The Travel Diaries

Hello and welcome back to The Travel Diaries Unpacked, your weekly weekend dose of wanderlust.

Joining me this week is Isabella Craddock, she’s the founder and editor of Near+Far magazine, former editor at Condé Nast Traveller Middle East and the Middle East Academy Chair for The World’s 50 Best Hotels. Raised between Cape Town and the UK, and now based in Dubai, Isabella comes from a family of hoteliers, so you could say that a love of travel and beautiful hotels is quite literally in her blood.

Today, we’re heading north to the Arctic Circle, as Isabella takes us to Tromsø in Norway and shares the extraordinary experience of witnessing the midnight sun.

For my Hotel of the Week, we're swapping Norway for Paris, as I share the details of a very special stay at the iconic Hôtel de Crillon.

We’re also discovering a completely different side of Dubai, as Isabella takes us to the rugged mountains of Hatta and a brand-new luxury glamping retreat.

And we have our listener Q&A.

Destination Recap:

Tromsø, Norway
Sommerøy, Norway
Alta, Norway
Svalbard, Norway
Hôtel de Crillon, Paris, France
Jardin des Tuileries, Paris, France
Bar Les Ambassadeurs, Paris, France
Bar Hemingway at The Ritz, Paris, France
Hatta, Dubai, UAE
Caravan by Habitas, Hatta, UAE
The Red Sea, Saudi Arabia
Kyoto, Japan
Vienna, Austria
Schloss Fuschl, Salzburg, Austria
Moar Gut, Grossarl, Austria
AKI Family Resort PLOSE, South Tyrol, Italy

Make sure you check out Near+Far, for lots more inspiration, particularly if you're planning a trip to the Middle East.

With thanks to...

SANI - Discover what’s new at Sani Resort for 2027, including stunning new family suites and exclusive early booking offers, with savings of up to 15%. Explore the offers here.

UNA - Discover your next Italian short break with UNA Italian Hospitality at unaitalianhospitality.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 Tuesday.
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Today I’m joined by entrepreneur, TV personality and crafting queen, Sara Davies.

Sara founded Crafter’s Companion while she was still at university, turning an idea into an international, multimillion-pound crafting business. She went on to become the youngest-ever female investor on BBC One’s Dragons’ Den, was awarded an MBE for services to the economy, and swapped the boardroom for the ballroom on Strictly Come Dancing.

We recorded this episode a few weeks ago in central London, and Sara was such a lovely person to spend time with, with an infectious enthusiasm for travel.

And her travel diaries are full of adventure. We’re heading from the beaches of the Scottish islands in a campervan built by her dad and trekking on the great wall of china to the northern lights in Norway and the backstreets of Kyoto.

Destination recap:

Yorkshire Dales, England
Lake District, England
Isle of Skye, Scotland
Fidden Farm Campsite, Isle of Mull, Scotland
Fairy Pools, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Dalby Forest, North Yorkshire, England
Wray Castle, Lake Windermere, England
Ullswater, Lake District, England
Pooley Bridge, Cumbria, England
Park Foot Holiday Park, Ullswater, England
Ullswater Wake & Surf, Cumbria, England
Tromsø, Norway
Sommarøy, Norway
Bergen, Norway
Alta, Norway
Ice Hotel, Alta, Norway
Oslo, Norway
Denmark
Lapland, Finland
Norwegian Fjords, Norway
Southampton, England
P&O Cruises Iona, Norwegian Fjords
Caribbean
Tokyo, Japan
Shinjuku Station, Tokyo, Japan
Kyoto, Japan
Tokyo Skytree, Japan
Okinawa, Japan
Osaka, Japan
Japanese Alps, Japan
Great Wall of China, Beijing, China
Himalayas, India
Delhi, India
Brecon Beacons, Wales
Greece
Turkey
Croatia
Sicily, Italy
Peligoni, Zakynthos, Greece
River Ganges, Varanasi, India
Delhi, India
Taj Mahal, Agra, India
West Coast, USA
Yosemite National Park, California, USA

Sara's new book Crafting For All Occasions is out now. And don’t forget to check out her podcast, Mind Your Business wherever you get your podcasts.

With thanks to...

SANI - Discover what’s new at Sani Resort for 2027, including stunning new family suites and exclusive early booking offers, with savings of up to 15%. Explore the offers here.

UNA - Discover your next Italian short break with UNA Italian Hospitality at unaitalianhospitality.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 a new episode of Unpacked.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to The Travel Diaries: Unpacked, your weekend dose of wanderlust. I’m Holly Rubenstein, and today I’m joined by travel and design editor Amira Hashish, founder of creative studio Rapport, who spent 12 years at the Evening Standard, where she was executive editor. From antiques hunting in Nice to finding the quieter side of Capri, we’re exploring some of her favourite escapes, with a little Florence inspiration and insider tips for making the most of three days in LA. Plus, I’m sharing my family-friendly Hotel of the Week.

Destination Recap:

Nice, France
Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
Hudson, New York, USA
Joshua Tree, California, USA
Florence, Italy
Milan, Italy
Mexico City, Mexico
Arrowtown, South Island, New Zealand
Silverton, Colorado, USA
Capri, Italy
Naples, Italy
Marina Grande, Capri
Anacapri, Capri
The Grove, Hertfordshire, England
Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire, England
Rome, Italy
Los Angeles, California, USA
West Hollywood, Los Angeles
Silver Lake, Los Angeles
La Brea, Los Angeles
Larchmont, Los Angeles
Malibu, California
Santa Monica, California
Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice, Los Angeles
Venice, Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles
Griffith Park and Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles
Pasadena, California
Palm Springs, California
Santa Barbara, California
Montecito, California
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Copacabana Palace, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Splendido, Portofino, Italy

A huge thank you to Amira for joining me, and leaving us with quite the travel wish list! Find out more about Amira's work at Club Rapport.

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 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.