The travelling national treasure shares his advice on how to avoid packing mistakes – and the one thing he never leaves at home.
Sir Michael Palin is the UK’s national travelling treasure, yet it was a TV series in 1989 that turned the comedian into an accidental traveller, when he took up the challenge to follow in the footsteps of Phileas Fogg, and attempt to travel Around the World in 80 Days.
The series became a ratings hit and sparked a whole new career for the Monty Python member.
Since then his journeys have included, going Full Circle around the globe, travelling from Pole to Pole and traversing the continents.
There And Back, the fourth volume of his diaries, is out now and his book about his latest travels in Venezuela is due out in September.
So who better to share packing and travelling tips with Saga Magazine?
Well, I think it’s all to do with packing. Know your luggage. The important thing is to know exactly where everything you’ve got is and put it in the same place every time.
In Venezuela during my latest trip to film a series for Channel Five, I think we had 30 different hotels. You keep unpacking and packing and you’ve got to be on top of the number of shirts you’ve got, the number of underpants and notice if anything is missing.
Just throwing things into the case and rushing out is absolutely fatal, because you will have to open that case some time later, and you won’t know what is going on.
David Attenborough always said he takes six blue shirts. Most television travellers do that. Cameramen don’t like you to wear a white shirt because it glares and you don’t want to go around in dark green or something.
That’s good advice and not just for anyone who is on telly. If you want to look reasonably spry, light blue is the thing.
The travel item I can’t do without is my notebook. I have to write down what I’m seeing. It is quite small, I’ve got to be able to take it out of my pocket very quickly. It has to have ring binders, so I can get to the page easily.
I’ve got to have a pen that doesn’t have a cap on it, because by the time I’ve taken the cap off it has all happened. So a press-button biro is what I need.
I was touched because when I was writing about my Great Uncle Harry I found his notebooks, which he kept during the First World War, during the Gallipoli campaign and all that.
He was doing the same thing as I do now.
They’re tiny books, because he had to take them with him in his uniform. Every single corner of them is scribbled. It took a long time to decipher, but it’s brilliant stuff.
Mine are a bit like that. I write everywhere. They are vital.
Michael’s travels have taken him across the globe, but you can visit some of his most famous destinations with Saga Holidays.
In 2004 Michael spent six months travelling around the Himalaya mountain range. His journey covered 3,000 miles and he reached Everest Base Camp.
Travel with Saga In the Foothills of the Himalaya on a 13-day tour encompassing the iconic temples and hill stations of Northern India.
In 2012 Michael set out to discover the vast and diverse nation of Brazil, travelling from the rain forests, to the deep south and the buzzing city of Rio de Janeiro.
Saga Holidays offers two escorted tours that include Brazil. You can enjoy a 22-day Grand Tour of South America, or try a 20-day Antarctica Expedition Cruise which takes in Rio de Janeiro.
One hundred years after the birth of author Ernest Hemingway, Michael followed in his footsteps in 1999 across Europe, America and the Caribbean on his Hemingway Adventure.
In Cuba Michael visits Hemingway’s former home and a hotel room he often stayed in.
Get a taste of this island lost in time with Saga’s Cuban Discovery 13-day tour, which starts in Havana before winding its way through the country.
Saga offers escorted tours throughout Europe and as far afield as South Africa, Japan, Canada and Australia, plus hotel stays in popular European hotspots including Spain, Portugal, Croatia and Greece.
Buy your new Saga Travel Insurance policy by the end of 30 September 2026 and get 20% off the total cost. T&Cs apply.
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