Travel

The Via Rail station is seen in Halifax on June 13, 2013. Martin Landry, CEO of the railway, says in a statement that beyond not having met the expectations of customers, Via Rail has not lived up to its own standards.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

Via Rail apologizes for holiday travel disruptions, communication failures

Company offering refunds and travel credits after delays and cancellations

The Via Rail station is seen in Halifax on June 13, 2013. Martin Landry, CEO of the railway, says in a statement that beyond not having met the expectations of customers, Via Rail has not lived up to its own standards.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
A heavily armed army convoy departs the prosecutor’s building where Ovidio Guzmán, one of the sons of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, is in custody in Mexico City, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. The mayor of a Mexican city caught up in a wave of drug cartel violence last week wasted little time reassuring Canadians and other foreign visitors that his city is safe for travellers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Fernando Llano

Mazatlán mayor reassures Canadians and other visitors following cartel violence

Canadian tourists had to remain in hotels for days after arrest of major alleged drug leader

A heavily armed army convoy departs the prosecutor’s building where Ovidio Guzmán, one of the sons of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, is in custody in Mexico City, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. The mayor of a Mexican city caught up in a wave of drug cartel violence last week wasted little time reassuring Canadians and other foreign visitors that his city is safe for travellers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Fernando Llano
From left to right, Justin Bogdanovic, Shannon Dryer, Victor Dryer, Gabriel Dryer, Nikolas Bogdanovic and Kayden Dryer, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Victor Dryer

Travellers crave getaways but now weigh risks of lost baggage, poor weather, illness

One B.C. woman says she’s unlikely to ever take a travel holiday over Christmas again

From left to right, Justin Bogdanovic, Shannon Dryer, Victor Dryer, Gabriel Dryer, Nikolas Bogdanovic and Kayden Dryer, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Victor Dryer
Men carry furniture after looting a store, as a truck burns on a street in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Mexican security forces captured Ovidio Guzmán, an alleged drug trafficker wanted by the United States and one of the sons of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, in a pre-dawn operation Thursday that set off gunfights and roadblocks across the western state’s capital. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Martin Urista

Canadian tourists remain barricaded in hotel amid Mexican cartel violence

Hotel lobby full of people who slept there overnight after flights cancelled

Men carry furniture after looting a store, as a truck burns on a street in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Mexican security forces captured Ovidio Guzmán, an alleged drug trafficker wanted by the United States and one of the sons of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, in a pre-dawn operation Thursday that set off gunfights and roadblocks across the western state’s capital. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Martin Urista
Mexican Public Safety Secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez, right, and Mexican Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval leave after a news conference announcing the arrest of Ovidio Guzman in Mexico City, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Mexican security forces captured Guzman, an alleged drug trafficker wanted by the United States and one of the sons of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, Thursday in a pre-dawn operation outside Culiacan. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Eduardo Verdugo

Canadian government tells travellers in Mexico to shelter in place due to violence

Ottawa said the violence is particularly fierce in Culiacan, Mazatlan, Los Mochis and Guasave

Mexican Public Safety Secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez, right, and Mexican Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval leave after a news conference announcing the arrest of Ovidio Guzman in Mexico City, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Mexican security forces captured Guzman, an alleged drug trafficker wanted by the United States and one of the sons of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, Thursday in a pre-dawn operation outside Culiacan. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Eduardo Verdugo
A plane is silhouetted as it takes off from Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., Monday, May 13, 2019. New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh says he wants to see more competition within Canada’s airspace in order to make flying more affordable for people.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Holiday travel mess shows why Canadian air travel industry needs competition: NDP

Singh calling on Liberal government to find ways to make the airline industry more competitive

A plane is silhouetted as it takes off from Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., Monday, May 13, 2019. New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh says he wants to see more competition within Canada’s airspace in order to make flying more affordable for people.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
An aerial view over downtown Victoria and the Inner Harbour. Victoria has been named the 10th friendliest city in the world by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine. (Black Press Media file photo)

Victoria named 10th friendliest city in world by travel magazine

The readers of Conde Nast Traveler voted in the 35th Readers’ Choice awards

An aerial view over downtown Victoria and the Inner Harbour. Victoria has been named the 10th friendliest city in the world by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine. (Black Press Media file photo)
Peter Schiefke rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, May 4, 2018. Schiefke, chair of the House of Commons transport committee, is calling on Sunwing Airlines and Via Rail to publicly explain what caused the travel nightmare that plagued thousands of Canadians over the holidays. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

‘Unacceptable’: Committee chair says Sunwing, Via Rail must answer for holiday mess

House of Commons call for representatives from both companies to appear as witnesses

Peter Schiefke rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, May 4, 2018. Schiefke, chair of the House of Commons transport committee, is calling on Sunwing Airlines and Via Rail to publicly explain what caused the travel nightmare that plagued thousands of Canadians over the holidays. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
A Sunwing Airlines jet prepares to takeoff at Trudeau International Airport in Montreal on Friday, March 20, 2020. Some Sunwing travellers from Saskatchewan say the airline is leaving them at airports in other provinces, while another says her flight from Mexico that made it to Regina had dozens of empty seats. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Some Saskatchewan Sunwing passengers make it home, others make their own way back

‘We expect Sunwing to appropriately compensate everyone’: Saskatchewan premier

A Sunwing Airlines jet prepares to takeoff at Trudeau International Airport in Montreal on Friday, March 20, 2020. Some Sunwing travellers from Saskatchewan say the airline is leaving them at airports in other provinces, while another says her flight from Mexico that made it to Regina had dozens of empty seats. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
The M.V. Coho vehicle ferry will be out of service from Jan. 3 until Jan. 25. (Black Press Media file photo)

Victoria-Port Angeles ferry won’t operate for 3 weeks in January

The M.V. Coho ferry will be in dry dock longer than normal in 2023

The M.V. Coho vehicle ferry will be out of service from Jan. 3 until Jan. 25. (Black Press Media file photo)
The Connector is icy and people are urged to avoid travel until the freezing rain warning subsides. (Drive BC)

Okanagan Connector now open after Christmas Eve crash that hospitalized 53 people

There is currently a freezing rain warning in effect along the Connector

The Connector is icy and people are urged to avoid travel until the freezing rain warning subsides. (Drive BC)
The Okanagan Connector is closed due to a vehicle incident. (DriveBC)

53 people injured in bus crash on Okanagan Connector on Christmas Eve

The highway is on a winter storm warning

The Okanagan Connector is closed due to a vehicle incident. (DriveBC)
A man clears snow from on a vehicle as snow falls in Vancouver, on Sunday, December 18, 2022. Temperature are dropping to dangerously cold extremes in some regions of British Columbia as snowfall send tires spinning in parts of Metro Vancouver. Environment Canada says wind chill values are dropping near -40 C or colder in the Chilcotin, Cariboo, Prince George and other central B.C. communities. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Snow, cold, in Western Canada send icicles through the heart of Canadian travel plans

Vancouver, Toronto, Victoria airports all dealing with disruptions

A man clears snow from on a vehicle as snow falls in Vancouver, on Sunday, December 18, 2022. Temperature are dropping to dangerously cold extremes in some regions of British Columbia as snowfall send tires spinning in parts of Metro Vancouver. Environment Canada says wind chill values are dropping near -40 C or colder in the Chilcotin, Cariboo, Prince George and other central B.C. communities. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
This photo shows the exterior of The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu where some patients injured by air turbulence on a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Phoenix to Honolulu were taken, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)

Dozens hurt in turbulent Hawaii flight, 11 seriously

Flight had nearly 300 people aboard, many traveling to Hawaii for the holidays

This photo shows the exterior of The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu where some patients injured by air turbulence on a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Phoenix to Honolulu were taken, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)
FILE - People shop for shoes in a Nike store on , Nov. 25, 2022, in New York. “Buy now, pay later” services like Affirm, Afterpay and Klarna can sometimes provide a cheaper, more accessible version of credit. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)

The problems with using buy now, pay later to fund travel

Buy now, pay later travel spending logged 1,233% increase from 2020 to 2021

FILE - People shop for shoes in a Nike store on , Nov. 25, 2022, in New York. “Buy now, pay later” services like Affirm, Afterpay and Klarna can sometimes provide a cheaper, more accessible version of credit. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File)
The Coquihalla Highway at 9:09 a.m. on Tuesday morning (Nov. 29). The Coq and the Okanagan Connector are expecting 20-35 centimetres of snow over the next 24 hours. (DriveBC)

STORM WATCH: 20-35 cm of snow expected on major B.C. Interior highways

Eastern Fraser Valley municipalities also affected

The Coquihalla Highway at 9:09 a.m. on Tuesday morning (Nov. 29). The Coq and the Okanagan Connector are expecting 20-35 centimetres of snow over the next 24 hours. (DriveBC)
Crews install a cantilever along Hwy. 4 in August 2022. (BC Ministry of transportation and infrastructure photo)

Province promises Tofino-Ucluelet highway will open to two-way traffic in early 2023

Four years of travel delays may finally be coming to an end for West Coast residents and visitors

Crews install a cantilever along Hwy. 4 in August 2022. (BC Ministry of transportation and infrastructure photo)
Crews install a cantilever along Hwy. 4 in August 2022. (BC Ministry of transportation and infrastructure photo)

Province promises Tofino-Ucluelet highway will open to two-way traffic in early 2023

Four years of travel delays may finally be coming to an end for West Coast residents and visitors

Crews install a cantilever along Hwy. 4 in August 2022. (BC Ministry of transportation and infrastructure photo)
Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra speaks with members of the media after tabling legislation in the House of Commons, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Federal government still strongly encourages people to use masks while travelling

But mask wearing on planes and trains will not be a requirement

Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra speaks with members of the media after tabling legislation in the House of Commons, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
FILE - A small boat navigates near the Diamond Princess cruise ship anchoring off the Yokohama Port, near Tokyo on Feb. 4, 2020. Japan is lifting a more than 2 1/2-year ban on international cruise ships that was imposed following a deadly coronavirus outbreak on the cruise ship Diamond Princess at the beginning of the pandemic. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

VIDEO: Japan to reopen to cruise ships after 2.5-year ban

Cruises haven’t been allowed since infamous Diamond Princess COVID outbreak at start of pandemic

FILE - A small boat navigates near the Diamond Princess cruise ship anchoring off the Yokohama Port, near Tokyo on Feb. 4, 2020. Japan is lifting a more than 2 1/2-year ban on international cruise ships that was imposed following a deadly coronavirus outbreak on the cruise ship Diamond Princess at the beginning of the pandemic. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)