Canada Trip.co.uk

Well, i find myself writing an article about the airport that first started my fascination with traveling and aircraft. Almost twenty years ago i stood on top of a car park and watched the mighty Concorde thunder past, landing and parking its self up on the apron.. Well, Air France kindly did away with the Concorde, putting an end to my ambition to at some point fly on one – though little did i know back then the airport i fell in love with right at that point, would be the airport i would head out from to my most loved travel destination – Canada.

Well, things have changed since then. The airport has moved along with the times, modernising and improving its facilities to the point that it is at today with its recently revamped Terminal 1 departure lounge.

We arrived on the shuttle bus at T1 and immediately went hunting for our departure desks. The departures of Manchester T1 are pretty simple to follow, companies are all bunched together, so for Canadian Affair, you’ll find Thomas Cook currently as far to the left as you can get in the hall. Check in went smoothly as in any airport, and onwards now to the security checks.

This for me, was the only part which i didn’t like. Not because it’s the usual security check woes which you get – will it bleep when i walk through the metal detecting door frame of doom – or will my bag or coat be searched after going through the X-Ray machines.. nah none of that. The thing i think which made it bad, was simply the way it had all been laid out. You walk through effectively into a one person wide walkway, which doubles back on its self to where you are then directed by a member of staff to your designated security checking desk. When you’re waiting, i kind of got the impression, with this giant hall being so gloomy, that i was standing, almost in what seemed like an industrial food factory. Remember the Sausage Factory adverts on TV? It was a shame, as i say, this is the only down side to my experience at the airport.. If they had made it brighter, made the whole place a little lighter, given people a little more space.. maybe it would have been a little less.. industrial. (more…)

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Well, it’s getting closer and closer to those fantastic winter games, and we’ll be doing another article on them within the next week. But, as everyone knows it’s always a good idea to get those flights booked nice and early – this obviously to get the best price you can get! Well the cheapest flight to Vancouver and back for the Olympics for one week is £452.80!

Thomas Cook 757 at Toronto in June 2006

I’ve been looking for a while and once again our recommended company to book flights with comes tops again! The £452.80 fare is based on you flying out of Gatwick on 11th February 2010 – getting you to Canada in time for the opening of the games, and after a week of experiencing the games in Vancouver flying back on 18th February. This is why i always book my flights to Canada with Canadian Affair.. They are the absolute cheapest way for anyone in the UK to get out there and experience Canada for themselves.

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Now. like I’ve said before, I’ll always keep my eyes open for deals on flights, especially to Toronto, and there’s only one place i look these days – I’ve looked everywhere else and Canadian Affair beats everyone else hands down on costs.

Before continuing down the page – A lot of people dont realise that Canadian Affair always run a large number of offers ESPECIALLY to Toronto - so take a quick look at the offers most people miss by clicking here for their special offers like flights from £139!

Fancying a week away in October? Canadian Affair are doing outbound flights from Manchester to Toronto for £129 on 13th October and a return flight on 22nd October for £131.50 – 2 return flights to Canada for 2 people coming to an incredible £522.80, INCLUDING all taxes!

Toronto as seen from the CN Tower

Or, if you’re planning on booking for next year – try May
Flying from Gatwick – flying out on Sunday 2nd May the flight to Toronto is only £129 and if you fly back May 16th – 2 return flights to Toronto would only cost £648.40 including all taxes.

Flying from Manchester – flying out on Saturday 1st May the flight to Toronto is again only £129 and if you fly back Sat May 15th, again two return flights to Toronto would only cost £648.40 including all taxes.

Check out the prices for yourself at their Website!

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. (more…)

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Well here it is! The second part of our Getting Around Canada article. In this part we’ll look at getting around Canada by Bus, Car or even RV! .. First up – Bus!

Greyhound Bus

BY BUS

Greyhound (403/260-0877 or 800/661-8747) serves areas throughout Canada. Travel by Greyhound is simple–just roll up at the depot and buy a ticket. No reservations are necessary. Greyhound bus depots in all cities and towns are centrally located and linked to other public transportation (or, at the very least, cabs meet all arrivals). Always check for any promotional fares that might be available at the time of your travel. Regular-fare tickets are valid for one year and allow unlimited stopovers between paid destinations.

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Time for one of those reccomended company mini articles! Every time i go to Canada, i take travel money rather than cheques – it saves me the time in cashing the travellers cheques when i get there, and i can plan everything out from the start!.. Now because of this, i monitor the exchange rates – to the point where i’d check them every day to keep track of them for months before i go. It’s no exaguration that Travelex online is THE best company you can get your currency from. They are head and shoulders above the rest on rates day after day month after month. I compared big banks, supermarkets and even other currency specialists and Travelex was always on top!

They pride themselves on the Travelex Price Promise, and if you are looking for conveniance – you can order online and pick up your money at the airport before or after check in – and usually before or after security – as there are usually 2 locations in each airport (but always check travelex’s site to make sure this is the case before you make your decision). So there’s my only reccomendation for Travel money – there simply is no one i’ve found who can match Travelex rates!

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So, you’re in Canada! How will you be getting around? – There’s the great idea of hiring a car, which is fine – but what if you wanted to take a more varied Tour of Canada? Travel from one city to the next? – You may want to think of how best to travel round the country – whether you want to go by air, rail, bus, car or even a campervan – otherwise known in Canada as RV!

This is a pretty big section, so we’re going to split it into two parts – the second part coming up in a few days time! – But here in part one – we’ll cover Air and Rail!

Air Canada

BY AIR

Regularly scheduled service between major Canadian cities is offered by a number of airlines… (more…)

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WELL, I’m now on my way to Canada! If you’re reading this in response to seeing it posted at 10:10am – then I’ll be flying as you read!
But this isnt the subject of the article!
It’s now half way through August, so, time for summer holidays is drawing short, and Kids will be back at school in 2 weeks (or if you’re in Scotland .. in a few days!) so maybe it’s time to start dreaming again.. Many of us have had our holiday for the year – and we could get down thinking about how long it is until our next time off from work.. But instead, how about we have a look – at what could be in store for us next year huh? Optimism is always the best way of seeing things!

A My Travel A330 - my outbound flight in 2006, taken through one of the windows in the (now converted into a resteraunt) viewing area at Gatwick Airport

OKAY! Lets think earlyish next year.. In Ontario – particularly Toronto you get some absolutely perfect weather in May – the temperature never gets too hot, and usually is a comfortable teen temperature – with a nice warm sun. Also, booking a holiday in May also helps you save a valuable holiday day – as there are two opportunities to book your holiday over a bank holiday – so you only use 9 days instead of 10 over a two week break! – So! lets get planning!
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The hot topic which everyone likes to think about when they’re going away – is Weather! The great thing about Canada, is it isn’t like a typical holiday destination.. If you’re going to Spain – you’re going for sunshine.. Well Canada is certainly diverse when it comes to weather!

There really is no set weather which you can pin point in Canada. In the winter, depending on where you go the temperatures can drop to below -40 degrees Celsius, and in the summer sometimes up to near +40 degrees! Take a look at the contrasting photos below!

A Cabin in Ontario during a 29 degree Summer day

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So, you’ve booked your flights – and you’re thinking about the big question – How are you going to get to the airport? Car, Taxi, Bus or Train? Well in this article we’re looking at Trains!
Every major airport you’re likely to get to fly from has an airport railway station – and with trains being generally the most reliable form of public transport (in my experience at least) this is probably a good choice if you want to treat yourself to a stress free drive-less trip from your local train station to the airport you’re flying from

The company we’d recommend you having a look at is called Raileasy! As the name suggests, they try to make things easy, and simple when it comes to booking your train journeys online and with some time to spare. I’ve used them a couple of times, their easy to use site, step by step methods are really simple to use and by default it orders all the tickets by order of lowest price first, and makes it easy to select the cheapest method on each given option!

So if you’re looking to head to your outbound airport by rail in the UK- check them out!

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If you’re looking for cheap, lowcost car hire in Toronto – the best place you can look – is once again Ebookers! – If you look around the web, for our example dates i said about a week ago on our Cheap Hotels in Toronto Post, 29th August to 12th September, current prices for the lowest priced cars are running in the region of around £420

Our Crysler 300 which we hired in 2005

However, as i’ve said before – there are always deals to be found! – On Ebookers, they found a company called Alamo, who will let you pick up and drop off at the airport – providing you’re a driver of over 25, for £353.83
Have a look at the link: here
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