Amy Brenneman on Martha's Vineyard, a blank journal, and being transformed by travel

Boston Globe

10-07-2025

Do you prefer booking trips through a travel agent or on your own?
I would say a combination. I am lucky to have had the same travel agent — Cindy Rogin at Mansour Travel Company in LA — for years and years. She knows where my stored miles are with airlines, etc. But the ideas always come from me, and often my ideas — Africa, Indonesia . . . — she may not have experience with, but through her network, finds amazing local travel agents for me to work with.
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Thoughts on an 'unplugged' vacation?
Vital, and difficult these days. Too bad Wi-Fi is everywhere. I am politically engaged, so it's a discipline for me to turn off my newsfeed, but it's vital to refresh and gain perspective.
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What has been your worst vacation experience?
The 'worst' became one of the best last year in Cuba. I had traveled in developing countries in Asia and Africa, so I thought I was prepared — but Cuba is a communist country … very different. The first day, the Wi-Fi was tricky, the AC not consistent, and I had both kids with me. We don't always need creature comforts, but honestly, I was a bit unprepared. But our guide was amazing, as are the Cuban people, and all of us left a week later quite transformed.
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What is your favorite childhood travel memory?
Camping trips with my brothers and parents in Canada and Northern Maine. My parents were not adept campers, and often disasters would ensue. But days upon days in the station wagon, making up stories and songs with my brothers … trapped, but in the best way.
Do you vacation to relax, to learn, or for the adventure of it all?
Adventure. I don't go to relax — I'm a bit bored at the beach — and I crave getting into wild landscapes and cultures very different from my own. I love hiking, kayaking, and — OK, I'll say it — glamping. I like to be in the wild but prefer to be pampered while doing so. Hiking in Sikkim in the Eastern Himalayas, safari in Kenya, horseback riding in Peru … and getting a good glass of wine at the end of the day!
What book do you plan on bringing with you to read on your next vacation?
Poetry by Rumi and Mary Oliver.
If you could travel with one famous person/celebrity, who would it be?
Gloria Steinem. Every encounter could be an opportunity for connection; every new place could be where a friendship could start.
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What is the best gift to give a traveler?
A small, sturdy blank journal.
What is your go-to snack for a flight or a road trip?
Almonds.
What is the coolest souvenir you've picked up on a vacation?
A Bhutanese blanket from when I lived in Kathmandu. I can still smell the smoke and incense.
What is your favorite app/website for travel?
I like looking at high-end websites – Abercrombie, Conde Nast, the Aman resorts … – then scaling it down. It gets me interested, then I start doing my own research.
What has travel taught you?
Travel has taught me to shed the habits and persona that can develop at home. A new side of myself emerges — a new skill, or interest, or strength. I lived in Paris for six months when I was 17, then lived in Nepal for six months when I was 20. These long stretches changed me. I came back different. . . . I met people from around the world who stretched my viewpoint in ways previously unimaginable. We literally get to walk in another's shoes, eat their food, breathe their air. It is humbling, in the best way.
What is your best travel tip?
Stay flexible and let go.
Juliet Pennington can be reached at