Let our agency be your guide to Carnival.

Travel to Santo Domingo

Situated between Puerto Rico and Cuba on an island that it shares with the Republic of Haiti, the Dominican Republic offers travelers the best that the Caribbean has to offer, with a unique personality rooted deeply in our Latino heritage.

---

Ladysmith, A Town of the Past

by Margot B

Ladysmith has focused its interest on attracting tourism by setting up world-renowned annual festivals and events. In spring there is a two­day festival which attracts hundreds of paddle sport enthusiasts for boating fun, food and music. On Canada Day there is cake, fun and music on Ladysmith's historic waterfront. On BC Day there is a daylong weekend parade, a soapbox derby, logger sports, games, rides, music, entertainment and fireworks.. Ladysmith Fall Fair in late August or September, showcases Ladysmith and area talents in horticulture, arts and crafts, home economics, beer and winemaking.

Ladysmith BC on Vancouver Island is only a 85 km (53 mi) drive north of Victoria BC on Hwy 1…a short trip filled with ocean and mountain views. Ladysmith BC is 26 km 16 (mi) south of Nanaimo BC. South of Nanaimo, closer to Ladysmith is Cassidy, home to the Nanaimo Airport and the Duke Point Ferry Terminal providing various easy access points to the Ladysmith BC area.

Recreation includes water sports such as kayaking, canoeing, swimming, fishing, diving, boating, golfing, and water-skiing. The archipelago of islands around the Ladysmith area makes it one of the most popular paddle sport destinations in N. America. There are three marinas: two are public, and one is commercial. Attractions include Skateboard park, par 3 golf courses.

Transfer Beach Park is a popular spot for swimmers, picnics and large gatherings. Popular attractions are the amphitheatre, logger sport facilities, horseshoe pitch, barbecue huts, kids playgrounds, sand volleyball and basketball courts, concession stand, and kayak rentals. It is a well­planned and attractive park with acres of grass and flowerbeds, surrounded by big trees.

Behind Ladysmith in the hills is a 4­kilometer hike through a rainforest with bridges, wildlife and waterfalls. This area includes Stocking Lake, one of the two main sources of Ladysmith's drinking water.

There are two main shopping areas: the First Avenue in the downtown area and the modern Coronation Mall on the Island Highway, with a wide variety of shops, services and eateries.

Ladysmith, with its downtown heritage buildings, was named one of the ten prettiest towns in Canada by Harrowsmith Country Life magazine. Ladysmith has been given the National Communities in Bloom Award with a 5-Bloom rating, with a special mention for Heritage Conservation.

Ladysmith was originally known as Oyster Bay, formed in the late 1800s…then came the coal mining and logging industries. In 1986 the logging industry pulled out, and in 2003 Ladysmith introduced the Festival of Lights, which displays thousands of lights, from the last Thursday of November till the New Year, attracting over 10,000 people in one night and continuing to the present day. An official light 'up ceremony includes a parade, spaghetti dinner and fireworks.