Dorina Brown Travel

04/02/2023

It seems to be baby season in the Riviera Maya! Baby agouti, baby coati, baby monkeys. Adorable! These two were hanging out during my site inspection at Ocean Riviera Paradise yesterday.

While cute, it's important to obey the signs asking you not to feed or touch the animals. They are wild creatures. When you feed and pet them you train them to rely on humans, which both reduces their natural instincts, but also makes it so animals expect things from guests. I saw a pack of coati swarm a lady yesterday to try and get food from her. No bueno friends.

We are guests in their home, not the other way around, so remember to respect your furry hosts when sharing their home.

03/29/2023

New at Edmonton International Airport!

Advance Declaration helps you save time at airports by allowing you to submit your customs and immigration declaration before you arrive.

Submit your declaration up to 72 hours before arrival and you can skip the airport lineups by using the Advance Declaration express lanes.

Advance Declaration is now available at:
- Billy Bishop
- Calgary
- Edmonton
- Halifax
- Montréal-Trudeau
- Ottawa
- Québec Jean-Lesage
- Toronto-Pearson
- Vancouver
- Winnipeg-Richardson

Find out more: http://ow.ly/6yqV50Np125

03/25/2023

is GORGEOUS y'all! If you're looking for
*adults only
*high level of service
*incredibly friendly staff
*a personalized stay
*beautiful rooms
*luxury without being pretentious
*wristband free
*beautiful beach
*an active pool
*a quiet musicless pool
*small enough to easily find your group but not so small there's nothing to do

Then this is the place for you!

Plus
*Private oceanview wedding gazebo
*complimentary wedding package for 32
*earn complimentary events
*earn complimentary room nights

If you're interested in chatting about your and want to know if Unico is right for you, send me a message!

And great news...new locations will be opening soon!

03/24/2023

How cute is this Beach Bonfire set up?!?! Wouldn't this make a fantastic bachelor or bachelorette party or wedding party gathering?

Thanks and for your hospitality and a great time at Hard Rock Riviera Maya

12/23/2022

With all the flight cancellations, you may be wondering what your rights are.

Canadians, you can see a guide here: https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/publication/flight-delays-and-cancellations-a-guide or here: https://rppa-appr.ca/eng/right/flight-delays-and-cancellations

And if you're out of the US, you can reference here: https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/aviation-consumer-protection/flight-delays-cancellations

New Resource

04/27/2022

WestJet continues to frustrate me friends. Currently you can pre-pay for your bag when you check in during that 24 hours prior to departure. On June 1, 2022 they are changing their policy that you will be paying $10 MORE for your bag if you pre-pay during that 24 hour window. To pay the same cost, you need to pre-pay for your baggage PRIOR to that 24 hour window.

Which means that baggage goes up to $40 CAD on the departure and $40 USD on the return (from US and Mexico) if you pay within 24 hours.

What irks me the most is that they're saying "more convenient options to save"...but this is neither convenient nor is it really any savings (since they're not decreasing the cost of baggage overall).

So keep that in mind for your next WestJet flight departing on or after June 1.

02/15/2022

Some great news coming out of Ottawa today. The headline is a little misleading. As of February 28th...

Yes...you still need a test. But now ANTIGEN is being accepted! YAY! Antigen within 24 hours OR PCR within 72 hours - both will be accepted.

Children under 12 will no longer need to stay home from school upon return.

They are moving back to random testing on arrival but you do not need to quarantine until you receive your results.

They are moving down to a level 2 advisory and no longer recommending to avoid non essential travel

I don't believe www.travel.gc.ca is updated yet, but announcements came out of the press conference today.

“Today I’m announcing we are easing our border measures,” federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said Tuesday in Ottawa.

12/02/2021

Looks like the US is also changing it's rules about travel and testing.

Starting early next week, Canadians flying into the United States will now need to get a COVID-19 test a day before heading into the country, U.S. officials say.

11/11/2021

Some really good points about travel insurance during Covid here. If you're thinking of travelling, give a read!

And remember, many insurance companies (US or Canada) require you to book within a number of days of initial deposit to have CFAR included. So be mindful of that timeline.

More and more travel insurance providers in Canada now cover COVID-19. But not all policies are created equal.

11/08/2021

I'm currently in Mexico doing site inspections to serve you better. But in the meantime I'm not mad about my room's view!

Contact me if you're looking for help with your - I'd be more than happy to help you plan your .

10/22/2021

Some good news travel buddies!

The 19-month-old advisory was quietly lifted on the same day Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled Canada's international proof of vaccination system.

10/21/2021

I have been getting A LOT of spam calls to my phone lately, so I've gotten in a habit of not answering unknown numbers. Please leave a voice mail and I'll call you back as soon as I can.

Or alternatively send me an email - [email protected] or [email protected] and say you'd like to schedule a phone call.

10/06/2021

Travel Insurance is sooo important to have! While I hope you never need it, if you do it makes a world of difference.

Look for insurance that includes medical, trip interruption, trip cancellation and accidental death & dismemberment.

What do you do when a simple pivot to sit in your seat on a departing flights results in a meniscus tear in your knee? (this one happened to me!)

What do you do if during dinner at your hotel or resort, a piece of ceiling falls on your head? (this one happened to a fellow travel agent I used to work with)

What does your family do if you collapse during a lay over in another country and die? (this one happened to a co-worker of mine).

There are so many reasons that travel insurance should be a part of your vacation budget and planning. Don't neglect it.

If you must travel, we recommend purchasing for the following reasons:

http://ow.ly/SkxB50Gnade

08/28/2021

I value sustainable and responsible travel. Like a lot. And a great foundation out there is Planeterra, a part of G Adventures' portfolio.

While tourism is an $8 trillion industry, sometimes none of those travel dollars actually makes it into the hands of local people. The foundation works to have local partners who help support and empower women, youth, communities and the environment so that travel can be used for good by keeping more of the dollars you spend traveling somewhere in the local economy of the country you visit.

It's understandable that these efforts have suffered due to Covid. With no tourists, many of the initiatives set up are struggling. But the Lusumpuko Women's Club used the tools they learned through Planeterra to feed tourists to instead help feed elderly and disabled villagers during the pandemic who were unable to leave their homes to go to the grocery store.

While the last few months have been a time of uncertainty, this story warmed my heart and I thought it might help warm yours too.

Our community partners Lusumpuko Women’s Club, who partnered with Planeterra to develop a meal service for travelers in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe were sadly left with no income from tourism due to the pandemic. ⁠
⁠
During the lockdown, elderly or disabled villagers were unable to get out to the shops, so the women of the cooperative used everything they learned from developing a travel business with Planeterra to create a Meals on Wheels service, creating a food cart for the villages so they could still earn an income! ⁠
⁠
These are the ever-growing ripple effects!⁠
⁠
📍Lusumpuko Women's Club⁠
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

08/25/2021

An announcement from Air Canada.

All employees of the main Air Canada line, Air Canada Rouge and Air Canada Vacations will be affected by the policy, and will have to report their vaccination status.

08/12/2021

"We are working actively with the provinces and territories on a secure, pan-Canadian proof of vaccination for international travel," the minister said.

08/01/2021

Exciting News! Read the newsletter to find out more!

Hello Wanderers! I hope this month finds you all in good spirits! Today's newsletter comes as I have some exciting news to share! In March 2020 world wide travel came to a halt. In April I renewed my contract with my host agency because I had several cancellations to work on for my clients, which we...