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.

Tracey Drake
Tracey Drake

Name: Tracey Drake

Occupation: Traveler, editor, magazine owner (in that order )

Hometown: Born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario and raised my family in London, Ontario—both in Canada.

Residence: Move to the glorious West Coast nearly 10 years ago and now I call Victoria, BC home

College: University of Leicester

College major: MBA

Website: niche.styleatHOMEmagazine.caDRIFTtravel.com

Instagram: traceydrakeeditor

Twitter: @tracey_NICHE

Facebook: Tracey Drake Editor

Short bio: Tracey Drake is a busy style-loving magazine editor and well-known travel writer (aka The Travelling Editor). When she is not travelling, Tracey is a sought-after public speaker and radio and television personality, and along with her husband and business partner Steve, she owns and curates a group of popular lifestyle magazines.

Favorite quote: “I’m in love with cities I’ve never been and people I’ve never met.”

How often do you fly? Pretty frequently, but not as often as I would like! I take at least 25 flights each year, if not more.

How many countries have you been to? Too many to count and still not enough!

How many continents have you been to? 5 so far. Have not been to Antarctica or Africa.

Earliest travel memory: Road trips with my family every Sunday during the summer. My father would pack us all into the car and together, we would discover a new town in Ontario or Quebec; meeting new people, being open to new experiences and trying new food along the way. These early days taught me the bones of being a good traveller.

Favorite American city: New York City—what can I say…I love the diversity of the people, Central Park and of course, the shopping!

Favorite international city: Dublin, Ireland. It was love at first sight for me. I could live in this magical city.

Least favorite country: I don’t really have a least favorite country… just others like I am more attached to.

Friendliest people in the world: Ecuador.

Favorite World Heritage Site: Quito, Ecuador.

Favorite airline: Cathay Pacific.

Aisle or window: Always window—never aisle.

Favorite airport lounge: Cathay Pacific.

Favorite U.S. airport: San Francisco, CA.

Favorite hotel: New York Palace, NYC.

Favorite cruise line: Never been on a cruise… is that bad?

Favorite island: Vancouver Island (my home!).

Favorite beach: Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman.

Drink of choice (in the air and on the ground): Craft gin & tonic or prosecco.

Favorite travel movie(s): Love Actually.

Favorite travel show(s): House Hunters International.

Favorite travel book(s): I love reading non fiction when I am traveling. Sometimes it’s first-hand accounts of travel adventures (I recommend “The Geography of Bliss” by Eric Weiner), and other times it is a good biography. Currently loving “Audrey In Rome,” written by Audrey Hepburn’s son, Luca Dotti.

Right now I am reading: “Hemingway In Love: A Memoir” by A. E. Hotchner.

Top 3 favorite travel newsletters/magazines/blogs: Virtuoso Life magazine, DRIFT travel magazine, Nomadic Matt.

Favorite travel website(s)—besides JohnnyJet.com, of course! TripAdvisor, 12 Hours, A Hotel Life.

Things you bring on a plane:

  1. Laptop because work follows me everywhere
  2. Lacoste mini down filled travel pillow because I am a flight sleeper
  3. Current book because I am a chronic reader
  4. Jotting journal because I love to capture my thoughts on paper
  5. Hudson’s Bay cashmere wrap because even the shortest flight can be long without a piece of home

 

What do you always seem to forget? An electrical adapter. I have to keep buying them wherever I go!

What do you like least about travel? Although I always love to come home to my family, the anticipation leading up to a trip always lasts longer than the trip itself.

What do you want your loved one to buy you from an airport Duty Free store? Designer handbags and champagne.

Favorite travel app(s): PackPoint Travel Companion (it practically packs your suitcases for you!). Also, I love the XE currency app.

Most embarrassing travel moment: Hooking up with the wrong group. Thinking it was the group of travel journalists I was supposed to be meeting in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and learning it was a singles travel group from Sacramento, California.

I’m embarrassed but I haven’t been to: Alaska. It is so close to where I live and I have never made the effort to get there. Soon though. Really soon.

Worst travel moment: Traveling from Toronto, Ontario to Halifax, Nova Scotia just four days after 9-11 (both of which were emergency reroute airports. The memories of the airport chaos, the uncertainty and the fear will stay with me forever.

What’s your dream destination? Wherever I am headed next!

Best travel tip: Be open to the possibilities of what other countries, cultures and communities can bring to the fabric of your life.

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