Advertise on podcast: The Top Travel Destinations with Kevin Flanagan

Skiing is changing, and altitude has never mattered more. Kevin Flanagan looks at what warming winters mean for European resorts, the limits of artificial snow and the places still worth considering, from the high Alps to Andorra. A thoughtful, practical guide for anyone wondering where — and when — to plan their next ski trip. You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: @thetoptraveldestinations X: @becreativekev

I went to Derry without expecting very much and came away blown away by the city. In this episode, I remember its winter lights, its extraordinary welcome, a Derry Girls afternoon tea and a light show in the old city. I take a boat trip on the River Foyle, then join a Free Derry walking tour through the Bogside, where the story of Bloody Sunday gives the visit an entirely different depth. It’s a travel story about a city that surprised me, delighted me and stayed with me. You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: @thetoptraveldestinations X: @becreativekev

Kevin shares his memories of his favourite Christmas market, recalling the sights, sounds, flavours and moments that made it special. A personal journey into the pleasure of travelling at Christmas, the people we share it with and the memories we bring home. You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: @thetoptraveldestinations X: @becreativekev

Discover some of Europe’s most atmospheric Christmas markets, from Salzburg and Vienna to Nuremberg, Bath and Manchester. Kevin explores why we love these festive escapes—the lights, food, traditions and time together—and shares practical advice for travellers from Ireland and the UK, including 2026 market dates, choosing your destination and planning a winter break. You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: @thetoptraveldestinations X: @becreativekev

Where should you go to experience Halloween at its most atmospheric? Kevin traces the celebration from Ireland’s Samhain traditions to four very different autumn breaks: Derry’s citywide festival, Edinburgh’s firelit Samhuinn performance, York’s ghost walks and Whitby’s Dracula connections and Goth Weekend. It’s a journey through history, folklore and places that come alive after dark. You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: @thetoptraveldestinations X: @becreativekev

As the world seems to verve from one disaster to another people ask me more and more: how can I get away from the mayhem. What is the ideal destination for a bit of peace and tranquility? I have one simple answer! You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: @thetoptraveldestinations X: @becreativekev

Kevin takes a searching look at why some airfare prices are going through the roof! And how to still get value in these troubling time. You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: @thetoptraveldestinations X: @becreativekev

Kevin has always loved the heat — forty years of it, from Cairo to Bangkok. But standing at the Trevi Fountain with his grandchildren and battery powered electric fans, something changed for the first time. You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: @thetoptraveldestinations X: @becreativekev

Kevin looks at why record heatwaves are sending travellers away from the traditional Mediterranean hotspots and towards cooler shores — and what that means for how, when and where we'll all be booking our next holiday. You can also follow The Top Travel Destinations on social media for updates: Instagram: @thetoptraveldestinations X: @becreativekev

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

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