Canoe.ca | Travel

Early fall a sweet spot for trips

By Doug English

Guided walking tours of Chinese night markets are offered in Vancouver and Richmond, B.C.

Any time is a good time to begin a holiday, I suppose, but the period after Labour Day is especially sweet.

I recall driving to a popular summer resort area on the east side of Lake Michigan the day after that holiday, and revelling in the fact that most of the traffic was coming the other way.

Other memories:

Of arriving in Halifax and discovering I wouldn't have to line up for an hour to sail on the Bluenose II or tour the Citadel.

Of having my pick of accommodation, often at rates substantially below what they'd been just a day or two earlier.

Of encountering people in the hospitality industry who actually seemed glad to see me.

If you don't have to worry about packing back-to-school lunches, here are some suggestions for late-summer or early fall trips.

Quality Hotel & Suites Toronto Airport East has an end-of-season special involving Canada's Wonderland.

One night's accommodation plus two adult passes to the theme park starts at $144.95 (request the PWOND rate). Additional nights are available at $89. Phone 1-866-220-6916. The offer is good until Oct. 31.

Celebrity Cruises is operating a new series of cruises in September and October that only visit British Columbia ports.

They depart from Seattle and take either three or four nights. Destinations include Victoria, Vancouver, Nanaimo, Campbell River and Prince Rupert. For details, see celebrity.com.

Parc Aquarium du Quebec in Quebec City is the first to boast having Pacific and Atlantic walruses. Among the newest additions are two baby Pacific walruses. The aquarium has more than 10,000 marine specimens. Visit sepaq.com/paq/en.

Two guided walking tours of Chinese night markets are available in Vancouver and nearby Richmond. The Vancouver tour runs every Sunday night until the end of September. Tickets are $10 per person. See vancouverchinesegarden.com.

The Richmond tour is intended to introduce food enthusiasts to the night market there. That tour costs $55 per person and includes tastings. For more, see edible-britishcolumbia.com.

Ottawa has a new Capital Museums Passport. For $30 per person or $75 for a family of five (maximum two adults), passport holders can visit 10 of Ottawa's diverse museums from the Canadian Museum of Civilization to the Canada Science and Technology Museum.

The passport also gives visitors a 20% discount on all National Arts Centre events in the regular subscription series including English and French Theatre performances.

The passport is valid for seven days after its first use and is available at participating museums or at the Capital Info Centre, across from Parliament Hill. For details, see ottawatourism.ca.

Atlantic Canada's newest golf course, The River Course at Humber Valley Resort in western Newfoundland, is set to open this month. Some of the 18 holes wind along the Humber River, others present views of Long Range Mountains and Deer Lake. Green fees at the par-72 course are $100 per round. A twilight rate of $70 applies after 4 p.m.

Other activities available include hiking at nearby Gros Morne National Park, fly fishing, bird watching and kayaking. See humbervalley.com.

War historian Norm Christie will lead a tour Oct. 14-25 titled Trench Fever, focusing on Canada's contribution to the First World War.

The tour covers parts of Belgium and France and ends in Paris with an opportunity to attend the Ceremony of the Flame at the Arc de Triomphe. The land-only price is $2,195 per person, double. Call Uniglobe Plus Travel Group at 1-800-254-7598. Contact Doug English, c/o London Free Press, P.O. Box 2280, London, ON, N6A 4G1