Welcome to another At Home and Away with Judith Chalmers, the magazine that always reminds me of the lovely places I have been to this year!

One of the great joys of travelling for work is getting to meet so many people who love pointing out the best things about their country – they really are the true ambassadors.

I’m always amazed by how much more there is to discover wherever I go. This year, for example, after spending much time in America I did a trip that has been on my list for years – driving along Highway One in California. It was great fun with so much to see. You can read more about it later.

It is not always the new places that excite me. I can never tire of New Zealand, where I was lucky to visit again last year. So much is always happening in the world of tourism that one constantly needs to keep up to date.

Since Wish You Were Here…? finished I’ve had to keep up to date, as I’ve been doing travel pieces for Breakfast News, and Channel 4 where I often talk about changing holiday tendencies. It was all package holiday stuff when we started Wish You Were Here…? 30 years ago and now independent travelling, the increase in cruising, flexibility of travel and the cheap air flights have changed all that.

As the travel industry continues to grow it has to cater to the evermore discerning traveller. Some of these areas include the luxury and adventure market. Cruise holidays are also becoming increasingly popular so we’ve got some great features on all these aspects of travel.

City Breaks are perfect for those short of time and in this issue we take you to Lucerne in Switzerland, Reykjavik in Iceland and Canada’s top city of Vancouver.

There’s lots for families too. Parents have become so adventurous and children these days grow up travelling to far-flung holiday destinations. We took our whole family, including the grandchildren, to Cape Town and that needed some careful planning and ways to keep the youngsters occupied, but it was such fun!

Enjoy your travels!
 
Judith Chalmers