Jetsettersblog

Toronto — Canada’s largest and most cosmopolitan city pulses with creative energy, international charm, magnificent architecture and natural beauty. Visitors can whisk to the top of one of the world’s tallest towers, window-shop their way through the Fashion District, or enjoy a few of the city’s 1,500 parks. Plus, the weather is fine — Toronto is located farther south than the French Riviera. And Toronto CityPASS makes this center of Canadian glamour and moviemaking all the more affordable by offering discounted admission to the city’s essential attractions, including CN Tower and the Royal Ontario Museum.

The Toronto CityPASS ticket booklet lets visitors bypass main ticket lines, and provides reduced-price entry into the city’s six top attractions — for a price that’s 46 percent less than the cost of tickets purchased separately. Toronto CityPASS costs $59 CAD for adults (a value of $109.12) and $39 CAD for kids (a value of $72.83).

With CityPASS, savings are significant: Adults save $50.12 CAD and kids (ages 4-12) save $33.83 CAD over regular admission prices. With a Toronto CityPASS ticket booklet, visitors get reduced-price admission to CN Tower, opulent Casa Loma, Ontario Science Centre, Royal Ontario Museum and the Toronto Zoo.

Named one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, CN Tower is the world’s second tallest freestanding structure. Toronto CityPASS holders walk straight to the glass-fronted elevators and shoot skyward 1,136 feet (346 meters) to the Look Out level in just 58 seconds. Visitors won’t believe the thrill of stepping out onto the Glass Floor with a clear view 1,122 feet (342 meters) straight down.

The CN Tower architects and engineers promise that the floor is secure — they even encourage jumping on the glass floor panels (even though your nervous system might scream otherwise). At this level, there are also restaurants, shops, a movie on the building of the tower, and — for an additional fee — a special Sky Pod elevator that soars up another 33 stories. From that height, visitors have a 360-degree, unobstructed view of Toronto and Lake Ontario. On a clear day, Niagara Falls shimmers in the distance.

A Toronto CityPASS admission ticket to the CN Tower also provides a choice of either The Height of Excellence film or the Himalazon motion-theater ride. Visitors can drink in the views while enjoying the world’s highest wine cellar, and then settle in for a casual meal in Horizons Café or go high-class with a sumptuous experience in 360 Restaurant.

Next, travel from the heights of modern engineering to the heights of fancy conjured by Canadian business magnate Sir Henry Pellatt. In the early 1900s, Pellatt built Casa Loma, a medieval-style castle surpassing any private home existing in North America. Sir Henry filled his masterpiece with treasures and art from around the world. Visitors can explore the castle’s secret passages, lofty towers and the 800-foot tunnel that connects to luxurious stables. During the late spring and summer, the estate’s five-acre garden is in bloom. A Toronto CityPASS admission ticket includes an introductory film about Sir Henry Pellatt and a self-guided digital audio tour.

The Ontario Science Centre has been igniting curiosity for 40 years, featuring hands-on science and technology exhibits that bring out the inquisitive kid in everyone.

Children 8 and younger will be thrilled at the KidSpark discovery playground. Older kids and teens can engage in interactive exhibitions and science demonstrations and view IMAX films. The fun begins even before visitors pass through the entrance: The museum’s front yard is an outdoor exhibition space that lets visitors play music on a fountain, navigate a water maze (without getting wet), explore a wetland and climb on three large spheres.

With a Toronto CityPASS ticket booklet, visitors are waved to the express entry at the phenomenal Royal Ontario Museum — Canada’s largest museum of world cultures and natural history. Discover its World Culture Galleries, showcasing artifacts from ancient Egypt, China, Canada’s First Peoples and more.

The museum is probably best known for its awe-inspiring Age of Dinosaurs collection, whose exhibits range from tiny fossilized insects to Gordo the Barosaurus, a 90-foot (27 meter) behemoth who holds the title of Canada’s largest dinosaur on permanent display.

The Toronto Zoo is consistently voted the best attraction in the city and is one of Toronto CityPASS’ hottest discount tickets. Rather than resting on its laurels, the Toronto Zoo frequently introduces amazing new exhibits and habitats. Sharks are coming back to the zoo in late May, giving visitors a chance to stick their hands in a tank and safely pet nurse sharks, stingrays and other creatures.

Last summer the zoo opened a new 10-acre Tundra Trek exhibit with a habitat for polar bears, snow geese, arctic fox and wolves, reindeer and snowy owl. The Toronto Zoo’s refurbished Australasia Pavilion introduced a new Great Barrier Reef Exhibit and expanded its space to include a new exhibit for the echidna and hairy-nosed wombats.

While downtown, relax in Yonge-Dundas Square — a focal point of downtown Toronto. The intersection of Yonge and Dundas streets is Toronto’s No. 1 gathering spot.

The free Wi-Fi, concerts and performances encourage lunch crowds and after-work schmoozing. May through October (Friday through Sunday), the square’s Arts at the Heart market is the place to look for handcrafted items and jewelry that reflect a wide array of cultural influences.

Foodies will relish the chance to peruse the St. Lawrence Market, regarded as one of the world’s finest food markets by Food & Wine magazine. Located in the historic Old Town Toronto neighborhood at Jarvis and Front streets, the South Market has more than 50 gourmet food vendors and a dozen lunch counters. Upstairs, the Market Gallery shows archival art and photographs from the city’s collection. The North Market is home to the 200-year-old Saturday Farmers’ Market and the Sunday Antique Market.

You’re always on course for a great round with Golf Vacations.

In the latest edition of Golf Vacations (Apr-June 2010), we’ve gone even further in our never-ending search to bring dedicated golfers the very best courses to play. Whether it’s America, Asia, Europe or Australasia, there’s something for everyone among its 138-pages.

Check out the beautiful scenery and challenging golf courses in Mauritius, rightly called the jewel of the Indian Ocean. Or how about a golfing holiday in exotic Borneo, where the unique natural environment makes playing the game such a special experience?

Tahiti, Thailand, Scotland and Fiji all feature, as does a special look at Whistling Straits in America, home of this year’s US PGA Championship. Readers can get an inside look at this links-style course before the pro’s turn up for the last Major of the year.

But we haven’t forgotten those who like to take a holiday ‘at home’. There’s a great weekend away suggestion in the Hawkesbury region of New South Wales while we also focus on some of the best courses in Western Australia. For those thinking of crossing the ditch, we look at Millbrook and Taupo/Rotarua in New Zealand.

And apart from booking their next holiday, golfers can also win one, thanks to our fantastic subscribers competition. Two people will be off to Thailand for the golfing holiday of a lifetime.

It’s all in the latest issue of Golf Vacations, on sale now at all good newsagents.

For subscriptions, call Global Publishing on (02) 9555 8100 during business hours, e-mail golf@globalpublishing.com.au  or visit www.globalpublishing.com.au

Irish-born Nelsonian Rachel Ryan, of Walk the West of Ireland takes small groups of Kiwis to walk her homeland and experience the ancient culture she knows and treasures. She is the human connection in a journey into the heart of this ancient land.

Rachel’s Irish credentials are impeccable – born in County Limerick to an Irish father and a Kiwi mother, she came to NZ in her early twenties and fell in love – with the country and a Kiwi bloke – and stayed to make a life of it.

But as any ex-pat knows, the pull of home is always strong, maybe even stronger when home is Ireland’s western shores with its wild landscapes, cultural treasure trove and ancient civilisations.

Despite its ancient heritage, fascinating culture and colourful people, Ireland is changing fast, with economic growth bringing prosperity but heralding changes to what has for many centuries been an untouched land and the people who live there.

“If you are going, you’ll want to walk the Ireland of ruined cottages, ancient settlements, grand houses, remote valleys and music that shakes the soul out of you to dance an Irish jig.,” says Rachel.

“The walkers tramp the wild Atlantic Coastline with people who know its stories, meet the artists, the historians, the publicans, the locals, the story tellers.

Rachel’s guests stay in hand picked boutique accommodation and feed on the food of monks, artists, musicians and poets. Fresh Salmon from the Wild Atlantic coast; cheese from a cheese maker whose father’s father made it the same way; artisan sausages made from a secret recipe.

Gourmet chef Elin travels with the group and prepares fresh lobster from Castletownbere, wild honey-smoked salmon from the Connemara Smokehouse, and artisan cheeses from the Ferguson Family on Gubeen Farm.

The 2010 Walk the West tour (June 2010) takes in three distinct locations – the Beara Peninsula, the Glen of Aherlow and the Burren. The group visits islands rich with legends and stories of ancient Ireland, takes in the rural heartland of County Tipperary and feels the might of ancient cultures at Lough Gur and on the Burren. “It’s a total immersion experience for anyone wanting to get under the skin of Ireland’s local character,” said Rachel.

Rachel has a second tour on offer in July 2010 – Connemara’s Calling will visit North Mayo, Achill Island, Inisbofin and Connemara. “We’ll be walking in the footprints of the ancients in the Céide Fields, the world’s most extensive Stone Age monument, and rambling through the Delphi Valley – the most beautiful untouched valley in Europe.

The whole area is rich with authentic Irish character,” said Rachel, “We’ll be making sure our guests get a feel for ‘grass roots’ Ireland.”

Website and full itinerary: www.walkthewestofireland.com

For more information about Ireland visit http://www.discoverireland.com or for a free vacation planning kit call the NY office at 800/223-6470. Read Ireland feature stories from Jetsetters Magazine.

The Los Cabos Convention & Visitor’s Bureau launched the destination’s new Mobile Guide tool that is available for use by consumers.

This tool highlights the ways that the destination is changing in order to successfully spread content and messages to the public in the rapidly changing tourism industry.

By putting this tool into action, Los Cabos hopes to motivate other destinations in Mexico and abroad to venture into new and creative ways of promoting themselves within the tourism market.

The Los Cabos Mobile Guide is a free downloadable cell phone guide available to individuals interested in, planning or are already vacationing in Los Cabos.

The new mobile guide will provide travelers with instant information on accommodations, entertainment, local culture, contact information for all tour operators as well as updates on promotions and local events throughout the destination.

The Los Cabos Mobile Guide will highlight important tourist spots including the cruise terminal, the airport, the hotel zone and popular shopping areas, allowing visitors to instantly obtain information about each area directly from their cell phone without having to access the Internet.

The Los Cabos Mobile Guide is expected to improve the experience of visitors to Los Cabos and benefit the destination by encouraging collaboration with the tourism service providers and other travel partners.

To download the Los Cabos Mobile Guide, visit

www.visitloscabos.travel

Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Constellation now has some of the features introduced on the line’s Solstice-class ships after undergoing a 15-day dry-dock revitalization.

The ship now has Tuscan Grille steakhouse, Bistro on Five creperie, an ice-topped Martini Bar, the Café al Bacio and Gelateria, and the Cellarmasters wine bar that allows passengers to automatically pour themselves a glass of wine.

The ship also has more suites, with new furniture, flat-screen TVs, upholstery, bedding and carpeting.

Restyled staterooms have with new carpeting, flat-screen TVs, upholstery and bedding.

“Our newly ‘Solsticized’ Celebrity Constellation is a significant outgrowth of our ‘Designed for you’ brand platform, built around our longtime commitment to identifying and designing what our guests want,” said Celebrity President and CEO Dan Hanrahan.

Celebrity Constellation is the first of the line’s four Millennium-class ships to be “Solsticized.” Celebrity Infinity and Celebrity Summit will be similarly refurbished in 2011, followed by Celebrity Millennium in 2012. The revitalization is only part of Celebrity’s Designed for you platform, which represents a nearly $200 million investment.

Following its current seven-night cruise through the Norwegian Fjords, Celebrity Constellation will operate a series of 12-night Scandinavia and Russia cruises, followed by an eight-night Northern Europe and Mediterranean cruise from Amsterdam to Barcelona. From Barcelona, the ship will operate seven-night Mediterranean roundtrips before a 14-night trans-Atlantic voyage departing Barcelona Nov. 6, ending in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

There, Celebrity Constellation will present two consecutive 14-night Exotic Caribbean cruises, prior to embarking on a 15-night Panama Canal voyage from Fort Lauderdale to San Diego on Dec. 18.

BC Ferries announced the opening of its new Vacations Centre.

Located at 1010 Canada Place in the heart of downtown Vancouver, the center will provide visiting tourists and locals with endless opportunities to explore British Columbia aboard BC Ferries.

The BC Ferries Vacations Centre features a 90-square-foot electronic media wall with 18 screens with touch-film technology for interactive navigation.

The content of the screens include everything a traveler needs to plan a coastal vacation, from route maps to package options and destination images to ship information and onboard amenities.

The 2,600-square-foot center is located directly across the street from the newly expanded Vancouver Convention Centre and provides BC Ferries with significant presence in this major tourism market.

The space also features a retail section with gifts and jewelry created by artisans from our coastal communities.

For more information or reservations, call 888-BCFERRY or

visit www.bcferries.com

The Empire State Building announced that this year, the Observatories atop the world’s most famous office building will return to the travel trade show at booth number 1525 with new offerings and upgrades.

The Empire State Building has completely and totally restored and recreated its prized Art Deco lobby and thoroughly revamped and upgraded its Observatory experience as part of the more than $550 million Empire State rebuilding program, propelling the offering of this international icon into the forefront of the 21st century.

A key aspect of the upgrades, the groundbreaking energy-efficiency retrofit project, developed in partnership with the Clinton Climate Initiative, Johnson Controls, Jones Lang LaSalle, and the Rocky Mountain Institute to reduce the skyscraper’s energy usage by over 38 percent, has been turned into a multi-media experience by Hornall Anderson to be installed in the Observatory in the summer of 2010.

A blueprint for retrofitting existing buildings around the world, the integration of energy efficiency retrofit work into the Empire State Building has been the subject of media, commercial and government seminars and studies, and building operators locally, nationally, and internationally (www.esbsustainability.com)

In summer 2010, the Empire State Building will unveil a multi-million-dollar, multimedia exhibit in its Observatory Visitor’s Center to educate the public and share the process of this world-leading development in sustainable living practices.

The displays will engage visitors on their pathway to the Observatories, exposing and inspiring them to replicate these initiatives in varying degrees in order to reduce the overall carbon footprint.

The display is so in depth, many may wish to visit the building and its many shops even in less than ideal viewing weather.

The 86th floor observatory now has indoor viewing galleries for guests to enjoy the views rain or shine, day or night.

The retail shops have been moved and a modern Art Deco design that captures an interpretation of the celestial design seen in the Empire State Building’s main lobby ceiling mural has been installed in their place.

To support visitor experience enhancements, beginning in November 2010, ticket prices to the observatory will increase by $1 for general admission.

For more information, visit

www.esbnyc.com

Island Packer Cruises, authorized concessionaire to the Channel Islands National Park off the coast of Ventura County in California, has announced a new adventure sail to Anacapa Island aboard the Bill of Rights tall ship.

The adventure includes a sailing trip within the Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary to view marine life and other sights.

The Bill of Rights departs Channel Islands Harbor at 10 a.m. and returns by 4 p.m.

Visitors will have the opportunity to view seal and sea lion rookeries, as well as other marine life, as well as Arch Rock and coastal island sea cliffs.

Visitors can participate in the adventure by helping the crew or just relax aboard the historic vessel.

The new adventure sail is available June 12, July 17, Aug. 21 and Sept. 11.

Fares are $65 per adult, $60 per senior and $ 55 per child.

It is suggested that guests bring food and beverages for the day sail.

For more information, call 805-642-1393 or visit www.islandpackers.com

Sonesta International Hotels Corporation announced the opening of its second hotel in Colombia, the 126-room Sonesta Hotel Barranquilla

This full-service hotel is located in the midst of business, shopping, restaurants and cultural attractions in downtown Barranquilla.

The hotel is located adjacent to the Centro Comercial Grand Boulevard on Carretera, and adjoins the new shopping mall, casino and nightclub complex.

This hotel, and its sister properties in Peru, Chile and Valledupar, Colombia are the result of an ongoing relationship between GHL Hoteles and Sonesta.

The Sonesta Hotel Barranquilla features contemporary guest rooms, a full-service business center, three meal a day restaurant, lounge, room service, 24-hour concierge service, Wi-Fi throughout the hotel, and 2,600 square feet of meeting space. Barranquilla is located in Northern Colombia, overlooking the Caribbean Sea and the Magdalena river.

The 323-room Holiday Inn in the Walt Disney World Resort has made its debut in Orlando.

The resort offers a heated, beach-entry pool, 24-hour fitness center and transportation to all the Disney theme parks included in the room rate, complimentary local and toll-free calls, bedding featuring triple sheeting, quality bath products, free coffee, a mini-refrigerator, a large LCD HD TV and free DirecTV.

Additionally, the hotel also offers free Wi-Fi, and kids under 12 stay and eat free. Current rates begin at $99 per room, per night at the new Holiday Inn in the Walt Disney World Resort which opened mid-February of this year.

For members of Holiday Inn’s Priority Club Rewards there is a 10,000-point bonus program for guests who stay three nights.

For more information, visit www.hiorlando.com