Canada's Iconic 'Castle and Cabin' Western Mountain Hotels Re-Open

Story About Canada

June 1st was the 132nd birthday of the iconic Banff Springs Hotel, and this year, the date marked another milestone: the re-opening of the four Fairmont Hotels in Canada’s Western Mountain region following a nearly two-month pandemic shutdown.Fairmont Banff Springs is joined by its sister hotels in Canada’s western mountains Fairmount Chateau Lake Louise, Fairmont Chateau Whistler and Fairmount Jasper Park Lodge, which are also re-opening with new measures for guest and staff protection including physical distancing, new cleaning and disinfecting protocols, 48-hour periods between guests in rooms, and temporary changes to amenities like restaurants and spas.Historic and LegendaryCanada’s ‘Castle Hotels’ are part of a string of luxury properties in epic wilderness and central downtown locations across the country. Today... more

3 Travel Planning Tips in a Post-COVID World

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There’s good news for travel lovers! We are starting to see travel restrictions lifted.Once we do start traveling again, the world of travel will be different.Here are 3 tips for how to prepare yourself to travel again.By: Lynn Elmhirst, Producer/ Host of BestTrip TV Coming… and GoingIt’s not enough to have a valid passport anymore .These days, you may not be able to get there from here. Even if planes say they are flying, and hotels are open where you want to go, it doesn’t mean you’ll be allowed to actually enter. Every day brings word about a patchwork of destinations opening, all on different schedules, with different restrictions.Are you confused? So are we. But we've discovered a couple of helpful web... more

Summer Solstice at Stonehenge Goes Virtual: How You Can Attend this Mystical, Ancient Celebration This Year

Story About Great Britain

Mark dawn in England on June 21st on your calendar. It will be worth or staying up late at night in North America to experience the online broadcast of one of the world’s most famous celebrations of pre-historic spirituality.Summer Solstice is the astrological event that marks the longest day (the most sun) - and the shortest night (the least moon) of the year. Usually on June 21st, it’s the beginning of the Summer season in the northern hemisphere.A Wonder of the Ancient World - and Accurate Solar CalendarFrom ancient times, humans have marvelled at and closely observed the predictable movements of the sun, moon, stars and the earth. They connected them to celestial gods, earthly survival through good harvests blessed with... more

Ever Wondered What it's Like to have a Butler Suite on a Crystal Cruise?

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We’re all dreaming of the day we can return to cruise travel. So why not dream big? Vacations are all about treating yourself, and a luxury Crystal cruise is a delightful holiday indulgence. A butler suite on a Crystal Cruise is a dream come true.Crystal Cruises come in different styles:River CruisesRiver cruising on four state-of-the-art, all-suite, butler serviced ships with the World’s Most Luxurious River Cruise Line, featuring the largest standard accommodations in European river cruising, unmatched choices and unrivalled inclusions.Yacht CruisesSublime and spectacular, guests on yachting sojourns aboard Crystal Esprit travel with just 62 guests in all-suite, butler-serviced luxury. Savor extraordinary cuisine, friendly hospitality and an unstructured, carefree ambience while exploring boutique harbors and marquee ports.Expedition CruisesDue to the pandemic, the launch of... more

Three Falls to Fall in Love with This Fall

Story About North America

In some very special places in North America, Mother Nature has found a perfect formula to make dramatic hillside scenery decked out in autumn colors even more breathtaking: she’s added waterfalls.If you’re planning an autumn colors getaway, here are three fantastic falls that will put the icing on the cake of the fall color pictures you’ll want to post on your social media accounts.Multnomah Falls, OregonAmerica’s West is full of great heights – and great falls. From the Grand Canyon, to Yosemite, to the very shores of the Pacific in California, dramatic waterfalls have taken visitors’ breath away since humans first set eyes on these wonders.But unlike many western falls that dry up in late summer, Oregon’s Multnomah Falls work... more

Do You Miss Cruising? This Recipe Will Let You Re-Create an Iconic Cruise Experience at Home

Story About Alaska

There may be no dish that evokes cruising more than Baked Alaska.A miracle dessert of warm, caramelized meringue on the outside, still magically full of layers of frozen ice cream on the inside. No one really knows why, but somewhere along the way, it became a classic of traditional cruise culture.Even today, Baked Alaska is often served on celebration, formal or farewell evenings. The ultimate Baked Alaska experience includes 'parades': a procession of dining room staff each bearing a flaming Baked Alaska for each table of diners to top off an evening of formal dining. (Hilariously, these days, often to the unofficial Baked Alaska parade theme song of 'Hot, Hot, Hot'). Rarely seen anymore on land, a flaming Baked Alaska never... more

Newfoundland Ponies Are The Joy We All Need Right Now

Story About Newfoundland and Labrador

When a destination’s nickname is ‘The Rock’, you don’t expect a warm and cozy place. Newfoundland is the eastern most point in North America, the vanguard of the continent where it faces into the North Atlantic waters and winds that once brought Vikings and still bring icebergs to its shores. In this dramatic setting and tough climate, only the strong survive. Newfoundlanders are tough survivors, but the opposite to their stark environment with famously welcoming, colorful, charming, musical and comedic culture.The ponies that Newfoundlanders brought over from Northern Europe developed the same characteristics over 400 years, until they became their own breed of tough, sweet, sure-footed and gentle ponies.Nearly extinct only couple of decades ago, Newfoundland Ponies are now, along with Newfoundland dogs,... more

Why We Still Believe in Travel

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While we are all practicing #StaySafeStayHome, it can be hard to stay positive or be optimistic that things we love and used to take for granted will return. We can’t wait to be able to gather again with family and friends, celebrate holidays, go to concerts and festivals and markets and games… and travel. Right now, travel may seem distant on the horizon, but this is why we know travel will be part of our lives again. By: Lynn Elmhirst, Producer/Host, BestTrip TV Travel providers are betting on a return to travel. Rather than throwing in the towel and closing, they are working hard and investing all their available resources into keeping themselves poised to resume providing travel services to travelers when we are... more

Now More Than Ever: Why You Should Work With A Travel Advisor

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The COVID-19 pandemic will pass. Until then, the global travel scenario will continue to change daily.Our top advice for people with travel booked – or considering travel – is to stay calm. And work with a trusted, expert travel advisor when you’re making travel plans.A responsible, qualified, and professional travel advisor will always:1. Only use and refer you to credible sources of information with expert and reasoned advice. Some of your friends at work, strangers on social media and less professional media are sharing gossip and spreading hysteria. They are making a difficult situation worse.Here are three official travel advisory sources used by travel suppliers, insurers and others to make decisions about canceling trips and providing coverage.The highly respected Centers for Disease... more

How You Can Help Solve Overtourism - AND Still Enjoy the World's Most Popular Destinations

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Amsterdam. Venice. Barcelona. Just to name a few. These are spectacular, vibrant, magical cities… reeling under the weight of tourists.I’m very fortunate to have visited a number of cities that are now on the list of overtouristed destinations. They are magnificent and life changing. But sadly, each subsequent visit, I see the very qualities travelers go there to seek eroded a little bit more by a growing volume of tourists.Over-touristed destinations worry about becoming artificial, ‘theme park’ versions of their charming, unique, authentic selves. They fear seeing local residents, artisans, shopkeepers and restaurateurs priced out of the cities’ historic centers by global brands and big companies buying up real estate for international brand shops and short-term housing rentals.When the locals go, so do... more

The Hotel with the Best Views of Buenos Aires

Story About Buenos Aires

They call Buenos Aires the ‘Paris of South America’. Historic neighborhoods of elegant, whitewashed buildings with ornate wrought iron trim, its reputation as the global capital of theater with 280 theaters, more than any other city in the world, and the world’s biggest boulevard, lined, like the grand boulevards of France’s capital, with monumental buildings… all add up to a distinctly European feel in Argentina’s capital city. The hotel with the very best view of Buenos Aires has to be the Hotel Panamericano Buenos Aires, with its prime location on July 9 Avenue. Called the world’s biggest boulevard, July 9 Avenue commemorates the country’s independence day and stretches 3 km long, and a whopping 18 lanes across!The Panamericano hotel’s twin towers are... more

Top Things to See in Barcelona

Story About Barcelona

It's one of the top destinations in Europe, let alone the Mediterranean. Barcelona tops everyone's travel bucket list, and for excellent reasons.It has a collection of some of the world's most unique and distinctive Modernist architecture - hint: by the same local designer whose masterpiece church is still under construction 130 years after it was begun. One of Europe's most famous local markets, and restaurants serving the abundant harvest of Catalonia's land and sea. One of the world's most picturesque pedestrian promenades (where you'll find the tongue-in-cheek bronze 'Thinking Bull' statue that plays on the iconic 'The Thinker' by Rodin, pictured above). And a lifestyle any visitor is loathe to leave.We never depart on a cruise from Barcelona without taking... more

The New Cruise Line Making Yacht-Style-Cruising the Med Affordable

Story About Western Mediterranean

Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? The Emerald Azzurra is the first ship launched under the new Emerald Yacht Cruises brand, which is now part of the newly formed Emerald Cruises. You may already be familiar with Emerald Waterways’ affordable river cruises. Now, the company is bringing that same accessibility to a new cruise line and new, 100-guest ship with inclusive prices – and those are only two of the features normally associated only with luxury, small-ship cruising. When the Emerald Azzurra launches in July 2021, the ship will be a game changer, introducing a new class of Mediterranean cruising. Described as a ‘super-yacht’, the ship was designed for the small, off-the-beaten path ports of the Mediterranean and features: only 50 staterooms, nearly 90% with balconies;a spacious... more

How You Can Help Now in Australia - Hint: It's Not Knitting Another Koala Cozy

Story About Australia

Maybe you’ve donated to wildlife rescue or the Red Cross funds to help. Maybe you’ve been one of the crafters who have knitted pouches and mittens for injured and orphaned koalas, kangaroos and other iconic Australian wild animals hurt in the fires.Welcome and much-needed rains have come that are helping to put out the fires. New green buds are even peeping out of the charred landscape.Now what? Lynn Elmhirst, BestTrip TV’s producer/host spoke with officials from Tourism Australia as well as owner/operators of local tourism businesses who came on an urgent trip to North America to provide an update. It’s not just the actual wildfires themselves that have been damaging to Australia. Misinformation reported about Australia’s wildfires online is hurting the... more

3 Hotels You Can't Miss in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Story About San Juan

It’s a US territory with sun-kissed Caribbean charms. Where lush jungles, land and marine parks and world-class beaches meet Old World cobblestone architecture, New World comforts, and signature Latin hospitality, culture and sultry vibe. Puerto Rico’s capital San Juan is a major cruise port and destination in the eastern Caribbean. Thousands of cruise passengers embark and disembark every year. But don’t miss the opportunity to extend your cruise – or visit the island just to explore the island’s urban lifestyle and beach resorts in San Juan, as well as the attractions outside the capital. Following Cuba’s revolution in the 50’s, Puerto Rico became the heart of island Latin style for America’s jet set, and many of the island’s most memorable... more