Name: John Montanaro
Age: 34
Occupation: Brand manager and actor
My best holiday ever…
My honeymoon in the Maldives. The place is simply amazing – the marine life, the sea, the beaches and the food.
The Maldives is definitely one place I want to visit again; it offers pure relaxation and great diving.
I would never return to…
Istanbul, I was really let down. The traffic and the drivers, believe it or not, are worse than they are in Malta.
They have this uncanny knack of turning a three-lane road into five lanes.
The most dangerous place I’ve visited…
South Africa. To be honest it was a great holiday, and although there is a lot of hype about how dangerous parts of the country are, the beauty makes any trip there worthwhile.
I am only listing it as dangerous because we did get lost in a shanty town, and that was scary as hell.
My favourite city…
London, hands down. I love the history, the West End, and most of all I love the fact that it is such a melting pot of cultures.
I always feel at home there.
My most memorable experience on an aircraft…
Flying business class on a 12-hour flight from Mauritius to London.
I don’t sleep on flights ever, which is really annoying, but on that particular flight I had a proper bed.
I slept like a baby and ate like a pig… good times.
My biggest gaffe abroad…
While we were in Mauritius, my wife Alison and I rented mountain bikes from the hotel, rode down to the centre of the town, chained our bikes to the bicycle racks, and off we went exploring the city.
A couple of hours later we returned for our bikes, only to find an old man waiting near them. Very politely, he pointed at his very old rusty bike, and to be honest I thought he was bonkers.
It took me five minutes to realise that I had chained up his bike instead of mine! Bless him, what an honest man; the bike I was riding was a hundred times better than his.
The friendliest people…
I was taking part in a BBC documentary in Morocco and we were in the middle of the desert, but the people there were amazing. They really treated us like royalty
I never travel without...
My running shoes; I always try to fit in a run, wherever I am.
The taxi ride I will never forget…
In Frankfurt. It was a one-hour drive from the hotel to the airport, in the rain at night. I swear the driver must have been related to Michael Schumacher. He was driving at 100 mph all the way there; I really thought I was done for.
My all-time favourite holiday photo...
A photo of my wife and son, who was two years old at the time, taken while we were on holiday in Poland.
I love it because it wasn’t staged and neither of them is posing.
An unforgettable hotel...
Merville Beach, the hotel we had stayed in during our holiday in Mauritius in 2004 ticked all the right boxes. It had a great private beach, a lovely pool area, spacious rooms with a balcony overlooking the sea, friendly staff and fantastic food, not to mention its great location.
I return most often to...
London. As I said earlier, it feels like home.
My ideal travel companion...
My wife.
Country with the best cuisine...
Morocco, I loved the fact that it was different to what I would normally eat, and yet rich and delicious.
My next holiday plans…
I’m off to London again in April as I will be taking part in the London Marathon to raise funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.
My dream trip…
Not everyone’s idea of a holiday, but my dream is to take part in the Iron Man world championships – the ultimate triathlon competition – in Kona, Hawaii. I’d like to take the whole family with me. The problem is it is almost impossible to get in. Nevertheless I will keep applying every year until I make it.
I partied hardest in…
That has to be London again. I went there with a bunch of friends when clubbing was at its peak.
To tell you the truth I can’t remember too many details, but I know I had a great time!
My travel tip…
You don’t need to stress too much about what to take. Besides your tickets and passport, just make sure you pack a spare pair of underwear and your credit card and you will be fine.
John is running the London Marathon in April in aid of Cystic Fibrosis. He said: “If people want to help and keep us motivated by sponsoring, they can do so by visiting the fundraising page http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnMontanaro .