In a glimmering party room at downtown Toronto’s InterContinental hotel last week, travel enthusiasts, bloggers and at least one Food Network celebrity gathered for an exciting announcement from American Express Canada and the AIR MILES Reward Program. A new product would be unveiled that would change the way the modern traveller booked tickets, scouted activities, found hotel rooms and planned journeys.
The big reveal: the American Express AIR MILES Reserve Credit Card.
Where Canada is proud to partner with American Express and AIR MILES to introduce the Reserve Card. This new credit card offers so many premium travel benefits to Cardmembers, that we thought we’d highlight a few of the best for you! Below, check out 11 of the many things to love about the new American Express AIR MILES Reserve Credit Card.
By ALINA SEAGAL
Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia (Photo: Alina Seagal)
An adventure through Atlantic Canada is not complete until you visit a fishing village or two. Here, you’ll find the freshest seafood, a new lifestyle and some stunning coastal views. Marvel at the postcard views of Peggy’s Cove, walk along the ocean floor during incredibly low tides around Alma or simply head to the village known internationally for its tasty oysters. Hundreds of fishing settlements dot the East Coast, yet we’ve selected some of the most memorable ones for you to see. (more…)
By LIZ BRUCKNER
FantasyLand Hotel at the West Edmonton Mall
Complimentary breakfast and Wi-Fi aside, when visiting a hotel with the shorter set, it’s the kid-specific perks that garner real praise with parents. From kid concierges to in-hotel scavenger hunts, these nationwide homes-away-from-home earn serious child-friendly clout. (more…)
By KAT TANCOCK
Hiking Canada’s highest trails: a couple strolls near Whistler Summit (Photo: Paul Morrison)
Hiking Canada’s high-altitude trails has loads of advantages over trekking at sea level: the terrain is unusual, the views are spectacular and the thin air is refreshing. For adventurers interested in the extra challenge of mountain hike, we offer this visual tour of the best high-altitude trails in British Columbia and Alberta.
Start the slideshow “Hiking Canada’s 5 Highest Trails” »
The Vancouver pick on our list of the best restaurants in Canada to open last year (Photo: KK Law)
Where magazine’s Best Restaurants in Canada is an annual award program that celebrates the top dining establishments to open in the past year. Recognizing some of the best restaurants in Canada from coast to coast, this award serves as the highest recommendation from the editors of Where. One amazing eatery from each of the Where regions is highlighted below in the Best Restaurants in Canada 2012 list—Calgary, Canadian Rockies, Edmonton, Halifax, Muskoka-Parry Sound, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria and Winnipeg. From classic comfort foods to refined fusion fare, this year’s selection offers a range of cuisines that’s as diverse as the regions they come from.
See Where’s picks for the best restaurants in Canada to open in 2012 »
Owner’s Suite terrace at Vancouver’s Fairmont Pacific Rim
By WAHEEDA HARRIS
Want to live the life of an A-lister in Canada? In addition to the de rigueur European vehicle and the haute couture clothing labels, those who live well travel well, too.
A night’s stay in one of these exclusive hotel suites may cost more than a monthly mortgage payment.
Custom travel experts Jennifer Deacon and Mercedeh Sanati in Venice
Jennifer Deacon and Mercedeh Sanati are rare creatures in the travel world: trip planners that have lived the experiences they sell. Through their Toronto company, Quench Trip Design, the pair creates custom travel packages for clients based on their own journeys. After over 30 combined years in the travel industry—and after taking four or five major trips per year—they know the destinations they recommend and are uniquely positioned to satisfy the desires and requirements of their clients. We caught up with them before they left Canada for trips to Tuscany and Morocco to ask them about their favourite spots in Canada, how to create a custom trip and what travel trends are hot right now.
Read the Q&A with Jennifer Deacon and Mercedeh Sanati »
By KAT TANCOCK
BC Wineries: Experience them by helicopter (Photo: courtesy of Valhalla)
When it comes to wine tours, conventional wisdom dictates that if you’ve been to one, you’ve been to them all. BC wineries, however, have never been fond of convention. These New World players are coming up with clever ways to experience vineyards, and introducing people to new BC wineries and vintages along the way. Here are five west coast tours that showcase BC wineries in a way that you’ll never forget.
See our photographic tour of five awesome way to tour BC wineries »
Vancouver’s Hannah Georgas on tour
With her self-titled new album and tour, Hannah Georgas is turning over a new leaf. Gone are the acoustic guitar-tinged folk melodies of the Canadian indie darling’s previous efforts The Beat Stuff and This Is Good; on Hannah Georgas (and on her current tour), you will find catchy melodies and synth-infused electronic beats. But though the album’s influences seem endless – everything from Foals to John Maus to Calgary’s Chad VanGaalen – the songs are still undeniably Hannah. They may indicate a slightly darker and more self-assured musician, but the impeccable musical and lyrical stylings that earned her a 2011 Juno nomination for “Songwriter of the Year” remain perfectly intact. Where Ottawa‘s Erica Eades sat down with Hannah Georgas on day three of her cross-Canada tour in support of fellow Canadian five-piece Mother Mother.
Read the full Q&A, in which Hannah Georgas discusses her tour, her process and her inspiration »
Lucy Izon of Canadacool.com (Photo: Kate Pocock)
Lucy Izon knows Canadian travel. She started writing about it in 1978, when she had a youth travel column in the Toronto Star. Now, having banked 35 years and thousands of kilometres, she is one of the most respected travel media figures in the country. Izon has done everything from conduct travel writing contests to write books (Izon’s Backpacker Journal, Canadian Traveller’s Trip Planner) to design staterooms on cruise ships. These days, she devotes herself to informing the world about what makes her country interesting via her popular travel website, Canadacool.com.
We chatted with her to get a taste of the fun advice and facts that have attracted more than 48,000 followers to her Twitter feed.
BYOF: bring your own food. These days, you’re lucky to get a miniscule bag of roasted peanuts on a flight, and prices for soggy sandwiches in airport terminals are sky high. Do yourself a favour and pack snacks and/or a meal. (This applies to train and bus travel as well.) At the very least, you’ll make your seat mates jealous.
Give us your tips! Add a comment below or let us know on Twitter @wherecanada: #wherecanadatips.