An Interview with Pauline Frommer

We were excited to be selected as one of this year’s featured local travel ‘influencers’ at the Boston Travel & Adventure Show. Part of being selected allowed us the opportunity to interview one of the show’s speakers. As a fan of Frommer’s Guides, Kat expressed interest in interviewing Pauline Frommer, Editorial Director of Frommer’s Guides and Publisher of Frommers.com. Luckily, Pauline agreed to a phone interview which unfolded as follows.

Pauline lives in New York with her husband, which is where she is at the time of the phone interview. She plans to travel to Boston by train for the Travel and Adventure Show, as she doesn’t own a car. A concept that makes a lot of sense as a frequent flyer and New York City resident. Pauline estimates she’s been speaking at travel shows for over 15 years!

When she notices the area code for my phone number is based in Falmouth, Massachusetts, she begins to describe the time she worked at the playhouse in town. “It’s a beautiful area of the country!” She was a cast member over a two month period for a production of ‘Into the Woods’.

Pauline’s background is in acting and theater, which lend to her superb story telling skills. If you’ve ever witnessed her stage presence, you understand.

“Let’s get out there and build a global community!”

Pauline Frommer

The Interview

Staying Afloat Blog: “Do you get many chances to check out live theater when you travel internationally?”
Pauline Frommer: “I try! I love the theater! It’s a big part of my life and a lot of my friends are still actors and directors, so I try to support them when I can.”

SAB: “What’s your favourite musical right now?”
PF: “Hadestown. It has a gorgeous score! It won best musical of 2019 at the Tony’s.” She begins to reminisce about the plot. “It’s really beautiful. I hope you get to see it.”

SAB: “What’s on your travel playlist at the moment?”
PF: “Well, my daughter is in a band called Melt, and they actually have a song that has 3 million downloads, called Sour Candy. And a woman named Sammy Rae, she has a great song called Kick it to Me. Other bands on my list include Tedeschi Trucks Band, Ripe and Lawrence. There are so many great young composers out there! I love hearing the new people! I think these bands will be really famous in the next few years. They’re just at the cusp.”

SAB: “Do you have a specific item that you collect as souvenirs when you travel? “
PF: “No. In the past when I’ve seen small statues or works of art, you’d find them all over my house – things from when I travel with my husband. I don’t think it’s right to bring home decorations that he hasn’t approved.”

Some of Pauline’s Favourites

Pauline goes on to explain that with all the traveling she does, there would be too many of them around. Her and her husband do hold an art collection that they are quite proud of, made up of pieces from Nantucket to Bali. All of which serve as warm reminders of their global travels.

SAB: “How about for your daughter or close friends?”
PF: “No, I never buy anything for anybody. You know, it’s funny, because I travel so much, I had to disabuse them from the idea that I was going to bring them something every time I travel.”

SAB: “What is your favourite travel quote?”
PF: “I have a couple. There’s one by Mark Twain that goes “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow mindedness…”. It’s so true. Another is the one by that Christian theologian [Saint Augustine] “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.”

SAB: “Do you have a favourite place to travel for food, a certain ethnicity of food?”
PF: “I really don’t.”

SAB: “And do you have a ‘go to’ travel snack?”
PF: “I’m not sure I’d call it a snack – I like a Manhattan!” she laughs.

SAB : “How about a favourite airport?”
PF: “I hate them all!” she admits, “but I’m a firm believer, that we have to endure the pain of the airports and flights for the privilege to travel. I like an airport with a lot of electrical outlets, I always need to be connected”.

Pauline Frommer’s 2020 Travel Tips

At the show, Pauline is FULL of useful travel facts and recommended websites, touching on nearly every travel subject you could want to know about. From places to look for short term work abroad (workaway.com, wwoof.org, Vaughan Systems) to resources for those looking to take their life on the road a little more permanently as Digital Nomads (flexjobs.com, jobspresso.com, remoteok.lo). She talks about the top hotel sites and offers advice on avoiding falling for their traps. Then she covers vacation home rentals as well as travel insurance options for travelers. She discusses ideas for sustainable travel and the various tiers of river cruises, leaving no stone unturned!

Her top recommendations for travel in 2020 are the Poles [North & South], Tanzania and Indiana Dunes National Park. If you’re looking to travel to some of the more popular destinations, here are her suggestions to ‘switch it up’.

Travel Here, Not There

Pauline Frommer’s ‘Travel Here, Not There’ for 2020:
Basilicata, Emilia-Romagna & Puglia > Cinque Terre & Amalfi Coast
Girona, Figueres & Roses > Barcelona
Belize & Panama > Costa Rica
Faroe Islands > Iceland
Similan Islands > Maya Bay
Komodo > Bali
Ausungate Trek > Machu Picchu
Rovijn > Dubrovnik

As her time on stage winds to an end, she relays a Buddhist tale relating to the joy of travel, and closes with wise words of travel advice. “Let’s get out there and build a global community!”

For more about Pauline and her amazing travel tips, head over to Frommers.com