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Canada Week: New Ferry Service Between Vancouver and Victoria

I spent the early part of last week in Manhattan for Canada Media Marketplace, where I met with media reps from all over Canada to hear about the latest travel developments. In a chat with Amber Sessions from Tourism Vancouver, I learned that Vancouver would finally be launching a direct ferry to Victoria. This saves the 40-minute drive to the ferry terminal in Tswwassen from Vancouver and another 30-minute drive from Swartz Bay Terminal on Vancouver Island to Victoria. Frankly, it also eliminates the need to rent a car in either destination. You also have the option to continue on by ferry from Victoria to Seattle to complete a great 8 to 10-day triangle. The Vancouver to Victoria ferry debuts in May. Cost starts at $120 Canadian for the 3 hour cruise. If you’re heading to Vancouver later in the year, be on the lookout for the unveiling of the $600 million Parq Vancouver complex next to BC Place Stadium. The new waterfront development will feature the first JW Marriott in Western Canada, The Douglas, a boutique Autograph Collection property, and eight restaurants and lounges designed by James Beard Award nominated restaurateur Elizabeth Blau. 

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Oh Canada

The favorable exchange rate for the American dollar not only extends to Europe. If you haven’t looked lately, $1 US will now fetch $1.33 in Canada. I haven’t seen an exchange rate like that since I was at an Expos game. If the exorbitant flights to Europe limit your options to the continent, especially if you want to travel as a family, head north. I’m already planning to go to New Brunswick in mid-June for more adventures on the Bay and Fundy and possibly a trip to Churchill, Manitoba in winter to spot polar bears. 
 
I’m also heading to the Canada Media Marketplace next week in New York, something I’ve done every other year for at least the past 15 years. I’ll be with old friends in the travel world hearing new and noteworthy story angles about the country as they celebrate their 150th anniversary of the Confederation in 2017. I’ve had the good fortune to travel extensively around Canada, biking around the wine country at Niagara-on-the-Lake, sea kayaking inn-to-inn around Prince Edward Island, hiking with moose in Cape Breton and atop fjords in the striking Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland, savoring the charming town of St. Andrews in New Brunswick and the farming community of Salt Spring Island in BC, going on such memorable adventures as whitewater rafting down the Klinaklini River in BC, a multi-sport vacation with the family in the Canadian Rockies, or canoeing through Ontario’s remote Wabakimi Wilderness, and loving my time in the cities while vintage shopping in Toronto and eating my way though Vancouver. If you need me to point you in the right direction, I’m happy to help! 
 
I’ll be back on Monday, April 10th, with my 5 favorite travel ideas in Canada from the conference. Have a great week and stay active! 
 
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Bikers and Farmers Unite at the Farm to Fork Fondo

When former professional cyclist Tyler Wren wanted to create an event that combines his love of biking with farming and exquisite scenery, he was inspired by the Italian “fondos,” celebratory rides where locals and farmers bike first, feast afterwards. He pulled it off last year in Vermont to great success. In the summer of 2017, Wren is offering a full slate of Farm to Fork Fondos, including stops in the Hudson River Valley, Vermont, Finger Lakes, the Berkshires, Pennsylvania Dutch Country, and the Maine coast. These one-day rambles are geared to the public, not professional bikers. Wren creates loops of 8-10, 25-35, 45-50, and 75-100 miles based on your abilities, escorted and with police presence to cut off road traffic. Simply choose your ride and get ready to stop at local farms along the way for a feast of fresh produce. Most of the proceeds go to local charities. You can even sign up for dinners the night before where farmers talk about the satisfaction and challenges of their livelihood. But you better sign up soon because Outside Magazine just wrote about the Farm to Fork Fondo in the April issue. So I expect these rides to sell out quickly. 

 
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Get Fit in the Caribbean with luxeFit

Last November in St. Lucia, I participated in BodyHoliday’s version of a triathlon by biking to Pigeon Island, running to the fortress atop the island, rappelling down to the sea, and sea kayaking back to the property. It gave me a firsthand glimpse how resorts are branching far beyond the token gym and spin class to offer memorable workouts in their often stunning surroundings. Now two young women from Sarasota, Florida, Holly Morris and Loren Mayo, are taking it a step further. Last November they launched luxeFit, weeklong fitness retreats to warm-weather destinations, arranging workout sessions and activities and nutritious cuisine prepared by a private chef in an upscale private beachfront estate setting. The first retreat is slated for April 30 to May 6 in Barbados. Activities will include yoga, paddleboarding, snorkeling, surfing, and waterskiing, with excursions to explore Harrison’s Caves, the Mt. Gay Rum Distillery, and the shops in Holetown. Beyond Barbados, the duo is exploring additional options in the Caribbean and Mexico. Cost is $3150 per person. 
 
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Explora Opens Their First Resort in Peru

On the rugged mountain slopes northwest of Cusco, the Sacred Valley is a beautiful stretch of small villages and ancient ruins spread across a broad plain. The Incas built several of the empire’s greatest estates, temples, and royal palaces between Cusco and Machu Picchu, positioned like great bookends at the south and north ends of the valley. Along with Cusco and Machu Picchu, the Valle Sagrado is one of the highlights of Peru and is really beginning to take off as a destination on its own, rather than just an add-on to Cusco or Machu Picchu. Now it’s home to the latest Explora hotel. I know this resort brand well, having stayed at the first Explora hotel in Torres del Paine, Chile, on assignment for Town & Country magazine. I remember staring out my bathroom window onto the majestic “Horns,” twisted rock formations that rise dramatically from the Patagonian steppe. Daily outdoor excursions are included in the price of a room, so you always have a guide by your side. It’s a worthy addition to the Peruvian landscape, on par with the luxury Inkaterra properties. 

 
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This Summer, Book a Maine Windjammer Sail

Last summer, I made the wise choice to sail on the Schooner Mary Day with my daughter, Melanie, before she left for her first year of college at Indiana University. We had a glorious trip dining on all the lobster we could stomach on a deserted island off the mid-Maine coast, spotting harbor porpoises, lonely lighthouses, and making new friends around the country as we hoisted sails and sucked in as much salty air as necessary. This comes on the heels of two memorable sails aboard the Grace Bailey with my dad and his wife Ginny. 

A question I’m always asked is where does a travel writer go for downtime? For me, I’ll jump on one of these historic schooners any chance I get. The Maine Windjammer Association is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Do yourself a favor and book a sail. It’s the best way to see the rugged shoreline and tall timbers of the Maine coast. New themed cruises include Sail Boston Tall Ship Festival (American Eagle & Angelique), Yoga and Wellness (Victory Chimes & Angelique), Beers of the Maine Coast (Mary Day), and Acadia National Park Cruises (Isaac H. Evans & Heritage). Back by popular demand: Beer and Bluegrass (Ladona), Foodie Cruises (Ladona & Stephen Taber), Kayaking Tours (Lewis R. French), Wine Tasting (Stephen Taber, Ladona, Angelique), and Knitting (Isaac H. Evans). 
 
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Portugal, Copenhagen, Maine, and Delray Beach, Florida in March Newsletter

Thanks to affordable direct flights and a favorable exchange rate, Portugal is quickly becoming a popular getaway this summer. Distances are relatively short between must-see cities and seaside villages, so it’s an ideal country to rent a car and explore. We’re happy to design an itinerary that includes lodging, driving routes, private guides, activities, and recommended restaurants. Or we can suggest a guided tour that best fits your dates. In the March ActiveTravels newsletter, we break down the best cities and towns to visit in Portugal. We also discuss our top hotel choices in Copenhagen, remind members of an exciting and affordable 5-day itinerary in the Maine woods with Northern Outdoors and Maine Huts & Trails, and talk about a quick escape to Delray Beach, Florida. Enjoy! 

 
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Harbour Island, the Best of the Bahamas

With more than 700 islands (20 of them inhabited) scattered from Florida’s doorstep to the edge of the Caribbean, the balmy Bahamas offers every type of warm-weather lifestyle imaginable. For some, the Bahamas is an afternoon’s port of call in Nassau and Freeport. Others are lured by the massive Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, where the beach life includes large pools, water slides, and a walk-though aquarium. Yet, there’s another side of the Bahamas called the Out Islands that have yet to be discovered. My favorite is Harbour Island, a three-mile-long, half-mile-wide speck off the coast of Eleuthera. With 18th-century clapboard houses edged with picket fences, this tiny island looks as if someone shrank Nantucket and plopped it down in the tropics. Cars are all but forbidden, replaced by golf carts.  Aptly named Pink Sands Beach runs the length of the island, speckled with the perfect blush of flamingo pink. Kids can ride horseback along the shores or don mask and snorkel to go eyeball-to-eyeball with the fishies. Stay at the Coral Sands Hotel, smack dab in the middle of that pink beach.  

 
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Spring Discounts in Bermuda

Need to get away? If you live on the East Coast corridor and just endured another snowstorm last week, I would say you’re due. Bermuda’s shoulder season is March to late May. The Fairmount Southampton is offering rooms at a 40% discount while rooms at my favorite lodging on-island, The Reefs, starts at $275 a night this time of year. I just checked the 10-day forecast and highs reach the upper 60s, heading to the mid-70s in April. Flights are direct and only 2 hours from New York, Boston, and DC. If you need suggestions on what to do while you’re there, check out my Boston Globe story. 

 
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Philadelphia Freedom

Washington, DC, garners its fair share of travel press this time of year because of soon-to-bud cherry blossoms. But don’t forget about that other East Coast history hot spot, Philadelphia. Home to one of two U.S. Mint facilities open to the public (Denver is the other; www.usmint.gov/mint_tours), families can take an hour-long self-guided tour of this money manufacturing plant. Unfortunately, they don’t give out freebies. Diagonally across the street is the home of the Liberty Bell, set in a $12.9 million glass pavilion. This tour is also self-guided and free, but guides are on hand to answer all of the children’s questions about that crack. Stay at the Sheraton Philadelphia Society Hill Hotel and you can walk to other Old City attractions like Franklin Fountain, an early 20th-century soda shop that makes the best root beer float I ever had, and Shane Candies, the oldest continuously operating candy story in America. Save room for dinner at City Tavern.  A reconstruction of an 18th-century tavern where Ben Franklin and other Founding Fathers dined, waiters dress up in Colonial garb and serve recipes from that period.