Vacation

Vacation Destinations with Camps for Your Kids Nearby

Warm summers and thousands of getaway options await day-trippers and provincial staycationers alike this summer in Ontario.

Fretting over shipping the younger versions of yourself off to camp?

Take the sting off by taking them along – at least partially – by hooking up with some of the following adult-friendly getaways with adjacent day or overnight camps for your kids:

Nine Biggest “Wow”’s at Parks Canada Sites, 100 Years Later

Canada’s national parks system – the world’s oldest – was created one century ago this year with Banff, Yoho, Glacier, Waterton Lakes, St Lawrence Islands, and Jasper the first members (Banff itself became a park 125 years ago). More than just a place to go camping, Canada’s national parks and national historic sites are some of the world’s most sought-after travel destinations. 100 years after it all started, here are our picks for the nine most amazing jewels in the Parks Canada crown:

5 Tips for Kid-Friendly Road-Trips

Vacations with kids can be a roller coaster. And while the destination is often well-worth the journey, the journey itself can be a dream or a nightmare.

The thought that you can actually control (or at least moderate) things in the back seat on your next road trip may sound like the stuff of miracles, but it just might be possible, after mastering the following five aspects of life on the road.

Things To Do Before You Head to Walt Disney World

With so many things to see and do, a trip to Walt Disney World is a dream vacation for many Canadian families. Visit one of our CAA Travel Stores and have an expert help you plan out every detail of your trip from flights, accommodation, dining and park planning. We have exclusive offers on Disney packages, hotels, park passes, and more.

Tangent Triptik: Best Roadside Spots Between Ottawa and Thunder Bay

Heading to Ottawa from Thunder Bay, vice-versa, or anywhere in-between? Print or save our handy boredom-bashing guide below, and get ready to truly enjoy the longest trip in Upper Canada:

Assuming you’re starting on the south end of this route (if not, just reverse the following), take Highway 417 to 17 to 60 out of Ottawa, continue on 60 through Algonquin Park until it connects with Parry Sound at Highway 400. Continue north from Parry Sound on 69 and take 17 at Sudbury along the shores of Lake Superior.

This route adds about 1 hr, 45 minutes to the standard 20-21-hour trek between our nation’s Capital and the Sleeping Giant, but the bounty of roadside stop offs is well worth the extra hour-per-day (assuming you don’t plan to tackle this mammoth passage in one 24-hour-go.)

Evolution of the Pet-Friendly Vacation

Pet-friendly hotel rooms have existed in some form just about as long as hotels themselves have been around.

But a recent promotional image for the Radisson at Toronto’s Pearson Airport recently took the acceptance of four-legged friends up a notch as far as we’re concerned:

Said promo displayed a virtual tour image of one of their suites with a fluffy white bichon frisse lying comfortably on a lavishly-made king-size bed – A move unheard of in such promotional material even five years ago.

And that ad isn’t alone…

Top Family Cruises in 3 Categories

As recently as the mid-1990s, cruise lines generally felt that dedicated youth and teen spaces weren’t crucial for new cruise ships. Today, they are prerequisites on all large vessels and many mid-sized cruise ships.

As a result, cruising with your kids can be one of the most memorable vacations of your life.

Here’s our look at how to pick the right cruise, the right ship, and the right combination of together and alone-time:

For cruisers with kids, choosing the right ship is actually more important than your choice of destination. With the exception of all Disney ships and some of Royal Caribbean’s older vessels, the rule of thumb is the newer, the better, when it comes to selecting ships with child-friendly amenities.

Local’s Guide For Things To Do With Last-Minute Guests Around Ottawa

So you’ve got guests coming, and pulling out the cot for the spare room is the least of your troubles:

You’re late cleaning, worrying if they’ll be early, and have maybe a few minutes to plan an interesting itinerary.

So how to prove that you haven’t been asleep at the wheel when it comes to knowing the great tourist haunts in your town?

We’ve got you covered: Just pick one or two options from each of the categories below and you’re on your way. Got a little more time? Pick, choose, cut and paste some of the delights below into an e-mail for your incoming family and/or friends to impress even the most discriminating out-of-towners. (You can thank us once the dust clears…)

Cheap Cruises: 12 Ways You Can Afford a High-Sea Holiday

Once the almost-exclusive realm of upper-middle-class families and your grandparents, cruises today are within-reach of most gainfully-employed folk.

Finding the best deal possible (especially for young adults on a budget) is easier than ever, thanks to emerging technology that has increased the quality of cruise ships and increased the likelihood you can find a trip on one for comparatively little money.

Here’re our top dozen suggestions, sorted by category:

Summer Road Trip Series: Ontario EcoTourism Guide

An ecotourism escape doesn’t always involve skipping over glowing lava flows in Hawaii, or tiptoeing around the rainforest floor in Costa Rica. Nor does any camping trip automatically qualify as an ecotour.

Right here in Ontario, you can enjoy thousands of unique green adventures not far from your backyard (well, not as far from your backyard as Hawaii.)