‘I’m an absolute ace at jet lag’ – Sara Davies on her life in travel

Sara Davies, entrepreneur and TV star, best-known for being an investor on BBC One’s Dragons’ Den, may have a busy work and home life as a mum-of-two, but that doesn’t mean she likes to slow down on holiday.

We caught up with the 41-year-old to talk childhood holidays, travelling with kids and where she’s off to next.

How important is travel to you?

“Insanely – we didn’t have a lot of money growing up, [being] totally honest, we couldn’t afford to do big holidays abroad,” says Davies, who was recently named chief customer ambassador for Neilson Active Holidays.

“My parents still wanted us to experience and understand what travel was like, so when I was young, travel was going off in a camper van and doing adventure activities, exploring the Lakes.

“Now it’s hard, I want my boys [nine and 12] to experience different cultures and different ways of life so that they understand that the rat race they see, day-to-day, there’s more to life than just that.

“But then I also don’t want them just to see the privileged side of it. My dad built me a camper van a few years ago – so I take the kids off in it. My husband will not sleep in it, so we go off, especially around the Highlands in Scotland, I take the boys and we leave Simon at home.”

What was your first holiday abroad?

“I can remember the first time we went abroad, we went to some hotel in Majorca. I think my mom was pregnant with [my younger sister] Helen. We did one of those really cheap and cheerful family package holidays, and it was such a big deal,” she says.

“The family had saved up all year for this week’s holiday. Remember, it really meant the world, we were trying to try to make the most of every, every minute of it. And then it was three or four years before we got another holiday.”

Do you like to relax on a sun lounger or go on an adventure?

“A bit of a mix,” says Davies. “We have our own place in Spain, so we spend a lot of time there, we take family and friends with us. It’s like a home from home, quite often we work out there as well. So that feels like my down time, which means the holidays I go on – other than that – we like to do stuff, and then I know I can recharge the batteries [in Spain]. It’s just south of Murcia. We get out two or three times a year, grandparents use it, we take the kids out for school holidays.”

What was the last place you ticked off your bucket list?

“We went to Japan a few years ago. I really wanted the kids to experience the culture,” she says. “What I loved about Japan is the architecture. [The boys] wanted to go and experience the bullet train.

“We went to [Tokyo] Disney, we did all the normal touristy stuff, but also we got to go do some really good cultural stuff. And I got to take them to, you know, in Tokyo, see the [Shibuya] Crossing, and we went to the busiest train station in the world – that taught them how to be able to work out [where to go] even though we didn’t speak the language.”

Had any trips that have changed how you see the world?

“A few years ago I went to Tromsø [Norway] and I found what I learned, it wasn’t necessarily about the place, it was about the way they socially live.

“I went back out there in the summer to Bergen and I did the same again. I booked the trip so that we could learn about the culture and the region. I also do a little bit of work in Denmark, and it made me really understand and appreciate how different the culture is in Scandinavia, to what we experience here.

“I read a book which really stayed with me. It was called The Year Of Living Danishly. It was one that really made me see the world through a different lens, and stand and appreciate the economic system.”

Found any hidden gems?

“Last year we went up to Alta in Norway. A lot of people want to see the northern lights in Tromsø but actually, there’s another town five hours north called Alta, which has two and a half times less precipitation. Every night [that we were there, the Northern Lights were] just out there illuminating the sky. It was just off the charts.”

Where are you off to next?

“I banged on so much about [Neilson] to my sister [after visiting the new winter resort in Val d’Isere, France] she said, ‘I think we’re going to book, can you come as well?’ So we’re going out to Messini [Beachclub] in Greece with my sister and her husband, their kids as well – [ages] one and six.

“A holiday for them looks very different to us, we’ve got kids slightly older. It’s really hard to find something that we can do together, where the kids will get to spend quality time together but also Helen can have a break. So they can make use of the [kids’ club] support facilities. And my brother-in-law is super-active.”

Any advice for travelling with kids?

“My husband’s attitude is, it’s hard work, especially when kids are little, so let’s just not bother. And my sister is completely the opposite – she’s up for trying it and just knows it’ll be a bit of a hassle. And I really want to be more like Helen!

“People think, ‘Oh, it’s just a holiday and we need a little bit of time to switch off’. But you don’t realise how much you’re shaping your kids and the way they see the world and the way they’re thinking about things by getting them to experience different life adventures in different cultures.

“So I’m a big advocate [of travelling with kids]. It might seem like hard work, and you might feel like you need a holiday to get over the holiday, but actually, it’s a brilliant thing to do.”

How do you cope with jet lag?

“Before the pandemic, and when I first had kids, I used to do over 100 flights a year for work. The only people who think traveling for work is glamorous are people who don’t do it! I used to go to America at least once a month, and that was really intensive.

“Here’s the thing, I’m an absolute ace at jet lag! Someone told me something that’s always set me in good stead. What they say is when you first get on the plane – quite often I was taking a three-legger somewhere – set your watch to the time of the destination where you’re going and behave as though it is that time. If you should be asleep, try and go to sleep, if you should be awake, make sure you stay awake, if it’s a meal time, eat a meal.

“And because I’ve always done that, my body adapts quite quickly to the changes. Even when I was going to the West Coast [of the USA], [where it is] eight or nine hours time difference, I found I could manage really, really well – a lot better than most. I’ve nailed the art of sleeping on a plane.

“Whenever I would fly with staff, especially people who aren’t doing it very often, it was a novelty. They get on the plane and want to watch a lot of movies. It’s just wasted time for me – I’m either sleeping or working!”

Neilson holidays offer over 25 inclusive activities and free tuition, including sailing and cycling, and 60 hours of included childcare per week, with kids’ clubs from four months and activity clubs up to age 17.