The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
KEVIN BACON MY LIFE IN TRAVEL
The Hollywood actor travels so light, he doesn’t mind washing his clothes in a hotel sink in Thailand, Hawaii or Scotland
I ONLY TAKE ONE FAMILY HOLIDAY A YEAR at Christmas with my wife Kyra [Sedgwick, the American actress] and our children Travis [the actor and musician], 28, and Sosie [the actress], 26. But when they were younger, it was important for us to have regular family holidays, so we did many trips throughout the year, in spring, summer and winter.
THIRTY YEARS IS A LONG TIME to be married in Hollywood and we both travel for work constantly, so we’re adamant about not going too long without seeing each other. When we’re not working, Kyra and I love “staycations” at our homes in New York and Los Angeles.
A HURRICANE WAS BREWING as we flew to Cabo, Mexico to celebrate our 10th anniversary. The airport was flooded, with water coming through the ceiling. When we got to our hotel room, I remembered thinking: “At least we have tequila.”
WE WERE STRANDED ON A BED when we woke that night to three inches of water on the floor. It wasn’t romantic. I wrote a song about it called 10 Years in Mexico with my band [The Bacon Brothers].
MY IDEA OF HOLIDAY HELL is an all-inclusive resort where you just stay in your enclosure, lying on the beach with a piña colada. I prefer lots of activities, like hiking and getting out on the water in a boat and exploring the local area.
I ADORE SCOTTISH PEOPLE and got to know them when Kyra was filming in Glasgow and I flew in for a few days. I really love Glasgow and Kyra couldn’t stop telling me about how friendly and welcoming the locals were.
I QUIT CIVILISATION while growing up in Philadelphia in the Sixties, when our family decamped every summer to our cabin on Lake Honnedaga in the Adirondack Mountains. I was one of six kids and we’d all pile into the station wagon at the crack of dawn for the 320-mile journey. It was 10 miles up a dirt track, with no electricity, no phone and no hot water. It was fantastic.
I’VE GOT A LONG WAY TO GO as I’ve only climbed two mountains in the Adirondacks so far. While you have Munro-bagging in Scotland, we have the Adirondack 46ers in the US, who are hikers devoted to summiting all 46 peaks of the range over 4,000ft.
KAUAI IN HAWAII IS PERFECT for Kyra and me. Towards the end of the year, our work takes us to California, so it’s an easy flight. The north of the island is breathtakingly beautiful.
I’VE GIVEN UP SUNBATHING so it doesn’t bother me that the island gets so much rain, which makes the vegetation very lush. Kauai also has some of the most amazing hiking trails along the Na Pali coast.
I LIKE REMOTE PLACES that are difficult to reach. It helps us avoid the crowds. It’s why I love Anguilla, which has been a favourite destination of ours since the early Nineties. It has a such a fascinating history, but sadly got pretty badly hit by Hurricane Irma last year.
LONDON FEELS LIKE HOME TO ME as I’ve spent a lot of time there over the past seven years. It’s a lot like New York City with its melting pot of cultures. I could walk for hours around different neighbourhoods with their unique vibes.
BANGKOK IS LIKE NEW YORK but 30 times over for its energy and intense atmosphere. I was there for a month filming Elephant White and I loved the city. It’s noisy and full of crowds, traffic and food smells. I even remember wandering one night and stumbling into the middle of a protest, but I never felt unsafe.
I FOUND A BABOON IN MY ROOM while shooting The Air Up There in the area formerly known as the
SUNGLASSES
My pair from ic! berlin are another essential for me.
They’re comfortable without being flashy.
From £265; pretavoir.co.uk
RUCKSACK
I started using a Patagonia backpack about three years ago and it’s the best one
I’ve ever owned. It’s very robust, lightweight and has a great capacity for packing a lot of things.
£85; eu.patagonia.com Eastern Transvaal [now Mpumalanga province] of South Africa. We used to see hippos, boars and warthogs wandering by.
IT WAS SO PEACEFULLY QUIET and exotic and remote that it felt like this was where civilisation began. While places like Paris and Rome are also steeped in history, it really felt like this was where it all started.
I PACK AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE into the smallest carry-on bag, so I haven’t checked a bag in 20 years. I’m happy to wash my clothes in my hotel sink and wear quick-dry underwear, which is convenient for travelling.
‘London is a lot like New York, with its melting pot of cultures. I could walk there for hours’
IT’S OK TO GET LOST when travelling. Ditch the car, get a bike or walk and you’ll find the unexpected.
GREECE AND BUDAPEST are next on my bucket list. Kevin Bacon is ambassador for EE’s Max plan, which includes access to the BT Sport app, for the new Samsung Galaxy S9 phone. For more information, see a video of the latest advert featuring Kevin and Rio Ferdinand at youtube.com