Tag Archive for vacation

| March 27, 2012
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7 Steps to Summer Safety

photo by Grethe Boe, Norway, Jul 15, 2010

Follow these simple rules to home security before heading out to the lake this weekend.

by Amanda Grinstead

Summer schedules are often busy with fun-filled activities that take you and your family out of the house. But before you leave on a camping trip, vacation, or a weekend visit to the cottage, check out our guide to home security. On the Danforth spoke with Constable Ingrid Hannah, Crime Prevention Officer for Division 54 of the Toronto Police Service, to learn about the 7 simple steps that can greatly reduce your risk of home invasion and theft while you are away this summer.

  1. Install window and door security systems. Alarms, deadbolts and window locks are quick and easy ways to make your home more secure since they discourage most intruders and can alert neighbours of break-ins so they can, in turn, contact the police.

    photo by Roger Kirby, Savannah, Apr 2, 2011

  2. Set interior lights on timers and install motion sensor lights outside of the house. Lighting is a simple and effective way to deter criminals. It gives the impression that someone is in the house and attracts the attention of neighbours when motion-detecting lights turn on.
  3. Have a friend, family member or neighbour collect your mail. Planning ahead before taking an extended leave from home is the key to home security.
  4. Ask a friend, family member or neighbour to move your garbage and recycling bins to give the impression that someone is home. “The idea is to remove or change things around the home that act as clues to criminals and reveal to them that you’re not at home,” says Constable Hannah.
  5. Consider asking someone to housesit while you and your family are away. This ensures that someone will be around regularly to check-up on the house.
  6. Attend a presentation or workshop hosted by the Toronto Police Serviceto learn more about preventing crime in your community. Constable Hannah gives presentations to the community about personal safety and home security to help individuals avoid situations that can make them a target for crime.

    photo by Grethe Boe, Norway, Jul 15, 2010

  7. Double check. It’s easy to forget to lock every door and window while rushing to beat traffic out of the city, but it’s worth the extra time to check over locks, lights and alarm systems. After packing the kids into the car, take a quick walk through the house and make sure you have everything secure.

To learn more about home security and crime prevention programs in your community, contact Constable Ingrid Hannah at (416) 808-5429 or visit the website at http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/crimeprevention.

Category: Lifestyle | Tags: , , , , , ,
| March 27, 2012
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Stress-Free Destination Wedding

photo by Amy Postma, Cuba, 2005.

Minimize the planning and focus on the fun as you gear up for your destination wedding!

by Amy Postma

photo by Amy Postma, Cuba, 2005.

My fiancé and I always knew we wanted to do a destination wedding, long before he proposed this winter. The first time we had ever gone away anywhere together was to my brother’s wedding in Cuba, and a holiday to the Mayan Riviera last winter made it clear: we were beach wedding people.

Now the planning has begun, and it is pretty much finished. We are now just waiting for our guests to book and only have to think about what we are going to wear and pack. From my experience, I offer the potential bride and groom these tips:

Do your research:

Compile a list of destinations and resorts that appeal to you. Use tour operators’ books to get an overview of resorts’ size, restaurants, and room options and activities offered. These will also tell you if the resort offers weddings. You can find these books at travel agencies or CAA for free. After you have a few ideas, use websites like tripadvisor.ca and bestdestinationwedding.com for more ideas and reviews of the resorts. Read reviews with a grain of salt however, taking into account your personality and what you want out of the trip. Narrow down your list to a manageable amount of resorts, anywhere from three to ten. Throw out any maybes.

photo by Amy Postma, Cuba, 2005

Meet with a travel agent:

A travel agent is an invaluable tool as you go through the booking process. My fiancé and I ended up bringing our top 5 resort picks to two agents from different agencies. Each of them obtained our quotes based on group rates and early booking bonuses. While we absolutely loved our first travel agent, who gave us great advice and was personable yet honest as well as throughout, we were quite glad we ended up going with the second agent, because our quotes were significantly lower from the second agency. She then provided us with the information needed to book, which we passed along to our guests via email, including location, date, amount, deposit amounts, relevant due dates, and the travel agent’s contact information.

Contact your resort directly:

It is important to make sure you can reserve a ceremony time before you start booking the trip. Email the resort to get in touch with their wedding coordinator, who will be able to schedule your ceremony time and answer questions you may have. In general, most of the decisions are finalized once you are at the resort in a brief meeting with the coordinator soon after you arrive, making planning as simple as possible. Also make sure to ask about what important documents you need to bring with you or send ahead of your arrival, as well as, what the minimum requirements are for being in the country before the ceremony. Likely you will need to forward them information on your full names, citizenship, date of birth, and passport information, as well as, a guest list.

Think about your guests:

Send your guests a “save-the-date” as soon as you have figured out a plausible date. This gives your guests more lead-time to carefully consider if this type of trip and expense will work for them. Then, when they are faced with booking information and deadlines, they are more prepared. In addition, consider preparing a welcome bag for each room. This can be given right after arrival as guests are settling into their rooms, or at an event before the trip, such as a casual meet and greet for guests that may not know each other. This could include items like flip-flops, sunscreen, lip balm, and comfort candy. Also make sure to include a program for the day of the wedding, including location and pertinent times. It may help acclimatize your guests to have a map of the resort and surrounding points of interest.

Some General Tips:

  • A destination wedding is great for a laid-back couple, but may not be right for someone who wants an over-the-top ceremony with a hand in all the details.
  • While planning for the ceremony itself should be smooth and simple, make sure to look into all the requirements for documentation abroad and registering the marriage once you are back in Canada.
  • Make yourself available to your potential guests: this may be a big decision for them and they may have concerns they are timid to bring up.
  • Recognize that this is a different sort of circumstance and not necessarily all of the most important people in your life will be able to make it.
  • Don’t dwell negatively about leaving people off of your invite list. People understand that a destination wedding is generally a much more intimate affair. If you are planning on having any sort of reception or open house when you return, this is a great way to include everyone.
  • Use email to communicate with guests, as traditional invitations do not allow you to get pertinent information out to guests soon enough, especially considering booking deadlines. Get in touch with those that may not use email by phone or in person if possible.
  • Be excited! This will be an unforgettable way to start your life together!
Category: Lifestyle | Tags: , , , , , ,
| March 6, 2012
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Pros and Cons of the Packaged Bus Tour

Photo by Megan Patterson, Tokyo, 2010

Are they really the best value for your money?

by Megan Patterson

Photo by Megan Patterson, Tokyo, 2010

There are a lot of packaged bus tours out there promising to take you on your dream vacation for a good deal. But is it really such a steal? And is it the right kind of vacation for you? I have been on one before, touring southern Europe and was surprised at what I learned about these tours−both good and bad. Now I’m here to share these lessons with you before you decide to commit to a tour.

The Pros

  1. It’s easier to travel in a group. If you’re going alone or you’re not a very experienced traveller, a tour is a great way to see a lot in a short amount of time. Your itinerary is set, you don’t have to pay extra for transportation (most of the time), and any fees and visas you need to country-hop are taken care of for you.
  2. It’s safer. Tours avoid high risk areas, so there’s pretty much no chance of your tour bus breaking down in the middle of nowhere or in a scary part of the city because they’re well maintained, and you’re much less to get mugged in a large group.
  3. There are always people around. People who speak your language, that you can make plans with and whom you can turn to if you get lost. I wouldn’t have made it home from my tour if I hadn’t run into some people from my group who knew where the hotel was.
  4. It can be cheaper. If the cost of airfare is included in the tour, it is often much cheaper than buying it independently.
  5. Access to unusual destinations. Going with a tour group can make it much easier to get to certain out of the way places–like Nepal or Antarctica (you have to go with a tour group to travel there)−even places where it’s impossible to go on your own.
  6. You can also get access to overcrowded attractions. For example, The Vatican museum can be a madhouse if you go on your own, but tour groups often get their own private tours, so it’s much less crowded and you’re able to see a lot more.

The Cons

  1. Food is included, but is it good food? Part of the lure of such a package is having meals provided. Unfortunately, the providers of these meals are trying to please everyone so they serve you the most boring thing ever. I was served chicken and French fries for a lot of the dinners that was provided, and this is not an uncommon practice. This is not the case with every tour group. Some tour groups have better reputations for food than others, so definitely do your research beforehand.
  2. Since the hotel has to be able to accommodate a bus, they are usually in the middle of nowhere. The tour I went on also gave us free time, meaning we had to figure out how to get back on our own. This would have been fine if the hotels weren’t so off the beaten path they weren’t even on the maps the tour company provided us with. The girl I was sharing a room with wasn’t lucky enough to find other group members like I did and wound up spending the night at her embassy.
  3. The hotel quality also can vary for the same reason. For the most part, the hotels we stayed in were nice but a few of them were pretty sketchy and rundown, and again, in the middle of nowhere.
  4. More than half of the excursions cost extra. Usually the tour includes the greatest hits of the city you’re in, although sometimes you don’t even get to see them up close. But sometimes if you want to do something extra, it costs extra. And since you don’t have a lot of time in each city, it’s hard to figure out how to do it on your own.
  5. The tour guide may not be as knowledgeable as you’d like. Mine knew where the best clubs were at in most cities, but that was about it.
  6. You don’t get to pick who you’re traveling with. I was the youngest person in a group of mainly 30-something couples, and it was advertised as a youth-oriented tour company.

Personally, I will never take a packaged bus tour again. They’re just not for me. I like going to a place and exploring it bit by bit in my own time and not having to freak out about not knowing where the hotel is or be left behind. I also like experiencing the food of the place I’m staying and not be forced to eat the same thing over and over again. This is not to say I will never take a tour again. When I went away with my sister, we did take a couple of day tours to see the main attractions and even one over the weekend so we could go to the countryside. They were great and totally worth the money. Your personality and travel style might determine how you travel, and hopefully, this list will help you decide whether or not you are the type of person who will enjoy a tour.

Category: Lifestyle | Tags: , , , , , , ,
| February 24, 2011
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5 Tips For Your First Cruise

Laura Foster PhotographyIf you’re going on your first cruise, here are some helpful tips to make your vacation smooth sailing.

1) Do your research.

With the idea of what type of vacation experience you want in mind, look on different cruise line websites to find the cruise line that’s right for you. Look at the different services each particular cruise ship offers to get a better of idea of what will be available to you while you’re at sea.

Knowing whether or not your cruise ship has a self-serve Laundromat, for example, will help you begin to plan for your vacation properly. Youtube is also another helpful resource if you want to get a better idea of what a particular cruise ship looks like.

Don’t forget to look up the customs of each country your cruise will visit. In some cases you may have to get your passport stamped in order to enter certain countries once your ship arrives. For other countries where this is not necessary, be sure to take a photocopy of your passport as ID, leaving your original passport in your stateroom safe.

2) Plan ahead.

Most cruise lines offer passengers the ability to book spa appointments and shore excursions in advance (often up to 120 days prior to the vacation sail date). By booking in advance, you have a better chance at getting the shore excursions you want (swimming with the dolphins often sells out fast!), plus you make it easier for you to get an idea of what to pack (if you need particular clothing items in order to participate in a shore excursion).

Some passengers are unaware that when booking a cruise you can request a reserved dinner table, rather than being placed at a table with strangers. This can also be booked ahead of time, and it will give you a better chance of getting a reserved dinner table to yourself.

3) Pack light.

Cruises are great in the fact that you get to travel to different islands and countries while still having the same room, and thus you don’t have to live out of a suit case. However, staterooms are smaller than most hotel rooms, and therefore have less storage space. Packing clothes that you mix and match throughout your trip will help cut down on the amount of clothes you have to store in your room.

The rule of thumb for the amount of formal nights on a cruise often depends on the number of nights at sea (minus the last night before disembarkment). Make sure to check with your travel agent or the cruise line to verify how many nights there are on your vacation, and what the dress code is like.

Also, if you’re flying to the port of embarkment, your best bet is to leave toiletries at home. While cruise ships have these essentials for sale in their shops, they are often slightly more expensive. If you can purchase them on shore before boarding the ship, try to get travel-size versions.

4) Avoid Seasickness.

While today’s ships are more stabilized than they were a few decades ago, it is still important to keep in mind that you are walking on water. The best way to keep from falling over when the ship is moving is to tread the ship like a giant surf board.

When moving around the ship, keep your feet a foot or two away from each other, and bend with your knees. And if you feel the need to use the handrails provided throughout the ship, do so!

Since there is constant motion while you’re at sea, some passengers tend to be prone to sea sickness more than others. Before you leave on vacation, stop by your local drug store to grab a pair of seasick bracelets. They have tiny plastic balls that put slight pressure on the inside of your wrist.

Also, keep apples on hand in your stateroom. Pectin in apples is known to help aid stomach upsets. Make sure to get fresh air (if you have a balcony, keep it slightly ajar), and if your seasickness gets worse, ask your stateroom attendant for seasick pills. The ones the cruise lines carry are often stronger than the drug store versions you can buy at home (even the crew get seasick from time to time).

5) Plan a budget.

Your bill can add up quickly. To avoid a surprise at the end of your vacation (and to avoid the long lineups at the front desk on your last day) make sure to check your bill a couple of days prior to your last night on the ship incase there are any discrepancies.

Set aside enough cash for spending on shore excursions, at the ship’s stores, and at the casino. Don’t forget to leave enough money for gratuities. The cruise line you go with may add gratuities to your bill per day for your stateroom attendant and the servers at the main dining room, so be sure to check if this has been done so you don’t end up with less than what you originally planned to spend by tipping twice.

There are several travel agencies on the Danforth, and by speaking to a travel agent you will get information directly from an expert that can give you advice on planning the perfect vacation. Happy sailing!

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