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.

Jo Piazza
Jo Piazza

Name: Jo Piazza

Occupation: Editor, Yahoo Travel

Hometown: Yardley, PA

Residence: Manhattan

College: University of Pennsylvania

College major: Economics, Political Communications

Websiteyahoo.com/travel

Twitter: jopiazza

Facebookfacebook.com/jopiazza

Instagram: jopiazza12

Short bio: Jo Piazza is an editor for Yahoo Travel. Her journalism has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, New York magazine, Glamour and other publications. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and holds a Masters in Journalism from Columbia and a Masters in Religious Studies from NYU. She is the author of the novel “Love Rehab,” and the non-fiction “Celebrity Inc.: How Famous People Make Money.” She has two books coming out soon, the non-fiction “If Nuns Ruled the World” and the novel “Tech Darling.” She is an average practitioner of yoga and lives in Manhattan with her giant dog.

How often do you fly? 3-4 times a month.

How many countries have you been to? 28

How many continents have you been to? 6

Earliest travel memory: Being trapped in a snow storm in my parents maverick traveling from Des Moines to Minnesota for our first family ski trip.

Favorite American city: Nashville.

Favorite international city: Reykjavik.

Least favorite country: I don’t have one. I legitimately find something I like in every single country.

Country with the meanest immigration officers: Germany. They will pull you aside for expressing joy.

Favorite World Heritage Site: Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries in Wolong.

Favorite airline: Cathay Pacific.

Favorite aircraft type: Helicopter.

Aisle or window: Window.

Favorite airport lounge: Cathay’s Bridge in Hong Kong.

Favorite U.S. airport: San Francisco.

Favorite international airport: Hong Kong.

Favorite hotel: The Kempinski Giardino di Costanza in Mazara del Vallo in Sicily.

Favorite cruise line: I have never been on a cruise.

Favorite travel credit card: United Explorer.

Favorite island: Marettimo in the Egadi islands.

Favorite beach: Tulum.

Favorite fancy restaurant: French Laundry.

Favorite hole-in-the-wall: Hell’s Chicken in Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan.

Favorite bar: Pub & Kitchen in Philadelphia.

Favorite fruit: Watermelon.

Favorite food: Any and all kinds of cheese.

Least favorite food: Don’t have one.

Drink of choice (in the air and on the ground): Negroni.

Favorite travel movie(s): Back to the Future Part II (does time travel count?), Before Sunrise (Sunset, Midnight).

Favorite travel show(s): House Hunters International.

Favorite travel book(s): “Homage to Catalonia” by George Orwell.

Right now I am reading: “Shantaram” by Gregory Roberts.

Top 3 favorite travel newsletters/magazines/blogs: Travel & Leisure, Fathom, Matador.

Favorite travel website(s)—besides JohnnyJet.com, of course! Yahoo Travel (natch).

5 things you bring on a plane: Eye mask, The New Yorker, my laptop, a real book, dark chocolate.

What do you always seem to forget? To check in prior to departure.

What do you like least about travel? Customs and security lines.

What do you want your loved one to buy you from an airport Duty Free store? Cadbury chocolate.

Favorite travel app(s): Starchart, Roadtrippers, FlightAware.

Most embarrassing travel moment: I wore a DVF wrap dress going through security once coming back from the Democratic National Convention. I was in a rush and the belt got caught on the conveyor belt and almost completely unwrapped as I went through the scanner.

Worst travel moment: An airline lost my luggage on a late-night flight to Tampa when I had a 5 am television appearance for one of my books. The only thing open was a Wal-Mart nestled into a row of strip clubs where I had to cobble together a television-ready outfit at around 1 am.

What’s your dream destination? Antarctica.

Favorite travel charity: Charity Water.

Best travel tip: Pack half of what you think you need. I never follow this myself.

1 Comment On "Travel Style: Jo Piazza"
  1. NAOMA@CHEERFUL.COM|

    Only “moderately” interesting. Some of the stories are SUPERB!!!

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