It's not hard to see why so many eastern Canadians prefer Florida and the Caribbean. Most of the tourist destinations are within 5 hours or less flying time from the major cities of eastern Canada. And you may have to cross 1 time zone, but that's about it.
Hawaii is a bit farther.
Okay, it's a lot farther. The trip is a 15-hour plus grind, unless you are travelling on one of the rare nonstop flights from Toronto. That's what I was doing all day yesterday, buses and planes and airports, but it was worth it.
The facts: 5 hours Toronto to Vancouver, 3 hour stopover in Vancouver and 6 hours Vancouver to Honolulu. All I can say is, thank goodness for freebie flights in first class on the Aeroplan points.
For starters, travelling in business class gives automatic access to Air Canada's Maple Leaf Lounges in Toronto and Vancouver. At the gate, you get the privilege of being first to board if you wish. All food and drinks are complimentary. And perhaps best of all, at the destination your bags come out on the carousel first.
I was wined and dined every step of the way. Now I know that it's bad news to drink a lot of alcohol on a plane, because each drink packs about twice the punch compared to ground level. I kept it under control, but it all helps to pass the time.
That, and my noise-suppressing headphones. I'm a classical music nut (see my other two blogs via the links on the right side of the page), and the selection of classical music on the aircraft's sound system is apt to be a bit thin on the ground. Between the headphones and an MP3 player packed full of good music, I've got everything I could want.
Good thing, too, because it's not only a long, grueling trip but you have to cross 5 times zones in the process. This means that you leave your hotel in Toronto at noon, and check into your hotel in Waikiki at about 11:00 pm (except that it's actually 4:00 am Toronto time, as far as your inner time clock is concerned).
And then, after about 4 hours of sleep, you wake up at 0400 Hawaii time (0900 at home) and once again the headphones save your sanity -- the headphones and the in-room coffee maker.
Next post: getting used to paradise.
The heavy-duty details of flying from Toronto to Honolulu, and the reasons why going in business class on Aeroplan points makes it endurable!
ReplyDeleteNicole and I flew Toronto to Chicago to Seattle to Honolulu - tight connection in Seattle where my enduring memory was getting off, and then dashing/monorailing our way across the airport to our gate, arriving, and finding out the gate had been changed to one beside where we had JUST disembarked. Barely made the connection... and yes, the sights of Honolulu on our arrival made it well worth it.
ReplyDeleteBrandon, you've just touched on the reason why I try to avoid connecting through American airports if I can. I'm glad you made it all right -- and I hope your luggage did too. That's the biggest reason. Too many experiences in the USA where I made the connection but the checked baggage didn't.
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing was our luggage was overweight at Pearson, so we stuffed a lot of it into our carry-ons – if it HAD been lost, we’d have gotten by okay for 24-48 hours. And we ended buying a new small piece of luggage in Honolulu that is now a fond memory of the trip every time we travel.
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