Podcast
The Travel Diaries
Hosted by Holly Rubenstein · EN
The Travel Diaries is a weekly interview series where journalist Holly Rubenstein chats to a special guest about their adventures around the world, and the travel experiences and destinations that have shaped their lives.
Be transported to exotic and far flung places as Holly and her diverse range of famous guests take you on a journey through the seven 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!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
37episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Ardal O'Hanlon's Ireland - Bonus Destination Special
Jun 10, 202500:41:15Tap to summarizeOn today’s bonus Destination Special we’re heading to Ireland, one of my favourite places in the world. Ireland has this special kind of magic. It asks you to slow down, to dig beneath the surface, to chat to the people behind the bar and to take your time - to walk, to wander, to just sit and soak it all up.Joining me is someone who knows the country inside and out - the brilliant comedian and actor, Ardal O’Hanlon. You’ll know Ardal, of course, from TV's Father Ted, where he stole the show as the endlessly lovable Father Dougal - and from the extremely popular BBC series Death in Paradise, where he swapped windswept clifftops for tropical crime-solving in the Caribbean. He’s also an incredible writer, stand-up, and most recently, travel presenter, in The Emerald Isles, his BBC series which explored Ireland’s lesser-known islands, uncovering their culture, music, and wild beauty.In this episode, Ardal shares the places in Ireland that have stayed with him, from childhood summers in Galway and Donegal to his all time favourite destination, a lunar landscape in County Clare, and my favourite part of the episode, his hidden gems, which really bring to life some of the wild islands off the mainland that he visited while making his TV series - a lot to add to your bucket list. We talk about the joy of slowness, the quirks of island life, and his new tour - Not Himself - which he’ll be taking across the UK and Ireland soon.So whether you’re planning a trip to Ireland, dreaming about one, or you’re just here for the stories - settle in and enjoy!Destination Recap:Crockwell, Galway, Co. GalwayConnemara National Park, Co. GalwayMagheragallan Beach, Gweedore, Co. DonegalErrigal Mountain, Co. DonegalThe Burren, Co. Clare Skellig Michael, Co. KerryGreat Blasket, Co. Kerry Tory Island, Co. Donegal Rathlin, Co. Antrim Sligo, Co. SligoSaltee Islands, Co. Wexford Visit Ireland.com for more inspiration planning your trip.Ardal is heading back on tour this autumn with his brand new stand-up show, Not Himself. You can find all the tour dates and ticket info at ardalohandlon.com.Thanks so much for listening today. I’ll be back with a brand new season - Season 15 - in a couple of weeks! In the meantime, come and follow me on Instagram - I’m @hollyrubenstein - and you’ll also find me on TikTok. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →
Jon Sopel
May 6, 202500:58:16Tap to summarizeToday’s guest is a titan of political journalism - someone whose calm, incisive reporting helped us make sense of the madness during one of the most dramatic chapters in American political history. It’s Jon Sopel, the former BBC North America Editor, who spent eight rollercoaster years covering the United States, through Trump, through Covid, through history being made in real time.He’s interviewed presidents, grilled press secretaries, and yes - even been shouted at by Donald Trump himself.Now, Jon’s back on home turf - though the country he’s returned to isn’t quite the Britain he left behind. In his brilliant new book Strangeland, Jon turns his razor-sharp eye on post-Brexit Britain, peeling back the layers of a nation that feels unfamiliar even to someone who grew up here. It’s part political memoir, part social commentary, and entirely unputdownable.These days, you’ll know Jon as one-third of the brilliant trio behind The News Agents, one of the UK’s most popular news podcasts, which he co-hosts with Emily Maitlis and Lewis Goodall. It’s completely redefined how many people consume the news - and it’s an absolute must-listen if you don’t already.In this episode, we dive into the shifting political landscapes of both the UK and the US and of course, we set off on Jon’s Travel Diaries - from his long stint in Washington D.C. to the sun-drenched Riviera, the energy of Rio, and the beauty of Sydney.Holly’s Destination Recap: Puente Romano Hotel, Marbella, Spain Jon’s Destination Recap:New York City, USA French Riviera, FranceSt Paul de Vence, France La Colombe D’or, St Paul de Vence, France Paris, FranceMusée Marmottan Monet, Paris, FranceJardin du Ranelagh, Paris, France Andia (formerly Restaurant La Gare), Paris, France Afghanistan Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Tokyo, Japan Sydney, Australia Noosa, Queensland, Australia Blackberry Farm, Smoky Mountains, Tennessee, USAMaine, USANantucket, Massachusetts, USAShelter Island, New York, USACosta RicaThe Galapagos RwandaStrangeland: Is This Britain’s New Normal? By Jon Sopel is out in paperback on 29th May (Penguin £10.99).With thanks to my sponsors - UPPAbaby -The new UPPAbaby Minu V3 is available to pre order at all UK stockists nationwide now.Airbnb - Visit Airbnb.com and find out more. Prospective Hosts can learn more about how much they can earn sharing their space through the What’s My Place Worth Tool.Saily - Download the SAILY app and use our code TRAVELDIARIES at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase.Thanks so much for listening If you want to be the first find out who is joining me on next week’s episode come and follow me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein, and you’ll also find me on TikTok. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →
Reeta Chakrabarti
Apr 29, 202500:55:18Tap to summarizeThis week’s guest is someone who many of us will feel we already know. A calm and trusted presence in our living rooms each evening, she’s one of the most familiar faces in British broadcasting - BBC News presenter, correspondent, and author, Reeta Chakrabarti.Raised in Birmingham, Reeta spent part of her teenage years in Calcutta, India - an experience that would later shape her global perspective both as a journalist and a writer.Her career has taken her all over the world, from covering the war in Ukraine from Lviv, to reporting on the 70th anniversary of Indian and Pakistani independence and most recently, covering the Pope's funeral from Rome. She began her career behind the scenes in radio before making the leap to become a correspondent, and finally landing in the iconic BBC News presenting chair - at the age of 49, no less. Proof that there’s no one path to success and it’s never too late to pivot.Her travel diaries today take us from Italy to Chile, Greece to India and much more.Destination Recap:Holly -Cothelstone Manor, Somerset, EnglandReeta -Calcutta, India Rome, Italy St Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Italy Castel Sant’Angelo, Rome, Italy Lahore, Pakistan Santiago, ChileValparaiso, ChileFranceLviv, UkraineParis, FranceTaj Mahal, Agra, India Amorgos, GreeceBrazilArgentinaFinding Belle by Reeta Chakrabarti, published by HarperFiction, out in hardback, ebook and audio on 8th May*COMPETITION*For your chance to win a 3 night all inclusive stay at LUXME hotel on the Greek island of Kos, head to my Instagram @hollyrubenstein. The winner will be announced on May 20th, T&Cs apply!With thanks to my sponsors today - 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.Airbnb - Visit Airbnb.com and find out more. Prospective Hosts can learn more about how much they can earn sharing their space through the What’s My Place Worth Tool.Saily - Download the SAILY app and use our code TRAVELDIARIES at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase Thanks so much for listening today. If you want to be the first find out who is joining me on next week’s episode come and follow me on Instagram I’m @hollyrubenstein, and you’ll also find me on TikTok. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →
Alex Jones
Mar 26, 2024Tap to summarizeToday, we're joined by one of the most recognisable faces of British TV, the delightful Alex Jones. Alex has been the co-presenter of The One Show, since 2010, a daily magazine show here in the UK which is broadcast every week night on BBC 1. It’s a British institution that's become a staple in many households.Hailing from Wales, Alex grew up bilingual, fluent in both English and Welsh. She tells us today about her first experience of TV, taking part as a contestant in a reality show in Magaluf - and how that led to none other than Davina McCall invigilating her final university exams. She shares her journey to the One Show sofa, which included hosting a travel show. And you could say that sparked a love of travel in her. She’s travelled all around the world with her husband and 3 children, and Alex takes us today on a journey from rural Wales, to coastal France, the rolling countryside of Italy to the ranches of Arizona. Destination Recap:Bellagio, Lake Como, Italy MallorcaPembrokeshire, Wales, UKSolva, Wales, UKNewport, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UKSorrento, Italy Capri, Italy Magaluf, Spain Arizona, USAOgmore, Wales, UKBerlin, Germany Gothenburg, Sweden Pembrokeshire, WalesIle de Re, FranceLe Marche, Italy BelgiumSonnwies, The Dolomites, Italy (Holly)JapanWith thanks to my sponsors today - 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.Airbnb - Visit Airbnb.com and find out more. Prospective Hosts can learn more about how much they can earn sharing their space through the What’s My Place Worth Tool. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →Magical Kenya - Destination Special
Oct 12, 2021Tap to summarizeToday, we’re embarking on a journey to the east of Africa, to a country of spectacular wild and natural landscapes, where the wildlife is abundant, the famous Big 5 roaming free. A country of great plains, mountains, lush forest, and white sand beaches. It has captivated and travellers adventurers the world over. It is of course, Kenya.On today’s episode, we’ll be hearing first from some of my previous podcast guests who have chosen parts of Kenya in their travel diaries, wildlife cameraman Gavin Thurston returns to the podcast to share his experiences having spent so much of his career travelling around and working in Kenya, and we’ll hear from one of my guests coming up on Season 6, too. We’ll be heading on a tour of the country, starting in its capital Nairobi and ending in Samburu National Park in the north. It’s in Samburu that my final guest, Saba Douglas-Hamilton, has lived for the last 6 years. Saba is a conservationist and award-winning TV presenter. Born and raised in Kenya, you might recognise Saba as the presenter of the BBC’s hugely successful Big Cat Diaries, The Secret Life of Elephants and This Wild Life. She’ll be joining us later to reflect on our tour of Kenya, sharing her tales of living and working in the country and her own Kenyan travel diaries.Kenya is now on the travel green list for UK travellers, so I hope this episode inspires you to think about a bucket list experience like travelling to Kenya and experiencing all that it has to offer.Destination Recap: *No hotels or safari camps paid to be part of this destination special.Giles Coren:Giraffe Manor, Nairobi Diani Beach, MombasaJessica Nabongo:Lamu, Lamu IslandGavin Thurston:Tsavo East National Park Maasai Mara National ReserveGovernor’s Camp, Masai Mara National ReserveLewa DownsWilderness Camp, Lewa DownsSamburu National ParkElephant Watch Camp, Samburu National ReserveGeoffrey Kent:Masai Mara National ReserveAberdare HighlandsMalindi BeachLucy Williams:Sasaab, Samburu National ReserveSaba Douglas-HamiltonNairobiElephant Watch Camp, SamburuMount KenyaLewaKalepo Camp, SamburulandMike's Camp, Kiwahu IslandIf you would like to read more about Kenya or get some more inspiration about where you should go and what you can do there head to www.magicalkenya.com or follow them on social media, or check out the websites of your favourite travel magazines, who normally offer compressive guides.Thank you so much for listening today. If you’re enjoying the podcast, then it would be wonderful if you could leave a rating or a review on your podcast app - it really makes a big difference because it helps other people to discover the podcast. And to hear future episodes as soon as they’re released don’t forget to hit subscribe or to “follow” the podcast if you’re using Apple Podcasts.To find out who’s joining me on Season 6, come and follow me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein - I’d love to hear from you. If you can’t wait until then, there’s always the first five seasons to catch up on, with guests from Sir Michael Palin and Heston Blumenthal, to Sir Ranulph Fiennes to Hugh Bonneville. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →
Wildlife Cameraman, Gavin Thurston
Jan 25, 2021Tap to summarizeToday, I’m joined by multi BAFTA & Emmy-winning wildlife cameraman, Gavin Thurston. Over the last 37 years, Gavin has worked on some of the most famous nature documentaries ever made, like Planet Earth and Blue Planet, most often with his long time collaborator, Sir David Attenborough. Gavin, ordinarily, spends most of the year travelling, and he’s covered every corner of the globe - its deserts, polar ice caps and deepest sea.He’s a fantastic raconteur, so this had to be a “long haul” feature length episode. We talk about his incredibly close shave while filming gorillas in the Congo, what it’s like to be the very first person to see and film previously undiscovered new species of wildlife and film them, the terrifying time his submersible failed at 1000m deep below sea level, and what it’s like spending so much time working with the legend that is Sir David Attenborough.Destination Recap:Durdle Door, Dorset, EnglandDevon Coast, EnglandNouabalé-Ndoki National Park, Republic of CongoHallo Bay, Katmai National Park, Alaska, USASumatra, IndonesiaCosta RicaAntarcticaTurkmenistanEnglandGavin’s book ‘Journeys in the Wild - The Secret Life of a Cameraman’ is out now. You can follow him on Instagram @thegavinthurston. Thank you to The Nautilus Maldives, your luxury bohemian hideaway in the Maldives, for their support today. A highly personalised, immensely private ultra-luxury island resort with just 26 beach and ocean houses and residences, where every experience is tailored to you. Where nothing is fixed and anything is possible. Where you are free to set your own beat; free to do – and to be – as you please.You can find out more about The Nautilus Maldives here.If you’re enjoying the podcast, then it would wonderful if you could leave a rating or a review - it really makes a big difference because it helps other people to discover the podcast. To hear future episodes as soon as they are released just search for The Travel Diaries on your podcast app of choice, and hit subscribe. To find out who’s joining me on next week’s episode, come and follow me on Instagram, I’m @hollyrubenstein - I’d love to hear from you. If you can’t wait until then, there’s always the first three seasons to catch up on, from Michael Palin to Rick Stein, and Poppy Delevingne to Raymond Blanc. Thank you so much for listening, and I’ll be back next week. Today’s episode was recorded during the UK’s Covid-19 lockdown. It was produced by Holly Rubenstein. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →
Dan Snow
Feb 11, 2020Tap to summarizeToday I’m joined by the historian and broadcaster, Dan Snow. You’re probably already a fan of his podcast, Dan Snow’s History Hit. Following in the footsteps of his journalist parents, Dan is now a mainstay on our TV screens, often presenting programmes linked to his love of history - and history and travel of course come hand in hand. I enjoyed this chat with Dan so much that it had to be a “long haul” feature length episode. As well as bringing to life so many far flung destinations (check out that list below!) Dan’s insights into the meaning of travel, and the impact of travel, I found to be fascinating. I hope you do too! Destination Recap:North WalesZanzibar, TanzaniaTimbuktu, MaliMount Assiniboine, Western CanadaMaui, Hawaii, USAAmsterdam, Holland Oberoi Hotel, Jaipur, IndiaIcelandVasa Museum, Stockholm, SwedenStockholm Archipelago, SwedenNorthumberland, EnglandLancashire, EnglandChinaDemocratic Republic of the CongoSyriaNew England, USASt Helena, South Atlantic OceanSao Tome & PrincipeMicronesiaYou can listen to Dan’s brilliant podcast, Dan Snow’s History Hit here. And check out his online history channel, HistoryHit.TV too.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 is episode was produced by Holly Rubenstein Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcribe →