On both sides of the pond, vacation rental companies are reporting a spike in business from value-conscious travellers. In particular, people seem to be looking for self-catering digs close to home. Boston-based FlipKey says that vacation rentals in ski resorts that draw largely from a local area–such as Loon Mountain in New Hampshire, whose clients […]

“Dispatches,” one of my favourite CBC Radio programs, recently re-ran reporter Nancy Greenleese’s piece about Home Food (scroll down to “Culinary wrongs made right”). The Home Food organization, which started in Bologna and has now spread to other parts of Italy, allows travellers to enjoy a meal in an Italian home for roughly the same […]

Just wanted to mention that Kim Mance, editor-in-chief of the online women’s travel magazine Galivanting, linked to my advice on home swapping in an article for MarieClaire.com. Her story has lots of excellent advice for people looking to save money while travelling. And these days, isn’t that all of us? Thanks for the link, Kim!

Thinking about house swapping? The NYC TV station NY1 recently ran a good two-part report on the topic with lots of solid advice. Part 1 Part 2

For people who want the inside scoop on a destination, the websites of local TV stations are an often untapped source of information. For instance, my friend and fellow travel writer Katharine Fletcher was interviewed last month on “Living in Ottawa,” a local CBC-TV show, about an ecological preserve called the Mer Bleue Bog. It’s […]

Around this time of year, many snowbound Canadians start dreaming about the sunny Caribbean. Here’s are a few fun Caribbean blogs to get your imaginations going… Bati Bleki: Restaurant news and social gossip about Aruba Mullins Bay Blog: News from the Platinum Coast of Barbados Speaking Boricua: Puerto Rican current events, culture, politics and more […]

Feeling virtuous because you drove from Ottawa to New York instead of flying? Patting yourself on the back for driving a hybrid car on vacation instead of taking the bus? Don’t be so hasty. According to a report released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), the greenest choice isn’t always the most obvious […]

I’ve been raving about the benefits of vacation rentals for years to anyone who will listen. So what’s so great about staying in a house or apartment instead of a hotel room? Here are my top five reasons to go local. You can discover new neighbourhoods. In many cities, hotels are clustered downtown or in […]

A group of travel bloggers has banded together to launch Passports with Purpose: an online raffle for some very cool prizes. Profits go to support Heifer International, a charity that fights hunger around the world. Tickets are $10 and prizes include a Flip video camera, three nights in a Hawaiian hotel, and a cooking class […]

Couch surfing is getting a lot of attention these days–even here on this blog. The latest entry is a short report about the phenomenon by the CBS affiliate in Dallas. KOLN-TV in Lincoln, Nebraska, also posted a news report on couch surfing, which included an interview with local police chief Tom Casady. Casady pointed out that […]