In Toronto? Win an exotic trip TOMORROW!

Creative Commons photo by OliverN5 (Oliver Mallich).

Visiting Toronto for the Toronto International Film Festival? Or do you live in T.O.? Either way, drag yourself away from the movie screens tomorrow and you could win a free trip from Intrepid Travel.

Here's the scoop. The Australian-based adventure tour company will be placing a total of eight globes in various Toronto locations on Tuesday. Each globe will have a "boarding pass" attached describing the prize trip (exotic locales include Morocco and Peru). The company is also giving away vouchers worth up to $1,000 toward an Intrepid trip.

So how do you find these globes? Follow the company's Twitter feed (@Intrepid_Travel) for clues. The fun starts at 9am on Tuesday, September 14.

Curious about Intrepid? Watch this blog for my post about a fun Toronto walking tour I took with Intrepid's "day trip" company, Urban Adventures. My Multicultural Kensington Market and Chinatown tour included lots of historical tidbits and fun shopping stops.

Why rent a car when you can borrow one?

Here's a trend I like: hotels offering shared cars to their guests. Not only does it save guests the hassle and expense of renting a car, it also introduces many of them to the concept of car sharing. And it encourages travellers to use a blend of car trips and public transit--a great way to see a city like the locals do.

One of the first properties to jump on this idea was Toronto's Pantages Suites Hotel and Spa. It is currently offering all guests a free, one-year Zipcar membership and giving them access to a Zipcar parked at the hotel. Rates start at C$9.50/hour. (See my article in the late, lamented Checkerspot Magazine and a blurb on the hotel's website for more information.)

In San Francisco, the new Good Hotel (which bills itself, a bit grandly, as "the first hotel with a conscience") has an on-property Prius Zipcar for existing Zipcar members.

Roomorama expands

Roomorama.com, the new peer-to-peer vacation rental and room sharing service, has expanded beyond New York City to Boston, Chicago and Toronto. Listings in my old hometown of Toronto are a bit meagre at the moment, with just 24 properties. 

As always with any rental or home-sharing site, it pays to ask lots of questions of the property owner and to research neighbourhoods carefully before booking. For instance, Parkdale is described in one Toronto listing as an "historic" neighbourhood close to trendy Queen Street West. Both facts are true, but some parts of Parkdale are a bit down at heel, while others are rapidly gentrifying.