Thursday, October 25, 2012

Georgia, Savannah Suggestions

 

 

Georgia, Savannah Suggestions

Hotel/Motel

 

SAMGHOST 092For a reasonable stay just outside of Savannah off Interstate I-95, the affordable Inn At Mulberry Grove may be just the place.

Clean comfortable rooms with a free hot breakfast and wi-fi it is hard to beat for $39.95. The location is a short drive into Savannah and may save you enough dough to have a nice dinner in town.

 

 

Restaurant

 

SAMGHOST 121With lunch specials from $7.95 and old-school beers from under $3 a bottle, it is hard to go wrong at Crystal Beer Parlor an old “speakeasy”.

Don't leave without having a slice of Savannah Mud Pie.

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Churchill Polar Bear Tips-N-Things

 

Most visitors come to Churchill, The Polar Bear Capital of The World, during bear season in organized tours anywhere from one day to multi-day stays costing from $2-7,000.00. However, there are a few independent travelers that might find the following information useful.

The cheapest way to Churchill is by train from Winnipeg about $400 RT in a non-sleeping car. A journey that takes about 44 hours and is only available certain days of the week. An alternate to save time is to drive or fly to Thompson and take the train from there. If you do drive to Thompson, I am told it is better to park at the City Hall lot which is relatively cheap and has 24 hr security.

 

SAMCA 003Some airfare bargains can be found if you plan to travel early or late in the season. Otherwise, a charter package is probably a better deal.

 

 

 

 

 

In Churchill, I recommend the following:

HOTEL:

 

SAMCA 027Polar Inn & Suites. I paid $100 per night including free continental breakfast and Wi-fi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SAMCA 023Very quite hotel with an at home feeling to it. Has a gift shop and they also operate a tour company.

From what I saw all hotels are basically in the same area and all seem to be the typical small town hotels.

 

 

 

RESTAURANTS:

 

SAMCHILL 013

 

 

SAMCHILL 014When a restaurant has a “sinful” bakery, is often crowded and comes highly recommended by locals, not much more needs to be said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SAMCHILL 009Tundra Dining Room & Bar: Across the street from and owned by the Tundra Inn.

This is the place if you want to sample local fare like Elk meatloaf ($23) or a Bison burger, lean and delicious for $15 especially with a $3 Standard Lager (labeling looks like Budweiser but taste much better).

 

 

 

 

 

 

CANCA 047POLAR BEAR TOUR COMPANY

 

 

SAMCA 097I chose Great White Bear Tour company for CAD$ 400 per day. I will almost guarantee you that you will not be disappointed if you do the same.

 

 

 

 

 

Friendly staff and no doubt better equipment than the competition. Although tundra buggies can hold about 36 passengers, they carry a maximum of 18 plus a tour guide on group tours.

 

SAMCA 055Although we had only 7 passengers on our tour, we came across other buggies that we could tell were much more crowded. While this might be good for business it might not necessarily be good for the customers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SAMCA 082From airline type seating for ride comfort, to huge slanted windshields and a rear observation area with a see through flooring, I think you cannot go wrong in choosing Great White Bear Tour company.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Canada, Toronto Tips

 

Hotel: Quality Inn & Suites Toronto Airport East  

 

SAMYYZ 060This hotel is conveniently just a few miles from the airport. It offers a free airport shuttle and free parking along with free wireless internet access through out the hotel. The front desk staff is very friendly and helpful with local information.

 

 

 

 

Like all hotels the rates fluctuate but for my stay I paid about US$ 58 per night booked through www.booking.com. This was much cheaper than the rate offered on the hotel website.

 

SAMYYZ 058From Quality Inn you have easy access to major highways and the local transit system. Using the bus and subway will take you less than an hour to get into downtown Toronto.

 

 

 

 

 

Car Rental: Payless

Rental facility is located off airport property and requires you to ride a tram to a pick up point. However, the van service to Payless was quick and the price of the rental was definitely worth it. Through www.orbitz.com I paid US$16 per day plus taxes and fees.

Total for two days, US$62.

At the Payless office they have free Wi-fi and there is a Subway and Pizza restaurant next door. Their location provides easy access to major highways and car rental return is simple.

One draw back, if you drive to Niagara Fall the quickest way is on the 403/QEW. Portions of this route is a toll road that is automatically billed from your rental license plate number. There are no manual toll booths so you will have to wait about a month for your credit card to be billed toll charges.

In Florida, many rental car companies offer you the option to pay a toll surcharge upfront and I do not know if this service is offered with other companies in Toronto.

However, I imagine the price and service from Payless is going to be tough to beat.