Want to know how to travel in style, just like the pros? We check in with frequent fliers to find out how often they fly, their favorite destinations and what they never leave home without.
Name: Kimberley Lovato
Occupation: Travel & Food Writer
Hometown: Burbank, CA
Residence: San Francisco—for now
College major: Double: French + International Relations
Website: kimberleylovato.com
Twitter: @kimberleylovato
Instagram: KimberleyLovato
Bio: Kimberley is a freelance travel writer and author whose work has appeared in national and international magazines, websites and anthologies including National Geographic Traveler, American Way, Delta Sky, Best Women’s Travel Writing, lonelyplanet.com, travelandleisure.com, BBC Travel, and many more. She is the author of a Michelin Guide to Brussels, Belgium where she lived for six years, and her culinary travel book, Walnut Wine & Truffle Groves, about the Dordogne region of France won the Gold 2012 Lowell Thomas Award. When she’s not traveling, she’s plotting her next trip, near or far.
How often do you fly? 1-2 times a month.
How many countries have you been to? Hmmm, haven’t really counted—25, maybe?
How many continents have you been to? 4
Favorite American city: San Francisco.
Favorite international city: Paris, Brussels, Zagreb—love them all for important reasons.
Favorite World Heritage Site: Tough one—Diocletian’s Palace in Split, Croatia; Venice and its lagoon; Plitvice Lakes National Park all come to mind.
Favorite airline: The one that is on time.
Favorite aircraft type: The safe kind.
Aisle or window: Aisle.
Favorite U.S. airport: I really dislike airports, so I only classify them as “free Wi-Fi” or “no free Wi-Fi.”
Favorite international airport: See above.
Favorite hotel: Regent Esplanade in Zagreb, any Four Seasons or St. Regis Hotel, and recently I stayed at Ballyfin in Ireland—amazing!
Favorite cruise line: Never been on a cruise.
Favorite travel credit card: My husband’s ;-)
Favorite island: Any of the 1,000 along Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast.
Favorite beach: Siesta Key Beach—sand as white and soft as flour.
Favorite fancy restaurant: Yoshi by Joel Robuchon, Monte Carlo.
Favorite hole-in-the-wall: The Last Resort, Tortola, BVI.
Favorite fruit: Raspberries.
Favorite food: Tacos—fish, carnitas, chicken, all of the above.
Least favorite food: Anchovies.
Drink of choice (in the air and on the ground): Champagne, in the air and on the ground, in the cab, in the bed, morning-noon-night…you get the idea.
Favorite travel movie(s): Roman Holiday.
Favorite travel show(s): Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.
Favorite travel book(s): Wanderlust: A Love Affair with Five Continents, Best Women’s Travel Writing, No Place for a Lady: Tales of Adventurous Women Travelers.
Right now I am reading: The Goldfinch.
Favorite travel website(s)—besides JohnnyJet.com, of course! Are there others besides JohnnyJet.com?
5 things you bring on a plane: Water, sleep mask, chapstick, earplugs, patience.
What do you always seem to forget? Patience; and to ask someone to take my picture every now and then—I’m always behind the camera.
What do you like least about travel? Getting there.
What do you want your loved one to buy you from an airport duty-free store? Single-malt Scotch.
Most embarrassing travel moment: Leaving my passport and watch at airport security and only discovering it moments before my return flight to the USA began to board. Rookie move!
What’s your dream destination? South America—Argentina, Patagonia, Chile—all high on my list.
Best travel tip: Pack less, talk to locals more, eat and drink where they do, stay flexible.