Over the next year, we’re hoping to add to our articles in other Provinces of Canada, and carry on bringing you honest ideas, tips and help for anyone heading to Canada from the UK.. and of coarse to our Canadian and world wide readers who visit to find information about places they want to travel to as well!

A clear day at the marina in Orillia, ON

So finally, if you want to help contribute to Canada Trip, live in Canada or visit Canada regularly – Let me know! We’re always looking for some help finding more fantastic places of interest, places to eat, stay and of coarse play in Canada!
Email me: enquiries(at)canadatrip.co.uk

Time to look forward to the next year, and for all those hoping to make it to canada in the next twelve months, i wish you happy holidays! Dont forget to let us know how it goes!

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Canada Day (French: Fête du Canada), formerly Dominion Day, is Canada’s national day, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act (today called the Constitution Act, 1867), which united two British colonies and a province of the British Empire into a single country called Canada. Canada Day observances take place throughout Canada as well as internationally.

Frequently referred to as “Canada’s birthday”, particularly in the popular press, the occasion marks the joining of the British North American colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada into a federation of four provinces (the Province of Canada being divided, in the process, into Ontario and Quebec) on July 1, 1867. Although Canada is regarded as having become a kingdom in its own right on that date, the British Parliament kept limited rights of political control over the new country that were shed by stages over the years until the last vestiges were surrendered in 1982 when the Constitution Act patriated the Canadian constitution.

In London today, Canada Day in London is taking place in Trafalgar Square. The event will kick off at 10:30 am with the Singing of O Canada by the Canadian Tenors and dropping of the puck by His Excellency James Wright, High Commissioner for Canada. Put on some red and white to show your Canadian spirit and join them for the Trafalgar Street Hockey cup, traditional Canadian delicacies, beer and wine as well as live music and performers all day. Canada Day is a Free event and enjoyable for all ages, so if you can get there -its worth doing! There are events happening until it ends at 10:15pm so if you want to experience a bit of Canada in the UK, see if you can get yourself there!

For more information about Canada Day in London have a look at their website http://www.canadadaylondon.com/… or how about going crazy – booking a last minute flight out to Canada – 8 hour flight, 5 hour time difference, so you can take off just after lunch and be in Canada for dinner! .. Ah if it wasnt for work… and money hehe..

So finally, Happy 143rd Birthday Canada! And us at Canada trip wish all Canadians a Happy Canada Day!

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Yep that’s right! Huntsville, that’s very close to Muskoka Wildlife Centre – so remember to check our Muskoka articles if you’re thinking about heading off this way!

The price is £1069 sharing twin incl flights, 5 nights accommodation and car rental
First staying in Ottawa, located in eastern Ontario on the banks of the magestic Ottawa River – Then travelling to Deerhurst Resort, Huntsville, Ontario.
Daily departures are available though Pricing shown is based on travel in November. Read More for package details:

Package Details:

* Scheduled flights in economy with Air Canada from London Heathrow
* Alamo car rental – fully inclusive – for the duration of your stay
* 3 nights at The Fairmont Chateau Laurier in a Fairmont Room
* 2 nights at Deerhurst Resort, Huntsville in a Standard Room

For more information about how to get this deal go to Canada.Travel’s website!

Ottawa

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Huntsville

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For my review on Canadian Affair, please check out my review article http://www.canadatrip.co.uk/canadian-affair-2010/

The No Fly Zone is Finally Lifted! All you people who are stuck abroad currently, Us here at CanadaTrip.co.uk send our best wishes out to you and wish you the safest and quickest trip back.. as well as a Very well earned rest when you arrive back home.

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A lot of people don’t realise that Canadian Affair always run a large number of offers – so take a quick look at the offers most people miss by clicking here for their special offers like flights from £139!

So once again, my recommendation on the company you should fly to Canada in 2010 is Canadian Affair.

Below I’m including my review on Canadian Affair from last year, but before it I’m going to mention a couple of things I’ve seeing about the web
I’m sure if you’re searching for for Canadian Affair Reviews, positive or negative, you’ll have found a great deal – that’s because many people use the company every year.. One thing I’ve found is that a great deal of negative points are based on ‘one off’ instances which many people would disregard if you had a comfortable flight. I’ve now had the experience of 12 happy flights with them and i have absolute faith in the company. I’ve seen “complaints” over the seats people have booked changing a month or so before their flight – this can happen, for example if a flight is underbooked (not many people booked themselves onto the flight) rather than cancelling the flight, sometimes they will change an A330 for an A310 – different planes have different seating layouts.. but even so they will try to put you in the closest seat to what you asked for (as they did with us last year). And if you look at the reviews which are positive, the majority are almost 5 out of 5 and i think that speaks louder than anything! So, here’s my 5 out of 5 positive review about Canadian Affair from just after flying with them last year!

“So, what about my experience with Canadian Affair? Well every time i have ever visited Canada, i have always booked through Canadian Affair. This is because back in 2005 i went hunting for the best prices and Canadian Affair won hands down every single time. Since then I’ve been on 12 separate flights booked by Canadian Affair and I’ve never had any major problems what so ever.
What I’ve found on review sites are a few people who mention Overbooking being a problem.. I have only ever seen this happen twice out of my 12 flights. Canadian Affair’s method to deal with overbooking is very generous and they try to make it as fair as they possibly can – The first time i knew my flight was overbooked was my flight out in May this year. An apologetic person went through the check in queue asking for Volunteers, letting people know the flight was overbooked and offering them if i remember right over £100 off their next Canadian affair flight and accommodation for the night if they would take the offer of going on the next flight out to Toronto. It is entirely voluntary – BUT do as i do. ALWAYS get to your check in when it opens, just because you have 3 hours to check in doesn’t mean you can get there an hour after it opens – if you get there first, whether you have booked seats or not, you will always be guaranteed to fly out on the flight you booked.. Oh and the second time? My return flight last Saturday, this time the apologetic Canadian woman going through the queue was offering £250 off the next Canadian affair flight, as well as accommodation for the night if someone would volunteer to transfer flight. £250 was the entire amount i payed for that flight! So as you can see Canadian Affair do all they can to be fair and honest to their customers.

Thomas Cook 757 at Toronto in June 2006

How about the quality of the flights? Well, I’ve flown on Thomas Cook and Air Transat as I’ve mentioned before (as well as My Travel before they were bought by Thomas Cook) and the food – in my opinion – for airline food was top quality. Thomas Cook, being a British airline company will usually serve two hot traditional style meals (such as a chicken dinner or pasta bake) or, depending on the time you’re flying a hot meal and a snack – usually of a small sandwich, crisps, cheese and biscuits and a branded chocolate bar. Air Transat however are a French Canadian Airline and the food you find on these flights are usually different, with a nice french/American twist to their meals – for example a carrot and cinnamon muffin for breakfast, and a portion of three bean salad with your hot meal. On either Airline you fly with i have always found the service by the crew very helpful and polite, and in the case of my flight back last Saturday very patient, since my partner kept accidentally pressing the “call” button on the armrest!

Entertainment varies on your flights greatly. It’s very difficult to say that there is good entertainment on specific flights simply because everyone has different preferences as to what they want to watch. Most of the flights operated by Air Transat or Thomas Cook in my experience have TVs that come down from the roof, so offer only a single channel of TV. These usually include two recent movies one oriented at kids, and another oriented at Family, or in the case of when i was flying back last Saturday on a Thomas Cook A330, we had three films which pretty much filled up the whole flight – Pink Panther 2, 17 Again and Aliens Vs Monsters. If you’re lucky – some of the Thomas Cook A330 Planes have back seat TVs built in, which gives you a much greater choice of what you can watch – but my tip is if you’re pretty specific about what you like to watch, try take a PSP or small DVD player with you, or maybe even a good book, for the programs or films you may not feel like watching

The GPS Map Channel on Thomas Cook A330 Aircraft

My experience with Canadian Affair has always been positive, speedy response to queries be it email or telephone, kind personal responses which make you feel respected and valued, great quality service and flights and the absolute best prices.

If you book with them for your next Canada Trip please email them and let them know if you’ve had a great flight and service, also feel free to leave a comment here to let everyone else know what you think! The funny thing about us British is we’re always quick to complain, but we very rarely take the time to complement – and Canadian Affair, certainly over my last 12 flights deserve all the compliments they can get! So let me know your experiences with Canadian affair by leaving a comment!

If you want to look for the latest deals, the cheapest flights are made easier to find, when you get to the home page after clicking the link to Canadian Affair below – check the “Special Flight Offers” section on the right, it’ll take you to the list of all the lowest priced flights and which dates they’re on, so go check it out at Canadian Affair!” Click here For more information about canadian affair and the flights to toronto and other destinations for £139

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Action packaged 13 night Alberta adventure exploring the home of the Canadian Rockies.

The Wild West is a 13 night fly drive taking you on an exciting circular tour of Alberta. Starting and ending in Calgary, home to the marvellous Stampede, you’ll discover the wonders of Drumheller and the flatlands, onto Edmonton the provincial capital city and home to Canads’s largest shopping mall, before heading onwards to explore the wondrous National Parks of Jasper and Banff where you’ll have plenty of time to get outdoors and get active! This is an adventure not to be missed for all ages and all interests. Giddy up and get booking!

Price is 13 nights from £849pp fr £346 per child between 1 May – 12 Oct 2010. Going to Alberta, located on the western side of Canada between British Columbia and Manitoba. Home to the magnificent Canadian Rockies set amidst the wondrous National Parks – an adventure playground waiting to be explored.

Package Details:

* Package includes Car rental (Intermediate car- fully inclusive package)
* 13 nights standard accommodation Discover Banff & it’s wildlife tour (3.5 hrs)
* Spirit Island Cruise on Maligne Lake from Jasper (1.5 hrs)
* Athabasca River Raft/Float trip- Jasper (2.5 hr)
* a personalised Roadbook, maps, local information and trip planner
* Not included: meals other than those listed, Park entrance fees (payable locally), flights

For more information about this package as well as other related packages – check out Canada Travel’s website here

And of course don’t forget to check out Canadian Affair!

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Looking in land while stood on a frozen Lake Simcoe

So, as the UK moves into British Summer Time, we wake up, brush off the snow and get ready for another year of places to see, places to eat and how and when to go!

This year we’ll be posting articles twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays to give us time to better research and write up our articles – something we’ll definitely be catching up on is Algonquin Park in Ontario, as in just over a month i’ll be heading out once more to have a much much better look at this amasing place than when we underestimated it last year.
It may have also missed your attention that Vancouver was the host of the winter olympics this year, and again it’s unfortunate our plans to cover it in detail were scattered to the wind, but we’ll have a bit of a mention for them later this month.

And on a final note of this small ‘welcome back’ article – the winter may have been mild, but it was harsh enough to only permit one of the two all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurants in Orillia from opening this year.. I haven’t got information as to which one yet, but I’ll be finding out and letting you know when i do!!

So, Canada – Here we come.. again!

Lake Simcoe from the shore

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In the new year we’ll be getting back to providing you with reviews, tips and places to visit as well as trying to give you the best (and cheapest) ways to get to Canada – And if you didnt realise already, the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games are almost upon us, so we’ll be covering pleanty of things from these, as well as featuring more places in and around vancouver.. Oh and of coarse giving out information on how to get there and where to stay should you be wanting to get your last minute tickets to see them in person!

Once again guys, hope you all have a fantastic christmas and a happy new year.. and maybe if you haven’t been already – 2010 will be the year you travel to for the first time, and fall in love with the gem that is Canada!

Ottawa at Christmas

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The Metro Ski and Snowboard Show is back at London Olympia from this Wednesday running until Sunday, October 25th. To celebrate the event, all this week they’re giving away ski holidays to top resorts in Canada – the home of the 2010 Winter Games – where you can ski from November through to May.

From Quebec in the East to British  Columbia in the West, Canada offers excellent snow conditions, a long season, short lift queues, neck-twisting panoramas, high quality accomidation and an array of activities. Visit www.canada.travel/ski to discover more.

Travelling to Canada is easy and not as far – or as expensive – as you might think. Canadian Affair offers direct flights from Gatwick & Manchester to Calgary and Vancouver, offering outstanding value for money and the highest quality, tailor-made winter holiday packages. To find out more – remember to check out Canadian Affair’s site below

Today’s prize is a three night stay at The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise followed by a four night stay at The fairmont Banff Springs… Set in Canada’s Protected Playground, Banff National Park plays host to some of the world’s finest ski resorts offering almost 8,000 acres of terrain on one convenient lift ticket.

You and a friend will enjoy ski or snowboard rentals, three-day, three-resort Club Ski lessons, six day tri-area lift tickets to include night skiing at Mt. Norquay, return shuttle transport between your hotel and the resorts, return flights from London Gatwick and return transfers from Calgary International Airport.

£4 OFF WITH METRO TICKET OFFER

With new features and over 200 exhibitors, the Metro Ski and Snowboard Show is the start of the winter season. Use the code ‘METROSKI’ to get £4 off on-the-door prices at www.metrosnow.co.uk

For more information, terms and conditions and how to enter the competition go to the article’s page:

http://www.metro.co.uk/win/article.html?WIN_A_WEEK_AT_BANFF-LAKE_LOUISE,_CANADA!&in_article_id=753649&in_page_id=4

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I’ve been in southern Ontario about three times when storm warnings and tornado warnings have been in force in my area and the weather network provides you with updated information and eyewitness accounts of everything that’s happening when it’s happening. None of those documentaries which were common in the 1990s which taught you all about tornadoes or hurricanes can really ever be as useful or fun to watch than this channel during a storm.. and all the time that added buzz you get from actually being there as it’s happening!

I have to say, i love powerful weather events, and i am one of those people who loves to see the power and beauty of nature – one of the reasons Canada is my favourite place in the world! The first year i went in 2005, amazingly we were in a tornado warning zone. Now for those of you who haven’t visited – a Watch is when tornadoes or severe thunderstorms are probable in the area, and are likely to occur. A Warning is when there are confirmed Tornadoes or other severe weather in the area and you should take precautions.

Before i go on, because i can get a little carried away with my love for all things stormy – please don’t be scared! Although i have experience with Tornadoes (as you will see in a moment) it’s not common, and it was only my sixth visit to Canada on a particularly stormy day across Canada that i got to see my first one. The difference between the UK and Canada is that Canada knows how to handle bad weather – in the UK we just stop functioning!

As you can see from the pretty photo up at the top of the article, There was a heck of a lot of dark cloud about .. but the odd thing was that it wasn’t like that earlier in the day and the whole sky changed very quickly.
We had both been to Newmarket, and been at Upper Canada Mall – to take the photos for our article on it – and we had headed back to Wendy’s (A large burger chain in north America) to eat. It was while we were eating some very heavy rain came over, so we waited until it died down a little, finished our food and headed out to the car and set off back towards where we were staying.
In the UK this year we’ve had some pretty heavy rain, but trust me when i say the rain in Canada can be incredibly heavy – as if you had just had a bath full of water thrown on you.. and that’s what happened. It started to throw it down with rain once more.

It was raining so hard, the windscreen wipers couldn’t cope so some very cautious driving occurred from all on the road – Have a look at the video.. unfortunately this was when the rain was pretty light at the side of what it was, but it gives you an idea of how heavy it was..

Eventually we came to a store and we pulled in simply to wait for the rain to pass. As you can see from the video – even though it was 5pm in Summer, it had got very gloomy.. but eventually the rain subsided, only to reveal an interesting cloud which looked like it was forming a cone. We watched it as it seemed to be building – it almost appeared as if there was an invisible cooling tower pumping out steam, as the cloud’s tip seemed to be twisting and blowing upwards. It’s size grew and it got more pointed. We decided it was probably best to move, since from what we could see the funnel cloud was heading our way – and it’s when these clouds meet the ground a fully fledged tornado is born. We set off and i snapped the photo you see above – we eventually lost site of the cloud through yet another barrage of rain.

The first thing we did when we got on was turn on the Weather Network. From having watched it earlier, we knew we were supposed to have chance of severe thunderstorms, but there hadn’t been any watches or possibilities of tornadoes when we first set off to New Market, however by the time we had got in – the whole area had been bathed in a Tornado Warning, so there were tornadoes on the ground out and about in our area!

Now, i get excited, and that’s simply as I’d love to be a storm chaser – stupid as that may seem.. But i am not stupid enough to not understand that this kind of weather can be very dangerous and can ruin lives – So, what should you do if you’re in the same situation as we were?

If you’re staying in a Hotel, head down to reception and find out what their plan is – they will have all the information you’ll need to know to sit out the next hour or so of the warning
If you’re in another building – The advice is to make sure the windows are all closed and go into the lowest floor of the house – usually the basement, though if a basement isn’t available in the building – a room with as few windows as possible, and with as many walls from the outside as possible will do.

We headed to the basement and played Nintendo Wii for a bit! Remember, the chances of a tornado heading your way are very slim so my advice is stay calm, and just enjoy the excitement – The UK has boring weather it either rains, or it’s cloudy! And you’ll have something to tell people when you get home! The Weather Network will keep you up to date with what’s happening and entertain you through the storm.

If any of our readers have experience with tornadoes and advice they want to share with other readers please leave comments and I’ll have them published, so keep having a look back now and then!

So there you have it! Canada, an awesome country with amazing weather! Check out the Weather Network for all your forecasts wherever you’re staying in Canada. I usually have a look at the 14 day trend two weeks before i head out to see what the weather will be like! http://www.theweathernetwork.com/ You can also find videos of the latest weather news, active weather and weather forecasts for your holiday destination.

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