Travel Channel’s Samantha Brown advises how to enjoy your weekend

Samantha Brown doesn’t believe in “staycations.” There’s no point in taking a few days off from work only to stay at home, argues the energetic hostess of multiple Travel Channel series such as “Passport to Europe” and “Passport to Latin America.” Stay at home and you’ll only end up cleaning out the garage.

“In order for it to be a real vacation, you have to leave your home,” says Brown. But that doesn’t mean you have to leave your city. “You can always stay in a little B&B or a cool, hip hotel” and explore another part of town, which is the reasoning behind the New Hampshire native’s new show, “Samantha Brown: Passport to Great Weekends.”

The show, which started its first season in June 2008, couldn’t have picked a better time to premiere — a summer when an economic slump and soaring gasoline and airfare prices have so many families staying close to home. Brown says the economy shouldn’t be a deterrent; weekends away are cheaper and easier to organize than longer trips.

“Look where you are and draw a map of what’s two hours away,” says Brown. “We all, I hope, can afford two hours of gas.”

“We looked at the map and wondered ‘where can a four- or five-hour trip take you?’” says Brown. The show mostly covers U.S. destinations, although trips to London, Tuscany and to both Cabo San Lucas and San Juan del Cabo, Mexico, are also included this season. And while many activities are still done on the cheap — the London show in particular includes several free activities like the Tate Modern art museum — the main focus is on what Brown calls “not-quite-off-the-beaten path” finds that will make the audience say, “I had no idea you could do that.”

Most importantly, Brown says, it’s a matter of deciding which side of your personality you want to explore that weekend. “Opposite a five-, six- or seven-day vacation, [weekend getaways] means we get to pretend we’re different people,” she says. “We can explore different aspects of ourselves, like our friendlier childlike side, or our sexier side or our family side. Weekends give us a chance to play.”

Most recently for Brown, that meant a blend of the rugged and the refined. “I just got back from a couple of days in Santa Fe [New Mexico] because it has hiking right there. I love that I could stay at a hotel and within 10 or 15 minutes be outside. I love to be outdoors, but at night go to nice dinners.”

– Whitney Friedlander, Los Angeles Times staff writer

[Photos: Travel Channel]

New episodes of “Samantha Brown: Passport to Great Weekends” air at 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Thursdays on the Travel Channel. Reruns of these programs and other “Passport” shows air throughout the week. The Los Angeles episode of “Passport to Great Weekends,” which covers everything from the surfing rabbi to the Magic Castle, first airs at 10 p.m. Sept. 4, 2008. To create your own weekend away, check out The Guide for the latest happenings by L.A. neighborhoods or our list of the top 15 California destinations.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 4:00 pm by Whitney and is filed under Cabo San Lucas, California, Europe, Great Britain, Las Vegas, Mexico, San Jose del Cabo, Weekend Getaways. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.