Meet Fyllis Hockman

Fyllis and dolphin, Curacao — PHOTO COURTESY OF VICTOR BLOCK

Fyllis Hockman is an award-winning travel journalist who has been traveling and writing for more than 35 years and is still as eager for the next trip as she was for the first. Her articles appear in newspapers across the country and websites across the Internet. A sampling of those stories can be found by visiting Fyllis Hockman articles or by looking further on Traveling Boy. She is the author of AAA Guidebook: A Photo Journey to Washington, D.C. and co-author of the Pelican Guide to Maryland. Ms. Hockman is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers and North American Travel Journalists Association.

1. What are your top 5 favorite places to travel.

Whenever I’m asked about my favorite destination, I always say wherever I’ve been to last. I’ve never been on a trip I regretted. But I do have some favorites for different reasons. For sheer beauty, New Zealand; for fascinating culture, China; a month in Tuscany, because every day was a new adventure. And Rangeley, a small town in western Maine where we spend the summer, because it’s my husband’s favorite place to be in the world. My fifth favorite? Everywhere else.

Fyllis Hockman's favorite places — TOP LEFT PHOTO COURTESY OF PIXABAY, BOTTOM RIGHT PHOTO COURTESY OF KAREN OGULNICK via RANGELEY LAKES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE; ALL THE REST COURTESY OF VICTOR BLOCK

2. Name your favorite destination for enjoying a local food.

Probably again China — because we were lucky enough to be subjected to any number of banquets where the food and the beer are non-stop — and after 30 Chinese meals over a ten-day period, I came home wanting more Chinese food.

Chinese food — PHOTOS COURTESY OF PIXABAY

3. What is it that you enjoy the most when you visit a new destination?

Already cliche, meeting the people — seeing how the local culture functions — and seeking out some off-the-beaten-track story to write.

4. What are your best tips when preparing to travel?

Besides pack layers and learn a few basic phrases? None really — I don’t actually start thinking about a trip until I’m on the airplane — and that’s only until I get involved in my book. But I don’t have to because my travel-writing husband has already done scads of research which he’s catalogued in triplicate.

5. What are your best practices regarding currency? Do you suggest wearing a money belt?

A charge card that does not charge any foreign travel fees.