OTTAWA GETAWAY: Travellers looking to discover the nation's capital this holiday season can take advantage of a newly introduced "Sip, Savour & Spa" package.
The two-night Ottawa getaway includes accommodation at select hotels, a $150 gift card towards dinner at Le Cordon Bleu's five-diamond Signatures Restaurant, a $50 gift card towards spa services at Holtz Spa (one card per person booking spa services) and admission for two to two of the following – the National Gallery of Canada, the Canadian War Museum and the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
Packages start at $257 per person, double occupancy, for two nights and are valid from Jan. 8 to April 8. They can be booked online at www.ottawatourism.ca or by calling 1-888-OTTAWA-8.
FLY TO TREMBLANT: Porter Airlines has begun winter service to Mont Tremblant International Airport from Toronto City Centre Airport.
The 70-minute flights, which cost $99 each way before taxes, will operate on weekends until March 30, although there will also be Monday and Wednesday service over the holidays and an additional flight on Feb. 18.
See www.flyporter.com.
FUR RENDEZVOUS: Outhouse and sled-dog racing will be part of the fun during Anchorage, Alaska's Fur Rendezvous, Feb. 22 to March 2, held annually to celebrate the city's frontier heritage.
Known locally as "Rondy," Fur Rendezvous began in 1935. See www.anchorage.net.
EAGLE SAFARI: The eagles have landed in B.C.'s Squamish Valley and the Adara Hotel in Whistler is offering an "Eagle Safari Package."
Each year, between 3,000 and 4,000 bald-headed eagles congregate to feast on salmon and safari guests float in rubber rafts along the lower sections of the Cheakamus and Squamish Rivers to see them in their natural habitat.
Available until Feb. 17, the package includes one night's accommodation, breakfast for two, the tour (with guide and lunch at the Howe Sound Inn), round-trip transfers from Whistler and a disposable camera.
It costs from $479 to $719 for two, weekends only.
See www.adarahotel.com or call 1-866-502-3272.
WINTER WINE FESTIVAL: New Hampshire's Winter Wine Festival runs from Jan. 18 to March 1 at the Wentworth by the Sea in Portsmouth.
The seven-week event includes grand vintner's dinners, rare vintage tastings, celebrity chefs and winemakers, classes and seminars. For a list of events, visit www.winterwinefestival.com.
Greg Coates covers the travel industry for one of Canada's leading trade publications. He can be reached at gcoates@baxter.net.
