The best U.S. cities
to escape winter

John Lee
Dec 8, 2013
The Globe and Mail

Most of us get a little cabin crazy at some point during our long winters. But a quick hop south can thaw you faster than a snowflake on a brandy-warmed tongue – so long as you know where to go. After years of chill-avoiding jaunts to the United States, I've found several spots well-worth peeling off your fleece for.

"Always check the weather forecast for winter visits to Austin – it does get cold occasionally," teases local blogger Lizzy Newsome (briteshiny.com), adding that seasonal temperatures up to 18 C keep the Texas capital's al fresco beer gardens busy. Her favourites? Banger's and Easy Tiger.

While boozing is a great way to meet ever-friendly Austinites, some neighbourhoods also invite extensive T-shirted wandering. South Congress is popular, but Newsome also suggests North Loop for funky vintage stores, bars and eateries.

"We're constantly in festival mode," she says, recommending the upcoming Trail of Lights (austintrailoflights.org) and Carnaval Brasileiro (sambaparty.com). "January's Restaurant Week (restaurantweekaustin.com) is my top pick – and it's not just Mexican food and barbecue!"

Or consider unfreezing your brain cells in music-loving New Orleans; diving into the galleries (and oasis-like golf courses) of Arizona's Phoenix/Scottsdale metropolis; or flicking through San Francisco's quirky bookstores – especially in the ever-balmy Mission district.

While many Canadian snowbirds swear Florida is the only place worth flocking in winter – several readers have recommended the sunshine state's quirky Key West over theme parky Orlando – I'd also suggest Miami for its raised temperatures and eclectic city action.

"Our winters won't stop you doing anything you'd do here the rest of the year," says culture blogger Jordan Melnick (beachedmiami.com). "You can jump in the ocean in December because the sun's usually going to warm you up in under a minute."

But it's not all about seaside shenanigans in South Beach.

He recommends Wynwood, a gallery district lined with graffiti murals. "If you really want to escape the tourist bubble, spend time in Little Haiti where Sweat Records, Little Haiti Cultural Center, Chef Creole and American Legion Park are all worth visiting."

Encouraging exploration, he adds that: "This is a city unlike any other in the U.S. Nowhere else has our particular mix of ethnicities, natural environments – ocean meets swamp – and cultural contradictions. If you visit Miami and it feels like anywhere else, you're doing it wrong."

Exploration is also the secret to Southern California. Multifaceted Los Angeles and small-city Santa Barbara lure many, but underrated San Diego was a revelation on my last-winter trip. Blogger Julia Wheeler (sandiegosongbird.com) offers several reasons to visit.

Palm-lined Balboa Park – with its museums, attractions and fragrant gardens – is a must-see, she says. "Also head to Point Loma for a hike around Cabrillo National Monument park, exploring the tide pools on the way. And on Saturdays, the city's sprawling Little Italy Farmer's Market is filled with delicious food and drink."

Save time for the sunny North Park neighbourhood, too. "You can tour fantastic microbreweries or enjoy craft cocktails here – try Polite Provisions – and also eat at hipster and farm-to-table restaurants," says Wheeler, recommending Jayne's Gastropub and Urban Solace.

But if all you need is spice to melt your Canadian winter blues, she has an extra hot tip: "We have the best Mexican food outside Mexico here. As well as the restaurants in Old Town, I'd recommend El Indio on India Street in Mission Hills or Ponce's on Adams Avenue in Kensington."

OUR READERS ADVICE
•I generally loathe the sunbelt cities, but will make an exception for Austin and Key West. Both are tremendous fun. In Key West, you can be at a barstool at 9 a.m. – the person next to you may be a bum or a CEO, and it's all perfectly fine. @mrdavidwhitley

•Kaanapali-Maui works quite well for us. West Coast convenience combines with relaxed easy going "island time" – with opportunities to enjoy fine dining, snorkelling, etc. The on-beach sidewalk connects all the hotels, and in the middle is shopping, museum, dinning etc. And there's a cheap happy hour here! @advcardio

•Maybe go to Tucson. Those neat cacti. And you can drive in the desert and stay at retro trailers in Bisbee.@reidontravel

•The "anything goes" attitude in Key West is quite something. I was also partial to the kayaking and key lime treats on my visit. @no_fixed_plans

•Biloxi, Mississippi is an underrated destination. Casinos, beaches, Southern cuisine, music, world-class golf, entertainment, etc. @golfergt

•Wailea, Maui! Beaches and sun! @aladyinlondon

•New Orleans: not as sunny as a place like Phoenix, but you're in the Big Easy! Average temperatures are pleasant: 16-17 Celsius. And there are no crowds! @Tours_By_Locals

•Charleston, South Carolina was sunny and delicious when I went earlier this month! @kitchenettefind

•Pensacola is on my bucket list … but Los Angeles is always a sure bet. @YashYanthi

•It has to be Miami. Specifically South Beach. Preferably the Tides Hotel. @recitweets101

•Scottsdale: for the spas and tequila! @nikkibayley

•Los Angeles. Was enjoying the sun at Santa Monica beach two days ago. @theAlexPalmer

•The Florida Keys are great. Beautiful and laid-back Islamorada is awesome, plus go for a snorkel tour at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. @travel_smith

•Honolulu for its sunny weather, Fort DeRussy beach and its free Army Museum. There's also shopping, shave ice and a super variety of food and activities like hiking Diamond Head! There's a real tropical, urban feel here with an international flavour. @travelling_mom

•San Diego and Austin. Both cheerful, high-functioning cities with balmy weather and oodles of savoury treats – perfect for winter-ravaged Canadian zombies. @SiSiTravels

•Fort Lauderdale. Close to Miami, nice beaches, good food and I love the water taxi. Sarasota is nice on the Gulf, too – Siesta Key is a stunning beach for sunsets. @chowandchatter

•Austin. Incredible culinary scene, hip music scene (check out Stubb's), relaxed watering holes (we love Peche) and so much more. @discoverusaCA

•We recommend getting outdoors in Scottsdale. @FourSeasonsPR

Arthur Frommer: The lessons travel has taught me

Arthur Frommer
Special to the Star
January 17, 2011

As we enter a new year, I'd like to reprint part of an essay I prepared some years ago on the lessons that travel has taught me.

To a hundred countries and millions of miles, I've travelled for some 50 years, and I am a changed person because of it. Simply being in unfamiliar surroundings, among new and different people, alters one's consciousness and creates new beliefs—like these:

We are all alike. I am in the dark, dung hut of a Masai family in eastern Africa. Through an interpreter, the woman of the house tells me that she hopes to learn to read. And why? So that she can study a handbook on raising children.

Travel has taught me that, despite differences in dress and language and condition, all the world's people are essentially alike. We have the same urges and concerns; we yearn for the same things. And those who patronize others or regard them as funny or backward are foolish indeed; they have not yet learned the lessons of travel.

We all think ourselves virtuous. At the bar of an Amsterdam café, I am talking with a Dutch friend. Last night, he tells me, a nationwide telethon raised the equivalent of some $80 million for cancer research. "Only in Holland," he says, "would there be such an outpouring."

We all consider ourselves the best; we all believe in the superiority of our own country and culture. How many times have you heard politicians proclaim this or that nation to be the finest on Earth? Travel rids you of that smug chauvinism; it exposes you to the finest in every land and makes you distinctly uneasy when you later return home and hear people proclaiming their own nation to be better than others.

We are responsible for one another. It is the early 1980s. Dancing down a broad boulevard in Zagreb is a succession of laughing, gaily clad groups gathered there for a festival of Yugoslavia's national folk dances. From the curb, I watch Muslims and Christians, Bosnians, Croatians and Serbs celebrating in complete harmony.

Now, years later, and because of travel, I remember them as distinct human presences, not as abstractions; I get almost physically ill when I read of the violence among them. I feel the same intimate bond with the Protestants and Catholics of Northern Ireland, whose cities I visited at the height of the Troubles, and with the people of both Egypt and Israel, where I once led groups of tourists. Travel makes it impossible to ignore the sufferings of others simply because they are far away; it erases distance and transforms you into a more sensitive citizen of the world, the only kind of person who can contribute to peace.

There is no single solution for human problems. I am lying in a copper bathtub filled with naturally carbonated water in a bathing establishment in the Belgian city of Spa. And though my mind tells me that, scientifically speaking, water cures are rubbish, I feel something happening to my body and suspect that the 300 million Europeans who embrace such remedies may not be as wrongheaded as our own medical establishment would have us believe. I go to countries like Holland, where people by law may not be fired from their jobs, and to my astonishment meet wealthy conservatives who staunchly defend this prohibition. Travel reveals a whole range of unusual practices that may succeed in differing contexts; it suggests new approaches for your own society and keeps you receptive to novel proposals and experiments in every field.

All people should be "minorities". I walk the great cities of China and gradually realize that, in their midst, I am part of a minority in much the same way that others are minorities in the city where I live.

Travel teaches us that it is absurd to react to people according to their colour. It makes everyone a member of a minority group on occasion. The experience changes all of us.

Travel keeps us young. I sit on that airplane, eating execrable food, breathing stale air, feeling jet-lagged and achy, and tell myself that travel is deeply fatiguing and unnatural. And yet when I emerge in an unfamiliar airport and city, I feel challenged and alive. There is still another language to attempt, a new history to absorb, another culture to encounter. And though some of it may dismay rather than enchant, it is never uninteresting. And even when you believe you have exhausted the store of new destinations and cultures, you discover that you can enjoy them on a deeper level. I'm currently studying Italian so that I can better enjoy a country I've visited a hundred times.

Travel teaches us humility, the best human trait. During the course of a long trip, I arrive at last at an English-speaking country—say, Australia—and grab for a local newspaper. Wonder of wonders, there's not a single story in it about my own U.S. We learn, through travel, that the world does not revolve around us alone, that we no longer rule the Earth, that not everyone worships our lifestyle or envies us. That kind of discovery makes us different from those puffed-up, close-minded boosters and braggarts who sometimes dominate our public discourse. You become a quieter American and, in my opinion, a smarter and more productive one.

Travel, for many, is merely a form of recreation. But travel is now becoming recognized as education. It has changed my life, and I believe that you, too, may want to reflect on how it has altered your own consciousness. Ours is the first generation in human history to travel to other continents as easily as we once took a trolley to the next town. Dare we hope that access to a larger world will result in more understanding, in human beings more tolerant and peaceful?

Arthur Frommer is the pioneering founder of the Frommer's Travel Guide book series. He co-hosts the radio program, The Travel Show, with his travel correspondent daughter Pauline Frommer. Find more destinations online and read Arthur Frommer's blog at frommers.com. Order your copy of Frommer travel guidebooks at www.StarStore.ca.

Visit Any City with this link

Pick your travel destination, and get a little feel of the place. Click Me

Perfect’ timing for a U.S. shopping trip

For serious shoppers, the United States will soon be offering up the ideal set of bargain-hunting conditions: a weak greenback, recession-weary retailers and Black Friday.

The Canadian dollar will remain close to parity through the end of 2011, so it’s “the perfect time” for some cross-border shopping, says Ashif Ratanshi, head of branch investments, deposits and direct investing at RBC Economics.

Whether you’re shopping for new shoes or a U.S. investment property, there are ways to make cross-border transactions safer, easier and less volatile. Mr. Ratanshi, who scored some good clothing deals on a recent New York shopping trip, recommends using U.S. dollars, through a U.S. savings account, U.S.-dollar credit card – or both – to eliminate exchange-rate fluctuations.

“When you go down, if you use a U.S.-dollar credit card, you know exactly how much you’ve spent, and how much you’ve paid with respect to the exchange rate, and you’re not subject to all that volatility.”

If you pay a U.S. retailer with a Canadian credit card, he says, “the volatility comes in because you never know what the merchant is going to charge and what the fees are behind that exchange rate because now you’re going through a number of providers.”

Mr. Ratanshi offers the following tips for shopping in the United States:

1. Open a U.S. savings account.

Look for an account with low or no fees that enables you to take advantage of exchange rates when they are favourable. Some financial institutions will also allow you to purchase U.S. dollars through online banking at a preferential rate by simply making a direct transfer from your Canadian dollar bank account to your U.S. savings account.

2. Use a U.S. dollar credit card.

Frequent U.S. travellers should consider a U.S. dollar credit card, which gives cardholders the flexibility to make transactions in U.S. funds and avoid the hassles of exchange rates or daily currency fluctuations. Coupled with a U.S. savings account, it also allows holders to take advantage of favourable exchange rates over time using dollar-cost averaging and then pay off their card balance using U.S. funds from their savings account.

3. Consider alternatives to cash

Debit or credit cards and U.S. travellers cheques are easy, secure alternatives to carrying large amounts of cash when shopping or travelling. Credit cards often come with purchase protection and extended warranties.

4. Make cross-border banking work for you.

If you often travel to the United States or are one of the thousands of Canadian snowbirds who head there over the winter, consider a cross-border banking arrangement that provides access to your banking services on both sides of the border, including U.S. mortgages. Most of the big Canadian banks provide this service.

5. Pack travel insurance.

Regardless of the length or type of trip, it's important to consider emergency travel insurance as medical treatments in the U.S. can be very expensive. Frequent travellers should consider a multi-trip annual plan to save both time and money.

6. Look for easier financing options.

If you are thinking about buying U.S. real estate and you have sufficient equity in your current home, consider a loan or line of credit secured against your Canadian home to buy your U.S. property. This will eliminate the need for a U.S. mortgage approval.

Travelling by Air to the U.S. - New Carry-On Rules - January 2010

Up to date Rules - Click Here

Where to travel in 2010

Forget the ‘staycation': This is the year that travel makes a comeback. From remote destinations such as Laos and Nicaragua to grand events such as the Winter Olympics in Vancouver

Jan 3, 2010

Tasmania

Tasmania is Australia 's island outpost, a remote destination that's ideal for thrill seekers looking for the next big adventure. To see Tassie's jaw-dropping, prehistoric-looking scenery, embark on the 80-kilometre Overland Track, a five- to six-day trek that snakes between Cradle Mountain and Lake St. Clair through moorlands, forests, glacial lakes and jagged mountains. Between December and March, hardcore rafters can conquer the treacherous rapids of the Franklin River (a full descent takes about a week). Those who are fainter of heart can stick to the island's wine route and explore the emerging art and architecture scene. According to James Lohan of the boutique hotel website Mr. and Mrs. Smith (mrandmrssmith.com), sybarites won't be disappointed: “The just-opened Mona Pavilions in Hobart teams state-of-the-art rooms with a winery and a future museum, and the Saffire resort, opening in 2010, is eagerly awaited by nature lovers and serenity-seekers alike.” (Visit www.moorilla.com.au; www.saffire-freycinet.com.au.)

Mexico

After years of being hammered by bad press about political protests, drug-related violence and swine flu, Mexico is primed for a comeback. The state of Oaxaca – home to the pretty colonial capital of Oaxaca City and the chilled-out surfing town of Puerto Escondido – made Lonely Planet's Top 10 Regions of 2010 list and Mexico City received a mention on Frommer's annual Top 10, citing that the city is “doing well what it's done well for over four centuries” as a cultural and ethnic nexus for Mexico and Latin America. David Lytle, Editorial Director of Frommers.com, adds that the capital is a solid destination for city-oriented travellers., with top museums, amazing archaeology, and perhaps the best food of any city in North America. And in case you thought the only accommodation options are all-inclusive, the hip Mexican hotel empire Grupo Habita has a clutch of chic boutique hotels from Mexico City (www.hotelhabitamty.com) to Playa del Carmen and is planning to bring modernist glitz back to Acapulco with the reopening of the Boca Chica on Caleta Beach.

Shanghai

On the heels of Beijing's 2008 Olympics, Shanghai is getting ready for her own clos-up as host to this year's World Expo from May to October. “The World Expo may have lost some of its allure through the years,” says travel blogger Keith Jenkins, “but the Chinese government is ensuring this one gets noticed with dazzling pavilions, mind-boggling architecture and state-of-the-art technology.” The event is expected to draw 70 million visitors and 200 participating countries, including Denmark – which plans to bring in a million litres of seawater and Copehagen's Little Mermaid statue for its display. Don't leave without experiencing the Shanghai skyline from a boat on the Huangpu River, says Jenkins. “You'll pass the stately colonial buildings of the Bund and the glittering skyscrapers in Pudong. The never-ending flow of boats that ply the river will keep you entertained if your neck starts to ache from looking up at some of the tallest buildings in the world.”

British Columbia

In February all eyes are on Vancouver as it hosts the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. With improvements in the Sea to Sky Highway and the recently expanded Skytrain zooming from airport to downtown in 25 minutes, Vancouver is ready for the influx of sports fans, athletes, and journalists. But the Olympics last only two weeks and B.C.'s real draw is its vast, stunning wilderness. To the north, the unspoiled archipelago of Haida Gwaii is Canada's Galapagos, an exquisite expanse of mountains, inlets, and old-growth rain forests with strong native roots and an unparalleled collection of vegetation and wildlife that includes whales, black bears, sea lions and some 1 million seabirds. The backcountry terrain of the Monashee Mountains and the more developed Revelstoke resorts are “it” spots for skiers and snowboarders. And with a vibrant restaurant scene in Vancouver and a growing epicurean community in the Okanagan Valley, B.C. is adding fine food and wine to its list of attractions.

Nicaragua

The Nicaragua of the 1970s and 1980s – a country associated with the Sandinista revolution and the scandalous Iran-Contra affair – has evolved into Central America's eco-tourism it-spot. It's less well-trodden than Costa Rica and Guatemala, less Americanized than Panama and safer than El Salvador. It has active volcanoes that can be climbed, hot springs that are suitable for soaking, pristine white sand beaches, and lush rain forests that cover more than 20,000 square kilometres of the country. And hotels are arriving, including the newly opened Jicaro Island Ecolodge: a luxurious environmentally friendly collection of casitas that's situated on a private island in Lake Nicaragua. If you tire of beachcombing and of doing sun salutations on the floating yoga deck, then take a boat ride across the lake to Mombacho Volcano and hike up to the cloud forests for some wildlife watching.

South Africa

More than 15 years after the fall of apartheid, South Africa makes history again as the FIFA World Cup descends on the African continent for the first time ever. While tickets and accommodation won't come easily (matches will be hosted in several cities in June and July), nothing compares to revelling in the festive World Cup atmosphere. “Cape Town will be the biggest winner,” says Keith Jenkins, founder of the Velvet Escape travel blog (www.velvetescape.com ). “The city's spectacular location, fronting Table Bay and backed by the iconic Table Mountain, its beaches, gastronomic delights, stunning scenery, and unique flora and fauna make it a dream holiday destination.” For a less frenetic experience, consider escaping to South Africa's rugged bushland. Hikers head to the scenic Drakensberg, a 1,000-kilometre-long mountain range, and the lunar landscapes of Vensterval Trail in Richtersveld Transfrontier National Park which is considered the country's wildest national park. You can also opt for viewing elephants, white rhinos and lions in Hluhluwe- Imfolozi Park, South Africa's oldest game park.

The 'Stans

We've been curious about them since Borat exposed his homeland to Hollywood. Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler tipped us off to the Central Asian republics' allure last year, calling them exotic, quirky and interesting. And even though we may not be able to pronounce them perfectly, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are on our radar for good reason. These ex-Soviet republics are indeed unusual, a curious collision of a vast and diverse landscape, a legacy of harsh Communist rule and a history that's rich with ancient cultures, intricate Islamic architecture and nomadic tribes whose descendants still roam the land. Go now before the hotel developers and restaurant chains realize the potential.

Bhutan

Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

There was a time not too long ago when Bhutan had no currency, no phones and no electricity. Until 1972, outsiders weren't allowed into the tiny Himalayan kingdom. But times have changed, and despite its isolated locale and seemingly archaic practices, Bhutan is now welcoming foreigners in its own way. Measures are in place to avoid overcrowding and to attract the “right crowd”. This is not a place for budget travellers: Visitors have to pay a minimum of $200 U.S. per day, and sightseeing excursions are limited to guided visits to stunningly positioned Buddhist temples – the Tiger's Nest Monastery hangs on a sheer rock face – and mountain hikes like the Jhomolhari Trek, which passes through remote villages. In the end, it's a small price to pay to visit the happiest country in the world, where people value Gross National Happiness over Gross National Product.

Brazil

Compared to well-trodden Argentina and Chile, Brazil is misunderstood. We want to samba during Carnaval and float down the Rio Negro, and yet we don't know much about the rest of this vast and diverse country. Future host of the FIFA World Cup (in 2014) and the Summer Olympics (in 2016), Brazil is inching its way up everyone's hot list, so you should get there before the tourist hordes. One of its best kept secrets is Fernando de Noronha. Only 750 visitors per day are allowed on this archipelago of white-sand beaches, windswept cliffs and colourful sea life; and they have to pay a hefty environmental tax for the privilege. For art connoisseurs, Sao Paolo's art biennal (bienalsaopaulo.globo.com) is the second oldest in the world – it returns this fall – and the sprawling Inhotim (www.inhotim.org.br) is a one-of-a-kind publicly funded cultural hybrid that includes a contemporary art gallery, sculpture park, botanical garden, and ecological reserve.

Laos

Off-the-beaten-path Laos is the forgotten country of southeast Asia. There are fewer tourists and fewer foreign influences than in Vietnam and Cambodia, which allows for less crowded and more authentic cultural experiences at ancient sites like the Wat Phou temple and in the capital city of Vientiane. Tony Wheeler recommends starting a Laotian adventure in Luang Prabang, the ‘capital' of the northern region which has fine old French colonial buildings, charming little hotels, Buddhist temples and monasteries and superb bars and restaurant. “It feels like one of those towns in Tuscany or Provence that are too cute for the postcards,” he says. In December 2009, China and Laos signed an agreement to build a cross-border nature reserve to better protect Asian elephants and other endangered species in the area. The reserve in Laos and China's Yunnan province will cover an area that is home to approximately 250 wild elephants.

The experts' favourites

BRAZIL: JAMES LOHAN Uxua Casa According to Lohan of the Mr. and Mrs. Smith website, this hotel – in the fishing village of Trancoso in Bahia – is Brazil's coolest new green hotel. The owner, Wilbert Das, is the former creative director of fashion label Diesel. www.uxua.com

LAOS: TONY WHEELER The Laos Elephant Festival takes place in Sainyabuli every February. Wheeler, the co-founder of the Lonely Planet guidebooks, was there in 2009 and may go again in 2010: “If you've ever wanted to get up close and personal with a pachyderm, this is the place to do it.”

BHUTAN: KEITH JENKINS Chimi Lhakhang Jenkins, founder of the Velvet Escape travel blog, suggests you take a stroll through the rice fields and along the trail to this temple, also known as the Divine Madman temple. The Bhutanese, dressed in their finest attire, bring their offerings to the temple every Sunday. M.S.

Special to The Globe and Mail

Las Vegas is the
Centre of attention

Spectacular new $8.5 billion complex might
just be Las Vegas' biggest gamble ever

Toronto Star Dec 20, 2009

LAS VEGAS–"I think of it as The Emerald City," laughed Kathy, my driver from the airport to City Center. And you don't have to be a fan of The Wizard of Oz to agree with her.

No matter what time of day or what angle you view it from, you're dazzled by a combination of lofty verticals and jagged horizontals that glisten brightly in the sun or shimmer in multi-coloured splendor after dark.

City Center might be the biggest gamble in the history of Las Vegas. It's a new complex of hotels, shops and casinos tucked off to one side of the famous Strip that cost $8.5 billion (U.S.), fills 27 hectares, boasts six soaring towers and – when completed – will add more than 6,000 rooms to a tourist destination that is currently slashing prices to try to fill the spaces it already has

The MGM Mirage conglomerate (along with a little help from some friends in Dubai) is the main force behind it all and they hold pride of place with Aria, the 4,004-room luxury hotel and casino that opened to the public at midnight on Wednesday.

To say that Aria has redefined the look and feel of Vegas hotels would be an understatement.

Lay to rest the world of faux Venice, imitation Egypt and ersatz Paris. Aria exults in natural stone and wood, with metal and glass providing the highlights.

Some $40 million worth of modern art adorns the complex, with my favourite being Silver River, a 25-metre cast of the Colorado River that Maya Lin made out of reclaimed silver and proudly mounted behind a glass wall at the front desk.

Aria is the only building in this new complex to allow gaming, but they've even tidied up the world of slot machines and blackjack tables by adding a new air filtration system that sucks the smoke down and out for maximum efficiency.

And every room has computer technology that Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey would have wept over.

You're greeted by name upon your first entrance, the drapes are automatically drawn to show you the view and you have one-touch control of all the lighting, temperature and entertainment features in the room.

The Vdara Hotel and Spa is just outside of Aria and it earns pride of place by being a 100 per cent non-smoking, non-gaming establishment.

Between the New Age music and the delicate scent that greets you in the lobby, you'll think Vegas is light years away.

Each room here is a suite, complete with sitting room, kitchen, dining area, bedroom and spacious bathroom.

It means that when you order breakfast from room service, the waiter brings a toaster with him so that you never have to face a soggy English muffin again.

The Mandarin Oriental is the smallest, sleekest (and most expensive) of the three hotels now open (The Harmon will follow late in 2010).

If you know its related hotels in other cities, this one will hold no surprises.

Luxury and quiet elegance are the keywords, with a bar on the 23rd floor that has a stunning view and Twist, the only North American restaurant of three-star Michelin chef Pierre Gagnaire.

There are more than two dozen other restaurants in the complex, by the way, all featuring world-class chefs like Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Wolfgang Puck and Michael Mina. (I'll be looking at them more closely in a future "Six Meals in ... " column.)

For entertainment, there's a wide and varied assortment of clubs and lounges as well as the one thing every Vegas hotel needs: a Cirque du Soleil show.

The one at Aria is called Viva Elvis! and it opens mid-February, but a recent sneak preview showed it's just what fans of The King will adore.

Let's not forget the two condo structures, the Veer Towers, each of which tilts in a different direction, five degrees off centre and provides the perfect asymmetrical touch to the whole City Center experience. Just don't try staring at them after too many mojitos.

And Torontonians will be fascinated to see what Daniel Libeskind, the man behind the controversial Lee-Chin Crystal at the ROM, has done with the Center's 500,000 square foot shopping core named (what else?) Crystals.

Bold design, tons of space, cutting-edge art installations and a galaxy of high-end stores, including the largest Louis Vuitton in the world, make this a can't-miss destination.

But then, you could say that about every part of City Center.

It's redefined Las Vegas just when it needed it.

Richard Ouzounian is the Star's theatre critic.

Are Croatia, Vegas or Laos on your list? They should be

Dec 27, 2008

It's not exactly a tough job to read travel books and magazines and chat with industry types about travel trends for 2009. But it does take time.

Based on the purchase of a good hundred dollars worth of travel magazines (thanks, boss) and the perusal of dozens of stories in newspapers and websites, as well as a few conversations with the experts, here is your loyal travel editor's unofficially official list of places GTA folks will be going in 2009. Or, in a couple cases, should be going. Happy trails!

1 Toronto. Hey, you can save a lot of dough by staying home. Try renting a bike on the islands for the day next summer or even stay the night at a B and B. You can sample incredible dim sum in Scarborough or live la dolce vita on College Street. Farther north, check out the Central American lunch spots on St. Clair Ave. W. Concierge.com recently put Toronto on its "it list" of top destinations for the coming year.

2 Quebec. You can take in Montreal or Quebec City with an easy drive. Or continue a little farther up river to the tasty Charlevoix region, with great golf, a lovely arts community and rolling, pastoral scenery. The big anniversary party was last year, so the crowds should be down a bit.

3 Florida. Complain all you like about early-bird specials in the land of endless malls, as Blue Rodeo once described the Sunshine State, but it's still the cheapest place around for a somewhat-guaranteed sun holiday. I've always loved the slightly funky main street in Dunedin, as well as the beach at nearby Caladesi Island. The Breakers is a stunning property north of Miami.

4 British Columbia. With the Olympics coming to town, there's a big push for tourists to take in the delights of Vancouver and Whistler in the summer. Try one of the great hikes on the north shore for outstanding views of Vancouver, or stroll Jericho or Kitsilano Beach. The golf opportunities in the interior, especially around Kamloops, Kelowna and Vernon, are astounding. It's where Mike Weir hopes to open a new winery and a golf course of his own design.

5 New York. Some folks in the travel biz say there's never been a better time to visit the Big Apple. With the economy down south in a shambles, hotels are slashing rates. Try visiting in the spring, before it gets too hot. Pick up a cranberry-orange bagel (they're square) at any of the numerous Cosi restaurants, then find a nice park to drink your morning coffee. I love breakfast or lunch at Bryant Park behind the library, and the farmers' market at Union Square is always a nice way to escape from the bustle and hustle of Manhattan.

6 Dominican Republic. If the resorts at Cap Cana (I had a chance to visit in May) are any indication, the DR has left its cheap and cheerful days long behind. The food is, for the most part, exquisite, the beaches are long and lovely, and the accommodations are first-rate.

7 South and Central America. Expect to see more stories about Peru, Chile (great wines) and even Paraguay, as well as Honduras and Guatemala as they seek to capitalize on Costa Rica's success. Cartagena, Colombia, is considered by some to be the new Buenos Aires. Then again, 50 is the new 60 and, according to the Blue Jays, fourth place is the new first.

8 Scotland. It's the year of homecoming in the land of Robbie Burns, so expect to see lots of treks to Edinburgh and Glasgow and both sets of Hebrides. Personally, I'd love to traipse over the Mull of Kintyre with Paul McCartney ringing in my iPod. But that's just me.

9 Croatia. It's interesting to see a place that wasn't on many people's lists 10 years ago surge so high up the charts. Look for new resorts away from busy spots like Hvar to take off. And look for folks to seek out similar scenery in Montenegro to the south and to Slovenia in the north, which is sandwiched between Italy and Croatia but offers some lovely coastal and mountain scenery in a small package.

10 Australia. Big movies often have a way of shipping more tourists to a particular destination. A few years ago it was the Lord of the Rings push for New Zealand (which could happen again if they ever make The Hobbit movie). This time, Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman's Australia should push up the tourism numbers down under, although the early reviews were rather tepid.

11 China. Michael Phelps and Ussain Bolt are gone, but the Bird's Nest stadium and the Water Cube remain. The people are lovely, there's tons of upscale shopping in Beijing, and you simply can't beat a walk on the Great Wall of China. A ride down the hill from the bottom of the wall on a plastic sled is tons of fun for even the most jaded sports writer. Faced with huge economic problems at home, the government of China is encouraging its citizens to travel to Hong Kong and drop some cash in the hotels, restaurants, night clubs and posh shops from Stanley to Kowloon.

12 North Africa. Tunisia is getting great reviews for its architecture, friendly people and seaside resorts. Ditto for Morocco. And folks also are flocking to Egypt for the variety of cultural and architectural riches.

13 Istanbul. It makes a lot of lists for its intriguing mix of west and east. There are increasingly trendy neighbourhoods like Besiktas, and the Blue Mosque is one of the stunning sights of the world. Take a water taxi across the Bosporus to Asia, or haggle for bargains in the markets. Turkey is not on the Euro so you can save a bit of cash.

14 Zurich. This is a stately city during the day but a pretty wild place at night, with lovely architecture, old-world hotels and lakefront promenades. Switzerland is famous for its mountains, chocolates and watches, but there's plenty to like about its cities.

15 Portugal. It's said to be one of the few remaining "bargains" in western Europe. Great wines, outstanding seafood, cafés galore and golf, too.

16 Lesser-known islands. The Maldives are hot. Ditto for the Seychelles, Sardinia and the isles off the coast of Belize in Central America. The Hawaiian island of Lanai has unbelievable resorts and great golf. A little too high-end? Try a weekend trip to Manitoulin. There are no palm trees, but experts in these things claim it's one of the great places in southern Ontario to see the night sky in all its glory.

17 Vegas. It's not my cup of English Breakfast, but the shows are allegedly great, the hotel and dining options too numerous to mention. There are exploding volcanoes, fake Eiffel Towers, the Cirque du Soleil, Céline Dion (hey, no city's perfect) and more opportunities to lose your money than you can imagine. The deals are better than ever.

18 Southeast Asia. Laos shows every indication of following in Vietnam and Thailand's footsteps, transitioning from relative isolation (at least from the West) to welcoming destination. If Myanmar ever follows suit, you will have to wonder if there are any frontiers left.

19 South Africa. The World Cup madness comes in 2010, so now's the time to check out the scenery, wines and wild animals in one of the most fascinating countries in the world.

20 Chicago and Washington, D.C. Look for all sorts of events tied to a brush with the next president of the United States. Barack Obama has lived in Chicago the last few years and is taking up full-time residence in Washington, where a huge crowd is expected for the Jan. 20 inauguration.

This hasn’t been a great year so far for the Caribbean tourism industry. Seven named hurricanes have hit the region this fall, an earthquake registering 6.1 rocked parts of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands, and the global financial meltdown has made people increasingly skittish about taking a vacation this winter.

 But with new hotels continuing to open, high-end resorts raising the bar on amenities, family-oriented getaways expanding their offerings and talented chefs starting restaurants that are transforming the region’s culinary scene, there are plenty of reasons for vacationers to seek some solace in the sand and surf of the Caribbean this winter.

1. Anguilla, already the home of famed upscale resorts like Cap Juluca and CuisinArt, gets yet another big-name player in April when the Kor Group, whose Viceroy brand has planted its flag in places like Palm Springs, South Beach and the Riviera Maya, officially opens the Viceroy Anguilla, (800-357-1930.)
Rooms start at $550 (U.S.) a night. (Unless otherwise noted, all prices quoted here are U.S. for double occupancy and for low season.)

2. Does that sound too posh for you? Then, for a bit of old-school-style Anguilla flavor, check out the new Elvis Beach Bar (264-476-0101), a Class C racing sailboat that in 2007 was converted into a bar and restaurant, and features live music every weekend.

3. The neighbouring islands of Antigua and Barbuda have been in the midst of a tourism boom. Among the additions to the local scene are a major expansion of Sandals Antigua Caribbean Village and the opening of the Lighthouse Bay Resort (888-836-5427), on the pink sands of Barbuda’s Palm Beach, a narrow sandbar just off the mainland. Rooms start at $679, with all meals included.

4. On the southeast coast of Antigua, St. James’ Club and Villas opened its Mamora Bay Divers scuba centre (1-800-345-0356) last spring, giving guests of the secluded, 40-hectare resort a chance to explore the marine life teeming around the reefs and shipwrecks off the coast. Dive packages start at $75, with equipment rental. 

5. The Bob Marley legend may have been born in Jamaica, but it lives on in the Bahamas at the Marley Resort and Spa (242-702-2800), which was opened on Nassau Island in July by members of the Marley family. It has 16 luxury villas, an organic produce restaurant and an extensive spa. Rooms start at $450. 

6. On Paradise Island, the Atlantis resort (888-877-7525) unveiled a 497-room tower, Reef Atlantis, last December, and continues to burnish its eco-friendly reputation with the expansion of its Blue Tourism project: a collaborative effort aimed at studying and conserving natural reef habitats. Rooms at the tower start at $340 a night, with $10 from each booking going toward the conservation program.

 7. Bigger is better seems to be the philosophy of the Divi Aruba Phoenix Beach Resort (800-367-3484;), in the Palm Beach area of Aruba, which is more than doubling the size of its resort. It is adding a new complex of accommodation, restaurants, pools and landscaped grounds, giving it the largest room count on the island. Rooms in the new complex start at $350.

8. St. Lucia continues to attract developers looking to expand on the high-end of the market. The latest arrival: Cap Maison, (44-208-812-4734 ), offering 50 luxury rooms and 22 private residences atop a seaside cliff in Cap Estate, overlooking a secluded beach. Rooms start at around $405 a night.

9. Visitors to Aruba also have a couple of new dining options. The 325-seat beachfront restaurant La Vista, at the Aruba Marriott Resort and Stellaris Casino (297-586-9000), features contemporary Italian fusion cuisine; and at the Old Man and the Sea (297-735-0840), in Savaneta, you can enjoy the catch of the day right on the beach or in a private dining room at the end of the pier. 

10. Long a playground for the rich and famous, Barbados continues to build upon and enhance its luxury offerings. The legendary Sandy Lane (866-444-4080), a resort known for its celebrity clientele and for rates that start at $1,000 a night, has upgraded (if that’s possible) in the off-season, with the renovation of the Bajan Blue restaurant - with a different theme every evening - and of its spa.

11. But what if you aren’t Mick Jagger? Or even K-Fed? Try the Settlers’ Beach Hotel (246-422-3052), which just opened a beachside Italian restaurant and bar in February, Spago. Rooms at the hotel start at slightly less than those at Sandy Lane, at $134 a night.

12. Also on Barbados, the 267-room Almond Casuarina Beach Resort (246-620-3600), an eco-friendly resort that uses solar power, opened in May on Maxwell Beach after having been bought and rebuilt by Almond Resorts. The refurbishments include 100 new rooms, new restaurants and new pools. Rooms start at $450 a night, with specials available through much of December.

13. Coming to Grand Cayman, on West Bay, is Lighthouse Point (345-946-5658), another environmentally friendly resort that hopes to generate 17,000 watts of its own power daily. Condos and rentals are scheduled to open in March, starting at $2,800 a week.
 

14. Bay Streeters who still have a job in 2009 might want to celebrate in Virgin Gorda, at the new Aquamare Villas (787-61-2638), a tiny, three-villa cluster on Mahoe Bay. Each beachfront villa is 8,000 square feet, with three master bedrooms. As one might expect, such opulence doesn’t come cheap. ``Discounted” introductory rates are available until Dec. 15: $12,500 a week. They jump to $25,000 a week during the holidays

15. Known above all for its rusticity, Dominica’s newest developments are characteristically nature-oriented and eco-minded. On the luxury end, opening in late January is Rosalie Bay - A Nature Resort (767-440-4439). The 28-room boutique property is on a nine-hectare plot along a black-sand beach that is a “prime nesting area” for endangered turtles, the hotel says. Introductory rates for the new resort start at $200 a room until June 1, when turtle nesting season begins, and rates go up to $250.

16. Also on Dominica, Sea Cliff Cottages (613-756-3116) has opened the fifth of its quaint, seriously affordable cottages perched on a cliff overlooking the beaches of Hodges Bay. Off-peak rates for a studio cottage start at $70 a night and increase to a whopping $90 a night during the winter season.
 

17. Change has been coming to the Dominican Republic in recent years. First, five-star resorts transformed this longtime budget getaway; now, it is the “resort within a resort” concept, giving guests a sense of seclusion - often with private pools and restaurants while still offering all the resources of a bigger resort. Tiara, at the Club Med Punta Cana (809-686-5500 ) on the easternmost tip of the island is among them, a development geared toward families, offering a cluster of 32 spacious oceanfront suites and a private infinity pool and bar. Opened in May, it is part of a $34-million makeover that also includes a full service spa; an upgraded, more healthful menu; and a new mini-water park and upgraded skate park. Suites at the Tiara start at $3,010 for a seven-night stay, and including dining, drinks and activities.
 

18. Also in Punta Cana, look for the Moon Palace Casino, Golf and Spa Resort (800-635-1836 ), opening in two phases in 2009, the first in January. When completed, it looks to be the largest resort in Punta Cana, with 2,103 rooms, with rates from $466 a night.
 

19. Eco-tourists may want to check out the Cayman Diving Lodge (800-852-3483), on the east end of Grand Cayman Island, which is set to open in March, and which management is claiming will be the first totally green building in the Grand Caymans. Built of recycled materials and powered by solar panels and a wind turbine, the lodge’s dive facilities are complemented by 12 rooms and 12 condos. Prices are not yet set.
 

20. The British developer Peter de Savary is calling Grenada the new St. Tropez - in no small part because of the millions he is pouring into developing several properties on that famously rustic island. Among them is Mount Cinnamon, (866-720-2616), which opened last March on Grand Anse Beach. The resort climbs a quiet hillside that overlooks the sea and features an extensive spa, steeped in traditional West Indian remedies. Rooms start at $500.
 

21. Also, on Grenada, an old favorite is back. LaSource (888-527-0044) has reopened this year after years of reconstruction following the wreckage caused by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Set on Pink Gin Beach on the island’s southwestern tip, the resort offers a relaxing atmosphere (no children under 16 are admitted most of the year), with room rates starting at $315 per person, including daily spa treatments and a host of outdoor activities.

 22. The intimate, nine-room Villa St. Pierre (596-596-786-845 ) is a recent addition to Martinique’s hotel scene, having opened just last month in the heart of historic St.-Pierre, which in 1902 was destroyed by the eruption of nearby Mount Pelee. Also coming to Martinique: Cap Macabou (596-596-742-424), a so-called “hotel de charme,” with 44 rooms, set to open this month.

 23. Although Guadeloupe won’t see much in the way of new accommodations this year, several established locations have undergone renovations for the coming season, as the island continues to modernize. Notable examples include the Blue Season Hotel Fleur D’Epee (590-5-904-000), which recently renovated all its rooms and reconstructed its diving center.

 24. Jamaica is experiencing staggering growth, with a bevy of new developments, particularly at the higher end, bringing hundreds of new rooms to the island. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any more extravagant, it did. On a lagoon near Port Antonio, Kanopi House, sister property to the posh Kamalame in the Bahamas, opens Dec. 12, with 10-person-maximum suites running $5,000 a night.
 

25. Also on Jamaica, Iberostar Hotels and Resorts (876-680-0000), a Spanish resort chain, opened the first phase of its Rose Hall complex in Montego Bay in 2007, recently completed Phase 2 and expects to complete Phase 3 this month, bringing the total number of its rooms to 978. Rates start at $110 a person a night.

 26. On the north shore of Jamaica, about 25 miles from Montego Bay near Lucea, two Grand Palladium resorts (876-620-0000) - both claiming five stars, but relatively affordable - opened in July: the Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort and Spa, and the Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton Resort and Spa. Rooms for each start at around $200 a night.

 27. With just six rooms (each of which can accommodate four guests), the no-frills, beachside Coral Paradise Resort (877-267-2572) on Bonaire, is surely an antidote to the big-resort trend sweeping the rest of the Caribbean. But the resort, which opened in April, doesn’t stint on service, offering 24-hour shore-dive access, daily boat dives and next-door proximity to the popular Captain Don’s Habitat diving center. At $160 a night for two guests (and $35 for each extra person in a room) in peak season, it’s also eminently affordable.
 

28. On Curacao, the largest of the Netherlands Antilles, the Renaissance Curacao Resort and Casino (599-9-435-5000 ) is set to open Dec. 1 in Willemstad, making it one of the first full-service resorts to appear on Curacao since the early 1990s. The Renaissance sits on the waterfront at the 19th-century Rif Fort, which is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site. Rooms start at $267.
 

29. Families thinking about a vacation in Puerto Rico this winter might want to check out the new Coqui Water Park at El Conquistador Resort and Golden Door Spa (866-317-8932), part of a $110 million renovation that was completed last February.
 

30. Just east of Old San Juan, in the beachside community of Condado, Puerto Rica, La Concha, a Renaissance Resort (787-721-7500), reopened late last year after years of restoration and $220 million in reinvestment. The hotel, which first opened in 1958, has retained its trademark seashell-shaped restaurant, designed by Mario Salvatori.
 

31. Originally scheduled to open last summer, the Radisson St. Martin Resort (888-201-1718) is now set to open on Dec. 8 on the secluded beach cove of Anse Marcel, on the French side of the island. With 63 suites and 189 rooms, the resort will feature a beachfront restaurant, a tapas bar in the lobby and a 150-slip marina. Rooms start at limited introductory rates from 309 euros, about $393 at $1.30 to the euro.
 

32. On St. Kitts, the Beach House Restaurant (869-469-5299) ramps up the luxury quotient on the local dining scene, offering panoramic views of Nevis, and a kitchen headed by George Reid, of Cap Juluca fame.
 

33. On St. John, stop in for a bite at the new St. John Waterfront Bistro (340-777-7755), on Cruz Bay beach. Opened last February, this French-Caribbean hybrid offers items like poached Caribbean lobster tail with tomato-fennel broth, roasted sweet corn, leeks, crispy garlic and creamy white corn polenta.
 

34. Also on St. Lucia, Calabash Cove Resort and Spa (758-456-3500) opens its doors next month, offering oceanside accommodations at Mason Point overlooking Bonaire Bay. Rooms start at $295.
 

35. Usually a safe bet during hurricane season, parts of the Turks and Caicos were hit hard by Hurricane Ike this summer. But the vast majority of the country’s resorts and most popular beaches received just a few bumps and bruises, and the damage was cleaned up quickly. Not only are the resorts on track, there are several new offerings this year - unsurprising, given the island’s meteoric rise as a hot vacation spot. Among them: the Grace Bay Club, which in February is opening the Estate (649-946-8323), a group of 22 residences, as part of its $250 million expansion and renovation; the 22-acre Seven Stars Resort (866-570-7777) on Grace Bay beach, which opened in July; and the Nikki Beach Resort (649-941-3747), a 432-acre gated resort that opened in April and that now includes the Turks and Caicos Yacht Club Marina, able to accommodate megayachts, with 110 slips.
 

36. Due to open in January at the Beaches Turks and Caicos (649-946-8000) is the $125 million Italian Village. It features 162 luxury family suites and a renovated 45,000-square-foot waterpark.
 

37. Well-heeled travelers have long considered St. Barts their winter playground, with a popular getaway being the 14-room Carl Gustaf Hotel (590-590-29-79-00), where a seven-room villa can go for as much as 48,000 euros a night. This December, this swank hotel is opening a new restaurant, Victoria’s, headed up by Emmanuel Motte, who plans to infuse his traditional French cuisine with Caribbean and lighter Asian fare. The hotel has also completely refurbished its popular Carl Gustaf Lounge and added a new Boutique Spa by Carita, created by the sisters behind the deluxe Carita spa in Paris.

 38. On Tobago, the Bacolet Beach Club (868-639-2357), which opened in June, is being billed as an exclusive boutique with an Asian-Cuban restaurant. Rooms start at $190. Just a few minutes away, a multimillion-dollar expansion of Scarborough Jetty was completed last December, and it can now accommodate Voyager-class ships (which hold up to 3,114 passengers), and should raise Tobago’s profile as a vacation destination.

 39. Despite the name, the Virgin Islands Campground (877-502-7225) on Water Island, just off Charlotte Amalie, is actually an affordable collection of eco-friendly, wood-frame-and-canvas cottages overlooking the sea. It is adding two cottages, for a total of seven, by Dec. 1, and plans to have 12 a year later. They use wind-generated electricity and have a solar-heated hot tub. Rates start at $75 a night.

New York Times News Service

Paul Gallant
Special to the Star

LONG POINT, Ont.–What makes the area around Lake Erie's Long Point so special is all the places you're not allowed to go.

The 40-kilometre spit of sand and marshes is the heart of the UNESCO-recognized biosphere in Norfolk County.

In the last few years, the region has taken off as an eco-tourist and cottager haven, partly because the peninsula's no-public-allowed protected areas have maintained and boosted the abundant wildlife around it.

In Long Point Bay and in the surrounding area, bird-watchers, recreational fishermen and hunters co-exist with relative ease because of the tremendous biodiversity.

A bike ride away, Port Rowan provides a quaint business hub. Its artsy Festival by the Bay on the weekend of Nov. 8 and 9 offers studio tours and dozens of artsy shopping opportunities.

"I came here for a month as a teenager to volunteer at the bird observatory and I was hooked," says Jody Allair, 30, who eventually moved back to work as project biologist and outreach co-ordinator at Bird Studies Canada (BSC).

The national organization is based in Port Rowan and operates several observation stations, including one open to the public on the causeway to Long Point.

"The birding, both migratory and native, is amazing. Places like this, with so much protected area, are few and far between," Allair says.

This time of year, it's the Northern Saw-whet Owl that's got Allair excited.

The size of a beer can (and the personality of a bank president, as author William Service once said), the birds fly through the area in flocks of hundreds. BSC workers and volunteers go out on cool, clear nights, play owl calls on a stereo system, catch the owls in nets, tag them and release them. (If you want to join in, call BSC at 888-448-2473 for details.)

Visitors can see all kinds of birds, turtles, snakes and frogs along the BSC trails through the marshes at the western end of the peninsula and, until mid-October, camp right behind the dramatic wind-swept dunes of the provincial park.

But the eastern end of Long Point is protected as a national wildlife area by the federal government. Visitors are not permitted except at the very tip, where there's a lighthouse, only reachable by boat.

The area between the provincial park and the wildlife reserve, about a third of the point, is owned by the Long Point Company, a private venture shrouded in mystery.

"Most people don't know much about Long Point and the Long Point Company and I'd like to keep it that way," says Frank Reid, 73, the treasurer of the company which owns 3,240 hectares of the peninsula. His is one of the names on the "keep out" signs warning strays off the private property. (In the summer, nudists make the provincial park beach just outside the fence their unofficial home.)

Reid's father and grandfather were treasurers before him, going back to 1910. But the company's history dates all the way back to 1866, when its founders bought the whole peninsula from the federal government for $8,540, later selling the eastern end back to the feds.

The company was created out of self-interest as much as preservation. Its founding members were avid hunters who wanted to keep the marshland pristine and protected from poachers and other wrong-doers.

In the early 1800s, the Point had developed "an unenviable reputation for drunkenness, murder and debauchery of every kind," writes historian Harry Barrett.

"Gamblers and others wishing to indulge in activities ... could readily reach the Point by steamboat or sailing schooner hired from Buffalo or Erie. Few officials followed them or could prove the lawbreaking if they did."

The 20 current company members are well-off, low profile and from all over North America; in addition to Reid, they employ four people year-round to maintain the grounds and the cluster of cabins the locals like to call "millionaire's island."

Most members only visit for a couple of weeks of hunting in the fall, maintaining the philosophy that "real conservation is non-use," says Reid.

"The company's efforts to protect the area has had huge spinoffs," says Allair.

"We owe them a lot. Our breakwater station on their property gives you a sense of what Southern Ontario would be like before cities and roads. With the waves crashing and the rare trees, it has a total wild feeling."

The UNESCO biosphere designation has encouraged Norfolk County to manage its growth wisely, which is tricky, since the decline of the tobacco industry has meant rapid change to the area's economy.

"The groups in the area are cognizant that this is a natural area, we know it's not going to be destroyed," says Cindy Vanderstar, who moved to Port Rowan three years ago.

She now runs a store, a bed and breakfast (The Coach House on Lake Erie, 519-586-2832) and is president of the local chamber of commerce. "It's still a laid-back, relaxed place."

Except, maybe, during the Festival by the Bay, where local stores are busier than at Christmas.

"It's a lot of women shopping is what it is," says Norm Stobbe, whose handmade bird houses, made out of reclaimed wood and salvaged bits of metal, will be available during the festival.

Though he's not a birder himself, he's provided homes for thousands of birds, sold by his wife Colleen at her store Shear Creations (519-586-3817, 431 Brock Ave., Port Rowan).

"I'm more of a hunter. November is the best time, I think. Last year I got 30 geese and got my limit of ducks," says Stobbe.

Paul Gallant is a Toronto-based freelance writer.

What's the perfect antidote to the stress of the stock market's extreme roller-coaster ride and the threat of a recession?

A vacation, of course. Preferably one that lets you put your feet up, sip a drink and absorb a pristine beach and breeze-blown palms, or watch the sparkling ocean slip by as your ship glides through gentle waves.

The bad news and turmoil might even cut the cost of that respite. Travel agents and tour operators say there will be bargains as cruise lines, resorts and hotels try to ensure a downturn doesn't leave them stuck with empty cabins and rooms.

"It's going to be a challenging year for the industry," said Cathy Keefe, of the New York-based Travel Industry Association.

The impact of the economic uncertainty is not nearly as dramatic as the immediate and abrupt decline in travel after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But it's lurking in the wings.

Travel to the Caribbean is down 10 per cent this fall, and advance bookings to the islands and Mexico are below normal, said Brian Simpson, general manager of Travelocity.ca. Companies that offer travel packages "need to get rid of the inventory they've booked in advance."

Most cruise companies and several airlines have already cut their fuel surcharges, or say they will. But that fee, while annoying, is a relatively small part of a holiday travel budget. The big news is reduced rates.

"I've booked people for Cuba today at $700 per person for a week," said Robert Townshend, president of Total Advantage Travel and Tours Inc. Simpson, and Allison Eaton, spokesperson for Flight Centre, confirmed three-star Cuba packages are available in January for $560 plus taxes.

The big worry for travel folks is that Americans, battered by the sub-prime mortgage crisis, the credit squeeze and job losses, will stay close to home. Signs of retrenchment are evident – 66 per cent of the respondents in a recent survey for Travelocity.ca said economic concerns would affect their holiday travel plans – even though most travel industry officials insist people attempt to preserve their vacation time no matter what it takes.

"It's going to affect business," says Carolyn Condon-Burns, of Carlson-Wagonlit Travel in Peterborough.

Cruise vacations might be among the biggest bargains, because Americans typically occupy three-quarters of ships' passenger lists, and most of the industry allows cancellations without penalty up to 70 says before departure.

"Cruise lines need to fill their ships, so they'll look to other markets for passengers," Condon-Burns said. At least one is offering free airfare to Florida for the second person in a couple; another, half off the full rate for the second passenger.

"I'd say that in January, compared to 2008, we're looking at 15 to 20 per cent lower."

For those travelling to the United States, with the exception of mainstays such as Disney, deals are available even in the high season. Resorts in Florida, Arizona, Las Vegas, California and Hawaii are offering upgrades or free nights with bookings at full rates; unusual for peak times. And bi-city hotels are cutting their rates, largely to counter a decline in corporate travel.

Still, industry people advise against waiting for bigger bargains since operators increasingly offer bonuses for early bookings and many choice spots are already gone.