All Inclusive Family Vacations

Did you know Canada..  when I think of an all inclusive vacation I often think it's meant for couples, or a group of adult friends, but places like Club Med offer all inclusive family vacations for Canadians!

Many resorts now offer something for everyone, you can enjoy the luxury of an inclusive vacation stay and enjoy time together as a family.  Most beach resorts offer kids clubs where children can meet new friends, play games and have fun.  There are also many adventures, excursions, pools and beaches to be enjoyed as a family.

A warm get away is always fun in the middle of winter isn't it?  Many of us are dreaming of laying out on a beach instead of shoveling snow.  You know I love Canada and all it has to offer, but I know many of you love a quick getaway break too!

Italy, France, Mexico and more amazing locations are waiting to be discovered.  Something so great about Canada is how accepting, integrating and supportive we are of so many different cultures, how fun would it be to learn more about these places with the whole family.  Great to chat about at school after the trip too!

Have you thought about using the better price points of an all inclusive vacation to show your family the world?

Montreal: The Best of Both Worlds

Did you know Canada.. Take a step back in time while you explore centuries of old French heritage, or rumba in the Latin Quarter, see artwork in the Metro, or tour a park in a caliche. On Mount Royal, the city’s panoramic peak, you will be able to scan the horizon all the way to the Laurentian Mountains. If you don’t feel like staying in your rental car, you can explore by walking or cycling along the sun-lit worn paths in Mount Royal Park below, on Ile Notre-Dame. You can return to modern Montreal by visiting the Casino de Montreal, where there are a variety of eateries and a swank cabaret with 120 gaming tables. There is a strict dress code here for the casinos, so be sure to dress the part!

In old Montreal you can relive the city’s vibrant French past along the cobbled stone streets. You can see soft lamps from inside a row of grand Victorian mansions overlooking Square Saint-Louis. Colors of gold and blue stained glass mark the magnificent interior of Basilique Notre Dame de Montreal as they permeate your senses. There are other famous modern architects that have also left their mark on the city, too: I.M. Pei built Galerie Place Ville Marie.

View of the Basilica from Place d'Armes

Montreal’s oldest Catholic church is the Notre-Dame Basilica. It was built in 1656 and is known for its detailed designed interior, which includes a stained glass chronicling of the history of the city. Notre-Dame Basilica is in the historic district of Old Montreal, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The church is located at 110 Notre-Dame Street West at the corner of Saint Sulpic Street. It is next to the Saint-Sulpice Seminary and faces the Place d'Armes square. As you step again into modern Montreal, you can feel the vibrant city come alive. Take a moment to take in this magnificent city. In 2006, Montreal was named as a “UNESCO City of Design”, one of only six in the world. Even the Montreal Metro is a showcase for public art! You can gain a unique perspective on the city through the walls of a geodesic dome—the Montreal Biosphere.

Montreal Biosphere

The Biosphere is a museum in Montreal dedicated to the environment. It is located at Park Jean-Drapeau, on Ile Sainte-Helene, which is in the former pavilion of the United States for the 1967 World Fair Expo 67.

If you didn’t take in enough history already, make your way to Hotel Nelson. This historical building is nestled right in the middle of a 300-year-old neighborhood. Taking its place alongside the Jacques-Cartier, built in 1804. This historic sector of Montreal has buildings dating from 17th, 18th, and 19th century containing one of the largest collections of buildings. You can’t help but feel like you have taken a step back in time. No matter where you go in Montreal, you always can get the best of both worlds. Enjoy!

Wantizen

Did you know Canada..  have you heard about Wantizen?

Instead of just searching for hotels online and bidding on prices, you can now search for rental properties and bid to get amazing savings!  How cool is that!  Why search for rental properties instead of a hotel?  Well for one, packing!!  These days, vacation rental properties come with a host of amenities that you would otherwise have to pack if you were staying in a hotel.  Never worry about your iPod dock, sand toys or lawn chairs, and especially not cooking oil, spices, tea & coffee, paper towels, fresh flowers - everything you need to enjoy your vacation will already be available to you in  a rental property!

When you search for vacation rental properties on Wantizen you can type in all the amenities you want, so there are no surprises when you get there (no Mom needs surprises!!!!), and you will often get a lower rate than the one you offer to the property owners - since the property owners are "bidding" on your business and know they are bidding against other property owners, so they'll likely offer you back a price that is lower than your original offer.  Offering one price and getting it even cheaper?  This is the way to plan a holiday!

Wantizen absolutely makes things easier for busy Moms trying to plan a family vacation.  Wantizen helps to significantly reduce research time and it is the economical and practical solution when planning your next trip.

Not only perfect for those of us planning a trip, but if you own a rental property this is such a great place to list it and have access to so many potential renters!

I also, of course, love that this service is based out of Vancouver BC, that makes the service even more trusty worthy to me, knowing it's Canadian.

Not only did we want to share this fantastic new service with you, but we have TWO contest alerts for you!

Visit the Wantizen Facebook Page for your chance to win one of two iPads in their photo contest!

ALSO, visit the Wantizen website and enter their sign-up to win sweepstakes where you could win $500 off your next rental booking with Wantizen - wow!

Who is planning an upcoming vacation??

Videotron Smart find directory

Did you know Canada.. I've been thinking *travel* today and learned about a really useful business directory if you're planning a visit to Quebec - Videotron Smart find directory.

I love that they have star reviews, and this was really cool, I searched for "pizza" in "Montreal" and I see Coronel Restaurant & Pizzeria not only got 5 stars but also has a deal I can print out! They even tell you what's most popular near you, perfect for the traveller.

You can see all the locations on a handy map, find the location you want, click on the name for even more details. Hours, address, directions, phone number (with an option to call for free!), photos, videos and written reviews. What handy information - not only for travellers but also for locals! You can also share your find with your Social Media, which I love of course.

Want to see what's around your hotel or home? Enter your location and see all the businesses surrounding you, along with all those great features like reviews, phone numbers, images and more.

This is a fantastic service for business owners, be able to showcase, upload images, share deals. I live in a small town and you'd be surprised by how often I hear about a location that I had no clue was there!! Or doesn't look it's best on the outside but has the most amazing food. By having folks share reviews everyone will be able to learn about the local gems, what a great service.

So if you live in Quebec, or are heading there this year, I highly recommend book marking Videotron Smart find directory. Make sure you share your finds as well!

DREAM BIG CANADA

Did you know Canada.. we have heard about the most fantastic giveaway from CentrSource.

The CentrSource network, anchored by Canada Post, is a strong community of some of Canada’s most trusted media brands who bring local and relevant Offers from Sellers to you. I love that you can drop in to CentrSource anytime to find what you’re looking for and you’ll be on your way in minutes.

So, what do you think about a chance to win $10,000 towards a Canadian Dream Vacation of your choice??

Oh my gosh, where would I go.. I've love to visit PEI again, I've certainly never been as far as BC, or even back to the excitement of Montreal!! Where would you go??

It's time to DREAM BIG CANADA - Enter for your chance to win!!! Contest ends December 11, 2011. There is also 8 weekly secondary prizes of $500 gift cards to be won, this is truly the contest of a life time, I'm so excited. For more chances to win, be sure to share with friends as well.

Open to ALL residents of Canada that have reached the age of majority, the Travel Voucher must be redeemed between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012 - which I'm sure the winner will have NO PROBLEM doing. ;-)

I'm going to cross my fingers for you all, this is awesome!!  After you've entered (by the way, did I mention how easy the sign up is?  No jumping through hoops on this one!) come back and tell us - where would YOU go???

Our Largest Island

Did you know Canada.. The largest Island in Canada is Baffin Island (part of the territory of Nunavut). It's also the fifth biggest island on Earth.

(Connormah)

Baffin Island is home to much wildlife including harp seals, walrus, barren-ground caribou, polar bear, arctic fox, arctic hare, lemming and arctic wolf; as well as many species of migrating birds.

Baffin Island also a hot spot for BASE jumping thanks to it's wide array of cliffs. It also welcomes visitors for skiing, kayaking, mountain climbing and more.

Sounds like a fantastic spot - who's been there??

Campground of Canada

Did you know Canada.. we heard about a fantastic website: Campgrounds of Canada. They offer a service to campgrounds and RV parks - for only $2.00 a month they can list their business with Campgrounds of Canada - giving people a 1 stop shop to find places all over Canada!

I think this is FANTASTIC for so many reasons. I've mentioned we recently went on a camping trip near St. Jacob's in Kitchener ON - this was a great meeting point for our family that is spread around Southern Ontario. So when we planned a camping trip we knew the location we needed but didn't know any campground in the area. It was actually a bit of a painful search and a lot of phone calls to find places; find out the amenities, what was available in the area, etc.. Campgrounds of Canada would have been PERFECT for this.

Their goal? To promote camping in Canada by creating a website with all campgrounds and RV parks in Canada - I love it!!!

Click here to see how a full listing looks. Know anyone that works at a campground or RV park? Spread the word!! This is a very exciting up and coming site that I know a lot of campers will love.

Harbour Grace

Did you know Canada.. Harbour Grace Newfoundland is one of the oldest towns in North America with roots dating back to the sixteenth century.

(Centre for Newfoundland Studies Archives (Coll - 75, 5.05.159))

It was also home to one of the most notorious pirates - Peter Easton. It was in 1610 that pirate Peter Easton made Harbour Grace his headquarters. He is known to be one of the most successful of all pirates as he controlled such seapower that no sovereign or state could afford to ignore him and he was never overtaken or captured by any fleet commissioned to hunt him down.

Another exciting visitor to Harbour Grace was Amelia Earhart who took off in a red and gold single engine airplane from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland, on May 20, 1932.

Harbour Grace is now a fishing town with a fish processing centre, it also has many historical buildings and an emerging tourist industry.

I for one would love to visit on Pirate Day to join in on Pagentry, contests, sailboat races, traditional Newfoundland food and music, re-enactment of the Pirate King Peter Easton's landing in 1611 and a lot more.

Source: hrgrace.ca, Wikipedia

Giveaway! DK Canada: ROUGH GUIDES

Winner:  Congratulations to our winner Kristy!  We are very excited she has won our ROUGH GUIDE ADVENTURES Prize Pack!!  Thanks again to everyone for joining our giveaway!!

Update: Giveaway is now closed - thank you everyone for commenting - fantastic books! The winner is being contacted now.

Did you know Canada.. Our friends at DK Canada publish the most fantastic book series ROUGH GUIDES. From travel guides covering more than 200 worldwide destinations as well as phrasebooks and maps to music guides and reference books on topics as diverse as Climate Change, Ethical shopping and Shakespeare, ROUGH GUIDES offer a world of ways to make the most of your time on Earth.

I had the chance to read Rough Guide to Canada.  I have to say, that photo on the cover, that is MY Canada, it honestly makes my heart sing every time I see it.  But I'll admit when I first saw the book I thought Wow, this is a book stuffed full of information. Well I'm here to tell you it IS stuffed full of information and presented in a well thought out, easy to read, easy to manage format.

The first 50 or so pages takes you through Canada in gorgeous colour photos, explains all the travel essential - especially for those visiting from outside the country, offers a fantastic list of festivals and more.

Then reading into the Guide itself is broken up into different locations, each with highlighted information, maps, history and a list of places to go and stay WITH phone numbers, hours, and pricing. This is what I really love, giving people the information they REALLY need all in one book so they don't have to go searching for numbers, wondering if a place is open on a Sunday, leaving folks concerned about how much it's going to cost and many times the book will tell you if it's necessary to call ahead before heading to a location.

The book even reminded me of some places I should be introducing my own children to in my local Southwestern Ontario. Sometimes it's easy to forget about the activities and events available in your own backyard.

Giveaway

One lucky reader will win a ROUGH GUIDE ADVENTURES Prize Pack consisting of..
* Rough Guide Ultimate Adventures
* Rough Guide Clean Breaks
* Rough Guide Earthbound
Total value - $97.49

Mandatory Entry - 1 mandatory entry per person
Comment below with an outdoor adventure you've had or would love to have.

Optional Entries - 1 comment per each optional entry
- Follow @roughguidescan on Twitter
- Like DK Canada on Facebook
- Follow Did you know Canada on GFC
- Follow @diduknowcanada on Twitter
- Like Did you know Canada on Facebook
- Tweet this giveaway (link to your tweet in comment, can be done 2x a day during giveaway)
Example Tweet..

Enter to #win a ROUGH GUIDE ADVENTURES Prize Pack ends June 7 @diduknowcanada http://bit.ly/jmnyJi

Giveaway open to our Canadian readers, closes June 7 at 9:00pm EST. You must leave an email address so I have a way to contact you in the event that you win. Winners must respond within 72 hours or another winner will be chosen in their place.

Disclosure: We received a copy of Rough Guide to Canada to review.

The Bay of Fundy

Did you know Canada.. The Bay of Fundy tide is the highest in the world!

(Decumanus)

It's as high as a four-storey building and is five times higher than the Atlantic Coast average. This offers beachcombing for sparkling amethysts at low tide, fascinating tours, and extreme Tidal Bore rafting.

There are approximately two high tides and two low tides within a 24-hour period in the Bay of Fundy. The time between a low tide and a high tide is about 6 hours and 13 minutes. The tidal bore occurs during the flooding and is a site to be seen.

A tidal bore is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave of water that travel up a river or against the direction of the current so incoming tide reverses the flow of out-flowing rivers. The Bay of Fundy is one of the few places in the world that has a tidal bore.

In July 2009, the Bay of Fundy was named as a finalist for the New 7 Wonders of Nature contest that ends in November 2011.

Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia, NovaScotia.com, Bay of Fundy Tourism, Wikipedia

Vacation Destinations: The Cabot Trail

Did you know Canada.. The Cabot Trail is a scenic highway that loops around the northern part of Nova Scotia.

(chensiyuan)

The 298 km Cabot Trail is named after the explorer John Cabot who landed in Atlantic Canada in 1497.

It is known as one of the most breath-taking drives you'll ever take and named one of the best road trips in the world. With the highway carved into the edge of ancient highlands, spectacular views of the ocean and passing through Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

The Cabot Trail connects eight major communities with festivals, outdoor adventures and more - this would be a vacation to remember.

Source: Novascotia.ca, The Cabot Trail

Staycation

Did you know Canada.. it looks like many people are still enjoying "staycations" and travelling closer to home as Statistics Canada Reports Domestic tourism spending by Canadians was up 0.4% at the end of last year - a continuing trend.

Statistics Canada notes that higher spending on accommodation, food and beverage services and, most notably, non-tourism commodities such as groceries, souvenirs and clothing contributed to the overall increase in tourism outlays at home.

In my family last year we went to a cottage in Muskoka for vacation and this year we plan on doing a lot of day trips to local attractions and try our hand at camping - again staying pretty close to home.

What are your vacation plans this year?

If you plan to stay in Canada be sure to enter our contest from DK Canada's Travel Boutique to win an Eyewitness Guides book set!

Source: Statistics Canada

Vacation Destinations

Looking to start a series of articles about favourite places to visit in Canada. Email us YOUR favourite destination at didyouknowcanada@gmail.com or send us a link to your blog discussing the best Canadian Vacation you've had.