MONTREAL — Air Canada Vacations, in order to assess the damage done by both hurricanes Irma and Maria, has boots on the ground in Sun destinations that have been largely impacted, namely Antigua, Holguin, Varadero and Punta Cana.

A team of specialists from Montreal and Toronto arrived in each destination to ensure all hotels receiving guests are operating normally and meeting the company’s quality standards. Here are their findings:

ANTIGUA

• The airport and roads are in perfect condition, apart from shredded vegetation that has since been cleared and picked up
• Roadside vendors are back, hotels are fully operational, zip line is open and beaches have kept their white sand and blue waters
• Air Canada will serve Antigua with two flights a week from Toronto starting Oct. 28, with one additional flight starting on Dec. 21

HOLGUIN

• Infrastructure has suffered no significant damage, all resorts are fully operational
• One upside of the hurricane is that large quantities of sand were moved during the storm and have increased the width of beaches in the area
• “We were amazed by what we saw; Holguin is in pristine condition. The beaches are bigger and feel even better than before, with super soft and fine sand,” said Mabel Ocampo, Manager, Product Development at ACV
• Air Canada Rouge will fly weekly on Fridays from Montreal to Holguin starting on Oct. 20 and a new flight has been added, which will fly weekly on Mondays commencing Nov. 6. From Toronto, it will fly weekly starting Oct. 29, with an additional two flights as of Dec. 20

VARADERO

• According to Cuba’s Ministry of Tourism, the country is taking this opportunity to make Cuba even more beautiful than before
• Following site inspections of 37 resorts, ACV found that the airport is fully functional, the streets are clean and there are no visible damages in the area
• Similar to Holguin, the beaches are in pristine condition and larger as well
• Majority of hotels are completely operational; the town of Varadero is ready for the winter season with all restaurants and boutiques open
• Flights from Montreal to Varadero will resume on Oct. 1; Air Canada Rouge operates four flights weekly and will increase to daily service as of Dec. 22
• From Toronto, Rouge will resume its service on Oct. 4 with three flights per week, and an increase to daily service as of Dec. 18

PUNTA CANA

• Infrastructure, such as airport and roads, is in great condition
• Beaches are now almost back to their original state; majority of resorts are fully operational
• Air Canada Rouge is resuming its Montreal to Punta Cana service on Sept. 28, with four flights per week and daily service as of Dec. 19
• From Toronto, flights have already resumed, starting with four flights weekly and increasing gradually to daily flights as of Dec. 19

Also important to note, this year ACV is adding one flight from Montreal to Cozumel as of Oct. 16, one flight from Toronto to Montego Bay as of Oct. 20, one flight from Montreal to Holguin as of Oct. 20, and one more flight from Montreal to Cancun between Oct. 6-20.

Travellers have a few more days to benefit from the early booking bonus, with $200 off per adult and $100 off per child, which means a family of four can save $600 if they book a package to Mexico and the Caribbean. They also receive eight days of free airport parking in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg when booking a package by Oct. 31.