and golf started this week with two weekly flights from the Toronto island airport. Service increases to four times a week from March 1 til April 30; prime season in Myrtle Beach.

Porter still offers the only direct air service between Myrtle and Canada.

I'd never been to Myrtle Beach until I took a golf trip last year. The beach was wide and long and pretty, the water was fairly warm in October and the golf was glorious. Good food down there, too; barbeque and increasingly sophisticated cuisine abounds. It's also dirt cheap compared to golf in a lot of parts of the world, with very good courses to be found for less than $50 and awesome ones if you're willing to go a little higher. I really liked Pine Lakes but absolutely fell in love with Caledonia Golf and Fish Club; as pretty a course (see photo at right) as you'll find anywhere in the world, and with atmosphere to spare.

 

 

Canada-New York airline wars/Fewer Pearson screeners/Oscars and travel

Hoo,boy. This is gonna be fun.

Air Canada today announced it will launch three-times daily, non-stop flights between Toronto Pearson and New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport, starting May 3, and that it will increase its flights from YYZ to LaGuardia in New York so they run on an hourly basis.

Air Canada trumpeted the moves in a press release this morning, saying that "the new services further secure Air Canada's position as the leading airline serving New York City and makes it the only carrier that operates to all three major New York City area airports: John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport. Air Canada, which began flying to New York 71 years ago, will operate up to 38 non-stop return flights a day between Canada and New York City this summer."

That's a ton of folks heading to New York. But it's no surprise. I got a report from hotwire.com on Tuesday that showed the number one city Canadians were searching for family day getaways next month was New York.

For those who may have missed it, WestJet a while back was awarded the right to operate eight round-trips daily out of LaGuardia. WestJet is using those coveted slots, which it paid a bundle for, to increase its U.S. presence and to attract more business travellers. They already serve Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, as does Porter (from the Toronto Island airport). But LaGuardia is the biggest prize in the Big Apple, for sure.

It all makes for a very entertaining "air war" in the crucial Toronto-New York hub.

Air Canada's release today said that by adding JFK (albeit on 50-seat aircraft), "Air Canada will provide customers with the most frequencies, widest choice of airports and greatest convenience of all airlines flying between New York and Canada. The flights are timed so customers can easily connect at our Toronto hub to other destinations in our extensive domestic and international network, such as Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing. All eligible customers will also be able to collect and redeem Aeroplan miles," said Ben Smith, Executive Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer at Air Canada.

"Air Canada's New York service, with hourly flights, is ideally-suited for business travelers. Customers will have a choice of three airports across the New York City region, the option to purchase flight passes, access to Maple Leaf or Star Alliance partner lounges at all airports with priority ground services where applicable. In addition, Air Canada flights to LaGuardia and Newark feature Executive Class; the only Canadian airline offering business class service," officials boasted.

"Beginning May 1, 2012, Air Canada will add an additional daily return flight between Toronto and LaGuardia, providing customers convenient hourly service each business day. The new Toronto-JFK service will be operated by Air Canada Express using a 50-seat CRJ regional jet. The JFK flights will have early morning, afternoon and evening arrivals and departures," officials said.

With the new services, Air Canada will operate a total of up to 38 return flights a day to the New York metropolitan area from Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver. Any way you look at it,that's a TON of folks. If New York doesn't boost its tourism numbers again in 2012, at least they won't have Canada to blame.

COMING SOON TO PEARSON - FEWER SCREENERS!

Unbelievable.

The folks at the Greater Toronto Airports Authority are constantly trying to make Pearson a better place. I think they've made some bad moves in the past, including building terminals where there's almost NOTHING for folks to do while they wait for friends and family to arrive. And don't get me started on baggage wait times.

But they've added free wi-fi and, just the other day, a couple new restaurants, including a Thai place (about time). Things are improving, for sure.

So now comes word that the number of screeners is going to be cut by 20 per cent. Yeah, that's right. CUT by 20 per cent.

In fairness, I would say that long lines at the screening stage aren't among the biggest problems at Pearson. Long lines at customs are another story, as are the aforementioned wait times for luggage. From what I've seen, the wait times for the screening process at Pearson aren't any worse than any other airport, and they're far shorter than, say, Los Angeles.

Still, it's pretty disturbing to see where Garda Security Solutions, a privately held company that supplies screeners at Pearson, is cutting back. A story in The Star's Greater Toronto section today by reporter Josh Tapper quotes an official with the Canadian Airport Workers Union as saying that 63 folks will be laid off permanently, and another 236 will get reduced hours.

It's a 20 per cent cut, Tapper wrote, at a time when business is on the upswing. And March break isn't far away.

In fairness, the GTAA isn't in charge of security. That headache falls to the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, which handles such matters at all Canadian airports.

Folks from Garda weren't commenting yesterday. A spokesman for CATSA said it's not his company's role to advise or direct the way screening contractors manage their workforce.

Trinity-Spadina MP Olivia Chow said the layoffs will almost certainly affect security.

"There's absolutely no excuse to lay off airport screeners," she said.

OSCAR TRAVELS THE WORLD

A nice piece in USA Today this morning on how you can see the world through Oscar's eyes.

Two particular Oscar-nominated films come to my mind with real travel connections: The Descendants and Midnight in Paris.

The Descendants shows Hawaii in all her glory, especially the "Garden Isle" of Kauai. Most of the film takes place up near Hanalei Bay, a gorgeous stretch of beach that's backed by a verdant, impossibly green valley and a long, spiky ridge of deep-green mountains that pierce the sky in true South Pacific-looking fashion. It's a quiet spot but with elegant hotels, a fun little "town" and great golf at the Princeville Resort. There's also incredible hiking, great snorkeling and more.

Parts of the film also showcase Honolulu, although not as much as Kauai, and also show off a bit of the Big Island (ditto).

It's been in theatres a lot longer, but another travel-worthy film is Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. It showcases the Paris of long ago, but it's quite easy to get in the mood in the Paris of today.

One great spot to check out is Le Bristol, a glorious hotel near the Champs Elysees where a good deal of the movie takes place. I had the good fortune of staying there a year and a bit ago and it was truly outstanding. Even if you can only afford a drink at the bar, and that'll cost a pretty Euro or two, it's worth checking out.

Also with travel connections is The Help, filmed in the Delta towns of Greenwood and Clarksdale and Jackson - where you can plot a driving tour of downtown and the city's historic Belhaven neighbourhood, USA Today explains.

And don't forget Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which is centred on 9/11 in New York City. The National Sept. 11 Memorial opened in lower Manhattan last Sept. 12 and already has attracted more than a million visitors.

War Horse is attracting folks to Devon and Dartmoor in England, and they already have tours set up where you can see where some of the film was shot.

There's also Moneyball, but even a Toronto travel editor who was born in Oakland and raised watching the Oakland Raiders play football at the Oakland Coliseum wouldn't suggest a visit to such a dreary stadium. Unless the Blue Jays happen to be in town, that is, in which case you could probably get a ticket behind home plate and be one of maybe 5,000 fans in the ballpark.

 

 

Stealing free hotel breakfasts ... New Orleans gearing up for big-time sports

Couple interesting items in USA Today this morning caught my eye, the first being a story about how desperate folks are sneaking into hotels and grabbing a share of the free breakfast's that many places offer.

Not to condone such a thing, but it makes sense that if you're hungry and you see folks milling about in a hotel lobby and making waffles and gulping down scrambled eggs, that you just might think to yourself, "Hey, there's a free meal."

Hotels, of course, are aware. It's hard to spot a clever intruder the first time. But if folks show up a second or third time, well, most hotel managers are going to cotton on pretty quickly.

I guess the secret is to blend in a little. In Orlando, we suggest wearing identical Mickey Mouse sweatshirts or those Thing 1, Thing 2, Thing 3 Dr. Suess shirts I saw families wearing (ugh) at Universal Studios last spring.

Looking for a free meal in Wisconsin? A Green Bay Packers cheese head ought to get you past the front door. No one in Wisconsin would talk smack to a Packers' fan, even if they thought they were Milwaukee residents trying to scarf free food. Toronto? An Argonaut's jersey ought to do it. Why? Because NOBODY in Toronto wears an Argos jersey, therefore anyone with a jersey has to be a tourist. Or someone on the team, who, come to think of it, probably could use a free meal as much as the hobo in downtown Miami.

Speaking of sports, USA Today also noted that The Big Easy is coming up huge in coming months on the sporting scene. The NCAA football match, conveniently between Louisiana State and Alabama, will be held in New Orleans (see photo) on Jan. 9. Also, they'll host the NCAA men's basketball Final Four tourney in April, plus the 2012 women's Final Four and, last but not least, the 2013 Super Bowl.

Gee, ya think there'll be a whole lot of sports journalists suddenly clamouring for a chance to cover the Super Bowl come 2013? They might even surpass the credential requests for the recent Super Bowl in Detroit and the 2012 edition, which is in Indianapolis. Minus the winless Colts, of course.

Next month's college football game and the Final Four in April are expected to bring in $1.8 million in tax revenue for New Orleans.

Also speaking of sports, I see Tiger Woods sent a few bottles of champagne to the press tent after winning the Chevron tourney in Thousand Oaks, California on Sunday. I was excited to see Tiger win, as it's good for the sport. Also a bit of redemption, perhaps, for Oakville's Sean Foley, the controversial swing coach that Woods hired a while back to help get him back on top of the podium. It took a while, but Tiger seems to have his swing back and you have to give Foley some of the credit, for sure.

Anyway, it's interesting that Tiger made nice with the media by sending in the bubbly. A classy act, I think. I just wish he'd done that a few times when I covered golf for the Star...