Today, I’m joined by Peter Grunert, the editor of Lonely Planet magazine. In fact, Peter is the editor of 13 different editions of the magazine around the world. And each is imbued with that spirit of adventure and a cultural understanding that makes it one of my favourite travel magazines - and as a result of our chat, I’ve added about 10 new destinations to my bucket list! We’ll be talking about so many incredible places from Bhutan and India, to Uruguay and Australia, and many more, which why is this my first long haul, bumper length episode. So, here is a real deep dive into the world of travel from one of its top experts. I hope you enjoy it. 

Destination recap:

• Gwyneth, Wales
• West Wittering, West Sussex, England
• Brittany, France 
• Mumbai, India 
• Cannareggio, Venice, Italy 
• Port Lincoln, South Australia 
• Coober Pedy, South Australia 
• Park Hyatt, Tokyo, Japan
• Mashpi Lodge, Ecuador 
• Kerala, India 
• Bhutan
• Bradford, Yorkshire, England 
• Saltaire World Heritage Site, Bradford, England
• Tenerife, Canary Islands 
• Los Angeles, California, USA
• Eswatini (formerly, Swaziland)
• Uruguay
• Borroloola, North Australia

You can find Lonely Planet Magazine in all good newsagents each month, and head over to their Instagram @lonelyplanetmag for all the travel inspo you could ever need. And follow Peter himself @petervg73 

Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a 5 star rating, why not do so now! Your support is so greatly appreciated and most importantly, helps others to discover the podcast. 

Come and find me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein and to find out more about the podcast, visit TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com

This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein

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

Style icon Lucy Williams is one of the UK’s most successful bloggers, with over 429,000 followers on Instagram. Starting her career as a fashion journalist for magazines like Stylist, In Style and Sheerluxe, her own blog Fashionmenow quickly amassed a huge following and became her full time job. On her blog, she documents her incredible travels, and some really useful guides. Lucy is now the face of many brands and a wildly successful jewellery designer with Missoma London. She’s visited some of the most beautiful places and hotels in the world, so if you’re after some travel inspo, this is the episode for you. 

Destination recap:

• Abersoch, Wales 
• The Fife Arms, Braemar, Scotland
• Zanzibar, Tanzania 
• Uganda
• The east of South Africa
• Sasaab, Samburu, Kenya
• Los Angeles, California, USA
• Ibiza
• Greek Islands
• Beltane Ranch, Sonoma, California 
• Anopura, Jaipur, India 
• Golborne Road, London
• Lisboa Pattiserie, London 
• Golborne Deli, London
• Pentolina, Brook Green, London 
• Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan
• The Philippines
• Western Cape of South Africa and Namibia
• North Island, Seychelles 

Visit Lucy’s blog, Fashionmenow for her travel guides and more, and follow her on Instagram, @LucyWilliams02

Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a 5 star rating, why not do so now! Your support is so greatly appreciated and most importantly, helps others to discover the podcast. 

Come and find me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein and to find out more about the podcast, visit TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com

This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein

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

This week, I’m joined by a bit of a national treasure. He’s a chef, an author, a presenter - most notably of one of my childhood favourites - Ready Steady Cook. It’s Ainsley Harriott. 

Ainsley first trained as a chef in London, but it might surprise you that before becoming a TV star, he was part of pop duo The Calypso Twins, releasing a hit record in the nineties. He soon started presenting Can’t Cook, Won’t Cook and Ready Steady Cook, and spin-off shows around the world. His numerous cookbooks have sold over 2 million copies globally, and he continues to light up our TV screens today - this time with his new ITV series, Ainsley’s Caribbean Kitchen. 

Destination recap:

• Jamaica, Caribbean
• Kew Gardens, London, England
• Niederau, Austria
• Interrailing in Europe 
• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Wimbledon Common, London, England 
• Cannizaro Park, Wimbledon, England
• Dominica, Caribbean

Ainsley’s Caribbean Kitchen, Delicious Feelgood Cooking from the Sunshine Islands is out now.

Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a 5 star rating, why not do so now! Your support is so greatly appreciated and most importantly, helps others to discover the podcast. 

Come and find me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein and to find out more about the podcast, visit TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com

This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein.

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

The world’s greatest living explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, has led an extraordinary life, travelling to some of the most remote and dangerous places on earth. He’s climbed Mt Everest, traversed from the North to South Pole, discovered a lost city and ran 7 marathons in 7 days in 7 continents. He’s cheated death many times, and raised millions for charity along the way. Chatting in the lobby of a busy London hotel, we discuss that time when he cut off his own fingertips and how he was nearly cast as James Bond. All that, and more, coming up on Episode 3 of The Travel Diaries.

Destination recap:

• Table Mountain and Kruger National Park, South Africa
• Mt Everest
• The Garden Route, South Africa
• Crossing of Antarctica 
• Isle of Rhum, Scotland
• Muscat, Oman
• London, England
• Shisr, Nejd Desert, Oman
• Zambezi river trip, Tanzania

Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a 5 star rating, why not do so now! Your support is so greatly appreciated and most importantly, helps others to discover the podcast. 

Come and find me on Instagram - I’m @hollyrubenstein - and to find out more about the podcast, visit TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com

This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein

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

When it comes to travel, names don’t get much bigger than Sir Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group. On this short haul (bite size) episode of The Travel Diaries, recorded in the bustling lobby of the new Virgin Hotel San Francisco, Richard takes us on a journey around the world, from the mountains of Morocco to the plains of Kenya - and even into outer space. 

Destination recap:

Virgin Hotel San Francisco

Menorca, Balearic Islands

Necker Island, British Virgin Islands

Ulusaba, South Africa

Mahali Mzuri, Kenya

Mount Toukbal, Atlas Mountains, Marrakech

Kasbah Tamadot, Marrakech

Virgin Voyages

Virgin Galactic

Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a 5 star rating, why not do so now! Your support is so greatly appreciated and most importantly, helps others to discover the podcast. 

Come and find me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein and to find out more about the podcast, visit TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com

This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein

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

Since winning the Great British Bake Off in 2015, life has changed immeasurably for Nadiya Hussain. In this episode of The Travel Diaries, Nadiya explains that travel wasn’t even something she contemplated as a young stay at home mum of three, except to visit her family in Bangladesh.

Now, as a TV presenter and author, she is travelling the globe, discovering her favourite destinations, learning more about herself than ever and getting recognised in the most remote situations imaginable. 

Destination recap:

• Sylhet, Bangladesh
• Paris, France
• Nepal
• Toronto to Vancouver, Canada (1d 20hrs drive!)
• Koh Sukorn, Thailand 
• Machu Picchu, Peru
• Mauritius 

Nadiya’s cook book, Time to Eat, is out now.

Thank you so much for listening. If you haven’t yet left a 5 star rating, why not do so now! Your support is so greatly appreciated and most importantly, helps others to discover the podcast. 

Come and find me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein and find out more about the podcast at TheTravelDiariesPodcast.com

This episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein

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

Subscribe now to The Travel Diaries, a brand new podcast series starting Tuesday July 23.

Each week, travel and entertainment journalist Holly Rubenstein will be joined by an incredible guest, as she uncovers the places around the world and travel experiences that have shaped her guests' lives.

Be transported to exotic and far flung places as Holly and her diverse lineup from across the arts and the world of travel, take you on a journey through eight key chapters of their life's travel diaries, from their earliest childhood travel memory and the first place they fell in love with; to their all time favourite destination, their hidden gem recommendation and what’s at the top of their bucket list. It's wanderlust guaranteed - so subscribe now!

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