travel

The Tofino General Hospital has 10 in-patient beds and five stretchers. (Westerly file photo)

COVID-19: Tofino and Ucluelet kindly ask visitors from Lower Mainland to postpone trips, again

“We thank visitors from these regions for their continued support and understanding.”

 

The Northern Lights have long captured our imaginations. Here’s how to experience the magic. Stefan Wackerhagen photo/Travel Yukon

Northern Lights return to dance across the Yukon sky

If the Northern Lights have captured your imagination, here are a few tips to plan your adventure

 

The Canadian border is pictured at the Peace Arch Canada/USA border crossing in Surrey, B.C. Friday, March 20, 2020. More than 4.6 million people have arrived in Canada since the border closed last March and fewer than one-quarter of them were ordered to quarantine while the rest were deemed “essential” and exempted from quarantining. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Majority of international travellers since March deemed ‘essential’, avoid quarantine

As of Oct. 20, 3.5 million travellers had been deemed essential, and another 1.1 million were considered non-essential

 

Surfing at Sombrio River is said to be best in October. Mandatory credit: Fiona Anderson/Triumph Social Media

Surfing Sombrio

The evolution of one of the West Coast’s most popular surfing beaches

  • Oct 24, 2020
Surfing at Sombrio River is said to be best in October. Mandatory credit: Fiona Anderson/Triumph Social Media
Can you spot all 12 Days of Christmas displays at the Butchart Gardens? Jen Blyth photo.

The magic of Christmas returns to the Butchart Gardens

The magic of Christmas returns to the Butchart Gardens this holiday season.…

Can you spot all 12 Days of Christmas displays at the Butchart Gardens? Jen Blyth photo.
Explore BC IPA, a new limited-edition craft beer, inspires British Columbians to discover their own province along BC’s ale trails. BC Ale Trail photo.

Discover British Columbia this fall … via the Explore BC IPA!

Destination BC brews up partnership with BC Ale Trail and 6 BC breweries for the Explore BC IPA

Explore BC IPA, a new limited-edition craft beer, inspires British Columbians to discover their own province along BC’s ale trails. BC Ale Trail photo.
Vueling Airlines planes sit parked in a line at the Seville, Spain airport on Saturday, March 21, 2020, idled due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Miguel Morenatti

Air travel rebound is not yet on the radar, border services passenger numbers show

The Canada-U.S. land border closure has been extended until at least Oct. 21

Vueling Airlines planes sit parked in a line at the Seville, Spain airport on Saturday, March 21, 2020, idled due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Miguel Morenatti
Glenn Wakefield on his sailboat, West Wind II, at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club prior to launching for Cape Horn on Sept. 6. (Travis Paterson/News Staff)

Oak Bay sailor stranded in U.S. hospital after suffering massive stroke at sea

Glenn Wakefield’s rescue involved five airplanes and took more than 48 hours

Glenn Wakefield on his sailboat, West Wind II, at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club prior to launching for Cape Horn on Sept. 6. (Travis Paterson/News Staff)
Victoria, Vancouver Island earn global ‘Safe Travels’ Stamp

Victoria, Vancouver Island earn global ‘Safe Travels’ Stamp

Tool helps travellers identify tourism experiences that meet health and safety protocols

Victoria, Vancouver Island earn global ‘Safe Travels’ Stamp
A grizzly, like this one spotted on a recent Tide Rip Grizzly Adventures tour, can be distinguished from a black bear by its noticeable shoulder hump, a more dish-shaped face and its longer claws. Photo by Anthony Bucci / www.abucciphotography.com.

Bear tales: A grizzly adventure of a lifetime!

Journey to the Great Bear Rainforest

  • Aug 14, 2020
A grizzly, like this one spotted on a recent Tide Rip Grizzly Adventures tour, can be distinguished from a black bear by its noticeable shoulder hump, a more dish-shaped face and its longer claws. Photo by Anthony Bucci / www.abucciphotography.com.
Explore one of BC’s best-known regions along the Sea-to-Sky Highway.

3 New Ways to Explore Vancouver and the Sea-to-Sky

See familiar places with fresh eyes

  • Jul 13, 2020
Explore one of BC’s best-known regions along the Sea-to-Sky Highway.
Discover scenery that stirs the soul throughout BC, including the Sunshine Coast Trail. Andrew Strain photo.

Rediscover Coastal Culture and Wild Landscapes on BC’s West Coast

No matter how many times you experience it, the dramatic coastal scenery stirs the soul

  • Jul 13, 2020
Discover scenery that stirs the soul throughout BC, including the Sunshine Coast Trail. Andrew Strain photo.
B.C. entered Phase 3 of its restart plan on June 24, 2020 allowing people to take part in ‘smart, safe, and respectful’ travel within the province. (B.C. government photo)

B.C. reopening travel not sitting well with several First Nations

A number of safety conditions have yet to be met Indigenous leaders maintain

B.C. entered Phase 3 of its restart plan on June 24, 2020 allowing people to take part in ‘smart, safe, and respectful’ travel within the province. (B.C. government photo)
Sooke summer activity hit list

Sooke summer activity hit list

Sooke region offers wide range of fun things to do this summer

Sooke summer activity hit list
Brayden Boyd and Michelle Fonseca had plans for a big wedding with family in Mexico, when COVID made that impossible. Nanaimo’s West Coast Helicopter stepped in and offered to marry them on a Vancouver Island mountaintop.

COVID-19 cancelled their wedding plans, so they married on a B.C. mountaintop

Ceremony was live streamed to friends and family around the world

  • May 29, 2020
Brayden Boyd and Michelle Fonseca had plans for a big wedding with family in Mexico, when COVID made that impossible. Nanaimo’s West Coast Helicopter stepped in and offered to marry them on a Vancouver Island mountaintop.
Discover Sooke

Discover Sooke

Sooke is an ideal destination for anyone interested in outdoor adventures, relaxing…

  • Apr 22, 2020
Discover Sooke
Photo by Baneet Braich (Black Press Media)

25 Things to do in Victoria

As one British Columbia’s post popular visitor destinations, Victoria offers no shortage…

Photo by Baneet Braich (Black Press Media)
Natalie Rahey and Blair Skrupski are shown in a handout photo. The Halifax couple in their 30s whose wedding in Mexico’s Riviera Maya later this month is now on hold after Air Canada Vacations cancelled their flight, say they and their nearly three-dozen guests are now out more than $50,000. Rahey says she is “incredibly disappointed” that the voucher requires them to rebook at the same resort for the same price or more within the next two years, even if cheaper options become available. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Natalie Rahey

Travellers, travel agents ‘in agony’ over refund policies and customer service

Many Canadian carriers are offering customers flights rebookings or travel vouchers — but not refunds

Natalie Rahey and Blair Skrupski are shown in a handout photo. The Halifax couple in their 30s whose wedding in Mexico’s Riviera Maya later this month is now on hold after Air Canada Vacations cancelled their flight, say they and their nearly three-dozen guests are now out more than $50,000. Rahey says she is “incredibly disappointed” that the voucher requires them to rebook at the same resort for the same price or more within the next two years, even if cheaper options become available. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Natalie Rahey
Interprovincial travel ban an unlikely response to combat COVID-19, B.C.’s top doctor says

Interprovincial travel ban an unlikely response to combat COVID-19, B.C.’s top doctor says

We are too dependent on each other, Dr. Bonnie Henry says

Interprovincial travel ban an unlikely response to combat COVID-19, B.C.’s top doctor says
FILE - In this Saturday, March 14, 2020 file photo, a Transportation Security Administration agent hands a passport back to a traveler as she screens travelers, at a checkpoint inside an airline terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. The coronavirus pandemic that’s caused many Americans to avoid airports has others booking spur-of-the moment trips at dirt-cheap ticket prices. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

Cheap fares luring travellers to fly despite coronavirus pandemic

Airlines are seeing bookings plummet and cancellations

FILE - In this Saturday, March 14, 2020 file photo, a Transportation Security Administration agent hands a passport back to a traveler as she screens travelers, at a checkpoint inside an airline terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. The coronavirus pandemic that’s caused many Americans to avoid airports has others booking spur-of-the moment trips at dirt-cheap ticket prices. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)