travel

Glenn Wakefield on his sailboat, West Wind II, at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club prior to launching for Cape Horn on Sept. 6. (Travis Paterson/News Staff)

Vancouver Island sailor stranded in U.S. hospital after suffering massive stroke at sea

Oak Bay man was attempting to circumnavigate the world solo

Glenn Wakefield on his sailboat, West Wind II, at the Royal Victoria Yacht Club prior to launching for Cape Horn on Sept. 6. (Travis Paterson/News Staff)
A grizzly, like this one spotted on a recent Tide Rip Grizzly Adventures tour, can be distinguished from a black bear by its noticeable shoulder hump, a more dish-shaped face and its longer claws. Photo by Anthony Bucci / www.abucciphotography.com.

Bear tales: A grizzly adventure of a lifetime!

Journey to the Great Bear Rainforest

  • Aug 14, 2020
A grizzly, like this one spotted on a recent Tide Rip Grizzly Adventures tour, can be distinguished from a black bear by its noticeable shoulder hump, a more dish-shaped face and its longer claws. Photo by Anthony Bucci / www.abucciphotography.com.
Loraine Brisebois, sales clerk at Mason & Daly General Merchants at Barkerville Historic Town & Park welcomes visitors on the weekend. This is the second season at Barkerville for Brisebois who is from Quesnel. Barkerville is limiting the site to 200 visitors per day during the COVID-19 pandemic, and is encouraging visitors to wear masks.(Rebecca Dyok photo)

Barkerville keeping busy hosting tourists amid COVID-19 pandemic

The historic town opened July 3 with a number of safety measures in place

Loraine Brisebois, sales clerk at Mason & Daly General Merchants at Barkerville Historic Town & Park welcomes visitors on the weekend. This is the second season at Barkerville for Brisebois who is from Quesnel. Barkerville is limiting the site to 200 visitors per day during the COVID-19 pandemic, and is encouraging visitors to wear masks.(Rebecca Dyok photo)
To date, Bella Coola has had no confirmed cases of COVID-19. (Bella Coola Valley-Nuxalk Nation Coordinated Information Bulletin Facebook)

Checkpoint at Bella Coola Valley shifts to informational purposes only

Travellers are being advised most accommodations and sites remain closed

To date, Bella Coola has had no confirmed cases of COVID-19. (Bella Coola Valley-Nuxalk Nation Coordinated Information Bulletin Facebook)
Explore one of BC’s best-known regions along the Sea-to-Sky Highway.

3 New Ways to Explore Vancouver and the Sea-to-Sky

See familiar places with fresh eyes

  • Jul 13, 2020
Explore one of BC’s best-known regions along the Sea-to-Sky Highway.
Discover scenery that stirs the soul throughout BC, including the Sunshine Coast Trail. Andrew Strain photo.

Rediscover Coastal Culture and Wild Landscapes on BC’s West Coast

No matter how many times you experience it, the dramatic coastal scenery stirs the soul

  • Jul 13, 2020
Discover scenery that stirs the soul throughout BC, including the Sunshine Coast Trail. Andrew Strain photo.
B.C. entered Phase 3 of its restart plan on June 24, 2020 allowing people to take part in ‘smart, safe, and respectful’ travel within the province. (B.C. government photo)

B.C. reopening travel not sitting well with several First Nations

A number of safety conditions have yet to be met Indigenous leaders maintain

B.C. entered Phase 3 of its restart plan on June 24, 2020 allowing people to take part in ‘smart, safe, and respectful’ travel within the province. (B.C. government photo)
Brayden Boyd and Michelle Fonseca had plans for a big wedding with family in Mexico, when COVID made that impossible. Nanaimo’s West Coast Helicopter stepped in and offered to marry them on a Vancouver Island mountaintop.

COVID-19 cancelled their wedding plans, so they married on a B.C. mountaintop

Ceremony was live streamed to friends and family around the world

  • May 29, 2020
Brayden Boyd and Michelle Fonseca had plans for a big wedding with family in Mexico, when COVID made that impossible. Nanaimo’s West Coast Helicopter stepped in and offered to marry them on a Vancouver Island mountaintop.
A magnificent view of the Coastal Range, just outside Langley, B.C. The Coastal Range extends from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and B.C. (Mike Luedey/Amateur Photography Entry)

Introducing the West Coast Traveller: A voyage of the mind

Top armchair travel content for Alaska, Yukon, BC, Alberta, Washington, Oregon and California!

A magnificent view of the Coastal Range, just outside Langley, B.C. The Coastal Range extends from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and B.C. (Mike Luedey/Amateur Photography Entry)
Discover Quesnel, BC

Discover Quesnel, BC

Explore this ideal spot for outdoor enthusiasts, busy families and history lovers alike

  • Apr 30, 2020
Discover Quesnel, BC
Natalie Rahey and Blair Skrupski are shown in a handout photo. The Halifax couple in their 30s whose wedding in Mexico’s Riviera Maya later this month is now on hold after Air Canada Vacations cancelled their flight, say they and their nearly three-dozen guests are now out more than $50,000. Rahey says she is “incredibly disappointed” that the voucher requires them to rebook at the same resort for the same price or more within the next two years, even if cheaper options become available. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Natalie Rahey

Travellers, travel agents ‘in agony’ over refund policies and customer service

Many Canadian carriers are offering customers flights rebookings or travel vouchers — but not refunds

Natalie Rahey and Blair Skrupski are shown in a handout photo. The Halifax couple in their 30s whose wedding in Mexico’s Riviera Maya later this month is now on hold after Air Canada Vacations cancelled their flight, say they and their nearly three-dozen guests are now out more than $50,000. Rahey says she is “incredibly disappointed” that the voucher requires them to rebook at the same resort for the same price or more within the next two years, even if cheaper options become available. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Natalie Rahey
Interprovincial travel ban an unlikely response to combat COVID-19, B.C.’s top doctor says

Interprovincial travel ban an unlikely response to combat COVID-19, B.C.’s top doctor says

We are too dependent on each other, Dr. Bonnie Henry says

Interprovincial travel ban an unlikely response to combat COVID-19, B.C.’s top doctor says
Ted MacDiarmid Traer plays the bagpipes in Scotland. (Photo submitted)

Update: Bouchie Lake Lawnchair Travel flight to Scotland postponed

The presentation was cancelled due to COVID-19 and the need to reduce social contact

Ted MacDiarmid Traer plays the bagpipes in Scotland. (Photo submitted)
FILE - In this Saturday, March 14, 2020 file photo, a Transportation Security Administration agent hands a passport back to a traveler as she screens travelers, at a checkpoint inside an airline terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. The coronavirus pandemic that’s caused many Americans to avoid airports has others booking spur-of-the moment trips at dirt-cheap ticket prices. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)

Cheap fares luring travellers to fly despite coronavirus pandemic

Airlines are seeing bookings plummet and cancellations

FILE - In this Saturday, March 14, 2020 file photo, a Transportation Security Administration agent hands a passport back to a traveler as she screens travelers, at a checkpoint inside an airline terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. The coronavirus pandemic that’s caused many Americans to avoid airports has others booking spur-of-the moment trips at dirt-cheap ticket prices. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)
(Unsplash)

Thinking of travelling? Your insurance policy might not cover COVID-19

BCAA, TuGo both not covering coronavirus-related claims

(Unsplash)
Joan McNaughton says seeing people’s expressions when they realize how close the wildlife really are while on a safari is always amazing and has become an important part of her trips. (Photos submitted)

Next Bouchie Lake Lawnchair Travel flight will take you on an African safari

Join pilot Joan McNaughton March 9 at 7 p.m. at the Bouchie Lake Hall

Joan McNaughton says seeing people’s expressions when they realize how close the wildlife really are while on a safari is always amazing and has become an important part of her trips. (Photos submitted)
Pam Devereux rides a camel in Egypt. Devereux will be sharing photos and stories from her trip during the next Bouchie Lake Lawnchair Travel flight Monday, March 2 at 7 p.m. at the Bouchie Lake Hall. (Photo submitted)

Learn why Pam Devereux can’t wait to go back to Egypt in March 2 presentation

Devereux will share highlights of her trip as part of the Bouchie Lake Lawnchair Travel series

Pam Devereux rides a camel in Egypt. Devereux will be sharing photos and stories from her trip during the next Bouchie Lake Lawnchair Travel flight Monday, March 2 at 7 p.m. at the Bouchie Lake Hall. (Photo submitted)
Brenda Gardiner (far left) and her group went dune bugging in Peru on their recent adventure, and she will be sharing highlights from this trip Monday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. as part of the Bouchie Lake Lawnchair Travel series. (Photo submitted)

Join Brenda Gardiner for an adventure in Peru and Bolivia in next Lawnchair Travel flight

Gardiner will share highlights from her recent trip Monday, Feb. 24 at the Bouchie Lake Hall

Brenda Gardiner (far left) and her group went dune bugging in Peru on their recent adventure, and she will be sharing highlights from this trip Monday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. as part of the Bouchie Lake Lawnchair Travel series. (Photo submitted)
Wolfgang Hofmeier says the cheerful children are one of the highlights from his trip to Senegal in West Africa. (Photo submitted)

Let Wolfgang Hofmeier fly you to Senegal Feb. 17

Hofmeier’s presentation is the first in the 2020 Bouchie Lake Lawnchair Travel series

Wolfgang Hofmeier says the cheerful children are one of the highlights from his trip to Senegal in West Africa. (Photo submitted)
This year will be the sixth year for the Bouchie Lake Lawnchair Travel series, with the first flight taking off Monday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Bouchie Lake Hall. (Logo by Claudia Vogt)

Sixth Bouchie Lake Lawnchair Travel series takes off Feb. 17

The first flight will be piloted by Wolfgang Hofmeier, who will take guests to Senegal

  • Feb 12, 2020
This year will be the sixth year for the Bouchie Lake Lawnchair Travel series, with the first flight taking off Monday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Bouchie Lake Hall. (Logo by Claudia Vogt)