I’ve been hooked on the idea of travel since I was a kid, but after Uni, I realised just how much I wanted to make a career out of exploring the world and helping others do the same. This began in the UK, where I learned the industry working in both travel agencies and tour operators. The latter gave me a taste for selling unique and very adventurous travel experiences (space tourism anyone!?), and I was hooked. My adventure took a new turn when I moved to New Zealand in the early noughties and the opportunity to become a business owner.

I’ve been inspired since I was a kid by travel writers like Bruce Chatwin and travel personalities like Michael Palin; his storytelling and adventurous spirit gave me the idea of exploring the world after university rather than getting a ‘sensible’ job. I’d love to sit next to him on a long-haul flight and enjoy some of his anecdotes.

I’ve been lucky enough to visit all seven continents, including several trips to Antarctica and the Arctic, South America, and East and Southern Africa. After living in the UK for 30 years, I explored most of Europe, and have also been to the USA, India, Nepal, Japan, and Southeast Asia. 

I’ve been to Antarctica several times and it’s my favourite place. You leave each time feeling humbled and a little overwhelmed. I’ve had some pretty adventurous culinary experiences too. In a ryokan in Japan, I once tried the highly poisonous pufferfish (fugu) – I’ll give most things a go once! 

For first-time travellers, my advice is simple: stay calm, keep an open mind, and embrace the differences you encounter. The essence of travel lies in stepping out of your comfort zone a little and being willing to experience new things.

Whilst I’m an early adoptor of useful technology and do appreciate how it can make travel easier for many, I do also have a slightly nostalgic yearning for an era when travellers weren’t so connected to their devices and social media.

If unconstrained by money or time, I would embark on a bit of a ‘spoil’ journey through India with my wife, staying at opulent palace hotels and enjoying the comfort of luxury trains. 

Top of My Bucket List

Kamchatka in North East Russia: Incredible wildlife viewing among volcanoes in one of the remotest parts of the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’.

Places Ian has been…

Antarctica, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cook Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Ecuador, Eswatini, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Fiji, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Lesotho, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Montenegro, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niue, Norway, Peru, Poland, Russia, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, Spain, Svalbard, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Some Favourite Holiday Experiences

• Namibia: Quad biking through the enormous sand dunes at Swakopmund.
• Greenland: Kayaking among icebergs in perfectly calm waters – beautiful!
• Tanzania: Reaching the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro and breathlessly gazing down on the savannah below.
• Vietnam: Taking the famous scooter tour around the old capital of Hue, seeing the countryside as the locals do.
• Japan: Walking the beautiful Nakasendo Trail, staying in quaint ryokans.
• Indian Himalaya: Trekking for 3 weeks across the incredible ‘moonscape’ of ‘Little Tibet’.
• Bolivia: A 4WD trip across the Andes from Chile to Bolivia across the Salt Flats of Uyuni.
• Hawaii: Cruising the Islands with my kids and then driving a red Mustang convertible up to the North Shore of Oahu.
• Brazil: perched on a boardwalk in the middle of the ‘Devil’s Throat’ with the Iguassu Falls in full flood all around. The Soccer World Cup was pretty fun too!
• New York: enjoying a cycle tour of lower Manhattan & Brooklyn, crossing both of the famous bridges and weaving through the busy streets of Chinatown and Soho.
• Caribbean : A week sailing around Barbados, Tobago, the Grenadines and St Lucia aboard ‘Sea Cloud’.  This luxury 4 masted, square rigged, sailing yacht is definitely one of the world’s most unique travel experiences!

Favourite Places

• Antarctica & South Georgia: extraordinary wildlife and wilderness – quite simply the ultimate travel experience. If I was forced to name one place on earth as my favourite, this would unquestionably be it!
• The Galapagos: Outstanding wildlife encounters on land and in the ocean. The snorkelling is superb.

Weirdest place I’ve been

• A toss up between Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazhakstan to witness a Soyuz rocket launch and the inside of an Ilyushin-76 during a Zero Gravity-inducing parabolic flight 50,000ft over Moscow. The 1990’s were different…

Most dangerous place I’ve been

• Mozambique in 1994. I’m sure it’s lovely now.

Last big trip: Barcelona, San Sebastian & the Basque Country, Oslo and an expedition cruise into the pack ice around Northern Spitsbergen in search of polar bears.

Where to next? Sarawak, Portugal, Andalucia, UK & Chicago in Sep 2024