Lauren Laverne's travel SECRETS

Lauren Laverne's taste in most things is something we all trust, so we caught up with her to find out about her favourite holiday spots, travel essentials and how to keep the children happy on the move.

Where would you like to be right now?

If I could be teleported anywhere for just one night and take my family, I’d probably choose Mauritius. We went there on honeymoon about ten years ago and it’s the most gorgeous place I’ve ever been. I’m not really a long-haul traveller generally speaking but this was worth the journey. We stayed at Prince Maurice which has a floating restaurant where the food was so delicious I put on about a stone (that’s the only down side of staying there) and you could feed the fish little bits of your bread. I’d love to return.

Alternatively, one of my very best friends moved to Los Angeles a couple of years ago and we still haven’t taken the flight out there with the kids because it’s quite a long one. So if I had access to a teleporter I’d take us all straight to LA and spend a couple of weeks seeing the sites.

[Don't go travelling looking for the love of your life]
[Alex Zane takes us on a tour round foodie Paris]

What are your top five travel must-haves?
1 My phone is so important because it has everything: music, travel apps, email, hey, sometimes it even functions as a phone. And a really excellent set of headphones, for good sound quality on a long-haul flight.
2 A cross-body handbag, for when you’re faffing around and need to have your hands free to shop, explore and everything else.
3 Suncream and sunblock. I’m the palest person I know and even if I’m going somewhere freezing, I slap on the Factor 50.
4 Take a party dress. It’s all very well remembering your shorts, vest and jeans, but what happens if you go somewhere and start having the most fabulous time and you’ve nothing to wear? As happened to me once on a night out on the Ramblas in Barcelona with a bunch of sailors…it was just lucky that I had packed a dress.
5 Pack a spare bag, because let’s be honest we all buy stuff while we’re away. Bag in a bag, that’s my top tip.

Where did you holiday when you were a child?
My parents chose some unusual places to holiday. On one memorable trip we ended up stranded on a ski lift that was struck by lightening in an obscure part of Germany. We were stuck up there for about an hour and had to be brought down the slopes by mountain rescue. But most holidays were spent in a caravan in various parts of the Lake District, particularly Park Foot at Ullswater. If you grew up in the northeast that’s where you tended to holiday as it’s a hop across the Pennines. I spent weekends, summers, so much of my early life there and I loved it.

Where do you travel with your own kids?
We’ve been to Mijas in Spain, which is great as it’s a short flight and the Spanish are so good with kids. I’m learning that the tried and tested family spots tend to be popular for a reason. Since I’ve got older I’ve started to rediscover the Lake District again with my family. It’s the most ridiculously, ostentatiously beautiful little nook of the country and I love the walks, the pubs, the endless space for the kids to run around. We’ve also spent quite a bit of time in the New Forest recently, around Brockenhurst, which is really gorgeous. The whole area is kind of like a tasting menu for the best bits of the UK; heathlands, nature, woodland, chocolate box villages and gorgeous coastline.

What would be your dream family holiday?
I’d like to go on an American road trip with my family. Take some time off, get a campervan and head off on Route 66 from the east to the west coast. I think we’ll wait until the boys are a bit older though as it’s a long flight and two is a difficult amount of children to handle when you’re travelling!

And what’s your favourite hotel of all time?
The Samling (http://www.thesamlinghotel.co.uk/) in the Lake District. We haven’t actually taken the kids there yet as my husband and I sneak away for a few nights when we’re in the area because the restaurant is pretty amazing (it’s just been awarded a Michelin star) and we want to fully enjoy it!

Lauren Laverne spoke to us while hosting a party to announce that new Royal Caribbean ship Anthem of the Seas will be based out of the UK from 2015.