Canada Trip.co.uk

Okay, so, summer is here – August .. But you may want to think about heading out at short notice! .. Just because summer is here, and prices have shot up because of the school holidays, there’s always chances to find cheap hotels in Toronto! You may be reading this because you’ve hit it lucky and been able to get time off work, and really there are few places better than Toronto to take short or even full length holidays. There’s lots of places you may want to look for prices, but we’ll stick to our recommended company Expedia, since they guarantee you the best prices you’ll be able to find – and from my experience it is very difficult to beat the prices they display.

Currently Expedia are promoting how you can Save up to 30% off the price of hotels in Toronto Click here for information and check out the prices for your next Canada Trip!

Toronto sky scrapers

We’re half way through summer, and to be fair we haven’t really had a great one weather wise – so why not look forward, no matter whether you’ve already been on your holiday this year, or looking to book for a break later this year – Have a look and see what you can save by booking your hotels at Expedia.co.uk

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Posted in Airline Travel, Budget Travel, Flights/Car Parking/Hire etc, Ontario, Toronto, Travel Planning | No Comments »

If you want to go to Canada for as little as possible the first thing you’ll need to look for are low cost, but good quality flights. After all, you don’t want to get onto a plane for the trip across the Atlantic and just sit staring at the seat in front of you for 8 hours right?

We have, since we set up almost two years ago, always recommended Canadian Affair for flights, where you can get return tickets to Canada for as little as £318 including taxes.

Canadian Affair charter Thomas Cook flights, as well as Air Transat so you you have the piece of mind when you book that you can choose flights by which ever company you’re most familiar with (though Air Transat is my personal favourite). There’s two reasons for us always recommending Canadian Affair. The first being we ALWAYS book our flights to Canada with them – and have now been on 18 flights over the last 7 years, so we have huge experience with them. The second being – they are simply, the cheapest place to book flights to Canada from the UK. I know.. i search every few weeks, always looking to book my next trip!

Thomas Cook 757 at Toronto

Even if you may have heard of Canadian Affair before, there are deals that many people miss, so I’d always recommend checking out their Special Offers page before you start entering dates – so you can ensure you get the best deal before you book your tickets.

With most people, and understandably, the biggest factor is getting the cheap flights to Canada, but there’s more to Canadian Affair than simply being the cheapest flights to Canada! They strive to give you the best customer service possible, for example in the numerous times i have needed to contact them via email, they have always responded the same day – and on a couple of occasions within 30 minutes of me actually submitting my query!

They also provide you with choice. If your closest airport is Manchester and you want to get flights from Manchester to Toronto or flights from Manchester to Ottawa, you can! Likewise you also have the choice of getting your flights from Gatwick to Toronto and flying back from Toronto to Liverpool if you wanted.

Canadian Affair offer flights from the following UK airports: Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Newcastle and Exeter. Their destinations include Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax, Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal and Edmonton, but they also do package holidays to various resorts around these locations (such as Niagara Falls) in addition to their flights.

Remember to have a look at our full review from last year on Canadian Affair, details in it are for a trip we took in 2009 but service has only got better since then: Travelling to Canada with Canadian Affair in 2010
(more…)

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It’s Friday – and its the big day of the Royal Wedding! So talking about Royalty, when you’re in Niagara next, why not treat yourself like Royalty – and stay in one of the best hotels in the city – the Hilton Niagara Falls.

If you’ve been following me by Twitter you will probably have spotted a retweet about this offer yesterday! The offer is $129 for a one night short break in Niagara Falls. It treats you to a Deluxe Cityview Two-Bedroom Jacuzzi Suite with a fireplace and includes a $40 dining voucher for Romano’s Macaroni Grill for your dinner at the hotel, Full buffet breakfast for two, valued also at $40, and Two passes for a winery tour and tasting at Peller Estates, also valued at $40!

The offer is being run through TravelZoo.com and to have a look at full details of the offer click the following link: http://www.travelzoo.com/ca/hotels/ontario/1021136/

These rooms are available now through until June 15th, but you must book by the 10th May and these rooms are likely to sell out quickly, so the sooner you book the better! If you are flying to Toronto to stay there or near and around Niagara Falls – planning a trip there, this is not an offer you should miss! If your journey is particularly long and don’t fancy driving back at night – stopping at a hotel is very much recommended. Not only do you get to avoid a night time drive, you get to enjoy the atmosphere and the vibrancy of the colourful Falls when they’re lit up at dusk – and at all time you have the peace of mind of knowing that you’ve got an incredibly comfy and cosy suite to head back to for a good night’s sleep.

Treating yourself has just got a lot more affordable! (more…)

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Posted in Canada Trip.co.uk, Flights/Car Parking/Hire etc, Lake Simcoe, Muskoka, Niagara Falls, Niagara Park, Niagara, ON, Ontario, Toronto | No Comments »

Easter Monday is here, back to work tomorrow for some – but the next four day weekend is still to come!
Since it’s been such a beautiful weekend.. well except for yesterday, i thought I’d continue down the park path in Toronto, and specifically feature the museum which is in High Park, Toronto.

Colborne Lodge is a historical museum located in an 1836s home in Toronto’s High Park. John George Howard, an architect, engineer, and prominent Toronto citizen built this house, which became the property of the city following his death in 1890.

Built in 1836 by City Surveyor John George Howard to house himself and his wife Jemima Frances Meikle, it is perched on the top of a hill overlooking Lake Ontario. When built, the area was considerably to the west of the city. The house is a classic example of the Regency cottage style, and one of the first such buildings in the city. The small house tries to blend in with the landscape around it, in sharp contrast to the rigid formalism of Georgian architecture that was then the standard Toronto style. It was originally one storey, but Howard later expanded it by adding the upper level. The house was named after Sir John Colborne, Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada from 1828 to 1836 and first Canadian patron of Howard’s architecture. (more…)

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It’s Friday, and since its Good Friday, and I’m sure we’re all enjoying the beautiful weather this holiday, it makes sense to think of somewhere outdoors – somewhere to be able to spend some of the warm sunny days you’ll have out in Canada this Summer!
High Park is the largest park entirely within Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Rouge Park is the city’s largest park, but the park extends into Markham, Ontario). It spans 161 hectares (398 acres). It is a mixed recreational and natural park, with sporting facilities, cultural facilities, educational facilities, gardens, playgrounds and a zoo. One third of the park remains in a natural state, with a rare oak savannah ecology.

The park is located to the west of downtown, north of Humber Bay. It stretches south from Bloor Street West to The Queensway, just north of Lake Ontario. It is bounded on the west by Ellis Park Road and Grenadier Pond and on the east by Parkside Drive.

In 1836, John George Howard purchased a 160-acre property in the County of York, to the west of Toronto, for a sheep farm, at the cost of $1,000. It was here that Howard designed and built Colborne Lodge, a Regency-style picturesque cottage in 1837 to complement its natural surroundings as the residence for himself and his wife Jemima Frances Meikle. The Howards named their property ‘High Park’ as it was situated on the highest point of land along the Humber Bay shoreline. After a successful career as architect, engineer and land surveyor to the City of Toronto, Howard retired here in 1855. (more…)

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Monday again! But, none of us can really say we didn’t have some amazing weather this weekend huh? With all this sunshine, it’s really got me in the mood for holidays – and i got my Canadian Dollars for the trip in just under four weeks!
So today, I’m shining the spotlight on somewhere you can tag onto a day to Toronto Island Park – Centreville Amusement Park!

The Centreville Amusement Park is a children’s amusement park located on the Toronto Islands, offshore of the city of Toronto in the Canadian province of Ontario. Centreville Amusement Park is nestled in over 600 acres of parkland just across the harbour from the city. With over 30 rides and attractions and more than 14 food outlets. The park was built in 1967 with a 1900 turn-of-the-century theme, and includes a miniature railway and the Far Enough Farm. An 1860s cast iron planter in the centre of the park was originally located in front of St. Lawrence Market and a 1907-vintage carousel are still located in the park! (more…)

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It’s Friday again, and less than one month until we head off to Canada again to bring back lots of new recommendations and places to visit!
I’ve pretty much covered Toronto’s major attractions over the last couple of years, but I happened to have left one of the biggest ones out – until today!
A short walk from the CN tower takes you to Ontario Place, perched on the edge of Lake Ontario.

So, what is Ontario Place? Well, Ontario Place is a multiple use entertainment and seasonal amusement park in Toronto, Ontario. It’s focus is entirely on family orientated entertainment, especially for kids. The park has a seasonal operating schedule and is closed from October through until April, with the exception of the Cinesphere IMAX so remember to have a good look at their website if you’re planning on going through the autumn/winter months.

The Cinesphere is known as the world’s first permanent IMAX theatre with single large screen as big as six storey building and is a geodesic dome-shaped structure which contains the theatre. It is similar in style to ‘Spaceship Earth’ at Epcot in Orlando Florida, except the latter is a complete sphere. You can enjoy Hollywood new releases or variety of educational and documentary films on different subjects. It is really worth to watch a movie here. So I suggest you to ask about the show times when you get there to ensure that you get a seat for your preferred movie! (more…)

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Steam Whistle Brewing is a brewery in Toronto, Ontario. The company produces a premium pilsner lager packaged in distinctive green glass bottles and a non-twist cap. They only use four natural ingredients: spring water from Caledon, Ontario; hops from Germany; two-row barley; and yeast. In 2004, Steam Whistle Pilsner was voted best beer in Toronto at the Golden Tap Awards. Steam Whistle has also been voted Best Toronto Microbrewery by the readers of NOW, Eye Weekly and XPress in Ottawa.

So why am i featuring them hm? Well that’s because it makes a nice couple hours visit. If you don’t have a huge amount of time before going somewhere else later in the day – why not pop here for a short tour?

There are a variety of prices for the tour depending on what gift you wanted at the end. For $10 you can have the basic tour with a bottle opener. For $14 you get the same tour with 4 cans of pilsner. And for $15 you can have the tour and 6 bottles. All of which are excellent value.

The three founders are former employees of Upper Canada Brewing Company before it was bought by Sleeman’s. The original name for the beer was going to be “Three Fired Guys Brewing Company” since they were all fired from Upper Canada Brewing Company when it was purchased by Sleeman; however, they chose Steam Whistle Brewing to evoke an image of steam rushing from a factory’s whistle signaling the end of the work day. Embossed at the bottom of Steam Whistle bottles is “3FG” as an inside joke, referencing “Three Fired Guys”. (more…)

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If you’re looking for something different while you’re in Toronto, a change of pace maybe? Why not take some time to catch a Ferry to the Toronto Islands and spend some time in the park?

The Toronto Islands are a chain of small islands in the city of Toronto, Canada. They are located in Lake Ontario just offshore from the city centre, and provide shelter for Toronto Harbour. The islands are a popular recreational destination, and are home to a small residential community and to the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. They are connected to the mainland by several ferry services.

The islands comprise the largest urban car-free community in North America, though some service vehicles are permitted. Recreational bicyclists are accommodated on the ferries, and bicycles, quadracycles, and canoes can be rented on the islands as well.

So, when you arrive you’ll be on Centre Island. When you’re choosing your ferry there are actually three routes, any of the ones which aren’t the airport would suit you best. The views of Toronto from these islands are amazing, but the best spot to see the views from is Algonquin Island. Check one of the maps which are available – to see which way you will need to go to get to it. It is certainly worth the walk! (more…)

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It’s Monday! It’s also March tomorrow, so how about we stop thinking about those post-Christmas diets now hm?

If you haven’t been to Canada yet, you’ll almost certainly walk into restaurants and find something on the menu called Poutine. Now, don’t be scared of its particularly unique name! Poutine is actually something that most people in the UK can relate to.. We have all (well.. most of us) gone to the chip shop and got either Chips with Gravy, OR Chips with Cheese .. Well .. although technically it wouldn’t be technically correct – if you had cheese and gravy on the same tray of chips, that is almost poutine! Now, i say almost because for it to be truly poutine, the cheese needs to be cheese curds, not just your normal cheese.

As you can see from the picture, poutine is definitely not the most elegant looking of foods, but lets face it, it beats the looks of mushy peas now doesn’t it! Besides, Canadians have always been known for their no-nonsence approach, and food in my opinion should always be about flavour, and not looks. (more…)

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