But a lot of visitors see Nanaimo as a passing-through port city where they come by car ferry from Vancouver before continuing on a road trip to other parts of the island—this is a mistake!

Chris and I loved our 4-day trip to Nanaimo in May this year, and we learned the city and surrounding area is filled with beautiful nature trails, a compact downtown with plenty of great shops and restaurants.

It also has some unique and beautiful nearby islands—including Pirate-themed Protection Island!

Check out my full guide to Nanaimo!

Please note that there are some affiliate links in this week’s edition. This means I may receive a small commission for some of my recommendations, at no additional cost to you!

Protection Island—A Quirky, Pirate-Themed Island Near Nanaimo ⛴️ 🏝️ 🏴‍☠️

Protection Island is a small residential island just across from the Port of Nanaimo. Protection Island shelters and protects the harbour in Nanaimo, hence its name, and it’s conveniently right across the bay.

As someone from Toronto, one of my favourite activities to recommend to visitors to the city is to spend at least a half-day checking out the Toronto Islands. They’re small, car-free islands offering great views of downtown Toronto while feeling worlds away.

So it should come as no surprise that I loved Protection Island near Nanaimo in much of the same way!

A few things to know about Protection Island

Protection Island is a small residential island, with only around 350 permanent, full-time residents.

There are no shops or stores on the island, so all residents need to travel across to Nanaimo by ferry for their groceries and other shopping—we even helped a local resident carry her groceries up to her golf cart from the ferry we took over, which was a nice moment.

Protection Island’s pirate theme comes from Island’s developer and former mayor of Nanaimo, Frank Ney. This wasn’t the only quirky stamp Ney left on Nanaimo—he also created the now-infamous annual Bathtub Race in Nanaimo, where uniquely outfitted bathtubs don outboard motors and race in the Port of Nanaimo every July.

During the 1960s when Protection Island was becoming more of a residential island, Ney gave several of the island’s parks pirate-themed names, and by extension many of the island’s roads are also pirate-themed. We came across Smugglers Park, Pirates Park and Gallows Point during our visit, among many others.

Visiting Protection Island today almost turns into a pirate scavenger hunt—you never know where you’ll come across a pirate flag, see a pirate name, or even see a pirate-themed tiki bar connected to a private home.

There’s only one restaurant and pub on the island, which also happens to be at the ferry docks—Dinghy Dock Pub. Grabbing a meal or a drink here is a must on a half-day trip to the island.

Here’s why you should visit Protection Island:

• It offers a quieter pace than the mainland of Vancouver Island

• Car-free—the fastest vehicles you’ll find here are golf carts!

• Plenty of unique, quirky and impressively built private homes (just to enjoy—not necessarily to photograph)

• You’ll be a part of a tight and friendly island community for the day—it’s clear that everyone knows everyone else on the island, and there’s a positive, friendly and caring community spirit on the island that’s palpable as soon as you arrive.

How to Spend an Afternoon on Protection Island

• Take the Dinghy Dock/Protection Island Ferry from the Port of Nanaimo. It’s a cute little passenger ferry called the Island Queen.

  • The ferry is cash-only, and there’s one per hour from 7am to 10pm, 365 days a year.

• Walk around the whole island, which won’t take long. Take your time to find all the quirky names, check out its beaches and walking paths, parks, and admire the views of downtown Nanaimo from a distance.

• After walking around, head to Dinghy Dock Pub for dinner and sunset over the Port of Nanaimo. On a clear day, the sun is hot and the views of sun setting behind Nanaimo are beautiful.

• Head back to your accommodation in Nanaimo, and plan for more fun in and around the city for the rest of your trip!

By the way, if you’re planning a larger trip to Nanaimo, the Courtyard Nanaimo is 100% Indigenous-owned!

And that’s it for this week! Stay tuned for next week’s edition.

Until next time,
🫶 Bri

Four weeks. Four editions missed. And a few more before that!

I’m as surprised as you might be, especially considering the consistency with which I’d been sharing this newsletter since I first started it in January 2025, right up until around two months ago.

If you’ve missed this newsletter, just know that my cat is as elated that I’m back writing at my desk today as you might be.

Rest assured, The Weekly Traveller is here to stay. It’s possible I’ll have to make a few adjustments moving forward (at least for the time being) in the length and format of each newsletter, and this week’s edition will be no exception.

But I’ve come with receipts about my absence, and I promise slightly more brief editions will still be well worth it! And of course I’ll get back to writing longer editions when I’m able to.

In this edition ⬇️

1. My 40 Plates in the Air & Where the Heck I’ve Been

2. Canada’s Tallest Lighthouse is in a province that might surprise you!

My 40 Plates & Where the Heck I’ve Travelled in the Past 8 or So Weeks

I often talk about working as a travel blogger and digital creator as having at least 20 plates in the air at a time. Spring and early summer tends to end up becoming my “busy season,” so let’s say there are around 40 plates in the air right about now.

I am so grateful to be able to work for myself. And being able to work as a travel blogger and content creator makes me feel incredibly lucky.

But writing and creating content for several websites and social media channels, in addition to actually going and being present on the trips, professional conferences and other commitments can leave me feeling like there just aren’t enough hours in the day most days. But it’s a great position to be in!

It’s no excuse to say I’ve been in the throes of “busy season” lately, but that’s been the reality of it.

Some of you might know my partner, Chris. If you know Chris, you might say, “Well, Bri—Chris writes a weekly newsletter and he hasn’t missed a week yet.” And to that I’d say two things:

1. I’ve never been the best at sticking to routines, especially when there’s a lot on the go at once. I tend to get a little overwhelmed and am unable to keep doing all the things! And my plates undoubtedly fall. I’m working on it, and I’m only human.

2. If you’ve met and know Chris, then you’ll know he has boundless levels of energy that I’ve never been able to compete with, and I’m not about to start trying! I admire his ability to keep the 40 plates in the air at once at all times, but I’ve also decided that his energy is something beyond human capability, so I choose not to compare myself to him. 😅

In all seriousness though, Chris is incredible at balancing so many things and I wish I’d had it in me to put together an edition in the past few weeks. If I’m ever MIA on here again (I aim not to be, but life happens sometimes!) then I’m relatively consistent with sharing stories and posts over on Instagram in the interim.

So, where have I been and what have I been doing?

In short, an awful lot. 😅

Since late April, these are the trips I’ve been on that I plan to share more about soon. If any of these destinations intrigue you, stay tuned as I’m able to share more about each one!

• Peterborough, Ontario - A return trip to a little city I have a lot of love for. I’m excited to share more about The Canadian Canoe Museum soon!

• North Vancouver, BC - loved spending a few days here. So close to the city of Vancouver, with a little more peace and nature.

• Richmond, BC - Chris and I attended the Travel Media Association of Canada conference and did a few local tours here for around a week. More to come!

• Nanaimo, BC - what a quirky and restorative long weekend getaway destination on Vancouver Island, and easily accessible from Vancouver.

• Greater Fort Lauderdale, Florida - Chris and I attended a travel media and trade conference here that we’re invited to annually called IPW. I took a great food tour I’ll share about soon!

• North Bay, Ontario - a return trip to another Ontario city I love, with plenty to do for summer, and a very cute beachside stay!

• Mattawa area, Northeastern Ontario - Stayed at an awesome little glamping resort and did plenty of paddling and hiking.

• Bas-Saint-Laurent & Gaspésie, Québec - a Canadian road trip both Chris and I have wanted to take for a long time! With plenty of lighthouses.

And that’s only the late spring/early summer travels we’ve done so far. We don’t typically try to take so many trips back to back, but spring, summer and fall tends to be prime time for tourism and professional travel conferences!

I have to say, writing this list out makes me feel a little vindicated in missing a few editions of the newsletter. But don’t worry, I won’t try to make it a habit.

Stay tuned for plenty of stories from these trips to come!

Canada’s Tallest Lighthouse Is in a Province That Might Surprise You!

You may have already guessed if you read through my list above, but Canada’s tallest lighthouse isn’t in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia or even Newfoundland…it’s in Québec!

That’s right, Canada’s tallest lighthouse is actually in the Gaspésie region of Québec, at the point where the Gulf of St. Lawrence meets the St. Lawrence River: Cap-des-Rosiers Lighthouse.

The St. Lawrence River is one of the most dangerous waterways in the world due to its frequently changing currents and rocky southern shore and basin. Many shipwrecks took place along the St. Lawrence during the 1800s and 1900s. So a tall lighthouse here was necessary for ships to make a safe passage and reach as far inland as the Great Lakes. It was erected in 1858.

Cap-des-Rosiers Lighthouse became a National Historic Site of Canada in 1973, and has a short season for being open to the public. Chris and I were able to admire it—along with several other lighthouses in the Gaspésie and Bas-Saint-Laurent regions—but unfortunately it was still closed for the season at the time of our mid-June visit.

The lighthouse is scheduled to open on June 27, and will close for the season again on August 30, 2026. A very brief season for a National Historic Site! So if it’s open during your visit, know that it’s well worth going to!

Whether it’s open or not, it’s still a sight to behold, and I’m told it’s an incredible place to come to snap photos at sunrise. Unfortunately (or fortunately? Who doesn’t mind a full sleep on a road trip!) it was overcast on the morning we woke up nearby, but it was beautiful to see on the evening we visited as we were reaching our accommodation just outside Forillon National Park.

I love learning about these little Easter eggs on the road! As a Canadian, I never expected the tallest lighthouse to be in Québec. Just one of the many stops worth bookmarking for a road trip in this region.

Much more to come about our time in eastern Québec soon!

And that’s it for this week! Stay tuned for next week’s edition.

Until next week (hopefully)!
🫶 Bri

As the spring buds and blooms begin to peek out in Southern Ontario, I’m loving the feeling of excitement about being able to hop back on my bike again.

I’ve been biking in Ontario ever since I learned to bike as a little kid, and as it turns out, a lot of the paths I’ve enjoyed cycling on just so happen to be part of the Trans Canada Trail!

With spring and summer biking conditions here, this week feels like a good one to sing the praises of the world’s longest mixed-use trail network!

Why the TCT Matters - Full Article

In this edition ⬇️

1. The Trans Canada Trail & Why to Celebrate It

2. Some of My Favourite Trails to Cycle in Ontario

Just a head’s up that this week’s edition contains some affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission for some of my recommendations at no additional cost to you, and helps keep The Weekly Traveller reader-supported.

The Trans Canada Trail & Why to Celebrate It

Infrastructure like the Trans Canada Trail matters. It’s important that we not only use these trails and share the map with others, but celebrate the infrastructure there is across Canada and continue to volunteer and dedicate time to its stewardship for future generations to enjoy.

The Trans Canada Trail consists of over 29,000km (over 18,000 miles) of mixed-use trails.

While it isn’t one single, dedicated trail, it’s a series of interconnected trails that begin as far east as Newfoundland, as far west as Dawson City in the Yukon, and as far north as the Arctic Circle in the Northwest Territories.

“Mixed use” means the trails are open for people visiting by foot, by assistive transportation, by bike, or by water. That’s right, water! Some of the mixed use trail paths are solely along rivers and lakes meant for paddling, although a significant portion of the national trail is on land.

The Trail continues to grow and develop each year. It’s a non-profit organization, and each section of the trail is maintained and advocated for largely from the help of local, volunteer stewards.

As someone who’s lived in countries both with and without great public recreational infrastructure like the Trail, here are a few reasons I’m grateful for it, and I feel like it’s worth celebrating:

• It’s for everyone. Of all abilities, skill levels and ages. You don’t have to be a professional cyclist or training athlete to use the trails.

• It’s open year-round. Whether it’s for walking or cycling in the milder months or snowshoeing and cross country skiing in the winter months, there’s always a good excuse to get outside and use the Trail.

• It covers a significant portion of Canada. Canada is a massive country, and the Trail runs through some of the nation’s highest concentrations of residents. Living near one of the trails is a helpful reminder to get outside and decompress.

For more information about the Trans Canada Trail and why appreciating it matters, I’d definitely recommend you check out an article Chris wrote all about it here.

Some of My Favourite Trails to Cycle in Ontario

I’ve been lucky to experience a lot of the Trans Canada Trail in other parts of the country, but as an Ontarian, I definitely have a few favourite spots to hit the Trail on two wheels! Here are a few of the trails I keep coming back to.

I put together this article for the Trans Canada Trail website all about my personal history of growing up learning to love biking on the Trail in Ontario (without even realizing it was officially part of the national trail system!), and I also named a few of my favourite sections of the Trail to cycle on, too.

Here are a few of my favourites:

• The Niagara River Recreation Trail (56.2 km) runs along the Niagara Gorge from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Niagara Falls

• The Waterfront – Martin Goodman Trail (24 km) runs along many of Toronto’s waterfront communities

• The Capital Pathway (25.7 km) in Ottawa is an excellent trail to take that passes notable landmarks with views of the Ottawa River

If you’re a fan of biking and you’re looking for inspiration about worthwhile sections of the Trans Canada Trail to go cycling in Ontario, check out this article for a complete guide to some of Chris’s and my favourite trails.

I’d like to thank the Trans Canada Trail for partnering with Chris and me as media to share our appreciation for this trail network. All opinions expressed about hitting the Trail are entirely my own!

And that’s it for this week! Stay tuned for next week’s edition.

If you like The Weekly Traveller, don’t forget to share it with someone who’d appreciate it, and subscribe for the latest in travel stories, news, contests and giveaways.

Until next week!
🫶 Bri

There is a lot that unites Canada, but the love for the sport of hockey is one that’s endured for many generations.

With each year, newcomers to Canada and multi-generational Canadians alike gather in everything from local ice rinks to National Hockey League (NHL) arenas in towns and cities across the country. Some play, some come to cheer, but a lot will agree that there’s plenty of community surrounding hockey in this country.

There are several major tournaments taking place throughout the year, and the TELUS Cup is one of them. It’s the National U18 Men’s Championship tournament which rotates cities each year. This year, it’s taking place in Peterborough, Ontario from April 20th to 26th.

PETERBOROUGH THE HOCKEY TOWN ARTICLE

In this edition ⬇️

1. This Canadian “Hockey Town” is Hosting the 2026 TELUS Cup—Peterborough!

2. More Things to Do in Peterborough, ON

Just a head’s up that this week’s edition contains some affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission for some of my recommendations at no additional cost to you, and helps keep The Weekly Traveller reader-supported.

This Canadian “Hockey Town” is Hosting the 2026 TELUS Cup—Peterborough!

Every year, different cities across Canada make a bid to host the TELUS Cup. This year, it’s Peterborough’s turn. There are a lot of reasons why Peterborough makes for the perfect “hockey town” to host the cup, so let’s talk about a few of them.

Whether you’re an avid hockey fan or just curious about hockey history and culture in Canada, there are a few things worth knowing when it comes to understanding why Peterborough is the ultimate hockey town:

• A lot of Canadian professional hockey talent has either been born and raised in Peterborough, or has played for the Ontario Hockey League (OHL’s) Peterborough Petes.

• The Petes team was founded back in 1956, making it the oldest continuously operating franchise in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and thus the oldest continuous operating major junior ice hockey franchise in Canada!

• Over 150 NHL alumni have played for the Peterborough Petes, including Steve Yzerman, Tie Domi and Mike Ricci.

These are just some of the reasons why Peterborough was selected for the 2026 TELUS Cup.

When Chris and I visited Peterborough this past weekend, we caught the first game of the TELUS Cup and actually kicked it off by dropping the first puck of the tournament! I shared a post on Instagram about it, and if you’re in the area it’s definitely a great opportunity to see some high quality hockey.

One of the reasons Chris and I love returning to Peterborough (we’ve collectively been to and worked with Peterborough at least six times at this point) is because it’s a city with a lot of heart and community. The city’s passion for hockey, the Peterborough Petes and cheering on hockey initiatives in the city is a really heart-warming experience.

For a full read on what makes Peterborough a true hockey town, I’d recommend reading Chris’s latest article about it!

More Things to Do in Peterborough, Ontario

There’s no shortage of things to do in Peterborough. Whether you’re coming to the city just to visit or combining a visit here with a trip around the surrounding Kawarthas areas, there is a lot to do.

I will always sing Peterborough’s praises! While it is technically a city, it has all the feeling of a small town including a rich downtown core with incredible restaurants, local businesses, plenty of events and community spirit.

Here are a few highlights to appreciate on a trip to Peterborough:

1. Visit the Newly Re-Opened Canadian Canoe Museum: After a lengthy closure and rebuild on a brand new campus by the water, the Canadian Canoe Museum reopened in May 2024 and holds the largest collection of canoes in the world. It’s really a tribute to water and paddle travel, and is a truly incredible museum to visit.

2. Visit the Famous Peterborough Lift Lock: Lock 21 was the highest hydraulic lift lock in the world when it was built in 1904. Today, it’s a Canadian National Historic Site and an iconic stop on the infamous Trent-Severn Waterway and lock system.

3. Dive into Peterborough’s Bar & Restaurant Scene: From comfort classics to international fare, there are so many wonderful restaurants to try in Peterborough.

For ideas and inspiration about more exciting things to do in Peterborough, feel free to check out this guide all about the best ways to spend your time in this dynamic city.

I’d like to thank Peterborough Tourism for hosting Chris and me as media on this visit to Peterborough. All opinions expressed about the trip are entirely my own!

And that’s it for this week! Stay tuned for next week’s edition.

If you like The Weekly Traveller, don’t forget to share it with someone who’d appreciate it, and subscribe for the latest in travel stories, news, contests and giveaways.

Until next week!
🫶 Bri

There was once a time when there were over 40,000 cigar factories operating in the United States. First made popular by Cuban immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, cigars were the commodity embodying celebration and relaxation across the country for decades.

Around this time there were over 200 factories employing thousands of immigrants from various countries in Ybor City (now part of Tampa). One of those factories was the J.C. Newman Cigar Company, which opened in 1895.

There’s a lot to do on a visit to Tampa, Florida, and visiting the country’s oldest and only operating cigar factory—J.C. Newman Cigar Co.—remains one of the many worthwhile things to do!

FULL GUIDE ON THINGS TO DO IN TAMPA

In this edition ⬇️

1. “Cigar City” History & Visiting J.C. Newman Cigar Co. in Ybor City

2. More things to do in Tampa, Florida

3. Travel News of the Week

Just a head’s up that this week’s edition contains some affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission for some of my recommendations at no additional cost to you, and helps keep The Weekly Traveller reader-supported.

“Cigar City” History & Visiting J.C. Newman Cigar Co. in Ybor City

On our recent trip to Tampa, Chris and I spent a day in the neighbourhood of Ybor City. After wandering around the historic centre of this once independent city, we headed over for a tour of J.C. Newman Cigar Co. Even if you’re like me and you don’t smoke cigars, visiting offers a fascinating window into this unique, regional history of Tampa.

Located a short walk (or drive) from central Ybor City is the J.C. Newman Cigar Company. It was founded in 1895 by Julius Caeser Newman and is now a fourth-generation, family-owned premium cigar factory.

The brick building that stands here today is over one hundred years old, and inside they have a cigar shop, a small cigar museum and offer tours of the building and other cigar experiences.

The History of Cigar Making in Tampa

In the late 1800s, Tampa’s humid climate, lowlands and proximity to Cuba made it an ideal location for cigar manufacturing. For this reason, Ybor City was founded as an independent town in 1885 by a group of cigar manufacturers led by Vicente Martinez-Ybor.

Martinez-Ybor opened the V.M. Ybor Cigar Company in 1886, and many subsequent factories came shortly thereafter. By the early 1900s, basically everyone living in Ybor City worked for a cigar factory. It employed immigrants from Spain, Italy, Cuba, Germany, China and other countries. Although it wasn’t common for women to work, women made cigars alongside men in Ybor City.

While employees were paid money, they also received daily rations of cigars, which meant that more or less everyone smoked in the city. Visiting today, you’ll still see and smell many cigars during your time in Ybor City.

It’s estimated that Tampa used to produce approximately 800 million cigars a year right here in Ybor City (often colloquially referred to as “Cigar City”) amongst its 200 or so factories. While there are several small cigar shops in this part of Tampa, the only remaining cigar factory in the area is J.C. Newman.

Taking a Tour of J.C. Newman Cigar Company

While you can absolutely just visit this factory to pop into its cigar shop and free museum, I’d definitely recommend taking a tour to learn more about cigars in Tampa while you’re here.

Our tour took us into the cellar of the factory, where a lot of historic cigars and cigar memorabilia is kept. We even saw the oldest cigars in the world, which were made in 1857.

The tour also brought us up to the cigar factory on the upper floors, where we saw some hand rolled cigars being made, but many are made using hand-operated, antique cigar machines. To be honest, the antique cigar machines are fascinating to watch in action!

If you’re at all curious about the history and culture of the cigar industry here in Tampa, then taking a tour of J.C. Newman will be a memorable part of your trip.

More Things to Do in Tampa, Florida

This trip to Ybor City was part of my first proper visit to Tampa. Up until now, I’d only been through the Tampa airport to visit family in the Bradenton area. I really loved this trip to Tampa, and left with so much appreciation for everything to do here. It’s an incredibly liveable city, and a great one to visit!

Chris and I took a car-free trip to Tampa—which is kind of challenging to do in many American cities—and loved it!

We based ourselves downtown at the Hilton Downtown Tampa, and found that we were able to walk or take the free, historic TECO streetcar to most neighbourhoods we wanted to visit.

Here are a few highlights to appreciate on a trip to Tampa:

1. Go Stand Up Paddle Boarding: Urban Kai has a few SUP outfitting shops in and around the Tampa Bay Area, but their location near downtown Tampa on the Hillsborough River is a great way to appreciate the city from the water.

2. Catch a Game at Benchmark Arena: The Tampa Bay Lightning is an impressive NHL franchise to watch. Chris and I had the pleasure of sitting in The Mark section (all-you-can eat + drink!), which definitely added to the experience.

3. Tampa’s Restaurant Scene: Tampa has over 30 restaurants on the Michelin Guide, with many more that are worth visiting. It makes for a memorable trip for food lovers!

Feel free to check out my full guide to things to do in Tampa for more on how to appreciate your next trip to the city.

I’d like to thank Visit Tampa Bay for hosting Chris and I as media on this visit to Tampa. All opinions expressed about the trip are entirely my own!

Travel News of the Week

1. Tourism to Morocco has surged in the first quarter of 2026. The country welcomed over 4 million visitors from January to March, seeing an 18% jump from previous years in March alone.

2. The new EU Entry/Exit System (EES) caused a line that was hours long at the Vienna Airport recently. Non-EU travellers are being encouraged to arrive early for flights in and out of the region.

3. Many tourist routes and flight paths will be impacted due to the war in the Middle East this year. Flight paths and connections that typically go through The Gulf nations (notably Qatar and the UAE) are frequently rerouting.

And that’s it for this week! Stay tuned for next week’s edition.

If you like The Weekly Traveller, don’t forget to share it with someone who’d appreciate it, and subscribe for the latest in travel stories, news, contests and giveaways.

Until next week!
🫶 Bri

Last week I had the pleasure of editing and publishing an article that some freelance friends of ours—Robin and Arlene Karpan—wrote about their trip to Madeira, Portugal.

Madeira is a destination that’s long been on my list of places I’d love to visit. Reading their article and seeing their photos of Madeira’s incredible scenery and learning about the weather, landscapes and delights of the island solidified my desire to visit some day.

So for this week, I wanted to highlight Madeira, and let the Karpans’ take on how to experience it take the lead!

READ THEIR FULL GUIDE TO MADEIRA HERE

In this edition ⬇️

1. Tips for Spending a Week or More in Madeira, Portugal

2. Travel Giveaway of the Week

Tips for Spending a Week or More in Madeira, Portugal

Madeira is a small Portuguese island territory. Although it’s closest to the North African coast and Morocco, it’s a European island primarily accessed by air via European airlines. Although it’s a little tricky to get to, it’s more than worth the trip.

Madeira is nicknamed “The Island of Eternal Spring” because of its mild, subtropical climate. It seems you can visit most times of year and find similarly unpredictable weather patterns, ranging from sunny and warm to misty, cloudy and mysterious.

The island is only 57km by 22km, which isn’t particularly large, but due to its mountainous terrain and rocky cliffs, there are few roads that travel in a straight line, and plenty of lengthy tunnels connecting different parts of the island.

For this reason, you’ll want to give yourself a fair amount of time to appreciate the island’s beauty—Robin and Arlene spent around two weeks here, but they’d recommend a week at the very minimum to really take it in.

Here are a few highlights to appreciate on a trip to Madeira:

1. Fanal Forest: The Fanal Forest is the best preserved laurel forest in the world. It’s part of the Laurisilva of Madeira UNESCO World Heritage Site, and regardless of whether you have clear conditions or low clouds, it’s beautiful.

2. Santana’s Traditional Houses: The town of Santana is famous for its traditional A-frame houses. These houses used to be more common to the region when it was isolated from the rest of the island. You can visit a few restored houses during your visit which are open to the public today.

3. Hiking to Ponta de São Lourenço: A 3km, one-way hiking trail from the eastern part of the island to Ponta de São Lourenço is a popular sunrise hike with incredible views.

For all of these highlights and a full guide to how to visit Madeira, make sure you read Robin and Arlene’s article. You’d be hard-pressed to not be inspired after learning from their tips and seeing their pictures.

Travel Giveaway of the Week

This is a little more local than the typical giveaways I feature!

Chris and I have partnered with Peterborough Tourism to share a family getaway to Peterborough, Ontario to watch the TELUS Cup, which is coming to the city in late April.

The giveaway includes:

• 4 tickets to the TELUS Cup Gold Medal Game (April 26 at 6pm)

• 4 tickets to the Canadian Canoe Museum

• $100 shopping & dining gift card for downtown Peterborough

• 2 nights’ family stay at a hotel in Peterborough, which includes breakfast and has a swimming pool

It’s an Instagram giveaway, so you can only enter on our post over there! Contest closes on April 14th at 12:59PM EST.

And that’s it for this week! Stay tuned for next week’s edition.

If you like The Weekly Traveller, don’t forget to share it with someone who’d appreciate it, and subscribe for the latest in travel stories, news, contests and giveaways.

Until next week!
🫶 Bri

East London is certainly one of the more trendy parts of London nowadays. While some parts of East London have been gentrified beyond recognition over the past 15+ years, what attracts locals and visitors alike to most of its neighbourhoods is the feeling of community in this part of the city, plus its abundance of weekend markets and truly beautiful parks.

If you’re planning on a trip to London, don’t skip East London!

I’ve put together a full guide about where to visit in East London, but there are a few items I want to highlight in this week’s edition.

READ MY FULL GUIDE TO EAST LONDON

In this edition ⬇️

1. Highlights and Where to Go in East London

2. Tips for Getting Around London

3. Travel News of the Week

Highlights and Where to Go in East London

Visiting East London is a true highlight on a trip to London! It offers all the benefits of more residential neighbourhoods complimented by beautiful parks, bustling high streets and great places to shop, head to a pub or enjoy some time outside.

East London strikes a balance between leafy residential streets and lively neighbourhood hubs, especially on weekends.

If you’re planning a visit, focus your time on Hackney and Tower Hamlets—two boroughs filled with character. From Shoreditch and Dalston to Bethnal Green and Brick Lane, this part of the city is packed with places worth exploring.

Here are a few highlights about visiting East London:

1. Wander Around its Neighbourhoods and High Streets: East London’s high streets reflect its history, each offering a distinct mix of local shops, cafés, and pubs. Wander areas like Brick Lane or Columbia Road to experience the city’s distinct character through each neighbourhood.

2. Relax and Walk Around in its Parks: East London’s parks offer a welcomed pause, especially in warmer months. From Victoria Park to London Fields and beyond, these green spaces are perfect for picnics, walks, and unwinding.

3. Visit One of its Vibrant High Street Markets: Depending on the day of the week, there are some excellent markets in East London. Broadway Market, Columbia Road Flower Market, Brick Lane Vintage Market and Victoria Park Market are great ones to check out.

4. Walk Along Historic Regent’s Canal: Regent’s Canal offers a quieter side of London, stretching east to west just north of the Thames. Lined with houseboats and greenery, it’s the perfect spot to come for a scenic walk.

Here’s the link to my full article about how to visit London’s East!

Tips for Getting Around London

Getting around London is surprisingly straightforward once you get the hang of it, and public transit is often your best friend:

• The London Underground is usually the fastest way to move between Central and East London, with lines like the Central and District connecting to Overground routes such as the Weaver and Windrush lines.

• Buses are another reliable option, especially for shorter distances or routes not covered by the Tube. If you’re arriving from outside the city, major National Rail stations like Liverpool Street make accessing East London easy.

• For shorter trips, walking or cycling can be a great way to explore, particularly in neighbourhoods with bike-friendly routes. Walking always tends to be my favourite way to get around, and if you’re in London on a good weather day, it’s often the best way to get to know the city as you are on foot!

If you’re ever unsure how to get somewhere, the Citymapper app is incredibly helpful for planning your route with real-time updates, timing, and pricing.

Travel News of the Week

• Airlines cut flights and raise fares as fuel prices surge. Airlines globally are cutting routes and increasing ticket prices as jet fuel costs spike due to conflict in the Middle East, with some fares expected to rise 10–15%.

• TSA staffing shortages disrupt U.S. travel. A partial government shutdown in the United States has led to staffing shortages at airport security, causing delays and uncertainty for travellers in the U.S.

• UK increases passenger taxes impacting airfare costs. The UK has introduced higher passenger taxes, which are expected to increase airfare prices and affect travel demand.

And that’s it for this short week! Stay tuned for next week’s edition.

If you like The Weekly Traveller, don’t forget to share it with someone who’d appreciate it, and subscribe for the latest in travel stories, news, contests and giveaways.

Until next week!
🫶 Bri

It’s easy to group all Canadian provinces together as one destination. But if you’ve been to Ontario and only been to more well known places like Toronto, Niagara Falls, Ottawa, or any of the cities, towns or rural areas somewhat between these cities, there is so much more to see than Southern Ontario.

My home province of Ontario is massive. At over one million square kilometres, it’s larger than the countries of France and Spain combined. As a result, when Canadians and visitors from elsewhere visit Ontario, they tend to only focus on the more southern parts of the province—missing the bulk of Ontario, which is its vast north.

Northern Ontario is a beast. It stretches from North Bay—known as the “Gateway to the North”—all the way up to Hudson’s Bay and the Manitoba border. To put it in perspective, if you were to drive straight from Toronto to the Manitoba border, you’d basically need 24 hours without any breaks.

One of my favourite stories about Ontario’s size is one I’ve heard from Chris. He remembers taking a cross-country train trip with his family as a kid. They all went to sleep on the train at night in Ontario and woke up in the morning…in Ontario.

As you might be able to imagine, travelling such a far distance in the province means the landscapes change a fair bit as you go further north in latitude. For this reason, visiting Northern Ontario is a must for those looking to travel a little more off-the-beaten-path in Canada.

And if you’re looking for the perfect place to get some true context about Ontario’s north, there isn’t a place quite as good to start as Thunder Bay. I recently published a full guide on things to do in the city, so I wanted to share a few highlights here this week.

My Full Guide to Thunder Bay

In this edition ⬇️

The Highlights of Visiting Thunder Bay—the Largest City in Northern Ontario

Just a head’s up that this week’s edition contains some affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission for some of my recommendations at no additional cost to you, and helps keep The Weekly Traveller reader-supported.

The Highlights of Visiting Thunder Bay—the Largest City in Northern Ontario

I like to think of Thunder Bay as more of a region that just a city. There are a lot of great things to do in the city, but a lot of the beauty of visiting Thunder Bay is appreciating its regional nature and nearby attractions.

Now, depending on where you’re starting your trip to Thunder Bay from, it’s possible that flying might be the best way to get there.

Unless you’re gearing up for a larger road trip, flying to Thunder Bay is a great way to cut out a lot of the overland travel required to reach it (of course, overland is always best! But I recognize it isn’t always feasible.)

There are several flights to Thunder Bay from Toronto and Winnipeg. Chris and I flew with Porter from Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto (my favourite Toronto airport!), which I happened to talk about in this earlier edition, too:

The only catch about flying to Thunder Bay is in order to appreciate it fully, you’ll want to rent a car when you arrive. It’s just the best way to see a lot of the city and region’s highlights during your visit.

A Few Highlights to Spotlight in Thunder Bay

I’ve now visited Thunder Bay twice—once in summer and once in the fall. It’s amazing how much Chris and I have been able to experience in and around the city in only two three-day trips.

A few highlights on a trip to Thunder Bay include:

• Seeing the “Niagara of the North”: Kakabeka Falls is the second highest waterfall in Ontario next to Niagara Falls. It’s a marvel to behold, located in the town of Kakabeka in Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park.

• Walking along Canada’s longest suspension bridge: Eagle Canyon is home to the country’s longest suspension bridge, and it’s over an impressive canyon with incredible views of the region in Dorion.

• Hiking the famous “Top of the Giant” Trail: The famous “Sleeping Giant” is visible from the city of Thunder Bay across Lake Superior. It’s a steep rocky mountain towering over the lake at Sleeping Giant Provincial Park. You can take the long but rewarding hike here to the highest peak in Ontario for unforgettable views.

• Learning about Indigenous and trading history: Fort William Historical Park offers a window into both Indigenous history and later European fur trading history at this trading point that’s been used for centuries.

  • I’d also recommend seeing if your early or late summer trip to Thunder Bay coincides with a powow at Fort William First Nation!

These highlights are honestly the tip of the iceberg. I’d highly recommend you check out my latest article to help plan on a future trip to Thunder Bay for yourself!

And that’s it for this week! Stay tuned for next week’s edition.

If you like The Weekly Traveller, don’t forget to share it with someone who’d appreciate it, and subscribe for the latest in travel stories, news, contests and giveaways.

Until next week!
🫶 Bri

We can so often look beyond the borders of the country we’re from when it comes to planning on unique experiences. But often there’s so much to do relatively close to our own backyard.

This week, I wanted to focus on a unique venue in Canada—a professional theatre with a variety of shows playing throughout the year, and a main theatre space on the water, which is Canada’s only dockside theatre.

We’re talking about the Thousand Islands Playhouse in Gananoque, Ontario.

Full Guide to The Playhouse

In this edition ⬇️

1. Visiting the Thousand Islands Playhouse—Canada’s Only Dockside Theatre!

2. How to plan a trip to the Thousand Islands on both the Canadian & American sides

Just a head’s up that this week’s edition contains some affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission for some of my recommendations at no additional cost to you, and helps keep The Weekly Traveller reader-supported.

Visiting the Thousand Islands Playhouse—Canada’s Only Dockside Theatre!

Growing up with a love for the performing arts and studying theatre, I am so appreciative of all the professional theatres and companies there are here in Canada. There are a lot of unique theatre spaces and events you can attend, but the Thousand Islands Playhouse is the only one with its very own docks!

The Thousand Islands Playhouse has been touted as “the most charming theatre in Canada,” and considering there are some seriously charming theatres across the country, this is quite the compliment.

It’s located in Gananoque, Ontario directly on the shores of the St. Lawrence River. Its been recently renovated, offering gorgeous views from its bar and lounge space to enjoy before the show, picturesque views of the river by day and during golden hour pre-show, and several docks connected to it.

This means that if you’re in the area with a boat, you could drive your boat to the performance, dock it, and return by boat at the end of the night.

The Thousand Islands Playhouse puts on eight thoughtfully-curated shows throughout a season in its two theatres (its dockside theatre space doesn’t put on shows in the winter due to weather and the steep hill beside it), and around 50,000 patrons visit the theatre on an annual basis!

When Chris and I visited the theatre this past fall, I’ll admit I kind of wished we had a little extra time to enjoy the bar and the views of the river ahead of showtime. The plays they put on here are fantastic, but the venue and experience of theatre at a spot like this is the cherry on top!

Chris and I saw a production of the musical 9 to 5, based on the film of the same name and featuring all of Dolly Parton’s original songs and lyrics. The cast came from various parts of Ontario and Canada, and it was impressive from start to finish.

I really love making an excuse to go to professional theatres across Canada. If you’re looking for an extra reason to get away, then I’d definitely plan to centre a trip around this playhouse.

For all of the details on the theatre, Chris wrote an excellent article about it here.

How to Plan a Trip to the Thousand Islands on both the Canadian & American Sides

Interchangeably written as either the Thousand Islands or the 1000 Islands, there is a lot to do in this region on either side of the St. Lawrence. Despite its international divide, the communities on both the Ontario and New York sides of the river share their harmonious appreciation for this region’s nature, history and more islands than a person could count.

Chris and I have been lucky to visit both the Canadian and American sides of the 1000 Islands on several occasions in different seasons. They are especially a treat to visit in the summer or in the fall, but you really can’t go wrong any time of year.

If you’re planning a trip to either side or a mix of both, here are some tips I’d recommend:

Canadian Side

• Base yourself in either Gananoque or Brockville. As much as I love Kingston, and despite it technically being located on the southern end of where the islands start, it is a city and it’s a little further to get to some of the most visually interesting collections of islands. Gananoque and Brockville are smaller and a little more intimate.

• Appreciate the small towns and cities. Local restaurants, independent shops, charming main streets and quiet parks are just some of the best ways to spend slow days here in the region.

• Get out on the water. You can take a cruise of the islands from several cities along the river. One of my favourite access points is to take a cruise from Rockport along the Thousand Islands Parkway.

American Side

• Base yourself in Clayton. Clayton is a very charming small town with a great community along the river. I wrote a full guide to things to do in this town here.

• Visit the famous Boldt Castle. Built during the Gilded Age of wealthy industry, this private home on a private island does, in fact look like a castle. It’s possible to visit from the Canadian side too by tour boat, but you’ll need to use your passport to go on and return from the island.

• Spend time in other towns along the water. Alexandria Bay is the closest to Boldt Castle, but Cape Vincent is especially small and charming, and take the drive down to Tibbetts Point Lighthouse.

And that’s it for this week! Stay tuned for next week’s edition.

If you like The Weekly Traveller, don’t forget to share it with someone who’d appreciate it, and subscribe for the latest in travel stories, news, contests and giveaways.

Until next week!
🫶 Bri

In 1926, Route 66 opened in the United States connecting Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California. It was the first fully paved motorway to go from east to west in the United States, and was the route taken by many heading west to “The Dust Bowl” during the Great Depression. By the 1950s post-WW2 era, it was a celebrated and decorated route filled with neon signs, roadside attractions, small motels, quirky restaurants and gift shops to stop at, and a pinnacle of an American road trip.

While Route 66 was decommissioned as an official thoroughfare in the 1980s, large stretches still exist today, along with many of its nostalgic roadside stops.

For this week’s edition, I’m featuring a few snippets from previous travels of my own, and fellow travel writer Gary Crallé’s recent article that was published on travelingmitch.com about the route’s stops in Illinois.

Illinois Route 66 Attractions Guide

In this edition ⬇️

1. Ahead of your trip along Route 66—How to spend at least 2 days in Chicago!

2. Illinois Route 66 Attractions Guide from Chicago to St. Louis

3. Travel News of the Week—including this country in Asia looking to follow suit with European visa-free traveller registration 🗞️

4. Travel Giveaway of the Week 🏆

Just a head’s up that this week’s edition contains some affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission for some of my recommendations at no additional cost to you, and helps keep The Weekly Traveller reader-supported.

Starting Your Route 66 Road Trip in Chicago

Chicago is an excellent city to start a trip along this historic route. With truly incredible architecture, museums, attractions, neighbourhood walks and lakeside views, there is a lot of heart, passion and personality in Chicago worth checking out.

If you’ve only got a day or two ahead of a trip along Route 66, there are a ton of things you can choose from to do in Chicago.

A few things you must do include:

1. An architecture cruise on the Chicago River. The First Lady Architecture cruises are the most famous in the city, and that’s because they’re done in partnership with the Chicago Architecture Center. Each tour is led by an extremely knowledgable guide familiar with the city’s buildings. There’s truly nothing like seeing the buildings of Chicago from the river.

2. Visit Chicago’s Museums. The Art Institute of Chicago and the Field Museum are some of the most famous, but there are plenty of other worthy museums to check out, too.

3. Catch a Cub’s Game at Wrigley Field. This is one of the most famous ballparks in the world, and the whole neighbourhood is on board and comes out in full force on game days.

   1. Head to a sports bar nearby before the game, appreciate the architecture of Wrigley, and if for some reason you can’t snag a ticket on game day:

   2. Look into getting Wrigley Rooftops tickets—they’re tickets for seats set up on the rooftops surrounding the ballpark! I’m told visibility is still fairly decent from these seats, and it’s one of the most unique and officially unofficial way to see a professional sport that I’ve heard of.

4. Consider staying at a historic, road trip-themed property. The Ohio House Motel is a fun, retro motel in keeping with the historic road trip theme of Route 66. The perfect way to start your Route 66 road trip.

You can click here for the full guide on spending a few days in Chicago!

Start Your Route 66 Road Trip in Illinois from Chicago to St. Louis

This guide will help you plan the start of your journey along Route 66. The route continues from Illinois through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona before ending in California.

Now the below is all based off of my friend Gary’s article, so I’ll only share a few teasers, and then you’re welcome to read his full take on the journey in his own words.

As I was going through publishing Gary’s article about the Route 66 stops in Illinois, a few Easter eggs jumped out at me, including:

• Plenty of fun and quirky stops. These include seeing giants, aliens, a pink elephant and the world’s largest bottle of ketchup.

• The route is filled with some fun roadside food stops too, with classics like burgers, corn dogs, BBQ and ice cream.

• There are several historic filling stations, car and motorcycle memorabilia-themed stops, in addition to several nostalgic neon signs along the route.

I’ll let Gary take care of the rest! You can read his full article here.

Travel News of the Week 🗞️

• Japan is looking to implement a new ESTA-style travel authorization for visa-free travellers. The announcement came on March 10th, and is something for current visa-free travellers to keep an eye on (Canadians, Europeans, Australians, and many other countries/regions).

• Several flight paths in and around the Middle East have been disrupted and/or cancelled from a variety of airlines. In the wake of ongoing air strikes targeting countries like Iran, the UAE, Lebanon, and several other countries, travellers are encouraged to keep up to date with advisories and keep the people of these Middle Eastern countries in your thoughts.

Travel Giveaway of the Week 🏆

Win a luxury stay in the Maldives for two! The grand prize is a three-night stay at Milaidhoo Maldives. The prize includes a villa for two adults, daily breakfast and one dolphin cruise during the stay. Open to all. Contest closes March 31, 2026.

And that’s it for this week! Stay tuned for next week’s edition.

If you like The Weekly Traveller, don’t forget to share it with someone who’d appreciate it, and subscribe for the latest in travel stories, news, contests and giveaways.

Until next week!
🫶 Bri

Istanbul is the first Turkish city most travellers will visit when they come to the country. It’s a massive city of anywhere from 16 to 20 million residents, and after living there for 3 years I learned quite a bit about the city—though I would never pretend to know everything there is to know about it!

One of the lessons about Istanbul is it’s a city that deserves to be visited for longer than you think you’ll need, and whose neighbourhoods are best seen on foot.

READ FULL ISTANBUL TRAVEL TIPS GUIDE

In this edition (this week is a short one!) ⬇️

1. 5 Neighbourhoods Worth Visiting in Istanbul, Turkiye

5 Neighbourhoods Worth Visiting in Istanbul, Turkiye

Istanbul is so much more than the Aya Sofya, the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar. As important as it is to visit sites like these, venturing out into Istanbul’s vibrant neighbourhoods is a must on any trip longer than two days in this city.

I shared this post on social media this week with several photos of these neighbourhoods, some of which I’ll share here, too.

Getting Around Istanbul

While its neighbourhoods are best enjoyed on foot, you’ll need some form of transportation getting between neighbourhoods in Istanbul.

In many countries, this would be an easy task. But with such a densely populated city, getting around Istanbul can be more challenging than you might expect!

Here are your options for getting around, in the order I’d recommend:

1. Ferry (Public Transit Option 1): Several of the neighbourhoods on this list are located along the Golden Horn or the Bosphorus, meaning they have ferry terminals and a few options for local ferries. The ferry routes and schedules can be confusing, but this list is a good place to start.

2. Ridesharing (Uber): There was a time when I would recommend an app called BiTaksi for getting taxis around the city, but in recent years it actually seems like Uber has become the most reliable. Be aware that traffic can be an issue, but I do find Uber to be more efficient and direct than some public transit options, especially for these neighbourhoods.

3. All Other Public Transit: There are metro lines, above ground trams, funiculars and buses that travel across the city, but it can be tricky to understand the routes and how to connect between them. Here’s a guide to the metro system to start!

5 of the Best Neighbourhoods to Visit in Istanbul

This list is meant to go beyond the typical Sultanahmet and Beyoglu recommendations that most visitors to the city come to.

These neighbourhoods have their fair share of history, unique architecture and areas to enjoy, but they also lean on the more residential and local sides, and are neighbourhoods where plenty of people happily live.

1. Arnavutköy: A beautiful, historically small and far-removed fishing village with Ottoman-style mansions and fish restaurants. The views from the water looking south down to the Bosphorus Bridge are truly spectacular on a sunny day.

2. Fener/Balat: A UNSECO-recognized heritage neighbourhood, home to a true mosaic of religious traditions, including Byzantine churches, synagogues, and mosques. There are also brightly coloured homes, winding streets, and several cafes and restaurants.

3. Karaköy: A neighbourhood with beautiful views across to Sultanahmet from the water. Several beautiful mosques and streets as well. One of my favourite streets to walk down and sit for a coffee on is Kılıç Ali Paşa Sk.

4. Sarıyer: Just north of Bebek (another great spot to walk around) and home to the famous fortifications of Rumelli Hisar. There are also excellent, wide pedestrian walks along the Bosphorus here, and some lovely brunch spots along the water.

5. Kadıköy/Moda: There are plenty of worthwhile neighbourhoods to visit on the Asian side, but these are some of my favourites to venture over to. Moda has great seaside places to walk during the day and laidback cafes and restaurants, and Kadıköy has a vibrant bar scene in and around its fish market at night!

And that’s it for this short week! Stay tuned for next week’s edition.

If you like The Weekly Traveller, don’t forget to share it with someone who’d appreciate it, and subscribe for the latest in travel stories, news, contests and giveaways.

Until next week!
🫶 Bri

But when I say that the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama was quite possibly one of the best and most emotionally stirring museums I’ve ever been to, I mean it.

The depth of research, detail, investment, honesty and truths about the enslavement and the subsequent mistreatment and perseverance of Black people in the United States is encapsulated in an extraordinarily moving way at the Legacy Museum and its sites throughout the city.

READ FULL GUIDE TO MONTGOMERY HERE

In this edition ⬇️

1. Visiting The Legacy Museum & Sites in Montgomery, AL

2. Travel Tip of the Week—Registering with Your Government When You Travel Abroad

3. Travel News of the Week—including this country that’s been dealing with a retaliatory uprising against its government this week 🗞️

Just a head’s up that this week’s edition contains some affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission for some of my recommendations at no additional cost to you, and helps keep The Weekly Traveller reader-supported.

Visiting The Legacy Museum & Sites in Montgomery, AL

In the early to mid 1800s, over 400,000 enslaved people lived in Montgomery. By the mid 1900s, it became an essential city in Black resistance during the Civil Rights Movement. In 2018, the immersive Legacy Museum opened to share the journey “from enslavement to mass incarceration” of Black Americans, and soon after that the Legacy Sites were created throughout the city.

Walking through the poignant exhibits at the Legacy Museum, you immediately recognize how candid, upfront and honest the museum is about enslavement and mass incarceration.

Facts, information and stories here at the museum are shared in exactly the upfront and interrogative way one would hope topics like enslavement and mass incarceration would be.

But when you visit The Legacy Museum, you immediately become aware of how editorialized the discussion of enslavement and mass incarceration has historically been in similar types of museums and institutions.

So, how can The Legacy Museum be so upfront and honest, when other museums seemingly can’t (or won’t)?

The Legacy Museum is a Privately Funded Museum

The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is a non-profit law firm and organization based in Montgomery. It was founded in 1989 by Bryan Stevenson, a public interest lawyer who has argued and won several cases at the United States Supreme Court.

Stevenson has won cases for over 140 wrongly convicted Black prisoners in the United States, and has appeared on several broadcasts to share his work, including meeting with Oprah several times.

Thanks to Bryan Stevenson and the behemoth that the EJI has become, it raised and funded an estimated $20 million for the Legacy Museum and its subsequent sites in Montgomery.

This is why a visit here feels like the museum pushes the needle a little more dedicatedly than other places.

The EJI has the context, resources and care to delve deeply into the deeply routed and systemic issues of racial discrimination that have plagued North America for hundreds of years.

What to Expect on a Visit to The Legacy Museum

The museum shares a detailed, chronological history of Black Americans “from enslavement to mass incarceration.”

It takes visitors through 400 years of history in several exhibits, beginning with the transatlantic slave trade and ending with the present day.

The thoroughly researched, detailed, uncensored and at times graphic accounts depict an accurate history of racial discrimination and Black excellence in the face of adversity in the United States.

No photos are allowed in the museum, which offers visitors the space to digest and be present with its teachings. You’ll really just have to visit to appreciate all that this museum presents, and learn about it for yourself.

The Legacy Museum is a heavy yet powerful place, and is really a must-visit for anyone coming to Montgomery, along with the other connected sites in town.

Other Legacy Sites in Montgomery You Must Visit

From the Legacy Museum, there are free shuttles to the other Legacy Sites in town, which are provided by EJI. You can access them on your own with a vehicle, but the free shuttles are efficient, comfortable and a good way to get around to access the sites:

• The National Memorial for Peace and Justice

  • According to EJI, this is the first memorial “dedicated to the legacy of Black Americans who were enslaved, terrorized by lynching, humiliated by racial segregation and presumed guilty and dangerous.”

  • The monuments sit on six acres of land, with over 800 hanging steel monuments representing each county where lynchings took place.

• Freedom Monument Sculpture Park

  • The sculpture park is on the banks of the Alabama River, where tens of thousands of enslaved people were trafficked.

  • Today, art, sculptures and artifacts honour the lives and legacy of enslaved people in the United States.

  • You can access the park from the road, or take a free shuttle by boat on the river to retrace the footsteps of enslaved people.

Montgomery is a well-known city to visit for the Legacy Sites, but there is much more to do than just that, and it’s a worthwhile city for a weekend getaway. To help you plan your next trip to Montgomery, AL, you can find a full guide here.

Travel Tip of the Week: Registering with Your Government When You Travel Abroad

Every nation’s government and operates differently, so registering with your government isn’t necessarily going to be an option for everyone. But when it comes to updates, safety and your home country knowing where you are, it can come in helpful if something big comes up on the road.

Many of the G20 countries have some problematic takes when it comes to diplomatic relationships with other countries, or classifications of which countries are worth sharing travel advisories for.

If you look at the Canadian government’s classifications of nations safe to travel to, for example, there’s the note to excercise a “high degree of caution” (which is only the second option next to “take normal security measures”) for a wide variety of countries, whatever that means.

Sure, some issues pop up in different countries from time to time, but one should always exercise caution when they travel. You could recommend a high degree of caution for most countries.

This issue aside, it can be helpful to reference what your home country or passport-holding country thinks about the place you’re going to visit.

If your government does allow you to register when you travel abroad, it can be a good idea so that your local government knows where you are in the event of an emergency.

Reasons to Register with Your Government

If it’s an option, here are a few of the reasons registering with your government is a good idea:

• In the event of an emergency or unexpected event, the local or regional consulate office will contact you with updates.

  • Most of the time when you’re on the ground, you can figure out what’s going on for yourself. But there may be other details you can’t access, or issues you may not know about, which a consulate will share with you.

  • At the time I lived in Turkiye (2014-2017), there was some political unrest—an attempted coup, and some terrorist attacks. Since I was registered with the Canadian government, I received updates with consular advisories.

    • None of the advisories changed how I lived my life day-to-day, but it was helpful to know what the Canadian government recommended or wanted to keep Canadians aware of.

• In the event of a country looking to evacuate its own citizens and residents as a result of a natural or political emergency, your government knowing where you are is important.

  • As we know, local issues and natural disasters can materialize very quickly nowadays. With unpredictable weather patterns and political issues at an intense state across the globe, you never know when something can happen.

  • If you’re registered with your government, they’ll be able to contact you to help during an emergency.

• If you are personally facing an emergency away from home, registering can expedite the process of seeking help.

  • Once you’ve registered with your government, they’ll already know many personal details and have contact information for you so you can solve problems and seek help a little faster.

I want to make it clear that I rarely rely solely on government warnings when I decide where to travel, but in the end, if you find yourself in an emergency and need help from your government, they’re less likely to help you in a place that they warn against travelling, or if they don’t know where you are.

Travel News of the Week 🗞️

• The Mexican government and cartel clashed this week after a cartel kingpin was killed. It had immediate impacts on the state of Jalisco, its inhabitants and visitors. It seems like things are calming down now, but here’s a helpful overview if you’re planning on visiting soon.

• The Canada to UK ETA requirement is now in effect. As of February 25 2026, Canadians must obtain an ETA before short-term travel to the UK.

• Taiwan sees 109% domestic travel spike during Lunar New Year. Visitor numbers to the country surged to new highs during the holiday period.

And that’s it for this week! Stay tuned for next week’s edition.

If you like The Weekly Traveller, don’t forget to share it with someone who’d appreciate it, and subscribe for the latest in travel stories, news, contests and giveaways.

Until next week!
🫶 Bri

In the early ‘00s, physical city and road maps were a must, as were physical tickets and needing to book travel at a kiosk in person in most cases, with the exception of some flights and hotels available online.

Nowadays it feels like we’ve almost gone too far in the other direction. It’s significantly more convenient to travel while speaking solely your own language, arranging most plans and tickets digitally, and without needing to ask for help or get into as many awkward situations as one might have had to years ago.

I think you can see where I’m going with this.

I’m the first to appreciate the benefits of technology. Heck, without it my ability to work full time as a travel writer and content creator in the way that I do wouldn’t be possible.

But with all the conversations now around the “iPad kids” of Gen Alpha, overtourism in some regions of the world and an increased sense of it almost being too accessible to travel—without needing to consider or understand the history, society or culture of the place you’re visiting as a tourist—important details can get lost in the fold.

All of this to say, there’s a lot to be grateful for and there are some truly irreplaceable mobile applications (apps) available today, but no matter what technology you use to help you on the road next, these are meant to be tools and not to replace human connection on the road.

Don’t forget to look up from your screens to meaningfully engage with the people and places you’re visiting in your travels. But you can let these apps help you along the way.

In this edition ⬇️

1. 4 Travel Apps You Should Be Using on Every Trip

2. Travel Tip of the Week—How to Use eSIMs

3. Travel News of the Week—including this island that’s seeing unprecedented tourism over the Lunar New Year celebrations 🗞️

4. Travel Giveaway of the Week 🏆

Just a head’s up that this week’s edition contains some affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission for some of my recommendations at no additional cost to you, and helps keep The Weekly Traveller reader-supported.

4 Travel Apps You Should Be Using on Every Trip

These are my most used apps, all of which are free (with a few in-app purchase options), and all of which are extremely useful on the road. I can confidently say I use all of them for nearly every trip, and they are the best tools for international travel right now.

I recently put together a post on Instagram about travel resources and tools for Canadians, and a few of these tools are on that list, too.

These are the apps worth downloading and using ahead of each trip:

#1 Google Maps

Google Maps may seem like a no brainer, but there are a few features that make the Google Maps app extra convenient when you’re travelling.

1. Ahead of your trip, you can use Google Maps to save restaurants, sites, hotels, attractions, etc.

   1. All you need to do is click on the location in maps, and select the “Save” button. You then have the option to add this location to a list—you can create a new list, or add it to an existing one, and edit the privacy so it’s either public or private. I prefer private!

      

   2. You can use and edit your list while you’re on the road, and share it with others if they visit the same place as you in the future, or if you’re travelling together.

2. Download offline maps ahead of time. I often use this option when I’m taking road trips or travelling to more remote areas where I may lose service or wifi. If you’re travelling on Airplane Mode without service, this is also an excellent option.

   1. In the Google Maps app, make sure you’re signed in or have an account and click on your profile picture in the top right hand corner to get the menu to appear.

   2. Click on “Offline Maps” on the menu, and click the “Select your own map” button. It will take you to a screen where you can select an area and download an offline map.

      1. Keep in mind that the map will be limited to a certain size, and you need to make sure the map is downloading while the app is open on wifi.

#2 WhatsApp

Most of the world uses WhatsApp, but it hasn’t exactly caught on in North America as much as it has in other parts of the world.

On top of being a useful app for communicating across both iPhone and Android users, it’s also an excellent resource for getting in touch with businesses and tour operators, etc, on the road.

Many businesses use WhatsApp. If you’re taking a tour, arranging a shuttle or transfer, checking into a remote hotel, checking in at an odd hour or really having any other situation where communication might be necessary, it’s worth checking to see if the business you need to contact uses WhatsApp.

1. In the “Chats” section of WhatsApp, click the “plus” button in the top corner of your screen.

2. Some businesses or organizations let you know they have WhatsApp, but others don’t. Put in the phone number you’re trying to get in contact with (including the country code!).

3. If they’re on WhatsApp, they’ll appear in the search. Sometimes if it’s a business, their company logo will also appear as their profile picture beside their number.

4. From here, you can message or even call the contact through WhatsApp.

I’ve had more than a few travel experiences where I’ve used WhatsApp to plan complete day trips and book local, private transportation. It’s also been great for trying to get in touch with organizations at the last minute when an issue may arise or you have a time sensitive question.

#3 Google Translate

The Google Translate app is very handy! You can translate text, and use the text-to-voice and voice-to-text features to translate conversations in real-time.

This app is especially handy in destinations with limited English. I don’t travel expecting that English will be spoken everywhere, but it is widely considered the accessible and common language in tourism.

You should definitely also use this app to help familiarize yourself with the local language when you’re on the road!

The most useful functions of Google Translate:

1. The camera feature: This is the best for translating signs, menus and other written text in the moment.

   1. Click on the camera, select the language you’re translating from to the language you want to translate to, and either hover your camera over or take a picture for a live translation.

   2. Bear in mind that the translation likely won’t be perfect, but it will be more helpful than what you started with!

2. The conversation feature: You can select this, and select the input language and the output language to help communicate with someone who speaks a different language.

   1. This is a really nice way to communicate with someone when you have no common language, and you’d like to get to know them a little. The conversation feature was initiated by a guesthouse host Chris and I stayed with in Peru, and it was kind of nice to pass the phone back and forth to have a “conversation.”

   2. This can also be a helpful feature for situations like taxis, other transportation or in an emergency when you need to communicate.

I’d recommend being conscious of and sensitive to how and when you use Google Translate with other people.

As humans, we all want to understand each other, but if you’re in a restaurant (for example) and the server has multiple other things to do, this might not be the best time to make them pause for a “conversation” through translate. It’s an amazing tool, but don’t forget to read the room for time and place!

#4 eSIM App

eSIMs are growing in popularity because of the cost-savings and convenience they offer to travellers.

For a while, it was popular for tourists to buy local, physical SIM cards when they touched down in a destination.

In my case, I found that this could be tricky in some places and meant I might not get a SIM card until past the 24 hour mark in a new destination, which is often when you feel like you could use your phone the most.

eSIMs can be downloaded in advance directly onto your phone, and be activated from the moment you touch down in a destination. They’re terribly convenient and if you have punitive roaming costs similar to Canadian cell phone companies, then they can save a heck of a lot of money, too.

There are several different eSIM apps on the market now. Some are newer than others, and some aren’t as user-friendly. I tried Gig Sky once and the eSIM didn’t work for me, so unfortunately I can’t recommend it.

The one eSIM app I use without fail on each trip I take is Airalo. I’ve shared how Airalo works in the next section!

Travel Tip of the Week: How to Use eSIMs, Specifically Airalo

eSIMs can be a little tricky to figure out, but like anything the more you use them, the more familiar you become with them! It’s a bit like riding a bike, so if you’re considering trying one for your next trip, you just need to start.

If you’ve ever landed in a new country only to spend precious travel time tracking down a physical SIM or wrestling with roaming charges, eSIMs are your stress-free upgrade.

I am continuing to try new eSIMs as often as I can, but I’ve used Airalo by far the most. It offers plans covering 200+ countries and regions, and works with many phones.

How to Use Airalo:

• Download the Airalo App and make sure your mobile phone can support eSIMS before you download your first one.

  • There are notes within the app about which phones can support eSIMs—phones older than 5 years typically can’t support them

• Search for the best eSIM for your trip within the app. You can purchase by country, region or global.

  • If you’re only travelling to one country, just purchase the country plan and select the amount of GB you feel you’ll need—you can always add more on the road!

• Purchase your eSIM and follow the instructions for downloading it. Ensure you don’t close the app or go to another screen while your eSIM is downloading.

For my full review on Airalo, feel free to check out this post, or use this link to try Airalo for yourself on your next trip!

A quick note that many eSIMs don’t include the ability to have voice calling, but that is changing all the time. I typically only use data when I travel anyways and try to use FaceTime Audio or WhatsApp for calling, but if that’s an issue for you, it’s something to consider.

Travel News of the Week 🗞️

• Vietnam’s Phu Quoc sees a record Lunar New Year travel surge. The island has had an unprecedented influx of international flights and visitors during the Lunar New Year celebrations happening right now.

• In an effort to offer more sustainable options for travel, Finland has announced it’s expanding its ferry services. Motivations for flight-free European travel are on the rise, and countries like Estonia, Sweden and now Finland are expanding high-speed ferry services in the Baltics.

• As of the start of 2026, Mexican passport holders can now visit 157 countries visa free. It’s creating a tourism boom in countries like Brazil, France, the United Kingdom and more for Mexican travellers.

Travel Giveaway of the Week 🏆

• Win a holiday at Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas! The grand prize is a 3-night stay for two in a Sapphire Suite with butler service at The Cove at Atlantis Paradise Island Resort, Bahamas. Includes most food, beverages and access to activities. Contest closes March 6, 2026. *Only open to USA residents.

And that’s it for this week! Stay tuned for next’s edition week.

If you like The Weekly Traveller, don’t forget to share it with someone who’d appreciate it, and subscribe for the latest in travel stories, news, contests and giveaways.

Until next week!
🫶 Bri

Earlier this month, Travel + Leisure published an article all about the safest city in the world.

I have to admit that the discussion about what makes a country or city “safe” to visit is one I’m not wholly fond of when discussing travel, often because it’s rooted in stereotypes, prejudices and cultural differences. Crime and distrust is prevalent in so many countries, cities and societies around the world, and what we can often overlook in our own backyard can be something we first look to vilify before we even touch down in a destination.

(I think I’ll unpack this idea of “safe travel” in a future edition!)

But when I learned the safest city T+L highlighted was Reykjavik, I was immediately brought back to all of the memories of my first trip to Iceland, so I wanted to talk about it this week.

Let’s get into this week’s edition!

In this edition ⬇️

1. Planning a Trip to Iceland? Then You’ll Want to Check Out These Top Things to Do in Reykjavik

2. Road Trip Playlist of the Week: Sigur Rós

3. Travel News of the Week—including this country that’s running out of jet fuel 🗞️

Just a head’s up that this week’s edition contains some affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission for some of my recommendations at no additional cost to you, and helps keep The Weekly Traveller reader-supported.

Planning a Trip to Iceland? Then You’ll Want to Check Out These Top Things to Do in Reykjavik

Reykjavik is Iceland’s capital city, and for most travellers who visit this island nation in the northern Atlantic Ocean, it’s the entry and exit point to the country. While the dramatic landscapes and natural wonders of Iceland are most tourists’ focus, there are quite a few unique things to do and enjoy in this compact city!

In the Travel + Leisure article, it shares that Reykjavik is considered one of the safest cities based on traveller feedback (I’d love to see the actual metrics on this!) and global safety metrics (presumably the Global Peace Index, on which Iceland is rated first for peacefulness.)

Safest city distinction or not, it’s also a great place to base yourself for further travels around Iceland. Many travellers use Reykjavik as their home base, and take day trips from the city each day.

This is what Chris and I did when we visited, since we didn’t have enough time during our trip to drive the whole of the Ring Road (a popular highway that goes all the way around Iceland), and it was out of our budget to both rent a car and stay at more remote accommodations outside of Reykjavik during the trip.

If you’re planning on renting a car on your next trip, make sure you check out my post on tips for doing so!

Whether you visit as a necessary base on your trip to Iceland or you’re looking to check out all that there is to do in Reykjavik, here’s your start:

A Few Things You Should Do in Reykjavik

• Appreciate the Views of the City from Hallgrimskirkja. Hallgrimskirkja is the largest church in Reykjavik, with an observation platform at the top offering incredible panoramic views.

• Slow Down the Pace at a Geothermal Spa. The Blue Lagoon is the most famous geothermal spa in Iceland, and is a short drive from Reykjavik near the Keflavik Airport. But the closer and newer spa is Sky Lagoon, which is just outside of the city.

• Dine on Icelandic Cuisine. Fish, seafood, hearty stews, cured meats, cheeses and dense breads are the name of the game! There are also quite a few craft breweries and micro breweries in Reykjavik, too.

• Buy an Icelandic wool sweater. I hardly shop for souvenirs (or anything, for that matter!) when I travel, but my sweater has been one of my favourite purchases on the road. Plus the wool holds up incredibly for breathability, water repellency and durability!

For all the information on things to do in Reykjavik, you can feel free to check it out the full guide I wrote here.

Road Trip Playlist of the Week: Sigur Rós

For the time that Chris and I did leave Reykjavik on our trip to Iceland, we took some long road trip days. This band’s music was playing through a lot of that!

One of my favourite things about road trips in a different country is leaning into music and podcasts that either match the environment, or are just fun to listen to.

It depends on which podcasts we’ve saved or what we feel like listening to, but Chris and I both agree that choosing music that “matches” the destination we’re in is often a great way to enhance the trip.

There’s nothing like finding and listening to local artists to merge these two sensory experiences on the road.

Long before our trip to Iceland, we’d both gotten to know the band Sigur Rós. They’re an Icelandic cosmic pop-rock band, and their unique sound is such a compliment on a road trip to Iceland.

If you’re a fan of unique music, listening to This is Sigur Rós is a great way to add to your trip. Ahead of a trip to Iceland, I’d also recommend checking out their documentary Heima, which follows them through the landscapes of Iceland as they play local concerts in inspiring natural spaces across the country.

Travel News of the Week 🗞️

• Cuba is running out of jet fuel. Due to the country’s ongoing issues securing supplies, food, and basic necessities, some airlines have halted all travel to Cuba. All flights to and from Canada have been cancelled.

  • Please keep the people of Cuba in your thoughts at this time!

• The cap of passengers limited to travel through Dublin Airport will be removed soon. The cap of 32 million passengers per year was put in place at the airport in 2007 due to concerns for traffic and noise pollution. The decision to remove this cap is being met with mixed feelings.

• A new practice is forecasted to create issues for travellers in Europe this summer. The news Entry-Exit System (EES) biometrics screening at European airports is slowing down travel and causing long wait times. Travel experts are concerned about the effects this will have on the continent’s biggest travel season later this year.

And that’s it for this week! Stay tuned for next’s edition week.

If you like The Weekly Traveller, don’t forget to share it with someone who’d appreciate it, and subscribe for the latest in travel stories, news, contests and giveaways.

Until next week!
🫶 Bri

Many Canadians have been mourning the sudden passing of Catherine O’Hara last week. To say she was beloved by Canadians (and many other fans) is an understatement.

I don’t consider myself one tied up in celebrity news or para-social relationships, but as a Canadian born in Toronto to parents who loved SCTV, her 50-year career touched the hearts of many generations of Canadians, including me and my family.

Some fans are honouring her legacy by rewatching some of the work and characters she’s best known for. A few of my personal favourites are Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and Beetlejuice.

But of course she was renowned for the character of Moira Rose on the beloved Canadian sitcom Schitt’s Creek. If you haven’t watched the show before, now is a good time to dip your toes in.

It’s the perfect feel-good comedy—exactly the type of show I find helpful to watch at times when the world can feel so dark, as it has been feeling lately.

Catherine O’Hara saw the value a good laugh can have in boosting morale. So for this week I wanted to share a few tips for visiting Schitt’s Creek filming locations in honour of her work that brought me many laughs over the years.

Let’s get into this week’s edition!

In this edition ⬇️

1. Schitt’s Creek Filming Locations to Visit in Honour of the Late Catherine O’Hara

2. Travel News of the Week—including this new aircraft major airlines will be using soon to make long-haul flights better 🗞️

Just a head’s up that this week’s edition contains some affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission for some of my recommendations at no additional cost to you, and helps keep The Weekly Traveller reader-supported.

Schitt’s Creek Filming Locations to Visit in Honour of the Late Catherine O’Hara

The Schitt’s Creek creators are all originally from Toronto, Ontario, with the exception of Eugene Levy, who was born in Hamilton. As a result, most of the filming locations for Schitt’s Creek are within an hour or so’s drive away from Toronto.

On top of writing and creating travel content for destinations across the globe, as someone from Ontario, Canada I also run a few other travel sites and social media channels dedicated to Canada Travel and Ontario Travel.

During the heyday of Schitt’s Creek, we published an article all about visiting many of the show’s filming locations in Ontario, which is what I wanted to share here today.

Filming Locations Near Toronto

Some of the real buildings that were used for production of the show were owned by the show at the time, but have since changed ownership. If you plan on visiting any of these spots, keep in mind that some of these locations are private property!

• Schitt’s Creek: While the town of Schitt’s Creek is fictional, production decided to set the centre of town at the four corners of Front Street & Highway 47 in Goodwood, Ontario. Despite the show being many years past filming, several facades of the buildings still look just like they did in the show.

  • There are plenty of stories of the early days of filming when locals would pull up lawn chairs to watch taping and bring snacks and food for the cast and crew.

• The Motel: The motel where the Rose family moves at the start of the series is an actual motel located near Orangeville and Mono.

  • It was abandoned for some time, but the red “Motel” sign has recently gone back up, and it’s now called the Mono Motel—but it doesn’t seem to have a website, so I can’t report on much more!

• The Herb Ertlinger Winery: The outdoor scenes where Moira Rose famously films a fruit wine commercial are filmed at Applewood Farm and Winery in Stouffville.

• Other Shops & Businesses: A few facades for businesses and other shops in the show like the Blouse Barn and Ted’s vet clinic are located on Main Street Unionville, near Markham.

• Season 5 Hike: Without giving too much of the plot away, an important hike near the end of the series takes place at Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area near Milton. There are some beautiful lookouts from here, which are featured in the show.

Whether you’re able to visit any of these spots soon or not, I’d highly recommend paying a little tribute to Catherine O’Hara and watching one of her projects to have a laugh in her memory this week.

For all the information on these Schitt’s Creek filming locations and more near Toronto, you can feel free to check it out the full guide here.

Travel News of the Week 🗞️

• Several major airlines will be shifting over to the Airbus A350-1000 aircraft soon. Singapore Airlines, Emirates & Qatar Airways will use this new wide-body aircraft, which is expected to reshape long-haul travel capacity and can take passengers on flights longer thank 15 hours.

• Condor Airlines will be launching daily flights from Frankfurt, Germany to Cairo, Egypt. This new direct service will begin in May 2026.

• Many typically warm areas of North America have been experiencing surprisingly low temperatures this week.

  • From cities like Cancun and Mexico City in Mexico starting their mornings at less than 10 degrees Celcius to ice storms in the Southern USA to historically cold temperatures in Matanzas province in Cuba hovering around 0C, make sure you pack extra layers in this corner of the northern hemisphere!

And that’s it for this week! Stay tuned for next’s edition week.

If you like The Weekly Traveller, don’t forget to share it with someone who’d appreciate it, and subscribe for the latest in travel stories, news, contests and giveaways.

Until next week!
🫶 Bri

Hello from a very wintery corner of the world this week. I spent the latter half of last week in New York City for a travel conference Chris and I attend annually—the International Media Marketplace.

This weekend also just so happened to be one of the heaviest snowfalls of the season for both NYC and Toronto, which made returning back home a little trickier than expected. Toronto’s Pearson Airport had a record-breaking accumulation of 46cm (18.1”) of snow in a single day, and it was declared a snow day for both NYC and Toronto city schools on Monday, which rarely happens.

The snowy weather impacted our flight home from NYC, so I thought it was a timely topic for this week. Let’s get into this week’s edition!

In this edition ⬇️

1. Air Passenger Rights & Tips for Flight Disruptions Due to Weather

2. Travel News of the Week—including the anticipated travel trends of 2026 🗞️

3. Travel Sales & Giveaways of the Week—like winning this 8-day Mediterranean cruise!

Just a head’s up that this week’s edition contains some affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission for some of my recommendations at no additional cost to you, and helps keep The Weekly Traveller reader-supported.

Air Passenger Rights & Tips for Flight Disruptions Due to Weather

Chris and I had a return flight that was cancelled, rebooked, cancelled again and then rebooked again as a result of the snowstorm over the weekend. This wasn’t the first time our flights were impacted by weather, and over the years I’ve learned there are some things travellers should think about and know before facing similar issues on the road.

After last week’s conference, Chris and I were staying for the weekend in Brooklyn with our dear friends and fellow travel creators, Scott and Megan (@boboandchichi).

We had planned on doing another Coney Island Polar Bear Plunge on Sunday like we did last year, but the city was blanketed under plenty of snow, subway trains were severely delayed and weren’t running aboveground to Coney Island, and the space the Polar Bears typically change in was closed.

So instead, we spent Sunday playing around in the snow near their house in Brooklyn, taking turns on a little orange sled, and cozying up inside for some snacks and games later in the day as we watched the storm pass. It was a fun way to embrace a snow day in another city with friends!

But as we kind of anticipated, our flight that was scheduled for Monday was cancelled. We ended up getting home safely about 36 hours after we were originally meant to, but we made it!

Dealing with the flight disruptions this week was a good reminder about all of the ways travellers can be prepared for weather disruptions, so let’s talk about ways to be savvy when you face weather delays.

It Starts With Knowing Your Air Passenger Rights

Before you travel, familiarizing yourself with the rights available to you as a passenger in the country or region you’re travelling in is important before taking off.

There are increasingly more resources available online nowadays, but since I primarily fly with Canadian airlines and on flights to and from Canada, I’ll share some details about Canadian air passenger rights here, specifically as they relate to weather.

Gabor Lukacs has been an incredible resource for Canadian air travellers for the past decade or so. I came across his Facebook Group for Canadian Air Passenger Rights a few years ago when I was trying to figure out what I was owed after missing flights in March 2020, and he’s been a wealth of information to me and many other travellers ever since.

He often appears on the news in Canada speaking about the topic of air passenger rights. Especially since some major Canadian airlines seem to take advantage of the fact that their passengers have little knowledge of their rights (like the recent news story of WestJet offering shockingly little leg room on their new planes), his work has helped many travellers advocate for themselves and receive settlements due to mistreatment by airlines.

Here are a few tips that Gabor recently shared about inclement weather affecting air travel. (I’ve omitted a few small sections, but the gist is largely word-for-word from his recommendations.)

Canadian Air Passenger Rights Due to Weather

Courtesy of Gabor Lukacs of Air Passenger Rights Canada ⬇️

“If your flight is cancelled due to genuine weather issues (i.e., impossibility to take off, land, or fly due to weather), you have rights under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR.):

OPTION 1: CONTINUING TO TRAVEL

• The airline must rebook you, free of charge, on the next available flight operated by that airline or its partner (i.e., United for Air Canada) departing within 48 hours of your original departure time, or failing that, on the next available flight operated by any competitor with whom the airline has no interline agreement.

• The rebooking must be done irrespective of class of service. For instance, if the next flight available only has business class seats and you were originally booked in economy, the airline must book you into business class for free.

• It may be beneficial to consult a flight booking website to determine what the next available flights in fact are, as some airlines may try to put you on flights departing many hours or days later, in contravention of their rebooking obligation under the APPR.

• No food, beverages, or accommodation is owed under the APPR in this scenario.

• No cash compensation for inconvenience is owed under the APPR in this scenario.

OPTION 2: REFUND AND RETURN TO POINT OF ORIGIN

• You are entitled to choose to not travel anymore and opt for a full refund of the ticket. Should you make this decision en route to your destination, the airline is required to also fly you back to your point of origin free of charge.

• The airline must provide that refund in the original form of payment within 30 days of you requesting it.

• No cash compensation for inconvenience is owed under the APPR in this scenario.”

Gabor also notes not to, “agree to a refund (Option 2) if what you really want is to continue travelling, because Option 2 allows the airline to wash its hands of further responsibility for your travel. It often costs more to book a flight the closer it gets to the travel date. Accepting a refund and rebooking on your own will often make you out of pocket because of the airline’s conduct. The airline cannot ‘force’ on you Option 2, though.”

Final tips from Gabor on this matter:

• “If the airline refuses to rebook you on a competitor airline in accordance with Option 1, then you may want to buy a ticket on a competitor airline on your own, and then hold the airline liable for the extra expense.”

• “We strongly recommend that you record your own interactions with the airline . Evidence of the airlie’s actions and omissions, including refusal to offer compensation or rebooking, may turn out to be crucial evidence for enforcing your rights to compensation.”

Just this information alone is a wealth of knowledge for a traveller coming to or from Canada—a country with airlines who face their fair share of weather-related delays and disruptions.

If you’re looking for more information about your specific region of travel, these links share the rules for European, Great Britain, American, Brazilian, and Indian air passenger rights, which seem to be the most prominent of international travel regions.

Before your trip it’s a good idea to research and brush up with the potential national and/or regional laws for air passenger rights (if they exist) to know and understand them before you travel.

Tips for How to Approach Prospective Weather Disruptions When You Travel

Despite weather not often impacting flights, it’s always a possibility. While optimism can be such a powerful tool in travel, moving forward expecting things will always go as planned is neither a reality nor a fair expectation for yourself.

After reading through the air passenger rights above, it can be easy to see that an availability of funds is crucial for unplanned travel disruptions. In the event that you don’t have an airline that will help you get on the next available flight or leave you in the dust, it’s helpful to have access to a credit card or cash to temporarily support the situation, whether you’ll be submitting those expenses to insurance, an airline, or covering the cost yourself.

Here are a few things you can consider doing before and during your trip:

• Do you have the funds, travel insurance, or time to deal with a flight delay or cancellation? Setting aside a small travel emergency fund for any unplanned issues is always a good idea, and making sure you have a copy and have read through any travel insurance covered by your credit card or purchased for travel is important.

  • Weather delays are different than other types of cancellations or rescheduling by airlines. For these reasons, reading the fine print about what your credit card or travel insurance will cover in the event of a weather delay is important to know.

  • For the possibility of emergencies abroad, if it’s an option for you and if you’re comfortable, increasing your credit limit on one or more credit cards for you and/or your family can be a good decision.

• Put yourself in a position to manage your expectations, but don’t unnecessarily stress yourself out. We simply cannot anticipate everything that will happen on the road, but there are a few things you can do to manage what you can expect or anticipate for air travel around inclement weather:

  • Keep an eye on (but don’t obsess about) the weather. This weekend’s snow storm was being talked about days in advance, so that’s a good indication that it’s worth checking weather reports.

    • But constantly obsessing over it during your whole trip is a great way to lose presence in the moment and be able to enjoy your time while you’re on the road, so don’t make it your only activity.

  • Check airline departures for the airport you’re travelling from and the city of aircraft origin.

    • On the day our flight was cancelled out of Newark Airport, I noticed there were still several cancellations and delays that day, and was prepared for a possible cancellation. Some flights were getting through, but not all.

    • I was also checking the departure flights for our airline at YTZ to see if the planes were even arriving to Newark from Toronto. This helped me see that some flights were also being cancelled from Toronto–if a plane can’t take off from its origin, it can’t take you to where you need to go.

  • Stay up-to-date, check your flight status frequently, and make sure you’ve registered your flight on the airline’s app for your phone. Not all airlines have great apps (some don’t even have apps), but nowadays many do. The apps often help you with updates more effectively than other means of communication.

    • On Friday night, Chris and I received texts and push notifications from the Porter Airlines app that our flight was rescheduled from Monday morning to Monday evening.

    • Then, right as we were about to hop in a car to Newark airport on Monday afternoon, we received another text saying that we were rebooked for a flight Monday night…it was the same text we received Friday, but the text was incorrect.

      • What the text was trying to tell us was we were rebooked for Tuesday afternoon. Opening the VIPorter app to see our rebooked flight for the following day on the home screen was the only proof we had of this, which the automated texts never successfully warned us about! If we’d missed this, we would have wasted money travelling to the airport.

    • Especially if you feel like inclement weather may create challenges for your journey, check the status of your flight before you leave for the airport.

      • If a flight is delayed though, always arrive at the airport as scheduled, as delayed flights can change to “on-time” at a moment’s notice.

  • Create a back-up plan in the event that your flight is cancelled due to weather. Will you wait it out at the airport? Will you pay for a hotel and potentially be reimbursed by your travel coverage? Knowing what your options are and how you might be covered ahead of time so you can make a swift decision in the moment makes travelling like this much easier.

In the end, just remembering that everything will work itself out in the end can be helpful. Plans change, issues may arise, but in the end so long as you’re safe and somewhat comfortable as you wait to return home—that’s what’s most important!

Travel News of the Week 🗞️

• Condé Nast Traveller has shared what they believe will be the travel trends of 2026. Travel experiences like local grocery store hopping, less of a focus on alcohol and more of a focus on wellness have made the list.

• Travel across the USA has been disrupted by Winter Storm Fern. This is the same winter storm that impacted Toronto and NYC, but touched many cities and states across the USA, bringing ice storms, snow storms and leaving many regions without power.

• Virgin Australia unveils first-ever international route from Canberra to Bali. Direct flights start June 22, 2026, making it possible for the first time for no need to connect to another Australian city for those from Canberra.

Travel Deals & Contests of the Week

• Win an 8-day Mediterranean cruise for two with Viking Ocean Cruises! The grand prize includes round-trip business-class airfare for two and an 8-day sailing in 2026/2027. Open to citizens and permanent residents of Canada or the US. Contest closes March 31, 2026.

• Win the Rewards Canada 25th Anniversary Prize Pack contest! The grand prize winner will receive 25,000 WestJet points, an Aspire Lounge Privilege card and two eSIM vouchers. Open to residents of Canada. Contest closes Jan 31, 2026.

And that’s it for this week! Stay tuned for next’s edition week.

If you like The Weekly Traveller, don’t forget to share it with someone who’d appreciate it, and subscribe for the latest in travel stories, news, contests and giveaways.

Until next week!
🫶 Bri

There’s a lot on the go this week and by the time this week’s newsletter comes out, I’ll be gearing up for an annual travel media conference I attend in NYC.

That makes this week’s edition short and sweet, but definitely still worth the read as it’s about a matter close to my heart.

So on that note, let’s get into this week’s edition!

In this edition ⬇️

1. Travel As a Means to Support & Empower Neurodivergence

2. Travel News of the Week—including a new visa-free country Canadians will be able to visit in the future 🗞️

Just a head’s up that this week’s edition contains some affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission for some of my recommendations at no additional cost to you, and helps keep The Weekly Traveller reader-supported.

Travel As a Means to Support & Empower Neurodivergence

This week’s topic comes on the heels of my partner, Chris’s, latest personal reflection piece on travel. It’s about a topic close to my heart, too, so it felt like a good time to reflect on it here.

Despite being fully devoted to my work as a travel writer, blogger and content creator, I’m an educator by trade.

For a little context, I come from a family of teachers and principals (multi-generations on both sides!). Whether it’s innate or learned, I’ve always felt drawn to leadership and educational settings both inside and outside of the classroom, and worked as a camp counsellor and educational tour guide for many of my young years before living abroad for the first time.

I taught ESL in Seoul, South Korea before coming back to Canada for my teaching certification. After that, I took a teaching job at an international school in Istanbul, Turkiye where I worked as a high school English literature teacher. And when I moved home to Canada, I worked at an independent school in Toronto as an English and Drama teacher, up until I started working in travel full-time.

In my time in the classroom, I learned a lot about supporting neurodivergent learners, and how meaningful and engaging learning experiences can create unique spaces to support their confidence and growth. When it comes to travel, it’s hard to think of a more immersive, memorable or impressionable activity than to hit the road and learn as you go.

What is Neurodivergence?

Neurodivergence can refer to a host of ways that individuals experience their world (and their thoughts) compared to others. Neurodivergence is a spectrum, and people can have varying degrees of neurodivergence connected to one or more of these “disorders” (I really dislike this term for them!):

• ADHD and/or ADD

• Anxiety

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

• OCD

• Dyslexia (reading)

• Dyscalculia (math)

• Dysgraphia (writing)

• Dyspraxia (coordination)

• sensory processing issues, and others

Of course, travel doesn’t necessarily support each of these disorders, but there are ways that the act of travel can help many neurodivergent people overcome challenges or perceived inabilities, and learn something new about themselves in the process.

Ways Travel Can Support and Empower Neurodivergence

There are a lot of ways that travel can be seen as an empowering way to engage with kids, young people and adults who experience one or more of these disorders.

• It’s an experience to learn from. We all can learn something from each trip and new experience we take, and it strengthens our worldview and our ability to recognize that we can each tackle new, challenging experiences as a result of them.

• It levels the playing field. Everyone travelling is in a new, unique situation or environment that’s subject to change at any given time. Those who may feel isolated or incapable in more “conventional” environments may recognize that they’re able to not only survive but thrive in alternate and unknown spaces.

• Neurodivergence can be a superpower in problem solving. Those with neurodivergent brains tend to be capable of looking at situations or solving problems in creative ways, which is an asset in travel.

• When planned right, it can be meaningful, memorable, impactful and spark change. For those feeling “stuck” or immovable as a result of their neurodivergence, recognizing how new experiences can present unpredicted ways of responding to new environments creates pathways for depth of curiosity, empathy and confidence for understanding oneself in the world.

ADHD, Travel and This Week’s “Required Reading”

More research and discussion surrounding how to support and nurture neurodivergence exists than ever before. There are constantly evolving ways that we are all collectively learning about our minds and ourselves.

My partner, Chris, used to co-host a podcast called I’m Anxious About with our friend and fellow travel blogger and neurodivergent, Allison Green (eternalarrival.com), where they’d unpack a different type of anxiety with a guest in each episode.

This week, Chris also wrote a reflective piece about his experience as someone with ADHD who found travel grounding, on top of many other reflections. It’s called “The Neurodivergent Case for Travel: From Passport Stamps to Personal Growth”, and consider it my “required reading” suggestion for this week.

Regardless of whether you or someone you love has ADHD or another neurodivergence, or you’re just looking for a thoughtful and provoking case for why the privilege of being able to travel can be so personally transformative, it’s a beautifully written article worth reading.

A Timely Moment to Share This Piece

Every now and again, the school I used to work at in Toronto taps me on the shoulder to come in and supply teach. Every time I re-enter the educational world, I’m reminded of so many of my teachings (and learnings) as an educator, and how profoundly important continuing to learn and care about each other and our collective communities is.

This week, I found myself back at my old school, supplying in a few of the specialized classes I used to teach. In these smaller classes, I’d support students with neurodivergent, behavioural, and emotional disorders, and nurture ways they could individually find success in the classroom, but more importantly in their day-to-day “real-world” endeavours. I also love returning to that school now and seeing some of the students I used to teach when they were in Grade 7 or 8, and see how they’re flourishing and growing now that they’re nearly ready to graduate high school.

The message of Chris’s piece overlapping with my return to the classroom this week had me recalling just how important and impactful it can be to engage in each individual young person’s interests, passions and personalities to help them navigate the world around them. For that reason, it felt only right for this topic to become this week’s feature.

Travel News of the Week 🗞️

• It is projected that Canadians will soon have access to visa-free travel to China. As a result of recent negotiations and trade talks between the countries’ leaders, 30-day visa-free travel is likely in the future.

• Two fatal train accidents have taken place in Spain this week. The first was a high-speed travelling from Malaga to Madrid, and the second was a commuter train travelling near Barcelona.

• A 19-year-old traveller was tragically found dead on a beach on K’gari, Australia this week. Investigations are still underway, but it’s believed the young Canadian’s death is connected to a pack of wild dingoes.

And that’s it for this week! Stay tuned for next’s edition week.

If you like The Weekly Traveller, don’t forget to share it with someone who’d appreciate it, and subscribe for the latest in travel stories, news, contests and giveaways.

Until next week!
🫶 Bri

I’m reflecting on how nice it was to spend time with family members of all ages on my trip last week. It got me thinking about how I’ve been on a few multi-generational trips so far, but haven’t discussed them in the newsletter yet. So I figured this was as good a time as any to share some thoughts!

On that note, let’s get into this week’s edition.

In this edition ⬇️

1. How to Plan a Great Multi-Generational Trip

2. Destination Feature of the Week: Cancun, Mexico

3. Recommendation of the Week: Smart Photo Frames for Multi-Gen Trip Memories

4. Travel News of the Week—including this city that was the hottest place in the world this week! 🗞️

5. Can’t Miss Travel Contests & Deals of the Week—like this Caribbean Cruise! 🏆

Just a head’s up that this week’s edition contains some affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission for some of my recommendations at no additional cost to you, and helps keep The Weekly Traveller reader-supported.

How to Plan a Great Multi-Generational Trip

Last week, I took a multi-generational family trip with my partner, my in-laws and my young nephews. Multi-generational trips aren’t quite the same types of trips to plan for as other group trips or family trips, so I wanted to share a few tips here this week.

Chris and I often travel on our own—and love to do so—but whenever we have the chance to travel with friends or family, it makes for a fun bonus type of travel experience.

As much as I respect and appreciate solo travel, and recognize the importance of understanding and being comfortable with yourself, one of my favourite mottos has always been: “Happiness is best when shared.”

(This quote derives from the somewhat devastating quote written by Christopher McCandless near the end of his journals in Into the Wild, where after months of backpacking on his own in the Alaskan wilderness, he poignantly writes, “Happiness is only real when shared.”)

I do believe that shared experiences—regardless of who they’re with—deepen travel experiences and connection on a trip, which is why multi-generational travel is such a nice way to connect on the road.

The Needs of Multi-Generational Travel

Whether a trip is centred around two generations or more (we travelled with three on our most recent trip), it’s important to understand your needs as a group before you start the plans.

For my brother- and sister-in-law, the ability for our young nephews to keep with their nap routines was an important part of planning the trip. This meant booking flights that somewhat worked out with an ability to nap on the plane, and close access to their accommodation throughout each day.

For Chris’s parents, I think they were most looking forward to being able to spend time together as a family, relax, and read, and I’d say that was true for Chris and I, too.

Understanding the needs of a trip ahead of taking it helps you pinpoint what you’re looking to do. Staying close to an accommodation for young kids and the ability to relax and connect with separate rooms led us to booking an all-inclusive resort.

All-Inclusive Resorts and Cruise Ships for Multi-Generational Trips

Now if you’ve been following along with my newsletters, you’ll know that whenever possible, I’ve made it my goal to stay in locally-owned accommodations and support independently owned restaurants, shops, etc. All-inclusives and cruise ship trips couldn’t be farther from these two aspects of travel, but it made sense for our family’s needs on this trip.

In that vein, there is a case that can be made for these larger-scale resorts and vacations when it comes to multi-generational travel. While you can definitely plan multi-generational trips with other types of accommodations (private homes being a common option), they aren’t always locally owned, so there’s that aspect to be aware of. But you can definitely research for more local accommodations if that’s your preference!

Resorts and cruises offer a lot of convenience for large families or groups with several restaurants, activities, attractions and spaces suitable for all ages, especially for those that are friendly for kids. Not to mention an abundance of different types of options for rooms that are all nearby, which is an inevitability, especially with young kids. Everyone having access to their own spaces definitely makes multi-generational travel more comfortable.

In my time working as a teacher for over a decade, I also got to know a lot of families who had one or more members with dietary needs or accessibility issues who felt resorts and cruises were the safest options for them. For people with anaphlactic food allergies, mobility restrictions or disabilities, permanent medical staff are often on duty at many resorts or on cruise ships.

None of our crew was travelling with these needs, but during our stay at Finest Playa Mujeres near Cancun, I was impressed with how each restaurant asked about allergies, and the resort was incredibly accessible, with ramps, elevators and accessible/protected walkways covering all areas of the property.

Tips for Taking a Multi-Generational Trip

Most of these tips are tailored to resort travel, but can definitely overlap with multi-generational trips to other types of destinations, too:

• Start planning far in advance: The further in advance you plan, the higher the chance of everyone being able to go.

  • In the case of our most recent trip, my brother- and sister-in-law booked a resort well in advance and let the rest of us know their dates if we could make it. I think it was almost a year ahead of the trip, so we all had time to plan and block off time accordingly. I’m glad we were all able to go!

• Decide on approximate time of year/duration first: When you travel in a group like this, you can usually find a way for any destination you’d like to visit work out in your favour.

  • On our trip, one family member was approaching busy season at work, so planning a trip outside of these dates became the most important aspect for timing.

• Come up with an approximate budget that each family or individual is looking to spend, and figure out a destination or experience that matches with it. Just because you’re taking a trip together, it doesn’t mean that everyone needs to incur the same costs.

  • For our trip, we each booked separately, and we all had different needs for the types of rooms we were looking to stay in. In the end, we each got the type of room we needed at the same resort, which worked out wonderfully.

• You don’t all need to travel together. Of course if this is an option and something you’d like to do, go for it! Sometimes travelling by plane as a large group can be overwhelming (take this from a former tour guide!) and everyone has different needs when they travel.

  • In our case, Chris and I took flights at different times than the rest of the family because we wanted to spend a little longer in the destination on each side. It’s important that everyone does what they’re comfortable with, and what makes sense for their schedules.

• Booking travel (and travel insurance) separately is important! Plans may change, issues may arise or travel disruptions can happen.

  • For this reason, it’s important that each individual or family travelling on the trip has access to their own, unique booking and information, so in the event that there’s a cancellation or issue, you only have to manage your own booking and not multiple bookings at once from potentially different locations.

  • For a full run-down on my tips for booking travel insurance, feel free to check out Vol. 22

• Take the pressure off in general. Going slow and at everyone’s own pace is key for a multi-gen trip. On our trip with young kids, sometimes the boys were napping and different members of the family were in the room with them. Other times, some of us would take some alone time to ourselves, and if people weren’t feeling well or needed a nap, they could take a break or skip a group meal and eat separately on their own time. I also took a long walk on the beach on my own one day…it’s okay to do different things!

  • There’s no need to prescribe or stress about group dinner times long in advance, spend 100% of your time together, or put too much expectation on each day in a multi-generational trip. If the goal is to spend time together and relax, especially on a resort, then if you’re doing that, you’ve already reached your goal.

  • The same goes for local outings and day trips—if everyone doesn’t want to go, they don’t need to! Each family/individual should prioritize what excites them about a group trip, and do what they want to do.

If you have any other tips you’ve come to appreciate from your own multi-generational trips, I’d love to hear about them! And if you’re planning your first group trip in the form of a multi-generational trip, feel free to check out Vol. 20, where I talk about how to plan a group trip.

Destination Feature of The Week: Cancun, Mexico

For this year’s multi-generational trip, we set our sights on Playa Mujeres, which is a short ~20 minute drive from Cancun proper. This time of year is a popular one to visit Cancun, but with so many accommodation options and things to do, it is more than just a destination worth chasing the sun for.

Cancun is one of the most-visited cities in Latin America. That’s in part because of its abundance of all-inclusive resorts, but also because of the sheer number of things to do and destinations to visit within its immediate and nearby areas.

A lot of people come to Cancun to visit resorts, but I promise you that there is so much more to do here than that. Among some of the most memorable things to do in and around Cancun, a few highlights include:

• Diving into Mayan History: Visit the small but informative Museo Maya de Cancun, or plan to visit one of the ancient Mayan pyramids in the region. Chichén Itzá is one of the most famous, popular, and crowded sites, but there are several others.

• Hit the Beach: There are some beautiful beaches in and around Cancun, all easily accessible by transit and other options.

• Enjoy its Restaurant Scene & Nightlife: There are some memorable dining experiences in the hotel zone. Chris and I enjoyed an immersive dinner experience at Tatoo on one of our trips here!

For all of the details on tips for taking a trip to Cancun and appreciating things to do here in town and in the surrounding areas, feel free to check out Chris’s article all about the best things to do in and around this Mexican City!

Recommendation of the Week: Smart Photo Frames for Multi-Gen Trip Memories

If we’re thinking about multi-generational trips, then there will undoubtedly be many photos filled with memories after the trip comes to an end. Smart photo frames are available now, and their technology makes sharing and reliving memories easier than ever.

It’s so funny to me how you really can’t predict what the next craze will be sometimes.

Not long ago, I remember thinking that digital photo frames were a figment of the past—when they first came out in the late ‘00s, they were all the rage! You just needed to upload a few pictures to a USB stick and they’d be showcased at home in the frame. Nowadays I can’t even remember the last time I used a USB stick, but new digital frames have arrived, and I think they’re here to stay!

Two of my family members were gifted smart frames over the holidays—one was given to my grandma and one was given to my in-laws—and they are such a great way for family members to share and showcase photos, even from far away!

With each of these digital frames, you just need to download an app and add photos to it:

• A more budget-friendly option is the Frameo frame. You can buy it in a few different sizes and specifications, but all you need to do is register yourself and others adding to the frame on the Frameo app in order to add photos from any device.

• Coming in at a slightly higher price point with a more aesthetic appearance is the Aura frame. It comes in more design options and has more specification options.

I don’t own either of these frames myself, but the family members who have them really love them, and it’s so easy for anyone to add photos to the frame from far away for updates from afar.

Travel News of the Week 🗞️

• This week, Sydney, Australia recorded temperatures reaching over 43 degrees Celcius, making it the hottest city in the world!

• A failure in air traffic control systems in Athens, Greece severely disrupted both domestic and international travel from the country’s capital earlier this month.

• Canadian airline, Air Inuit, has launched a new Boeing 737-800NG Combi Aircraft. The aircraft has started serving its Montréal–Kuujjuaq route as of Jan. 13 to enhance connectivity to northern Quebec and regional tourism in northern Canada.

Deals and Contests of the Week 🏆

• Win a cruise for two with Expedia Cruises’ “Win a Dream Vacation” Sweepstakes! The grand prize winner will receive a cruise package for two valued at $5,000, with airfare included. Open to residents of the USA, Canada & Mexico (including Puerto Rico & Quebec). Contest closes Nov. 1, 2026.

• Win a 7-night Caribbean cruise for two with Celebrity Cruises! The grand prize winner will receive round-trip airfare for two and a veranda cabin on a week long voyage. Open to residents of Canada only. Contest closes Dec. 14, 2026.

• Win a VIP Trip for two within Canada! This giveaway is only open to residents of Canada (excluding Quebec). The grand prize is a trip to your choice of four Canadian cities (not specified which four can be considered), return airfare for two, two nights’ accommodation, access to a local event and a $500 Visa Gift Card. Contest closes Feb. 28, 2026.

And that’s it for this week! Stay tuned for next’s edition week.

If you like The Weekly Traveller, don’t forget to share it with someone who’d appreciate it, and subscribe for the latest in travel stories, news, contests and giveaways.

Until next week!
🫶 Bri

I hope the new year is off to a wonderful start on your end. In my neck of the woods, I’m taking a little time off on a family vacation in Mexico to enjoy some sun, sand and relaxation.

It’s been a nice way to start the new year, but I still wanted to put together a brief newsletter for this week as we enter 2026.

And with that, let’s get into this week’s edition!

In this edition ⬇️

1. My Travel Intentions for 2026 & How to Build Them into Your Own Travel Plans

2. Travel News of the Week—including this remote island that over 600 tourists are currently stranded on 🗞️

3. Can’t Miss Travel Contests & Deals of the Week—like this luxury stay in Singapore! 🏆

Just a head’s up that this week’s edition contains some affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission for some of my recommendations at no additional cost to you, and helps keep The Weekly Traveller reader-supported.

My Travel Intentions for 2026

It’s a new year, and as much as January is a month where I prefer to slow down and not necessarily revamp my life, it felt like a good time to assess my travel goals for the upcoming year. Hopefully my intentions can help inspire some changes in your upcoming travel plans, too!

Last week, I wrapped up 2025 with a complete year in review for the newsletter. If you missed it, I’d highly recommend checking it out! I selected highlighted stories and topics that I’d written about throughout 2025.

At the end of the edition, I also set aside a few travel intentions for myself in 2026:

Travel Ins for 2026:

• Staying at more independently and locally owned accommodations, whenever possible

• Incorporating more travel plans within Canada and lesser-visited countries into my travels

• Participating in travel experiences owned and led by Indigenous and/or local communities

• More active, adventure and nature-focused trips—maybe I can even try my hand at learning a new activity?

This week, I wanted to take a moment to explain these intentions in a little more detail, with some ideas about how to approach each one.

1. Staying at more independently and locally owned accommodations, whenever possible

This one speaks for itself, and it isn’t always possible. But whenever locally owned accommodations can be worked into my travel plans, I find that I always appreciate the experiences more, feel better about where my tourism dollars go, and remember the experiences more intimately.

Here are a few ways to try to find independently owned accommodations in your own travels:

• Avoid chain hotels or large conglomerate companies. Even if the hotels can be independently franchised, you’re still contributing to part of a funnel of a large-scale brand. This often means that suppliers to hotels (food, beverages, bath products, etc.) aren’t supplied locally either, and perpetuates large-scale, watered down “the same room in every country” accommodation experiences.

• Look into unique, small-scale accommodation types. Bed and breakfasts, guesthouses, pensions, and inns are good places to start. You can look into hotels, too, but once you find a few viable options for the trip, check out the properties’ independent websites to see if there’s information about the owners, or reviews about whether it’s family-owned and operated, etc.

• Plan in advance. Take some time ahead of your trip to know a few options where you can stay. You don’t need to book all accommodations before your trip (in fact, I’d encourage that you don’t!), but at least you’ll have some ideas for properties to head to on your next trip that are likely independently owned.

2. Incorporating more travel plans within Canada and lesser-visited countries into my travels

As a Canadian who has travelled to 65+ countries, leaving my own backyard really helped create perspective for me to appreciate the special country I call home.

Although Canada can be an expensive and time-consuming country to travel in (with limited flight options and lengthy distances between destinations), it’s often worth it.

The same goes for lesser-visited countries—I’m trying to set my sights on smaller destinations and avoid “viral” or overly popular spots. Here are a few tips for building these goals into your own travel plans:

• Make trips manageable. Instead of trying to “see” a whole country in one trip, focus on two to three regions to visit max, and get the most out of each one.

• Consider time of year, weather, and seasonal travel trends. If you’d like to visit a more popular destination, consider visiting at a different time of year. You’ll likely have more space to appreciate the destination with fewer tourists, and enjoy it more.

• Create a list of some lesser-visited destinations that intrigue you. There are so many ways to think about your next trip, and making a list to brainstorm any destinations you’re interested in is a great way to try and visit one new-to-you destination per year.

• Follow along with my travels! I share stories about travel in Canada often here, in addition to some lesser-visited destinations. I’m the most active on social media on Instagram and TikTok, both linked in my Substack bio.

3. Participating in travel experiences owned and led by Indigenous and/or local communities

As the years have gone by, I’ve been coming across more Indigenous- and locally-led tours than there used to be.

These types of experiences don’t mean ones that feature local communities (ie, a visit to a remote tribal community for a day) where you engage with the local population like you would visit a museum.

These kinds of experiences refer to ones that have been designed, created and intentionally developed by locals to help educate tourists. The focus here shouldn’t be on novelty experiences, but learning more about local communities, traditions and practices through people who know these places best and can sensitively and ethically share them with tourists.

Here are a few ways to think about incorporating local and Indigenous-led experiences on your next trip:

• Learn about the destination you’re headed to. Understanding who is from these regions, their cultures, histories and types of practices local to the region can help you learn about the types of activities or experiences you’d like to try.

• Look at local tourism organization websites. Often times local and regional websites will partner with and promote local tourism initiatives. These can include food experiences, tours, cultural experiences and guided nature activities.

• Do extra research. Unfortunately there aren’t a lot of central ways to search for specifically locally operated experiences. Consulting with locally owned accommodations, social media posts, social media groups and forums like Reddit can be a great way to search for unique/local experiences. You can use terms like “local” or “Indigenous” to search for activities, too.

4. More active, adventure and nature-focused trips—maybe I can even try my hand at learning a new activity?

Whenever I travel, I try to be cognizant of supporting and learning from local communities. Unfortunately nature travel can sometimes highlight primarily natural places, and skip over local towns, restaurants or accommodations nearby.

So when I want to focus on nature and adventure activities, supporting ones that are operated by local organizations, or renting equipment and learning from local providers is something I strive for.

In terms of a new activity or skill, I’m really not sure what form this will take! A few winters back, I tried my hand at ice climbing for the first time—I wasn’t very good at it, but now that I tried it once, I’d love to give it another try and attempt to improve on this skill.

Instead of deciding which activities I can try in the future, I’ll let the locations I visit lead me to it. But ways you can try to actively incorporate nature, adventure and active travel in your future trips include:

• Researching popular nature activities and protected spaces in the region you’re heading to. Sometimes places have a lot of niche activities and experiences—you never know until you look it up!

• Think about activities that are natural to and reflect the place you visit. As much as I enjoy a good zipline course, there isn’t much that’s organic about it. It can be a great way to get a birds-eye view of a tree canopy, but the sound of zipline courses and the impacts they can have on local wildlife aren’t always positive. Consider guided hikes, surfing experiences, etc. that organically support or enhance local experiences from the region they’re in.

• Consider ways to engage with natural spaces like a local. Multi-day guided local backcountry camping and/or treks allow you to understand the natural spaces you’re in while experiencing it like local communities might have in previous generations.

I’m by no means a perfect traveller. And I recognize that with most of these travel intentions, the onus should be on me as a traveller to do the right research and recognize experiences that reflect and are created by local communities.

There’s no chance that I’d be able to tick off all of these boxes or suggestions in every place that I visit, but my goal is to consider these aspects whenever I can when I hit the road next!

I hope this list was helpful and gave you a little food for thought about small ways you might be able to implement these intentions into your future travel plans, too.

Travel News of the Week 🗞️

• Speaking of lesser-visited destinations, the Yemeni island of Socotra is a place quietly growing in popularity. Unfortunately, air traffic at the island’s main airport came to a halt this week in the midst of a deepening crisis between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, leaving upwards of 600 tourists stranded.

• Bali is tightening its rules about foreigners visiting the island. It’s announced a proposal that all tourists visiting the famous Indonesian island be subjected to financial checks on arrival. It’s part of a plan to ensure only high-spending tourists visit, to help conserve local culture and the environment on the island.

• An icy-cold snap in Europe has disrupted air and land travel for thousands. Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Germany and Italy have been impacted and endured fatalities, along with many other countries. More snow is expected in the Netherlands and Belgium on Wednesday this week.

Deals and Contests of the Week 🏆

• Win a three night luxury stay for two in Singapore! The grand prize is a stay at Artyzen Singapore. The prize includes breakfast and a Sunset Cocktail at the Roof Garden. Open to all. Contest closes January 31, 2026.

• Win a two night luxury stay for two in Tenerife, Spain! The grand prize is a stay at Royal Hideaway Corales Villas. The prize includes half board and a wellness treatment for two. Open to all. Contest closes January 31, 2026.

• Win a two night stay for two in Porto, Portugal! The grand prize is a stay at The Rebello. The prize includes breakfast and a dinner for two at Pot & Pan Restaurant. Open to all. Contest closes January 31, 2026.

And that’s it for this week! Stay tuned for next week’s edition.

If you like The Weekly Traveller, don’t forget to share it with someone who’d appreciate it, and subscribe for the latest in travel stories, news, contests and giveaways.

Until next week!
🫶 Bri

We did it! We made it to the end of 2025. And for me, I made it to the end of my first complete year of sharing this newsletter every week. Thank you for coming along for this ride, and seeing the newsletter take shape in its first 12 months.

This special edition will look a little different, but I hope you enjoy reviewing this year’s editions as much as I have. Let’s get into it!

In this edition ⬇️

1. My Top Tips & Tricks of 2025

2. Travel Trends, Cultural Stories & Stories of the Year

3. Some of My Favourite Unique Travel Experiences of 2025

4. Reflecting on my 2025 Travel Resolutions, and Moving into 2026

Just a head’s up that this week’s edition contains some affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission for some of my recommendations at no additional cost to you, and helps keep The Weekly Traveller reader-supported.

My Top Tips & Tricks of 2025

So many tips and tricks were shared here this year. Here are a few of the highlights I’d recommend revisiting ahead of your next trip.

Airports & Flying

• Lounges: Whether you travel avidly or rarely, airport lounges are growing in popularity and access. In Vol. 34 I dove into whether lounge access is really worth it, and the answer is nuanced.

• Red-Eye Flights: Tips to surviving and making the most of trips beginning or ending with red-eye flights.

• Carry-On Travel: How to travel carry-on only for your next trip.

Currency & Insurance

• Dynamic foreign exchange pricing is used increasingly around the world, and can mean you’ll spend marginally more with every transaction than you’d planned. In Vol. 21, I shared my tips on how to avoid it.

• This edition includes my top tips to avoiding currency fees on the road.

• If you’re trying to decide how to approach travel insurance for your next trip, check out Vol. 22 where I shared my tips for assessing coverage and considering your needs.

Practical Tips

• Taking a group trip can be a fun proposition! But there are so many factors to consider. As someone who’s taken several group trips with family and friends, I’ve shared my top tips here.

• I love renting a car on the road, and have done so in many countries. If you’re planning on renting a car, make sure you read this edition to help on your next international road trip.

• Unique Stays: Thinking about a way to make your next trip a little more special? Read this guide to booking a unique property on your next trip.

• I’d be remiss to leave this off the round up—my full guide to travelling in Canada!

Travel Trends, Cultural Conversations & Stories of the Year

With every passing year, we each learn a little more about our world and ways to approach travel a little differently. On that note, here are a few editions worth revisiting as you consider your travel plans for next year.

• Over-tourism: There are some places in the world that have just become a little too crowded by tourists. I wrote about over-tourism in my editions about Tulum, Mexico, Dubrovnik, Croatia & The Bay of Kotor, Montenegro, along with some suggestions to avoid contributing to it.

• Feeling sentimental? You’re in the right place. As the sentimental person that I am, these posts go into detail about the beauty of revisiting places and nostalgia travel.

• Responsible travel and eco-tourism are hot topics, in addition to many experiences and accommodations that use “green washing” to suggest they’re doing better than they could. I think everyone should learn about this luxury lodge that opened in the middle of an essential migratory wildlife corridor to understand why traveller research and intent can go a long way in supporting those on the right side of ecological preservation.

• Slow travel and van life trips are popular, and for good reason. These two editions explain why.

• Wonder how “the world” decides what’s worth celebrating? This little deep dive on how UNESCO distinctions work, and the discussion of this meal that’s up for a cultural heritage designation shed a little light on the process.

Some of My Top Unique Travel Experiences of 2025

Here are a few of my favourite travel experiences from this year, which have been chronicled in this newsletter and on my website.

• Taking the plunge: My first time doing a polar dip with the world’s oldest polar bathing club.

• Why Indigenous-led experiences matter: Ice-Fishing with Turtle Island in Manitoba

• Visiting the Great Smoky Mountains during bear cub season in Townsend, Tennessee.

• Visiting Canada’s Westernmost Territory: The Yukon—from seeing the northern lights for the first time to visiting the world’s smallest desert, and so much more

• Taking an autumn helicopter tour over the 1000 Islands, Canada

• Staying at the woman-owned Shandon Hotel and Spa on the rugged Atlantic coastline of Donegal, Ireland

• Visiting this winery with unmatched sunset views in Kotor, Montenegro

• Visiting and staying at locally-owned rainforest resorts in Costa Rica

Reflecting on my 2025 Travel Resolutions, and Moving into 2026

I revisited my 2025 travel resolutions, which I shared in the first edition of this newsletter. Now I’m evaluating what I’ve done, and what I can do better as we move into 2026.

In January, I decided that there were a few travel mottos I wanted to hone in on in 2025, and a few I wanted to try and leave behind:

Travel “Ins”

• Being more intentional about revisiting destinations I love

• Focusing on “second city” and smaller town travel where possible

Travel “Outs”

• Trying to cram too much into one trip

• Over-envisioning or romanticizing too much in advance of a trip

How did I do in 2025?

I have to be honest, until I put together this edition I had completely forgotten about these intentions until now, and I didn’t write them down anywhere else. And yet, I’m happy to say that I think I made good on most of these intentions!

• I’m glad to say that revisiting destinations that I love played a big part in this year’s travels, big and small. From local travels, where I re-visited Thunder Bay, St. Marys, Niagara-on-the-Lake and the 1000 Islands regions in Ontario (to name a few—there are more!) to returning to Saskatchewan (Canada), Ireland, and Costa Rica, there were a lot of returns.

• There were also plenty of second cities and smaller towns visited this year! Not only in Ontario, but on my trips to The Yukon (Canada), Tennessee (USA), the 1000 Islands (USA), Donegal (Ireland), Cavtat (Croatia) and more, there were plenty of trips to smaller locales, which I always find I appreciate more.

• While I often try to be ambitious in my travels, I will say that there was less moving around every day on each trip. A lot of trips from this year involved spending three days to a week in a smaller region, and visiting places in closer proximity during a trip.

• I have to admit that I think I did over-romanticize my trip to the Bay of Kotor in advance. It was a beautiful destination and an enjoyable trip, but visiting in September felt pretty crowded, and I worry about over-tourism here, as I shared in this edition.

Intentions for 2026

I like that I made last year’s intentions approachable and broad. I find that the narrower I make intentions, the harder it can be to fulfill them, and the easier it can be to feel disappointed.

I also don’t like to make intentions destination-based, since every place in the world changes by decade, region and season.

So after some reflecting, here are a few intentions I’d like to set for 2026. This time around, I think I’ll just focus on elements I want to bring into my travel practices. In the first edition of 2026, I’ll dive into these a little more deeply:

Travel Ins for 2026:

• Staying at more independently and locally owned accommodations, whenever possible

• Incorporating more travel plans within Canada and lesser-visited countries into my travels

• Travel experiences owned and led by Indigenous and/or local communities

• More active, adventure and nature-focused trips—maybe I can even try my hand at learning a new activity?

And that’s it for the last edition of 2025! Stay tuned for next week’s edition in the new year.

As always, if you like The Weekly Traveller, don’t forget to share it with someone who’d appreciate it, and subscribe for the latest in travel stories, news, contests and giveaways.

Sending very Happy New Year’s wishes to you and yours.

See you in 2026!
🫶 Bri