travel posts

Whether its a business trip or a week-long vacation, its becoming rare for many of us to walk in the doors of a travel agency and work with a travel agent.

According to a recent survey by Swedish travel website Tripl, social media is rapidly changing the way we view travel. Tripl's Social Travel Revolution analyzed how travelers using Facebook and Twitter, as well as how access to the internet is changing.

The numbers reveal that we're all getting more connected, checking our fave social media sites and more than likely to do it from a mobile phone than any other electronic accessory. According to Tripl, 72 per cent of us access social media daily when we're traveling.

But does that preclude expert advice?

Recently, I saw a billboard for a company called the FlightNetwork touting a one-stop service for booking air travel. They claim to have better pricing and a rate protection guarantee. But are they worth the extra shopping clicks online?

A summer road trip can be a wonderful chance to bond with your children while they learn about other places but this mode of travel also poses a few problems. Kids, as they say, will be kids and parents could be in for a rough ride as boredom gives way to backseat bickering or other unpleasantness.

You'll have a fighting chance for at least a few peaceful miles, if you prepare in advance. So here are five ways that the dollar store can help keep kids happy on road trips.

Summer has to be the favourite season of Canadians - long weekends, family reunions, festivals - all lures for us to enjoy time away from work and happily be on vacation.

For those of us who are more spontaneous planners and haven't confirmed time at a cottage, there are deals to be found for those who want to spend time in the confines of a hotel where the bed is always made and there are always clean fluffy towels in abundance.

A few things to remember - if you're a member of an association like the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), military or retired, remember to mention this when booking as it will generally mean a discount on hotel accommodation.

For the deals from five favourite hotel brands - here's the list:

Hurray for summer! It's the one time of year that everyone wants to escape the office and run off into the sunshine.

Whether it's to camp by the lake for a week or wander a big city shopping district and art galleries, everyone wants to have a little fun.

According to CanadianFinanceBlog.com, the key is to start saving early. But the one thing we all want is a bargain.

There are easy ways to save money when planning the summer vacation - and many of the ideas are easy to incorporate to help make the vacation fun and good for the budget.

Here are seven tips to consider while holiday planning:

Travelocity.ca in-house travel expert Brian Simpson says even though the economy was sluggish, Canadians still enjoyed taking vacations.

With the strength of the Canadian dollar against the US greenback, many Canadians are looking at exotic locations like Hawaii for a vacation.

To listen to the entire interview, click below:

Admit it: A staycation is just not going to cut it this year.

After three years of pinching pennies, if you're getting frustrated staying home instead of hitting the road, you're not alone: Almost half of all consumers surveyed for a recently released report from Deloitte said they plan to take a trip this summer even with gas prices hovering at $1.30 a litre.

"Although industry data show overall levels of leisure travel are still below levels seen prior to the recession, our latest survey indicates that in 2011, consumers are more willing to spend on summer trips than last year," Adam Weissenberg, Deloitte's vice chairman, said in a statement. "However, with spiking gas prices, airfare costs and hotel rates, as well as ongoing financial concerns, summer vacationers may tweak their travel plans."

With the recession behind us in Canada, and summer on the horizon, vacation plans for June, July or August are the next order of business.

In past years, which saw many families decide they wanted to be frugal about their holiday spending, instead of trips to Disney World or to Banff National Park, travellers made plans to visit family or friends.

At the recent Leisure Travel Summit held in Toronto sponsored by Best Western Hotels, panelists discussed the return of the leisure traveller and agreed that Canadians are making plans for a summer vacation that may include trips to major cities, hiking, cycling or visiting national parks.

Like anything else, the world of travel is subject to changing trends.

While economic problems influenced the trend toward staycationing, there are numerous other trends that have surfaced in recent years as well.

As a full-time travel writer, Kate Pocock has been noticing these for years, and she shares the trends that she's seen developing, and those that are just starting to catch on with travelers.