The Travel Diaries

Today I’m joined by the iconic Celia Imrie. Celia is, of course, one of Britain’s best-loved actresses, with an extraordinary career spanning more than five decades. From her unforgettable collaborations with Victoria Wood, to Bridget Jones’s Diary, Calendar Girls, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and, more recently, The Thursday Murder Club. She's one of those performers who has been part of our lives for as long as I can remember.

But what you might not know about Celia is that she is a completely insatiable traveller. She's happiest when she's on the move, whether that's aboard a glamorous ocean liner, travelling across America by train or setting off on an adventure somewhere entirely unexpected - because as you’ll soon discover, Celia doesn’t fly, so this makes for a particularly interesting episode.

Her lifelong love of travel is at the heart of her new book, The Elegant Hustler: Adventures from a Life on the Move, which is out now, a collection of stories from a life spent exploring the world.

Destination recap

• Middleton-on-Sea, West Sussex, England
• Udaipur, Rajasthan, India
• Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
• Delhi, India
• Melbourne, Australia
• Sydney, Australia
• Los Angeles, California, USA
• Washington, D.C., USA
• Toronto, Canada
• Singapore
• Paris, France
• Sainte-Chapelle, Paris, France
• Nice, France
• Hôtel Negresco, Nice, France
• Villeneuve-Loubet, France
• Menton, France
• Monte Carlo, Monaco
• Isle of Wight, England
• Southampton, England
• Queen Mary 2, Cunard, Southampton to New York
• New York City, USA
• Coast-to-coast railway journey, USA
• San Luis Obispo, California, USA
• Los Angeles, California, USA
• Ice hotel, Norway
• Japan
• China

The Elegant Hustler: Adventures from a Life on the Move, which is now.

If you’d like to find out who’s joining me next Tuesday, come and follow me on Instagram and TikTok. I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you.

I’ll be back on Sunday with another episode of Unpacked, this time with Design & Travel Editor, Amira Hashish,

With thanks to...

Airbnb - Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.co.uk/host.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I’m joined by the brilliant Suzannah Ramsdale, Lifestyle Director at The Standard, whose job involves knowing exactly where’s worth going and what’s worth your precious time off.

And there’s so much inspiration in this conversation. If you’re already dreading the clocks going back, Suzannah has some very tempting ideas for extending your summer, with a little help from her Spanish family connections. There’s the seaside spot she returns to again and again, and a food-filled Italian escape that had me mentally checking flights before we’d finished talking.

We also hear how a rather adventurous first meeting led to some extraordinary dates around the world, including a trip to New Orleans, which ties in beautifully with this week’s Louisiana Destination Special.

And my Hotel of the Week is a Greek island favourite that promises to solve a few of those familiar family holiday dilemmas. Having finally been myself, I’ve got plenty to tell you.

Destination Recap:

• New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
• Inns of Aurora, Aurora, USA
• Peligoni, Zakynthos, Greece
• Villa Kallista, Zakynthos, Greece
• Nobelos Bio Restaurant, Zakynthos, Greece
• Eliamos, Kefalonia, Greece
• Piazza Maggiore, Bologna, Italy
• Cremeria Santo Stefano, Bologna, Italy
• Cremeria La Vecchia Stalla, Bologna, Italy
• Cremeria Cavour, Bologna, Italy
• Palacio Bucarelli, Seville, Spain
• Cristine Bedfor, Seville, Spain
• Royal Alcázar, Seville, Spain
• Seville Cathedral, Seville, Spain
• Plaza de España, Seville, Spain
• María Luisa Park, Seville, Spain
• Triana, Seville, Spain
• La Viña, Cádiz, Spain
• Casa Manteca, Cádiz, Spain
• La Caleta, Cádiz, Spain
• Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
• Seoul, South Korea

If you’d like to find out who’s joining me next Tuesday, come and follow me on Instagram and TikTok, I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you.

With thanks to...

Airbnb - Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.co.uk/host

I’ll be back on Tuesday.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From the jazz clubs and Mardi Gras parades of New Orleans to the swamps, dance halls and small towns of Acadiana, this Destination Special explores a side of Louisiana, USA that many visitors never get to see.

We travel west along Interstate 10 into the heart of Cajun and Creole country, a region shaped by its French language, distinctive music, extraordinary food and deep connection to the surrounding bayous.

Louisiana travel and culture writer Herman Fuselier shares the traditions behind Jazz Fest and Mardi Gras, introduces the sounds of Cajun and Zydeco music, and explains why the true heart of Cajun country lies beyond New Orleans.

Cajun French musician Jourdan Thibodeaux joins me from his home on Cypress Island, overlooking the Atchafalaya Basin. We discuss language, identity, life in the swamp and the importance of experiencing South Louisiana authentically.

Finally, Lori Johnson Walls of Johnson’s Boucanière in Lafayette introduces the dishes every first-time visitor should try, from crawfish étouffée and po’boys to beignets and a proper Louisiana boudin.

• New Orleans, USA
• Baton Rouge, USA
• Acadiana, USA
• Atchafalaya Basin, USA
• Lafayette, USA
• Breaux Bridge, USA
• Opelousas, USA
• Eunice, USA
• New Iberia, USA
• Lake Charles, USA
• Sunset, USA
• Arnaudville, USA
• Washington, USA
• Cypress Island, USA
• Henderson, USA
• Mamou, USA
• Avery Island, USA
• Vacherie, USA

• New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, New Orleans, USA
• French Quarter, New Orleans, USA
• Café du Monde, New Orleans, USA
• Eunice Cajun Mardi Gras, Eunice, USA
• La Poussière Cajun Dancehall, Breaux Bridge, USA
• Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival, Breaux Bridge, USA
• El Sido’s Zydeco & Blues Club, Lafayette, USA
• Festivals Acadiens et Créoles, Lafayette, USA
• Johnson’s Boucanière, Lafayette, USA
• Dwyer’s Café, Lafayette, USA
• Poor Boy’s Riverside Inn, Lafayette, USA
• Olde Tyme Grocery, Lafayette, USA
• Borden’s Ice Cream Shoppe, Lafayette, USA
• Original Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival, Opelousas, USA
• DezMeaux’s Boudin, Opelousas, USA
• Steamboat Warehouse Restaurant, Washington, USA
• Hotel Klaus, Washington, USA
• Fred’s Lounge, Mamou, USA
• Cypress Cove Landing Houseboats, Henderson, USA
• TABASCO Factory and Avery Island, Avery Island, USA
• Laura Plantation, Vacherie, USA

To find out more about visiting Louisiana, go to ExploreLouisiana.com.

If you’d like to find out who’s joining me next Tuesday, come and follow me on Instagram and TikTok. I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you.

I’ll be back on Sunday with another episode of Unpacked, this time with Suzannah Ramsdale, Lifestyle Director for The Standard.

With thanks to...

Airbnb - Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.co.uk/host.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The Travel Diaries: Unpacked, I’m joined by Sarah Allard, Digital Director of Condé Nast Traveller, for your weekly weekend dose of wanderlust.

Sarah’s job takes her to some extraordinary places, and today she’s sharing the trips, hotels and foodie finds she thinks should be on your radar. We start with the growing appeal of Northern Europe, including the Danish island of Bornholm, before heading to New York for her 40th birthday celebrations. Expect bagels, martinis and a few days in the Hudson Valley, where pretty towns, farm shops and gorgeous hotels make the perfect contrast to Manhattan.

We’re also talking Greek island favourites, from the spectacular restaurant setting that won Sarah over on Sifnos to a new hotel on Paros.

My Hotel of the Week is Monastero Santa Rosa on the Amalfi Coast, where I found what might just be my favourite swimming pool in the world.

And if you’re looking for somewhere closer to home this autumn, Sarah answers a listener’s question about cosy British boutique stays, with two delicious recommendations in Somerset and Devon.

Destination Recap

• Sweden
• Finland
• The Lofoten Islands, Norway
• Bornholm, Denmark
• New York City, USA
• The Hudson Valley, New York, USA
• INNESS, Accord, New York, USA
• The Catskills, New York, USA
• Wildflower Farms, Auberge Collection, Gardiner, New York, USA
• Rhinebeck, New York, USA
• Athens, Greece
• Sifnos, Greece
• Faros, Sifnos, Greece
• NÓS Hotel & Villas, Sifnos, Greece
• Paros, Greece
• Luura Paros Cliff, Paros, Greece
• Santorini, Greece
• Mykonos, Greece
• Gleneagles, Auchterarder, Scotland
• The Amalfi Coast, Italy
• Monastero Santa Rosa Hotel & Spa, Conca dei Marini, Italy
• Amalfi, Italy
• Positano, Italy
• Capri, Italy
• Bruton, Somerset, England
• Number One Bruton, Bruton, England
• At the Chapel, Bruton, England
• Glebe House, East Devon, England
• India
• The River Nile, Egypt
• One&Only Moonlight Basin, Big Sky, Montana, USA
• Edinburgh, Scotland
• Glasgow, Scotland
• The Scottish Highlands, Scotland
• Hope by WildLand, Sutherland, Scotland

If you’d like to find out who’s joining me next Tuesday, come and follow me on Instagram and TikTok. I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you. You can also send me your travel questions for a future episode of Unpacked at [email protected]

With thanks to...

Airbnb - Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.co.uk/host.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest is returning to the podcast after 5 years! TV presenter, adventurer and explorer Steve Backshall is one of the most travelled people in the world, and one of the best story tellers - so he is the ultimate Travel Diaries guest.

Just listening back to his first episode in preparation for today was a reminder of what an amazing episode that was - if you haven’t listened to that scroll back and listen to that first, because his life is so interesting, and then come back and listen to this one!

It was so lovely to meet him in person this time, just last week. We filmed this in London, and it was really good fun putting some of your new travel diaries chapters to him - his answers were sensational. When somebody has been to this many places it's hard to know where to start, but I think that you're going to be absolutely captivated by Steve's stories, as I was.

So from Suriname to the Scilly Isles, Jerusalem to Alaska, and so much more, here’s Steve.

**Listeners - there's a strange video with the loading of Apple Podcasts' video today, so I'm reuploading this as an audio only file until it resolves.**

Destination recap

• West Cornwall, England
• Land’s End, England
• South Africa
• Suriname
• Alaska, USA
• Juneau, USA
• The Azores, Portugal
• Dominica
• Colombia
• Papua New Guinea
• New Britain, Papua New Guinea
• New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
• New Caledonia
• Yucatán, Mexico
• Cancún, Mexico
• Tulum, Mexico
• Bimini, The Bahamas
• The Isles of Scilly, England
• St Martin’s, Isles of Scilly
• Jerusalem
• Tel Aviv, Israel
• The Negev Desert, Israel
• Kyrgyzstan
• Northeast Greenland, Greenland

Steve’s Deadly Live tour begins in October. Find out more here.

If you’d like to find out who’s joining me next Tuesday, come and follow me on Instagram and TikTok, I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you.

I’ll be back on Sunday with another episode of Unpacked, this time with Conde Nast Traveller’s Digital Director, Sarah Allard.

With thanks to...

Kimpton Los Monteros - a five-star hotel for discovering the best of Marbella.

Airbnb - Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.co.uk/host

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I’m joined by travel writer, author and photographer, Luke Abrahams. Luke is one of the UK's most prolific travel journalists, having been to 30 countries this year alone, and he's about to release a new book, The Luxury Travel Book: 25 personal experiences that make you rethink the world and your place in it. These are stories that make you rethink the beauty of life and the mastery of human creativity, and it is packed full of his beautiful photography too.

We'll be unpacking Ruthie Rogers' bucket list destination, Kyoto; reflecting on my Hotel of the Week, Casa Angelina; chatting about Luke's recent trip to Ladakh in Northern India, and answering your listener question.

Destination Recap

• The Shinmonzen, Kyoto, Japan
• Park Hyatt Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan
• Sowaka, Kyoto, Japan
• Tokyo, Japan
• Okinawa, Japan
• Osaka, Japan
• Hotel Lo Scoglio, Nerano, Italy
• The Amalfi Coast, Italy
• Ravello, Italy
• Casa Angelina, Praiano, Italy
• Positano, Italy
• Capri, Italy
• Le Sirenuse, Positano, Italy
• The Path of the Gods, Amalfi Coast, Italy
• Scala, Italy
• Ladakh, India
• Shakti Ladakh, Ladakh, India
• Kargil, India
• The Imperial New Delhi, New Delhi, India
• Leh, India
• Paro, Bhutan
• Genghis Khan Retreat, Orkhon Valley, Mongolia
• Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
• Kazakhstan
• Tajikistan

Luke's new book, The Luxury Travel Book: Extraordinary experiences money can't buy is available for pre-order here.

If you’d like to find out who’s joining me next Tuesday, come and follow me on Instagram and TikTok, I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you.

With thanks to...

Airbnb - Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.co.uk/host

I’ll be back on Tuesday.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest is one of the most influential figures in British food. Ruthie Rogers is the chef and co-founder of The River Cafe, the legendary Michelin-starred Italian restaurant in Hammersmith, which she opened with Rose Gray in 1987. Over nearly four decades, The River Cafe has completely transformed the way we eat and think about Italian food in this country, and its kitchens have helped launch the careers of some of Britain’s best-known chefs, including Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Theo Randall and April Bloomfield.

But Ruthie’s influence extends far beyond the restaurant. She’s the author of numerous much-loved cookbooks and the host of the hugely successful podcast Ruthie’s Table 4, where an extraordinary guest list, from Paul McCartney and Elton John to David Beckham, Tony Blair and Nancy Pelosi, share the food memories that have shaped their lives. The podcast has now inspired her beautiful new book, Table 4 at The River Cafe: Conversations about Food and Life.

And it turns out that food memories and travel memories have a great deal in common. Both can transport us instantly back to a particular person, place or moment in our lives. 

I joined Ruthie at The River Cafe on a gloriously sunny summers day. Her travel diaries today take us from Cuba and Mexico to Maine and Marrakech, as well as her beloved Italy and the beautiful rhythm of family life she created with her late husband, the architect Richard Rogers, with summers in Tuscany, winters exploring the world and an almost constant desire to plan the next adventure.

Destination Recap:

• Havana, Cuba
• Hotel Lungarno, Florence, Italy
• Camino Real, Mexico City, Mexico
• Contramar, Mexico City, Mexico
• Niddo, Mexico City, Mexico
• Oaxaca, Mexico
• Puerto Escondido, Mexico
• Huatulco, Mexico
• Chichén Itzá, Yucatán, Mexico
• Uxmal, Yucatán, Mexico
• Monte Albán, Oaxaca, Mexico
• Palermo, Sicily, Italy
• Naples, Italy
• Lo Scoglio, Marina del Cantone, Italy
• Amalfi Coast, Italy
• Ravello, Italy
• Capri, Italy
• Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Italy
• Trattoria Gianni Franzi, Vernazza, Italy
• Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy
• Portofino, Italy
• Belmond Hotel Cipriani, Venice, Italy
• York, Maine, USA
• Marrakech, Morocco
• Taroudant, Morocco
• Tafraoute, Morocco
• Essaouira, Morocco
• Fez, Morocco
• The Shinmonzen, Kyoto, Japan

You can listen to Ruthie’s Table 4, wherever you get your podcasts.

Her new book, Table 4 at The River Cafe: Conversations about Food and Life is available now.

I’ll be back on Sunday with another episode of The Travel Diaries: Unpacked.

If you’d like to find out who’s joining me next Tuesday, come and follow me on Instagram and TikTok, I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you. 

With thanks to...

Airbnb - Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.co.uk/host

Citalia - Discover the real Italy with Citalia, the UK’s leading Italian holiday specialists. Let the Italy Experts craft the perfect holiday for you and experience Italy like a Citalian.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on The Travel Diaries: Unpacked, I’m joined by Lauren Ho, one of the world’s most well-travelled luxury hotel experts. Lauren is Travel Director of Wallpaper*, a contributing editor at Country & Town House and the Academy Chair for Western Europe for The World’s 50 Best Hotels.

Recorded just days after this year’s list was revealed in Paris, Lauren shares her reaction to the results, why Asian hotels continue to dominate the top 10 and which new entries she was particularly pleased to see recognised.

We also journey to AlUla in Saudi Arabia, where ancient Nabataean tombs, dramatic desert landscapes and extraordinary new hotels are putting the destination firmly on the travel map. Lauren shares her recent stay at Six Senses Amaala on the Red Sea and takes us inside her trip to Georgia, from the hidden corners of Tbilisi to Kakheti’s vineyards and traditional amber wine.

My Hotel of the Week is the newly restored Splendido, A Belmond Hotel, overlooking the impossibly beautiful harbour of Portofino.

Plus, in our listener Q&A, Lauren recommends the perfect luxurious but not completely bank-breaking destination for a special family celebration.

Destination Recap

• The Peninsula Paris, Paris, France
• Rosewood Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
• Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand
• Chablé Yucatán, Chocholá, Mexico
• Upper House Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
• Mandarin Oriental Qianmen, Beijing, China
• Rosewood São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
• Passalacqua, Lake Como, Italy
• Atlantis The Royal, Dubai, UAE
• Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River, Bangkok, Thailand
• Capella Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand
• Amangiri, Canyon Point, Utah, USA
• Monument Valley, USA
• AlUla, Saudi Arabia
• Banyan Tree AlUla, AlUla, Saudi Arabia
• Our Habitas AlUla, AlUla, Saudi Arabia
• The Chedi Hegra, Hegra, Saudi Arabia
• Petra, Jordan
• The Peninsula Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
• FORESTIS, Brixen, Italy
• Villa Treville, Positano, Italy
• Carlton Cannes, a Regent Hotel, Cannes, France
• Splendido, A Belmond Hotel, Portofino, Italy
• Six Senses Amaala, AMAALA, Saudi Arabia
• Rosewood Amaala, AMAALA, Saudi Arabia
• Tbilisi, Georgia
• The Telegraph Hotel, Tbilisi, Georgia
• Kakheti, Georgia
• Estelle Manor, The Cotswolds, England

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Today’s guest is one of Britain’s funniest, most distinctive and most beloved writers, Caitlin Moran.

Caitlin began writing her first book at just 13, was published at 16, and became an award-winning Times columnist and the bestselling author of books including How to Be a Woman, More Than a Woman and What About Men?

Her brilliant new book is called How to Be Hopeful, and it begins with a feeling I think many of us will recognise: that the world has become overwhelming and the only reasonable solution might be to run away and start an entirely new life somewhere else. In Caitlin’s case, that meant fantasising about a self-sufficient farmhouse in the Welsh mountains, until she discovered quite how expensive Welsh farmhouses actually are. So what happens next? 

From her wonderfully feral childhood summers she spent living with her seven siblings in a tiny caravan in Wales to a romantic road trip through the Scottish Highlands; the lavish trip to Antigua that taught her luxury travel wasn’t necessarily for her; and why Corfu remains the island she returns to again and again, and much much more, here are the Travel Diaries of Caitlin Moran.

Destination Recap:

• Tregaron, Wales
• Strata Florida Abbey, Wales
• Ynyslas, Wales
• Ullapool, Scotland
• Rannoch Moor, Scotland
• Cornwall, England
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Tenby, Wales
• Kassiopi, Corfu, Greece
• Paxos, Greece
• Antipaxos, Greece
• Iceland
• Japanese Alps, Japan
• Tokyo, Japan
• Abergavenny, Wales
• Bannau Brycheiniog, Wales
• Florida, USA
• Austria
• Scandinavia

Thanks so much for listening today. If you’d like to find out who’s joining me next Tuesday, come and follow me on Instagram and TikTok, I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you. 

I’ll be back on Sunday with The Travel Diaries: Unpacked and our guest, World’s 50 Best Hotels European chair, and travel journalist, Lauren Ho.

If you’d like to find out who’s joining me next Tuesday, come and follow me on Instagram and TikTok, I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you. 

With thanks to...

Airbnb - Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.co.uk/host

Hotels with History podcast - Hotels with History is a podcast hosted by actor Richard E. Grant and travel & hospitality expert Jules Perowne, uncovering the scandals, legends and surprising stories behind the world's most legendary hotels. Search Hotels with History wherever you get your podcasts 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello and welcome to our very first episode of The Travel Diaries: Unpacked, your weekend travel fix. 

Today I’m joined by the fabulous John O'Ceallaigh. John is a travel journalist and consultant to luxury hospitality brands, who previously served as the luxury travel editor for The Telegraph for nearly a decade.

We'll be unpacking Nisha's bucket list destination, China; reflecting on my Hotel of the Week, Six Senses London; chatting about John's recent trip to Azerbaijan, and answering your listener question.

Destination Recap:

• China
• Beijing, China
• Shanghai, China
• Yunnan, China
• Shangri-La, Yunnan, China
• Ganden Sumtseling Monastery, Shangri-La, China
• Yellow Mountain, Anhui, China
• Chengdu, Sichuan, China
• St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City
• Six Senses London, Bayswater, London, England
• The Whiteley, Bayswater, London, England
• Notting Hill, London, England
• Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Baku, Azerbaijan
• Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan
• Fairmont Baku, Flame Towers, Baku, Azerbaijan
• Heydar Aliyev Centre, Baku, Azerbaijan
• Uzbekistan
• Khiva, Uzbekistan
• Samarkand, Uzbekistan
• Registan Square, Samarkand, Uzbekistan

All the destinations mentioned are included in the episode show notes and on thetraveldiariespodcast.com 

If you’d like to find out who’s joining me next Tuesday, come and follow me on Instagram and TikTok, I’m @hollyrubenstein and I’d love to hear from you. 

With thanks to...

Airbnb - Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.co.uk/host

I’ll be back on Tuesday. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.