via rail will get you there… just as soon as it finds its stations

While working on an upcoming travel column tonight, I came upon a strange line on a Via Rail website page that features Google maps.
“Please note that station locations on some Google maps may not be entirely accurate. We are currently verifying the exact locations of all our stations.“
Now, one would think Via knows where its [...]

toronto vs. montreal: a youtube attack ad

roadside quebec: invasion of the muffler men

I came across an entertaining site while doing research for a travel column about road trips.
The site’s called Roadside America and it describes itself as a ”guide to uniquely odd tourist attractions.”
There are 14 Quebec listings, including four about a giant Coke man (see picture above). Two say he’s in Iberville, Quebec; the others spotted him [...]

travel column – hotel, sweet hotel

Finding good deals on hotel rooms was the topic of my Web Explorer column in the Travel section of Saturday’s Gazette. Click here for the story.
Hotel, sweet hotel
Finding a room at a reasonable price requires legwork in days of high occupancy
Andy Riga, The Gazette
While looking for a hotel for a coming trip to Toronto, I [...]

travel gadget of the month: the 20Q

From my Travel column in Saturday’s Gazette: 
Travel Gadget of the Month: An orb the size of a pool ball, Q20 is a fun electronic 20-questions game that uses artificial intelligence to “read your mind.”
Think of something (a horse, air, a rock) and answer the first of 20 questions – Is it an animal, vegetable, mineral or [...]

11 things people are dying to do in quebec

A fat book landed on my desk this week: 1,000 Places To See In The USA And Canada Before You Die, not to be confused with another tome by the same author – 1,000 Places to See Before You Die.
In other words, there are a lot more than 1,000 places you should see but [...]

restless children on board

If you have young children, your dream summer vacation probably isn’t very complicated. You want to have fun, relax and keep the kids amused, all without breaking the bank. Check out some suggestions and tips, from a feature I wrote for Saturday’s Travel section in The Gazette.

travel column – “voluntourism”: a chance to do more than look

My Web Explorer column for March focused on “voluntourism.” Here it is:
Here’s a chance to do more than look
Voluntourism gets travellers into the community where they can help people improve their lives
Andy Riga, The Gazette
Published: Saturday, March 31, 2007
You want to feel good when you’re on vacation. If helping others makes you feel good, why not [...]

travel gadgets of the month – sheets and blankets

Here are Web Explorer’s Gadgets of the Month for March:
They’re not electronic but they are practical and come in a handy packages – sheets and blankets for long-distance air travellers keen on comfort.
Planecomfort includes a 125 cm-by-150 cm (50-inch-by-60-inch) fleece blanket, pillowcase and pillow. The nylon carrying case doubles as a fleece-topped pillowcase for an [...]

travel column – keeping up on travel deals

In The Gazette’s Travel section today, I took a closer look at Travelalerts.ca, a Montreal site that alerts Internet users to travel deals.
With so many choices, how do you get the best deal?
Andy Riga, The Gazette
Published: Saturday, February 24, 2007
So many travel websites, so many alleged travel deals. How can a traveller stay on top [...]

travel gadget of the month: all-in-one digital audio

My Web Explorer travel gadget of the month for February:
The Playaway is a nifty little digital audio book – a tiny device that comes with your book pre-loaded. It does away with CDs, tapes and downloads. Smaller than a deck of cards and weighing only about 55 grams (two ounces), it’s perfect for travellers.
Several hundred [...]

travel gadget of the month: defending your knees

Gadget of the month is a new feature of my monthly Web Explorer column in The Gazette’s Travel section.
The first gadget: the Knee Defender ($14.95 U.S. per pair). One of the annoying things about travelling sardine-like in airline steerage is the fight for space. What can you do when the passenger ahead of you decides [...]

travel column – frequent-flyer miles: use ‘em or lose ‘em

Air Canada/Aeroplan is a bit like Bell Canada. Many Canadians love to hate them because they’re big, powerful and unresponsive … but we end up using them anyway because they’re hard to avoid.
So though Aeroplan angered some recently with new frequent-flyer mile rules, you can bet most of us won’t be boycotting them.
In my Web [...]