The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday September 2, 2006 - 21www.oakvillebeaver.com

Visit McTavish At:www.mctavishtravel.com

WORLD’S TOP RATED EXPEDITION SHIP: EXPLORER IIGreat news!! There is still space on two 11- night Antarctica sailings on the Explorer II on January 21, 2007 and February 01, 2007 departures. It’s the best time of year to go. These two expeditions operate at the height of the austral summer, when the seas are thesmoothest and the sun glows up to 24 hours a day. The temperatures are at their warm-est, varying between lows of 30 to 40 degrees F and highs of 45 to 55 degrees F. It is atime of rebirth when seals, whales, penguins and other birds migrate here to breed and feed on the virtually unlimited supply of krill, crustaceans and fi sh.EXCERPTS FROM A PASSENGER’S DIARY . . . “Our cruise departed from Ushuaia,Argentina. We spent the following day at sea as we headed for Port Stanley, in the Falkland Islands. We arrived there on the morning of day 3 and spent the entire day enjoying the charm of this quaint British outpost. Days 4 and 5 were spent crossing the Drake Passage on our way to the Antarctic Peninsula. Day 5 provided our fi rst sightings of whales and huge icebergs. On day 6, we made our fi rst Antarctic landing where we were greeted by thousands of curious penguins - all of this against a backdrop of rugged mountains, icy seas and glaciers. We had an outdoor lunch of lobster tails, chicken and burgers grilled on the rear deck of the Explorer II as we cruised the fjords between Yankee Harbor and Paradise Bay. We even visited a British Antarctic Survey station at Port Lockroy where we had our passports stamped at the most southern Royal Mail post offi ce on the planet. The unspoiled beauty of Antarctica cannot be fully described with words or pictures. You have to be there to drink it all in. This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime adventure!”For more information and pricing - give us a call! If you have information to share from arecent trip - we’d love to hear it - trish@mctavish.com

2441 Lakeshore W. Bronte Village Mall

Oakville, ON905-827-7272www.uniglobeglenabbey.com

2441 Lakeshore W. Bronte Village Mall

Oakville, ON905-827-7272www.uniglobeglenabbey.com

Glen Abbey Travel Inc.

1 Convenient Location in Oakville:

146 Lakeshore Rd. E.905-842-4999

lakeshore@travelchoice.ca

Relax… you’re with us

221 Lakeshore Road E. 905-337-2228wwwhookedoncruising.com

Voted BestTravel Agency

Hopedale Shopping Centre 1515 Rebecca Street, Oakville

(905) 827-1100 fax: (905) 827-4982e-mail: travel@mctavish.com

TRAVEL PROFESSIONALSYour guide to localtravel experts and thebest deals to yourperfect getaway!

Nolitours is a CanadianWholesaler, with a veryspecial place in my

heart. They have the courage totake us to new destinations, notan easy task.

So, I’m excited when I flipopen their Sun Brochure thistime of year, to see what’s next.They also focus on Central andSouth America, favourite desti-nations for me.

This year El Salvador is thenew country, approximately afive-hour flight.

Nolitours is using the four-star Royal Decameron Salinitas,brand new and getting consis-tently good reviews fromCanadians.

It is a small resort at 390rooms, has six pools (one saltwa-ter), and yes a whirlpool. Thereare three restaurants, a beachfront snack bar, and of course abuffet restaurant.

Ancient legacies, ceremonialcentres, museums and beautifularchitecture are waiting for yourcamera in El Salvador. Thescenery with a backdrop of 20volcanoes means you’ll be takinglots of pictures, so be prepared.

Now on to Panama, whereNolitours was the first Canadianwholesaler to offer the countryas a destination.

Accommodations include thewildly popular Royal DecameronBeach Resort Golf, Spa andCasino, the Gamboa RainforestResort and the RadissonDecapolis Panama City.

The shopping in Panama isfabulous, second best duty freeshopping in the world no less.

Costa Rica is always afavourite, and you’ll have ninechoices with Nolitours. One ofmy favourite editors came backfrom the four-star Barceló PlayaTambor raving about her weekthere. It is a particularly greatproperty for eco-tourists, and Ihave fond memories of walkingthe hard packed six-kilometrebeach to the nearest village for acerveza.

I visited Roatan, off the coastof Central America last spring to

check it out for you, and I hon-estly can’t think of a better beachanywhere.

In fact, all but six rooms arejust steps from the calm sea, andhave a sea view. Some of theworld’s best diving is found justminutes from the three-starFantasy Island Beach Resort. Itis small and intimate andreminds me very much of theold days before mega resorts.

Nearby San Andres Island,also off the coast has great div-ing. Nolitours offers fiveDecameron Resorts, whichyou’ll have access to, when youstay at one.

Margarita Island off the coastof Venezuela, in South Americais a good dollar for value spot tovisit with 12 resorts to choosefrom. The Lagunamar Resortand Casino has rooms bigenough for a family of five ormore. It also has one of thenicest kids' swim and play areasI’ve ever seen, with lots of shadeand chairs for Mom and Dad.

Key Largo in Cuba is anothernew destination perfect for sunworshippers and water sportenthusiasts. You’ll choose fromthree resorts.

Samana in the DominicanRepublic is an attractive newaddition, particularly with thenew airport cutting the transfertime to an hour, from threehours.

It’s hard to choose the rightdestination and resort to suityour needs, but this brochure

helps, and I’m impressed. If youwant to be a beach bum, withgreat beaches they suggest CayoCoco, Cayo Largo Santa Lucia,and Varadero in Cuba, the MayanRiviera in Mexico, and PuntaCana in the DominicanRepublic. I would add RoatanIsland.

For nightlife chooseAcapulco, Cancun, and PuertoVallarta in Mexico, San AndresIsland, and Varadero in Cuba.

Nolitours recommends CostaRica, El Salvador and Panamafor eco-touring, with the best ofboth worlds in the ocean frontresorts they offer.

Of course they also offer theusual popular favourites as well.Cancun now has a great beachagain. I watched the sand boatdeposit millions of tons of sandfrom a nearby sand bar lastFebruary. All of the resorts havehad an update, or been totallyrebuilt, and so have yourfavourite nightclubs, shoppingmalls and restaurants. Many ofthe resorts have also added spasto their properties.

Most tour operators haveoffered deals to get you to bookearly, and Nolitours has come upwith an interesting one this year.

To encourage you to bookearly (before Oct. 15) for travelNov. 1 to April 30, they are offer-ing a free Snorkel Sportkit.

The mask-tempered safetyglass, double-edge leak-free sealhas adjustable buckles, and ahypo-allergenic 100 per cent sil-icone strap. The Snorkel has a100 per cent silicone mouth-piece, long bore tube, purgevalve for easy clearing and gur-gle free performance.

The package includes a carrybag and a 35mm reusable cam-era waterproof to 8m, pre-loadedwith 27 exposures.

Each of you will get a couponwhen you’ve made your finalpayment that can be redeemedthrough over 100 authorizedretail dive shops across Canada.

Nice idea and worth $150. Sam Ion can be reached at

sion10@cogeco.ca.

New tourist destinations abound in Central America

BEAVER TRAILS TO HUNGARY:Joan Rouleau, Rose Jay and Gerry MacDonaldread The Oakville Beaver in Heroes Square inBudapest, Hungary while on a Mainly MozartTour.Take along a copy of The Oakville Beaveron your next vacation and send it in for publi-cation to Beaver Trails, Oakville Beaver, 467Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4 or e-mail toeditor@oakvillebeaver.com.