Free Wheeling Around San Francisco
Grab a GoCar
San Francisco’s fame comes in many forms: the great earthquake devastated the city in 1906, the Summer of Love made it a hippie haven in 19...

Night Of The Radishes
It's Christmas, Mexican style
Every December 23rd in Oaxaca, Mexico, a humble vegetable takes centre stage. No longer content to merely play colourful roles in guacamole or re...

Window On The Soul Of A Nation
Robben Island, South Africa
Travel has the power to teach and transform us, offering a new understanding of the world through the people we encounter. I am fortunate to have...

Birds Of A Feather
Margaret Atwood, The Four Seasons & Grenada Dove come together
Swatting mosquitoes and brushing spider webs from my face, I slogged through prickly branches that ensnared my clothes. The sun rose, but few ray...

Jurassic Park
Dinosaur delving in Alberta's Badlands
My partner and I were no larger than specks of pepper in the dinosaur’s mouth. We crept up its ‘intestines’ - 106 steep, shadow...

Tales Of Ghostly Travels
Haunted trips to make you scream
In an ancient Scottish cemetery, a woman awakens near a tombstone to find mysterious bruises on her body. Meanwhile, in Transylvania, a group of ...

Splendid Savannah
A gracious city with a famous Garden
Darkness is falling and my wife Allyson and I are deep in Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia. Tombstones surround us like dusky hulks, tre...

Fall Into Home Sweet Home
A cornucopia of eye candy - from coast to coast
It’s head-banging season for big horn sheep in British Columbia. Polar bears are migrating through Churchill, Manitoba. And snow geese ar...

Beyond The Beach
Fall's top travel hits
Tired of the same old all-inclusive resort? The all-you-can-eat buffet, open bar, beach, sand, and sun on a tropical island? OK, maybe not. But m...

From Pools To Coconuts
What you need to know about an all-inclusive holiday
Winter isn’t even here yet, and Canadians are already dreading the chill. In a few months, some will be so desperate for a little sun that ...

A Yen For Romance
Experiencing The Iconic Japanese Love Hotel
"Irasshaimase,” a discreet voice greets us from somewhere above the crystal chandelier as the glass doors zip open, allowing my husban...

Follow That Baguette
Canal boating in France's Loire Valley
Picture this: a French countryside awash in yellow canola blossoms, with chateaux and castles rubbing turrets with charming country homes. All th...

Mystic River
Whitewater adventure on Manitoba's Bloodvein
Mention the wild and free Bloodvein River to experienced canoeists and they grow misty-eyed just thinking about the 300-kilometre Canadian Heri...

Trendy Iceland
Dip into the island's quirky charm
There’s good news and bad news about visiting Iceland this year. The good news is the new direct service from Toronto and Halifax with I...

Hope And A Hot Tin Roof
A glimpse inside the real Soweto
Our South African itinerary is replete with classic tourist encounters (“Stop the jeep - I want a shot of that lion!”), but my comp...

Country Life In Saskatchewan
Getting a taste of rural life on the Prairies
I drove through Saskatchewan’s rural countryside under the heat of the prairie sun, navigating a maze of highways that twisted and turned i...

Jockeying Into Position
At Siena's breakneck horse race
The Palio is a horse race of a different breed. There will be no large brimmed hats or mint juleps in sight when ten sleek steeds and their bareb...

Dubai On A Dime
A super-sized oasis in the Arabian desert
Make no mistake: if you have a lot of money, the United Arab Emirate state of Dubai is for you. The site of the world’s only 7-star hotel, ...

100 Years Of Anne
PEI's Green Gables still charms a young girl
Clean-cut, unadorned and honest, Anne has inspired young girls for 100 years. I confess, I was one of them. But how would my 16-year-old teen fee...

Buzzing Around Banff
A story about some Canadian tail
Running two online travel magazines is electrifying, but the chances to actually test the merchandise are few and far between. When I do manage t...

Getting Your Fjord Fix
Far flung corners of the globe feature fabulous fare
for fjord-lovers
My love affair with fjords began at the southern tip of Chile. I was clinging to the rails of a large catamaran, gobsmacked by the icy formations...

Variations On A Theme Park
Taking a bite out of Disney
Walking down Main Street U.S.A., you’d never suspect that Walt Disney World is a foodie’s paradise. What with the Mickey Mouse-shaped...

Cruise Currents
What’s happening on the water
Cruising has become one of the hottest travel industry segments in the past three decades. It was once the preserve of the wealthy, who enj...

Excuse me, dahrlings, but...
Thank Goodness For Biker Molls
by Ivanna Gabbalot My, my, my. Here I was worrying about how dull we Canadians appear on the world stage. And lo and behold we launch a fully ...

Tourism in Afghanistan?
Trekking through the Pansjir Valley
Well, maybe. It’s awfully small, with good reason. Aside from the Taliban creating a war zone out of the southern half of a country the siz...

Take Me To The River
Riverboats: the Un-cruise cruise
Hate the impersonal nature of the ocean cruising mega-ships? You’re not alone. Lots of consumers are allergic to the thought of competing w...

On A Wild Moose Chase
A romp through the bogs of Newfoundland
I think that Ed English is a man who is not fazed by anything – except perhaps the fact that he could not conjure me up a moose. English r...

Helping Holiday
Can I have a volunteer?
 I was visiting Angkor Wat in Cambodia when I noticed a wide-eyed little girl with an armful of woven bracelets studying the Canadian flag o...

Part-Time Home Away From Home
How part-time ownership led to no-time holiday
My skis were waxed, my quads toned, and my mind in gear for an exhilirating spring skiing trip to Aspen. What I didn’t expect was to spend ...

Small Wonder Down Under
Tasmania is the hot new eco spot for cool sightings
I stop dead in my tracks as I walk towards the spa. I am booked for a hot stone massage at 4:30 p.m. at Cradle Mountain Lodge in Tasmania. But th...

Pink & Green All Over
Bermuda Is For Lovers. And Golfers Too
For an island that is just 34 kilometres long, Bermuda is a seductive choice for twosomes, with its seclude...

Paper Cut
E-tickets will soon be the only way to fly
Paper airline tickets will completely disappear as of June 1st. That may be cause for rejoicing within the ...

Club Med Reinvented
A glimpse at its new incarnation at Ixtapa Pacific
A good friend of mine visited Club Med Ixtapa Pacific on Mexico’s Pacific coast north of Acapulco shortly after it opened in 1982. As a yo...

A Reel Adventure
Deep-sea fishing trip hooks a new fan
It’s a dark and stormy night, well, afternoon, to be exact. The sky is a solid sheet of grey and rain pours down in big fat drops that hurt...

Eco Trips
What does green really mean?
Lately, there seems to be a “green” bandwagon on the loose. Businesses and products are colouring themselves shades of trendy gr...

First Annual Green T.O.E.* Awards
Who's doing good things for the environment and who is mucking it up?
Green TOE Awards: Destinations  Belize Often Belize is viewed as a poster child for ecotourism. It has successfully kept its Mayan ruins in...

Talking Turkey 101
Lessons learned from Istanbul
The mystique and history of Turkey had always placed it at the top of my must-see list. Though I had never ventured anywhere as exotic, I was e...

Air Apparent
Pondering airport options for New York City
You are flying to the Big Apple and ready to savour a bite. Flush with the feeling of having a currency pretty close to par, Manhattan is yours f...

Munching With The Stars
On the hunt for Anguilla's best lobster
Celebrities are a dime a dozen on Anguilla. Courtney Cox, Brad Pitt, Beyoncé and Sarah Jessica Parker are just a few that have bedded down...

Finding Africa In The Heart Of Brussels
Hidden neighbourhood transports visitors to another world
There’s a secret world that many visitors to Brussels miss. Tucked into the side streets of the suburb Ixelles, not far from the chic bouti...

Roman Through Paris
Remnants of ancient times remind visitors of the city's roots
Welcome to Lutetia, the City of Lights? Just doesn’t sound right. It’s a good thing that Lutetia eventually changed its name to Paris...

Nutmeg, Sugar And Spice
Everything nice in Grenada
Time to spice up your vacation? Grenada is the place. A by-product of ancient volcanoes, this 345-square-kilometre island is lush ...

A Natural High
Peru's Lake Titicaca
Most people remember the name Lake Titicaca from elementary school geography. Your teacher no doubt told you that it was the world’s highes...

Chocolate Is The Answer
Who cares what the question is?
Are you crazy for that cocoa-based concoction known as chocolate? Around the globe, you’ll find a number of places that cater to your cra...

It's Bath Time
Rewind to the time of Jane Austen
Never mind Britney or Lindsay. In Bath, the woman everyone is madly stalking is Jane Austen. She may have left the infamous s...

Authentic Southern Hospitality Awaits
Georgetown, South Carolina: minutes from Myrtle, yet worlds away
Canadians love Myrtle Beach. We flock to the South Carolina resort town in droves to get a mid-winter, pre-spring taste of summer. The beach is a...

Island Alternatives
Smaller sisters are not poor cousins
Antigua? Grenada? Sint Maarten? Been there and done that? Many of your favourite Caribbean hot spots have a secret – a smaller, sister...

Where The Boys Are
Top five spots for “man-cations”
OK, men, enough of the girls’ getaways. Guys just want to have fun too, so TakeOffeh set off in search of places where testosterone can run...

The Big Apple Uncharted
Discover DUMBO, NYC’s emerging hot neighbourhood
New York is a city of acronyms – SoHo, BoHo, Nolita, etc. Add to the list yet another – DUMBO, which stands for Down Under Manhattan ...

Get Marooned Here!
Meet the Whitsundays, Australia’s island paradise
I’m not sure which hotel department handles this type of complaint, but a cockatoo just flew away with my toast. Sitting outside at the res...

Swinging In Singapore
Fun with food, dynamic shopping, wild encounters and other adventures
First impressions may be lasting, but they are often wrong. That is the case when it comes to the reputation of Singapore. I...

Give A Little Bit
Help yourself to a volunteer vacation
Is it better to give, or receive? When it comes to travel, a volunteer vacation has the benefit of both. By giving your time to a worthy project...

Getting Married In Fiji
Replacing bland with sand
There’s something about Fiji that makes people swoon. Given an opportunity to travel anywhere in the world, the exoticism of Fiji makes thi...

Two For The Road
Erotic and exotic getaways for love birds
A recent ‘love’ survey reveals surprising results. More than half the couples had not taken a holiday together in the last year. If y...

Eco Mania
From kayaking to zip lines, Costa Rica and Mother Nature team up to offer green adventures
Need to fill up on nature? Welcome to Costa Rica, where Mother Nature ushers you into a world ripe for eco adventures. In fact, the country is on...

Beyond Mickey
There's more to Orlando than meets the eye
In Orlando, Mickey is the mouse that roars, but if you see past the little critter, Orlando has much more to offer than just theme parks. Really....

Ski? Not Me!
New Hampshire for those not hitting the slopes
To ski or not to ski, that’s not the question. For those don’t have the burning desire to fling themselves down mountains on two skin...

Changing Channels
Cruising through the Panama Canal offers grand thrills
The Panama Canal has been called the “Eighth Wonder of the World,” and there’s no better way to truly experience it than on a c...

Swish 'n Dish in Zermatt
From hay soup to igloos, Switzerland's mountain playground is hot
Home to the mighty Matterhorn, Zermatt is where those who live the luxe life come to ski or just to be seen, with plenty of après-ski acti...

Palm Springs Heats Up
The desert town's new youthful spirit is downright cool
What is it that has been attracting visitors to this town out in the middle of the desert for decades? Sunshine? Golf courses? Posh resorts? Yes,...

Bahama Drama
Beyond the beach, the islands' cultural scene thrives
After you’ve had your fill of basking in the sunshine and frolicking along the famous beaches of the Bahamas, dip your toe into the islands...

Don't Cry For Me (Or My Wallet), Argentina
There are bargains aplenty to be found in Buenos Aires and beyond
While the cost of visiting some hot spots is creeping northward, the prices in Argentina are still a relative bargain. From pitchers of wine to t...

Destinations Kind Of Like Venice, But Not
The dolce vita of Venice is closer than you think
There’s only one Venice, but if you’re not headed to Italy, where can you find a bit of its magic? Fortunately, you’ll find i...

Dusting Off My Crystal Ball
Travel predictions for 2008 by Madam Olga
My crystal ball is a bit scratched. I shouldn’t have put it in my checked baggage; but nonetheless, I see the future almost clearly –...

Turn Off, Tune Out
Stressed execs seek Blackberry-free zones
How far will overloaded executives travel to escape the communication ties that bind? To the ends of the earth say adventure travel companies enj...

Package Tour
Cuba: Pack a lot, bring home a little
There’s a Canadian love affair with Cuba that goes far beyond beaches and mojitos. It’s the only major destination where many Canadia...

Medieval Metropolis
Yemen rewards The intrepid traveller
There are good reasons why travel to Yemen comes with some stern warnings. But for those willing to take some calculated risks, the rewards offer...

Divine Dining
Hey foodies: Great dining experiences for 2008
Culinary travel has never been bigger, with many people today making travel decisions based on the local restaurant scene. Here’s a look at...

Easing The Pain
The best places to make your resolutions reality
Planning to eat better? Exercise more? Quit smoking? Conquer fears? These holiday destinations can get your resolutions off to a shining start. T...

Forebirds
America's 10 best winter golf resorts
South of the 35th parallel, golf is a four seasons game. From North Carolina to Florida, Alabama to Arizona, the U.S. offers thousands of opportu...

Ships For Lubbers
10 best cruise lines for non-cruisers
Don’t consider yourself a cruiser? It’s a shame, because some places are best seen from the water. With all the choices out there tod...

Two Thumbs Down
Everyone's a critic: Trip/advisor's funniest comments of 2007
Word of mouth has always been a big factor in the travel business, but the Internet has raised amateur criticism to a whole new level. 2007 produ...

Pampered Peregrinations
Travel Writers Share Best, Worst & Most Surprising 2007 Experiences
Yes it’s work, but it’s nice work if you can get it. The travel writing team at USA Today share their experiences and favourite stori...

Past The Peak
More pros than cons for off-season Europe travel
Many travellers are learning that off-season travel to Europe offers a lot of advantages, including smaller crowds, lower prices and shorter line...

Bali High, Bali Low
The cheap & the chic of island loving
The word “magical” might be the most over-used adjective in all of travel; but when it comes to Bali, it has earned the right to clai...

Tuning in Tunisia
Discover the delights of this sizzling vacation destination
You’d never describe shopping in North America as an adventure, but you certainly would in Tunis, the ancient city that hosts a souk, or ma...

Mayan Magic
Mystical tikal is a living ruin
One of the best preserved Mayan ruins, Guatemala’s Tikal is not just a dusty museum piece. Since 1996 the site has once again been used for...

'Tis The Season
Where the Christmas spirit is alive all year long....
Although many people breathe a sigh of relief once the Christmas tree is down and the ornaments are packed away for another year, some just aren&...

From Formal To Faux Pas
What to wear: Figuring out cruise line dress codes
It didn’t used to be so difficult. Right into the 90s, cruise ship dress codes were rigid…and enforced. Now there are widely varying...

Credit Card Required
Still shopping? Dream trips for the person who has everything
If money is no object, there’s no end to the luxurious and intriguing travel options out there. Even if money is an object, it never hurts ...

Page-Turner
You still can't beat the guidebook
Yes, the Internet is the hotspot for travel research. But once you’re on the road, it’s tough to beat the old-fashioned guidebook. &l...

Creature Of The Night
'Nightwatchman' breathes life into Medieval Rothenburg
Centuries ago, he was a lowly figure, walking the streets of a walled-town so the locals could sleep peacefully. Today, the nightwatchman of Germ...

Wing And A Prayer
Travelling on faith: World's most visited religious sites
Religious travel is one of the biggest forms of tourism in the world. Millions travel each year to sacred sites, some to worship, others just to ...

La Dolce Vita
Sicily captures the essence of Italy
It’s not the Italy of Gucci, Botticelli and iconic tourist sites, but if you love Italy for its people, rustic cuisine and pace of life, th...

Canadian Families To Share Their Dreams During Disney Parks Annual Christmas Day Parade On CBC

Stars scheduled to appear on televised special include Jessica Simpson, Miley Cyrus, Patti LaBelle, Josh Groban, the cast from "High School ...

Eat, Drink and Be Maui
From donuts to cowboys, discover the side of the island only locals know.
Before heading to Maui for the first time, you probably imagine swaying palm trees, sunsets, surfers, gyrating hula girls and long stretches of s...

That's amore
Sicily's most romantic spots come dressed in dramatic style
Sicily, once a Greek colony, deserves to be on your A-list of places to see in Italy. It’s every bit as impressive as Rome, Florence and Ve...

Haute, Hot, Hot Scottsdale
The Arizona desert town's cool factor heats up and lures Canadians south.
Canadians love the heat, especially the dry, desert variety that Arizona offers. Visits to the state have jumped by 19 per cent. At the centre ...

It Won't Bite, Really
Madagascar: A safari where the animals are smiling
You’ll want to stay in the vehicle on your mainland Africa safari, because some of the animals you’re observing wouldn’t be ave...

Vine and Dine
Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley squeezes its way onto the wine scene
Watch out Okanagan Valley. There’s new kid in town who’s out to crush and stomp on the competition. On the other side of the country,...

What Are You Pointing At?
Loyalty miles & points a modern form of currency
It is estimated that more than 14 trillion airline miles sit idle in the accounts of frequent flyer program members, with a value approaching $50...

More Inclusive
Consumers beginning to ask questions about 'enclave' tourism
All-inclusive tours are highly popular with Canadian travellers who love the concept of knowing exactly how much their vacation will cost. And th...

Steady As She Goes
Slow travel means there are no 'must-sees'
Why is it that so many people return from their vacation more exhausted than when they left? In many cases it’s because they’ve tried...

Give And Take
Fair trade tourism offers benefits to Sub-Saharan Africa
There are a growing number of travellers who see a fenced, gated beach resort on the shores of, say, West Africa’s Gambia, as a distressing...

Sad Songs Say So Much
Mississippi blues trail slowly finds its way
It’s a form of music that evolved from melancholy, sadness and slavery. In fact, the term ‘blues’ is said to have originated ...

Brave Or Crazy?
Hinterland travel goes where most fear to tread
When a Hinterland tour rolls into town, the townspeople are often surprised, sometimes shocked. That’s because U.K.-based Hinterland Travel...

Lest We Forget
Battlefield tours keep the memories alive
It has been said that Canada became a nation not on these shores, but across the ocean during World Wars I and II. The website for U.S.-based Spe...

Beyond Borat
Kazakhstan's pyramid is a modern wonder
Let’s see: You’ve done Giza, been to Guatemala’s Tikal and checked out the Pyramid of the Sun, at Mexico’s San Juan Teoti...

Give A Little
Upscale volunteering
Trips that combine travel and service are growing in popularity and visibility. ‘Voluntourism’ enables travellers to interact with th...

Nude Hiking
What's that swinging through the trees?
Is it just me or is this line funny? “Naked walking, also known as naked hiking or ‘Freehiking,’ is a sub-set of the modern for...

Cage Match
Who's afraid of the great white shark?
The Great White Shark: huge, sleek, muscled, agile; a highly evolved predator with a keen nose for blood. Row on row of vicious, slashing teeth a...

Deep Breath
Is that large, sharp-toothed fish following me?
Snorkeling off the southern Cuban island of Cayo Largo, I was in awe. I’d only done it a couple of times and had never seen marine life lik...

Look Out Whistler...
Here comes Revelstoke
There’s lots of excitement at Whistler Blackcomb this winter, as the new Peak 2 Peak gondola is set to open December 12. Billed as the wo...

On The Rocks
They don't call it Iceland for nothing
Vatnajökull Glacier is the largest glacier in Europe and represents 8% of Iceland’s landmass. While glaciers are disappearing in man...

Hot Tip
No downside risk at Boston hotel
With stock markets yo-yoing, North Americans are hungry for a safe bet. Boston’s Colonnade Hotel has just the ticket. The recently renova...

Sorry, Where?
TripAdvisor tells you were to go
We respect TripAdvisor.  The travel review site has developed a significant critical mass with over 10 million reviews and opinions that i...

Travel Toys
Gadgets for geeks on the go
New doodads designed specifically for life on the road are hitting the market, some frivolous, others fantastic. On the plus side is the 150 Co...

Splish Splash
There's nothing like an outdoor bath
Ah, the sounds of the tropics– birds singing, local rhythms, waves crashing on the shore. Now add to that soothing sonic scenario the s...

Bucket Lists
What are you dying to do?
`Bucket lists’ (catalogs of things you want to do before you die) have become one of this decade’s darkest fads. Dave Freeman, a le...

Climate Sightseeing
100 things to see before they die
Ad agency JWT employs ‘trendspotters’ to seek out the next ‘big things,’ presumably so agency clients can profit from t...

Advertising Backlash
Cities banning billboards
Have you seen Toronto’s Dundas Square lately? It’s copped Times Square`s look, with massive billboards and drive-in-theatre-sized T...

Here's Mud In Your Eye
A dirty travel trend
So much for good, clean fun. These days, mucking about in the mud is where it`s at. Each year, a whopping 30,000 international visitors and 1.5...

Breakfast Of Champions...Or Is That Oligarchs?

Many people think of breakfast as the best deal of the day. You can still get a stomach-filling, artery-clogging plate of bacon, eggs, home fri...

Clear The Track, The Train Is Back...

Rail travel is making a big comeback, both in terms of point-to-point transportation and as a form of luxury touring that hearkens back to a pr...

Tune In, Turn On, Log Off...

Look around a beach resort these days and you’ll see many people who may have taken off their ties, but can’t seem to break the tie...