The Top Travel Destinations with Kevin Flanagan

Kevin visits his old friends Bimbi and Spencer and finds life in the idyllic countryside of Abruzzo is sometimes challenging as climate change impactsYou can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: ⁠@thetoptraveldestinations⁠X: ⁠@becreativekev

Kevin, Kuba & Maya stay in one of the most legendary hotels in Europe: the Hotel Eden in Rome, part of the Dorchester Group. What he finds there is beyond belief! You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: ⁠@thetoptraveldestinations⁠X: ⁠@becreativekev

Kevin visits The Eternal City after a long gap and is surprised to find the city mightily changed and not all for the betterYou can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: ⁠@thetoptraveldestinations⁠X: ⁠@becreativekev

Rome has always held a special place in Kevin’s heart — that is before he had to attend the funeral of one of his best friends the morning of his next visit. Will the grief at losing a friend change how Kevin views the Eternal City? Listen to find out. You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: ⁠@thetoptraveldestinations⁠X: ⁠@becreativekev

Beneath one of St Petersburg's most gilded palaces lies a cold, vaulted cellar where, one December night in 1916, aristocrats poisoned, shot and finally drowned Grigori Rasputin — the monk who would not die. Kevin descends the staircase, stands among the wax figures at the fatal supper table, and discovers a room that is so disturbing it leaves some people in a cold sweat. It also later inspired his novel, The Secret of the Sacred Spear. Travel, it seems, can be fertile ground for a soaring imagination.You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: ⁠@thetoptraveldestinations⁠X: ⁠@becreativekev

Vienna: schnitzel, Sachertorte, coffee-house afternoons — and, hidden in the Hofburg's Imperial Treasury, an iron spearhead legend calls the Spear of Destiny: the lance of Longinus, coveted by emperors and stolen by Hitler himself. Kevin follows it from Vienna to a claustrophobic Nuremberg bunker — and reveals how standing before this relic inspired his novel, The Secret of the Sacred Spear.You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: ⁠@thetoptraveldestinations⁠X: ⁠@becreativekev

French graves have been iconic tourist attractions ever since Père Lachaise Cemetery opened in 1804. In this episode, Kevin recounts an emotional visit to one of France's lesser-known but equally remarkable cemeteries, Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, the final resting place of many Russian émigrés who fled the October Revolution — including perhaps the greatest Russian ballet dancer of his, or any, generation: the legendary Rudolf Nureyev, whom Kevin danced alongside with the London Festival Ballet.You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: ⁠@thetoptraveldestinations⁠X: ⁠@becreativekev

Venice should not exist — yet thirteen centuries on, it's still fighting the sea. In this episode, Kevin tells the story of MOSE, the colossal, controversial and staggeringly expensive flood barrier holding back the Adriatic, and what every traveller should know before visiting the city it protects.You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: ⁠@thetoptraveldestinations⁠X: ⁠@becreativekev

Travelling to the most dangerous airport in the world at Katmandu, under the shadow of Mount Everest, the day after a plane crashed. That was a trip that certainly took me out of my routine!You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: ⁠@thetoptraveldestinations⁠X: ⁠@becreativekev

Kevin says, “As I've grown older, I've come to think that travel is one of the best medicines we have. It gives us something to look forward to, keeps the mind active, and reminds us that wonder doesn't retire when we do. In fact, studies show that older adults who stay socially active and engaged in experiences such as travel have lower rates of depression and greater life satisfaction. I've certainly found that to be true in my own life, and in this episode I share some of the reasons why.”You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: ⁠@thetoptraveldestinations⁠X: ⁠@becreativekev  

When Kuba discovered a long piece of abandoned wood and christened it ‘Bob’, no one could imagine the relationship that would develop as Kevin, Maya and Kuba took Bob on the oldest pilgrims' walk in the world!You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: ⁠@thetoptraveldestinations⁠X: ⁠@becreativekev

Kevin Flanagan finds the answer on a recent pilgrimage to Santiago di Compostela, walking the Camino with Kuba (11) and Maya (9).You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: ⁠@thetoptraveldestinations⁠X: ⁠@becreativekev

On a sun drenched Bank Holiday Kevin & family are given  a guided tour  by one of his oldest friends Paul. They take in the sights and sounds that only this unique city can  give, and make memories for life.You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: ⁠@thetoptraveldestinations⁠X: ⁠@becreativekev

Kevin joins his son Ciaran, a lifelong Arsenal fan, and his grandkids Maya & Kuba to celebrate North London’s greatest football team winning the Premier Legaue! It’s a day out in London never to be forgotten!You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: ⁠@thetoptraveldestinations⁠X: ⁠@becreativekev

When Kevin posted an Instagram reel of the flying incense burner - the Botafumeiro - he had no idea of what would happen next. His usual a couple of hundred views from his 1500 followers EXPLODED into a number beyond his, or anyone elses imagination. By that evening 1.8 million people had watched it and days later the number is 2 million and growing. Kevin struggles to explain.“The number exceeds many global marketing campaigns and is into Taylor Swift territory. So tyring to explain is diffixcult but I may have found a reason!”Listen to find out Kevin’s theory and watch the viral clip herehttps://www.instagram.com/reel/DYKlrcYMR-L/x You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: ⁠@thetoptraveldestinations⁠X: ⁠@becreativekev

Kevin believes this is one of the great places to visit in the world. “It has everything: spirituality, culture, history and amazing Gaelician food and wine. And if my eleven and nine year old grandkids loved it - it truly is a city for everyone!”  You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: ⁠@thetoptraveldestinations⁠X: ⁠@becreativekev

Kevin interviews his two grandkids Kuba & Maya as they stand on the beach at the end of the Camino at a place literally called the End of the World! Contact: followthecamino.com for more detailsYou can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: ⁠@thetoptraveldestinations⁠X: ⁠@becreativekev

Kevin describes the surprising joy of doing the Camino and being surprised by joy at the end! Contact: followthecamino.com for more detailsYou can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: ⁠@thetoptraveldestinations⁠X: ⁠@becreativekev

When I decided to take my grandkids on part of the Camino de Santiago, I had real doubts. Kuba was 11. Maya was 9. And they were used to the good life — Club Med ski trips, lakeside hotels in Limone sul Garda, city breaks in Ghent, Antwerp, and Venice.This was something else entirely. No screens.Long walks.Rain.Blisters. And a strange atmosphere — pilgrims from all over the world, each carrying something, searching for something… sometimes even God.I’ll be honest — I wasn’t sure they’d take to it. In fact, I thought they might hate it. But we went anyway. And this is the story of Kuba and Maya on the Camino — it may surprise you!You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: ⁠@thetoptraveldestinations⁠X: ⁠@becreativekev

Umberto from www.followthecamino.com tells Kevin all about how to experience one of the most special walks you can do in the world.You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: ⁠@thetoptraveldestinations⁠X: ⁠@becreativekev

“I was walking through Herbert Park in Dublin, saw the cherry blossom… and suddenly I was back in Tokyo. And with that flashback, I was deep into reliving the wonder of one of the world’s most fascinating destinations.” Kevin shares some of his top moments in Japan.You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: ⁠@thetoptraveldestinations⁠X: ⁠@becreativekev