My life in travel: Lorraine Kelly, TV presenter

First holiday memory?

With my parents, going to seaside towns such as Ayr, Troon and Prestwick. We would stay in B&Bs and spend all day at the beach. It never seemed to rain.

Best holiday?

My husband Steve, daughter Rosie and I went to Alaska, where we went whale-watching, saw bears in the wild, and had a husky sledge trip on a glacier. I can't choose between this and our trip to Japan, where we stayed in a ryokan in Kyoto and visited Tokyo. But then there was also our trip to Botswana...

Favourite place in the British Isles?

Orkney. The light up there is incredible and so is the bird- watching. If you are interested in history, there is so much to see – from the Neolithic village of Skara Brae, to the Nissen hut transformed into a hand-painted chapel by Italian POWs. I would also recommend a visit to the most northerly whisky distillery, where they make my favourite whisky, Highland Park.

What have you learnt from your travels?

That people are all the same. They just want to get on with their lives, feed their kids and take care of their families.

Ideal travelling companion?

Steve. He organises everything, and Rosie and I just follow him, secure in the knowledge that we will never miss a flight or train connection.

Beach bum, culture vulture or adrenalin junkie?

A mixture of all three, but I am long over the idea of just sitting in the sun reading a book. I like to experience local culture, but I also enjoy being a bit of a daredevil.

Greatest travel luxury?

If I am going anywhere that mozzies might strike, I take a sarong impregnated with repellent. I've wrapped it round my pillow in the African bush, and used it as protective headgear going down the Mekong river in Vietnam.

Holiday reading?

I always read about the place I'm visiting, and usually pack South by Sir Ernest Shackleton and In Siberia by Colin Thubron, as I can read them over and over again.

Where has seduced you?

I was enthralled by Tokyo. My brother was working there and he was able to take us to places tourists don't go. I loved to people-watch, particularly the teenage fashions – Gothic Lolitas – and elegant women in kimonos.

Better to travel or to arrive?

It depends on the mode of transport – I want to travel on the Trans-Siberian Railway, and that journey would be the actual experience. But generally, I just want to get to my destination.

Worst travel experience?

Being stuck in Montreal on a Saturday night when our flight was cancelled. I had to get back to work and somehow managed to get a flight to JFK that gave me half an hour to connect to a BA flight to London. I was beyond stressed, but BA was brilliant and got a car to pick me up and race me to the plane as though I was a VIP.

Worst holiday?

Steve and I went to Tunisia in 1988 – we got a deal for a week in January for £100. You get what you pay for, and in our case we got rain, food poisoning and some of the most aggressive stall-holders in the world. It was truly awful.

Worst hotel?

A hotel in Lloret de Mar in Spain, in 1983. I went with two girlfriends and three gay boy-pals. We had a hoot, but the hotel was truly hideous, with yobbos throwing beds into the pool and vomiting in the corridors. It was all we could afford and was cheap but certainly not cheerful.

Best hotel?

The Galle Fort in Sri Lanka. The food was incredible, the location idyllic. We had fantastic spa treatments and four days of rest after a hectic time in Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.

Best meal abroad?

I had a bloody brilliant meal on a Japan Airlines flight from Tokyo to Shanghai. I know plane food is supposed to taste like elastic bands, but this was a beautifully presented Japanese breakfast. The best meal on the ground was a Thai banquet at the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok.

First thing you do when you arrive?

I always say I won't unpack right away, but I have to. I need to make a little home- from-home, with candles, photos and toiletries laid out in the bathroom. I also switch the TV on to the local news and buy a local paper.

Dream trip?

I want to go to South Georgia to visit Sir Ernest Shackleton's grave and pay my respects. I'd then go on to the Antarctic peninsula and be flown to the McMurdo Base, the Patriot Hills and then the South Pole.

Favourite city?

Rome. I could gaze at the Pantheon for days; it's my favourite building in the world.

Where next?

Back to Africa, possibly to Mozambique and Zambia; and also visiting my bro-ther, who has a place in Bali.

'Lorraine Kelly's DNA Stories' starts on Sky Real Lives and Sky Real Lives HD on Monday at 9pm

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