Billionaire Virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson joins our travel Q&A this week.
He shares his idea of a cruise vacation from hell, looks back on his earliest travel memory and reveals his favorite room service order.
What holiday type are you?
I can’t sit still for long so forget sunbeds. I need adventure and exercise. Give me a game of tennis to start the day, followed by kite surfing, then a mountain bike ride and I’m happy.
What can’t you travel without?
My assistant, Helen. She travels everywhere with me and is always one step ahead. She always brings warmth and good humor and keeps me on my toes when I feel homesick.
Richard Branson answers our Travel Q&A and reveals that his last trip to Lapland was for a charity event
Ideal travel companion?
My wife Joan – although she doesn’t travel much these days. We met in 1976 and she is still my rock. She is calm and always calls me when she thinks I’m wrong, which keeps me grounded.
Earliest travel memory?
Cold but fun days on the beaches of Salcombe, Devon when I was seven. Sweet memories of rock pool, catching sand mussels and an aunt who bet me ten shillings that I wouldn’t be able to learn to swim by the end of the fortnight. Even though the sea was cold and choppy, I pushed through and won.
where was your last trip
Lapland. We did our last Strive Challenge to raise money for Big Change – [his children] Holly and Sam’s Education Charity. It was 170 km (106 mi) above the Arctic Circle with temperatures of minus 30 °C (minus 22 °F) and moderate snowfall. We snowed, dived into ice and ran half marathons on frozen rivers. It was really fantastic. [At the weekend I was in] Edinburgh for the launch party of the new Virgin Hotel. I like honest Scots – that’s why I married one. Joan is from Glasgow.
Your go-to room service order?
Something simple, like a club sandwich or a Caesar salad. The measure of a good hotel is how they make the favorite basics. If this is executed well, I am confident that everything else will go smoothly.
The unforgettable holiday romance?
Bring Joan to Necker when I hear there is an island for sale. The agent offered me an all-inclusive trip to see it. I was smitten – both with my new love and with the island. The price was $6m (£3.2m) so I politely declined. A year later, in 1979, no one made an offer, so I bought Necker for $180,000 (£87,000). Now we have our beautiful home there.
Richard Branson has his own house in Necker, above, which he bought for £87,000
Your idea of holiday hell?
A cruise where I have to dress up for dinner and ride a boat just to get lukewarm food from a buffet. That’s why we created Virgin Voyages to change the way people think about cruising.
Your worst holiday?
Skiing in Verbier, Switzerland, on New Year’s Eve 2011 when a teenager crashed into me at top speed and tore my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). A terrifying and painful moment. The next day I had knee surgery when a new cruciate ligament was screwed in. It is cured.
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James is an author and travel journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a love for exploring new cultures and discovering unique destinations, James brings his readers on a journey with him through his articles.
